Bunny Butts Cupcakes

I got this next idea for my cupcakes off of Pinterest. They were quite the rage during the spring of 2017, so I decided to attempt them. I was surprised; they didn't turn out that bad! This post will be my first tutorial, and will show how I created these adorable cupcakes.

1. With white Wilton fondant, I filled the smaller section of a plastic Easter egg, which I am using as a mold to create the body of the bunny. I popped them out of the egg by sliding the Wilton knife decorating tool between the plastic and fondant.

2. For the feet, I used Wilton Tip # 12 for the actual feet (white fondant) and Wilton Tip # 4 for the toes (pink fondant). I used the tips like cookie-cutters, pressing them into the fondant to create the desired shape. I then placed and gently pressed the toe pieces onto the foot pieces to create the wanted pattern.

3. I put these pieces of the bunnies into Wilton Storing Containers, and kept them at room temperature until the day I frosted the cupcakes (I made the tails last).

4. To frost the cupcakes, I used Wilton Tip #233, and colored the frosting using the Wilton Leaf Green frosting coloring.

5. I placed the bunny bodies directly in the center on the cupcake, letting it adhere to the frosting.

6. To stick on the feet, I used a simple, clean paint brush to brush lukewarm water on the feet then stuck them onto the body of the bunny.

7. To create the tails, I rolled small pieces of white fondant into balls, dipped in lukewarm water, then rolled in Wilton white sanding sugar. Next, I gently placed and pressed the tails onto the bunny to finish the body of the bunny.

Toppings Used:

Plastic Easter Egg
Wilton Fondant, white and pink
Wilton Storing Containers
Clean paintbrush
Lukewarm water
Wilton Sanding Sugar, white

Gobble 'till you Wobble

Thanksgiving 2016 could not be complete without one of my baking experiments. Every Thanksgiving I have family come over to my house. This year, my grandparents came down from New Hampshire to celebrate with us. The dessert this year was a Thanksgiving cake of my own creation.

To create this cake, I first made the leaves a few days beforehand. I used the "Skin tones" and "Neon Colors" Wilton fondant packages to create the colors of the leaves. I made the leaf shapes using leaf cutouts, then created the veins using a toothpick. I preserved the leaves in Tupperware containers and left them in a room temperature area of my house.

For the buttercream base, I heaped white frosting on the tops of the cake and then spread it to the edges using a butter knife (sorry to the professional bakers reading this). I repeated this process on the sides of the cake until it was fully covered.

I carefully placed the leaves around the edge of the cake, which hid many of my mistakes. I used a Wilton writing tip (tip # 4) to pipe the words.

Toppings Used:

Wilton Leaves Cut outs
Wilton Fondant, Skin Tones and Neon Colors
Buttercream Frosting

Arabian Nights...

These next set of cupcakes were my first cupcakes made for a professional event. My school was performing Aladdin and his Magic Lamp and they needed items for the concessions. I decided to bake something even though I was performing in the play (Aladdin's sister) and needed to focus on memorizing my lines.

To create these cupcakes, I first made the lamp decorations. I used regular, white-colored fondant and fashioned them into lamp shapes. I then used the Wilton Edible Gold Spray Paint to tint them gold. For the frosting, I colored the frosting a lavender purple, probably using a store brand frosting dye. I then frosted the cupcakes using a round tip (tip # unknown). Finally, for the purple glitter, I used Wilton Purple Sanding Sugar.

Toppings Used:

Buttercream Frosting
Wilton Fondant, White
Wilton Purple Sanding Sugar
Wilton Edible Gold Spray Paint

Have a Holly, Jolly, Fondant Christmas

My second fondant masterpiece, needless to say, did not hit the target either. However, I did lay off the fondant and try my hand at decorating with frosting, which I am much better at. For this Christmas delight, I arranged twelve cupcakes in a circle and frosted them using a Wilton 1m type tip (because of inexperience, it is uncertain what tip I used) with the star method. I also made a bow and holly berries out of fondant.

Toppings Used:

Wilton Fondant, Assorted Colors
Buttercream Frosting

The First Concoction

It all started in the fall of 2015, my sixth grade year at St. John Paul II School. My Literature teacher issued a middle-school wide book report, but instead of an actual summary of the book, students had to create a scene or symbol from the book they read...that had to be entirely edible! It was called the "Edible Book Fair".This was the first time I had EVER done anything that involved baking or cooking of any sorts. Up to this point I was certain I would have no luck in the culinary department, but that changed quickly, however.

As soon as this project was assigned, my mom instantly enlisted the help of our neighbor, to help with decorating our cakes. She was well known throughout the neighborhood for her beautiful cakes and fabulous fondant work, and my mom thought it a good idea for her to give us a crash course in Cake Decorating 101. She lent us some of her tools, and, before I knew it, I was head over heels in love with fondant and frosting, and simply cake-decorating in general.

I have to admit, my first fondant creation was not the best. In fact, it was FAR from it! This two-cake tall concoction was layered in frosting, fondant, and more frosting... in that order. Not to mention the amount of sugar pearls and pink Nerds encrusting the cake as well. Poor preserving methods ensured that anything we kept in Tupperware containers overnight became soggy as well (fondant and cupcakes).

Nevertheless, I was so fascinated by this type of baking and decorating that I decided to stick with it and see what I could learn in the years to come, and hopefully become a better baker.

Toppings Used:

Wilton Fondant, Assorted Colors
Wilton Sugar Pearls
Nerds Candy
Buttercream Frosting