Are you ready for some learnin!?
The last couple of days of summer are upon us and it's time for back to school. Why not start off the school year right with some yummy cupcakes... maybe they'll get your child back in the spirit, maybe they'll put a smile on the teachers face, or maybe you're really ambitious, and they'll be the special treat that your child brings to share with everyone in the class!
Whatever size project you're ready for, here is a great treat from 'What's New Cupcake?'
First start off with making these super delicious (and healthy) apple cinnamon cupcakes.
1 box yellow/golden cake mix
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 cup apple juice
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
3 eggs
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. Spoon about 1/4 cup of batter into each well of a muffin tin lined with red or light green baking cups (depending on what colour apples you want to make). Bake for 18-22 minutes. Remove pans from the oven and allow cupcakes to cool for 1 hour.
Makes approximately 24 cupcakes
Now, for the fun part!
For the decorations you will need:
24 mini plain or chocolate dipped doughnuts
48 oz. vanilla frosting
12 tootsie rolls
12 GREEN: starburst/tootsie roll/candy mint leaves
4 cups red decorating sugar sprinkles
1/2 oz. red gel paste food colouring
12 chocolate covered sunflower seeds, brown
4 produce baskets (the kind you might buy tomatoes or peaches in)
Now that you have all your ingredients, follow this instructional excerpt from "What's New Cupcake?"
1. Cut 1/2 inch from the bottom of each mini doughnut with a serrated knife and discard bottom piece.
2. Spread some vanilla frosting on the cupcakes and place a mini doughnut piece, cut side down, on top of each. Place the cupcakes in the freezer for 10 minutes, until slightly frozen.
3. For the stems, cut the unwrapped tootsie rolls in half lengthwise on the diagonal and shape into stems. For the leaves, roll out the green fruit chews 1/8 inch thick, then cut into ten 1 1/2-by-3/4-inch leaf shapes. Make a crease down the center of each leaf with the back of a paring knife and pinch one end of each leaf.
4. Place the red sugar in a medium shallow bowl. Spoon 4 tablespoons of the vanilla frosting into a small ziplock bag, press out the excess air, and seal. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting red with the food coloring.
5. Working on 1 cupcake at a time, spread some of the red frosting on the top and sides of the doughnut and cupcake to fill in the gaps and lightly coat, making the doughnut look like the top of an apple.
6. Roll the frosted cupcake in the red sugar to coat. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.
7. To create a bite from the apple, carefully remove a 1 1/2-inch-diameter divot from the top of 1 of the sugar-coated doughnuts, using fork tines or a paring knife. Snip a small (1/8-inch) corner from the bag with the vanilla frosting and pipe a thin layer of frosting to cover the exposed area inside the divot. Spread lightly with the back of a small spoon to smooth. For the apple seeds, arrange the sunflower seeds, pointed ends toward the center.
8. Insert the chocolate-chew stems with the green fruit-chew leaves at the top of the apple cupcakes. Arrange the cupcakes in a basket.
Now, who do you think is going to be the coolest kid in class, the teachers favorite, or maybe just the kid with the biggest smile on their first day?!!
Enjoy the last few days of summer, and enjoy these special days with your child!
If you're looking for more fun ideas pick up a copy of Hello Cupcake, or What's New Cupcake! They are jam packed full of fun things to do with cupcakes for boys and girls of all ages, they're guaranteed to get those creative juice flowing and to taste as great as they look.
Until next time!
Happy baking, caking, tasting (and sharing),
Love and sprinkles, xoxo
No comments:
Post a Comment