Butterfly Cupcakes
So, for Joe's little sister's birthday this year, I thought I'd bake her favorite cupcakes. I only see her when he comes home to visit, so it's only a few times a year. She loved the white chocolate raspberry cupcakes I made for Nehal, and every time she sees me, she asks for them. Unfortunately, I never have them on hand and they're a bit time-consuming (compared to other recipes) but I figured her birthday was the perfect opportunity!
I wanted to make them more special than just regular cupcakes, especially since she was having a birthday party with 15 twelve year old girls in attendance. My sister has the Hello, Cupcake! book that has a lot of interesting cupcake decorating ideas. The butterfly decorations caught my eye the most. This is, of course, all ironic considering I'm terrified of actual butterflies but that's besides the point. I thought these would make the biggest impression on group of giggly 12 year old girls.
This took me quite a while but it was a fun project. My bff Cici came to spend the night and we worked on the butterflies together. I used parchment paper to draw outlines of wings that were already in the book. Using melted candy melts, you just have to go over the lines again, and fill it in with different colors. I then used a toothpick to swirl them together and sprinkled nonpareils on them.
I let them set overnight in the fridge (although it really only takes a couple hours) and then made the cupcakes fresh the next day. You place two chocolate chips on the cupcake, and then put the wings on top, about half an inch apart. Then you use more chocolate in the middle to make the body joining the wings. I also used the dark chocolate to sketch out antennae (basically a narrow V) and push them in at the end. This person posted a nice photo step-by-step tutorial.
I was so terrified to drive these 45 minutes to Joe's house! But it was all worth it in the end. The antennae drooped a little on the drive but they turned out great. The girls were squealing over them, and Joe's sister ran up to me at the end and told me one of her friends said "I wish I had a brother who had a girlfriend who could make me awesome butterfly cupcakes for my birthday" and hugged me :)
I made a few extra butterflies for my niece and she loved them too!
I'm so looking forward to fall and all the spiced desserts I'll be making in the upcoming months :)
I just had to say again that I think these cupcakes are amazing. :) I showed them to my mother and she was very impressed and said you must be very talented.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aba! :) :)
ReplyDeletewow, you never cease to amaze me. <3
ReplyDeleteAmu, these are amaaaaaaaazing !! Wow never thought you'd have soooooo much patience, girl !!
ReplyDeleteMaya