500 Cupcakes (32 page)

Tint the frosting sea blue. Omit the candy fish. For each cupcake: Frost the top thickly with blue. Use a knife to make a 1 1/2-inch-wide, meandering stream channel down the middle of the cupcake. Spoon yellow or gold decorating sugar and candy rocks or crushed nut cookies in the channel.

bridge over troubled waters

Tint the frosting sea blue. Omit the candy fish. For each cupcake: Frost the top thickly with blue. Use a knife to make “waves” around the perimeter of the cupcake. Lay a stick of fruit-striped candy across the center of the cupcake. Curve a pipe cleaner or chenille stick in coordinating colors to arch over on either side of the candy to form a suspension bridge.

variations

see
base recipe

sombrero

Prepare the basic cupcake recipe. Omit the decorations. For each cupcake, frost the top. Place a large yellow gumdrop in the center. Arrange miniature or small pieces of gumdrops in assorted colors around perimeter of the cupcake.

santa hat

Prepare the basic cupcake recipe. Omit the decorations. Leave half the frosting white, the other half red. For each cupcake, frost the top with white. Carefully trim the pointed end off a waffle sugar ice cream cone and place the cone in the center of the cupcake to make a Santa hat. Pipe red frosting to cover the cone. Top with a large marshmallow.

red hat

Prepare the basic cupcake recipe. Omit gum. Tint the frosting red. For each cupcake, frost the top. Sandwich two vanilla wafers together with frosting and place in the center of the cupcake. Frost over that. Press a 7-inch stick of twisted black licorice to form a band around the stacked wafers, crossing the ends. Decorate around the hat band with red candy balls and flowers.