Hello, Cupcake!

One of my most prized Christmas gifts this year was a book called, "Hello, Cupcake!| by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson.

As you've probably deduced-- I love making cupcakes, and this book is chalked full of delightful decorating ideas for cupcakes. I have already put two to use, and am looking for occasions where I can test a few more!

In early January, I made these owls for my mother-in-law's birthday. They are shockingly easy! The eyeballs are made of the insides of an Oreo and Junior Mints. The noses are almonds and the ears are  by backed by cut-up pieces of Oreo. I made chocolate cupcakes, and used chocolate creamcheese icing.

This week, my good friend, Andrea, welcomed her little boy into the world-- a full six weeks early! Both mom and son are doing well, but her baby will be staying at the hospital a little longer so he can gain some strength and weight. This weekend, I made some cupcakes for Andrea's baby shower.

The "Hello, Cupcake!" book has step-by-step instructions and a template for making butterflies. The actual steps are quite simple, but the whole process was more time consuming than I had originally imagined. The main problem was that the melted chocolate kept solidifying, and I had to microwave it again and again so that I could work with it.

I'm particularly pleased with how these cupcakes turned out-- they look so pretty! I think I'm going to make them again (with a slightly different spin) for my niece's 4th birthday in February. She says butterflies are her favourite!

Seems like 2015 will be the Year of the Cupcake!