Flower Cupcakes

Valerie was inspired to make these beautiful flower cupcakes from "What's New Cupcake?" by Tack and Richardson.  The flower petals are mini marshmallows cut on the diagonal and pressed in colored sugar.  She made her own colored sugar because we had just run out  - and it was kind of fun!  The hardest part was cutting all of the marshmallows and putting the sugar on.  The sugar had to be pressed on while the marshmallow was still moist and freshly cut so they had to pretty much be done one-by-one.  After that it was a breeze to place them around the cupcake top. 

Cupcakes or Pies?

Valerie made these cute cupcakes that look like wee little berry pies!

The inspiration came from "What's New Cupcake?" by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson.  Trying to keep with the berry pie theme, she used strawberry cake mix.  They would have been equally awesome with any flavor cake mix however.  The "berries" are red and purple M&M's and the frosting was mixed with a little cocoa power and the tiniest bit of yellow food coloring. So cute!

What's New Cupcake? - Book

We've had a lot of fun thumbing through the book "What's New Cupcake?" by Karen Tack & Alan Richardson.  This amazingly creative cupcake idea book contains everything from the cute duckies you see on the front cover to cupcakes that resemble sushi, Chinese take-out, and a stuffed turkey straight from the oven (and lots of other non-food related cupcakes as well).  Frankly, most of them make me tired to even think about.  Too much work for this gal!  My daughter Valerie has far more energy than I do however, and is more than excited to take them on!  I told her I could deal with no more than one a week and so far she is sticking to it.  We've already got a few to post for you.  In the meantime, you can pick up this book from your local bookstore, craft store or online and have some fun for yourself.  Be looking for fun cupcakes made MOSTLY by Valerie in the next couple of weeks!
Cindy