SUMMER FUN CUPCAKES

BY Alan Tetreault

Begin by baking cupcakes, being sure not to overfill the baking liners.  You want the cupcake to remain inside the liner and not overflow and form a “muffin top”.  Cool completely before icing.

I used the buttercream recipe and techniques outlined in Sharon Zambito’s  DVD,  “Perfecting the Art of Buttercream”.  One half batch will cover 24-30 cupcakes.  I added an additional 4-6 tablespoons of coffee creamer liquid to make a softer icing.  Ice the cupcakes using a pastry bag or spatula.  Allow icing to dry 5-15 minutes. Using a piece of parchment paper, place over the icing and gently rub the back of the paper to completely smooth the icing underneath.  This is a great technique even if you do not plan on dipping them in poured fondant.  It gives the cupcakes a smooth, polished finish.

Prepare your poured fondant as directed on the package.  It is helpful to have some simple syrup on hand to adjust the viscosity of the icing.  Simple syrup in made by boiling equal parts sugar and water until completely dissolved.  Gently heat the icing in a small deep bowl set over a pan of hot water.  Use a candy thermometer to be sure you do not let the icing heat over 100 degrees or the shine on the cupcakes will dull within a few hours.  If you need to thin the icing once it has reached 95 degrees, add simple syrup ½ teaspoon at a time.

Dip the cupcakes into the warm fondant and pop any bubbles with a toothpick while the icing is dripping off.  If a lot of bubbles form or the icing does not smooth out, you may need to thin the fondant.  Place the dipped cupcakes on a try to cool.  They are ready to decorate when they have formed a slight crust, about 15-20 minutes.  Be cautious when handling them.  If you squeeze them to hard, the fondant will crack or wrinkle.

Step 1-   The Luck’s transfer sheets were all applied using the same technique.  The transfers used on these cupcakes were Summer Variety Pack and the Sunny Paisley Pack. Keep the  Luck’s transfers in a sealed bag until ready to use or they will become brittle.  Roll out a 50/50 mixture of Satin Ice White Fondant and Satin Ice Gumpaste into a thin sheet.  If using an Atlas pasta machine, use setting 4.  Trim the edges of the transfer with scissors and place on the fondant/gumpaste sheet as a cutting guide.  Trim off excess paste.  Remove the transfer and lightly brush the gumpaste with piping gel.  Peel the paper backing off the transfer, place on the paste and gently rub or roll over the surface to adhere.  Lift the entire piece, clean the Celboard of any gel and dust with cornstarch so the transfer moves freely.  You are now ready to cut out flowers and swirls.

Step 2-  The butterflies are made using the small butterfly cutters from Patchwork Cutters Butterfly, LadyBugs and Bees Set and Mexican Paste.  Roll the Mexican Paste very thin on a slightly greased CelBoard.  If using an Atlas pasta machine, use setting 6.  Apply a small amount of shortening to the cutter and cut out several butterflies.  Lift the paste from around the butterflies, then flip them over using a palette knife.  Cut a small 1/8 inch strip from the scrap paste and apply to the backs of the butterflies with a little water.  This will keep them from breaking in your hand when you are coloring them or placing them on the cupcakes.  Fold a piece of paper into a fanfold and lay the butterflies upside down over the fold to dry.  Dust with Bumble Bee Shimmer Dust and a dry flat brush.

Tint a small amount of 50/50 mix a terra-cotta color.  I used equal parts Americolor Egg Yellow and Copper to achieve this color.  Lightly grease your finger tips and roll the ball of paste so that it is slightly greased as well.  Push paste into the CelShape Garden vase mold.  Trim away excess with a clean flexible palette knife.  Push remaining paste to fill the cavity.  Use a pin to gently ease out the molded vase.  Place on a Celboard and using the edge of your palette knife, mark a design in the top rim of the vase. Keeping with a theme, I added the swirl design with the small swirl cutter found in Patchwork Cutters Teddy Plaque Set.  The flowers were made using the striped transfer from Lucks Sunny Paisley Variety Pack and applying it on a thin sheet of 50/50 paste as outlined in Step 1.  Cut flowers using the two smallest blossom cutters from the PME Blossom Cutter Set.  Roll a small piece of pink or yellow fondant between your finger tips to form a round ball.  Wet the center of the blossom with a paint brush and add the colored ball.  Allow to dry.  Attach the vase to a cupcake with a small dot of cooled poured fondant in a pastry bag.  Attach the flowers in the same manner and top with a finished butterfly.  Wrap the finished cupcake in a Paper Orchid Basket Wrapper without the handle.

I also used the Watering Can and the top part of the Flower Urn in the Garden Celshape mold for some of the cupcakes to add variety.

The tendrils are made using a small piece of deep green 50/50 paste.  Roll into a thin sausage and wrap around a slightly greased CelStick or Paintbrush handle.  Allow to dry completely before removing.  Prepare  the Luck’s Sunny Paisley Variety Pack striped sheet on 50/50 paste as outlined in Step 1.  Using the PME Daisy/Marguerite cutters, cut several sizes of daises and dry on a piece of crumbled foil so that they dry in different positions.  Make a pink fondant center and adhere with a little water.  Glue the daises and tendril to the cupcakes with a little poured fondant in a pastry bag.  The finished cupcakes were placed in Orange Swirl Cupcake Baking Liners for display.

Prepare the tendrils as in Cupcake 2.  Roll out pink 50/50 paste and cut several blossoms using the large 5 petal cutter from the PME 5 Petal Cutter Set.  Place on a CelPad and thin and cup the petals with a ball tool.  Make a foil former by pressing foil into a small Wilton Gumpaste Forming Cup.  Place the flower in the cup to dry.  Remove from cup and dust with Raspberry Touch Shimmer dust. Prepare the Luck’s Summer Variety Striped sheet on 50/50 paste as in Step 1.  Cut out blossoms using the PME small 5 Petal cutter.  Glue into the large pink blossom with water.  Cut small blossoms out of the pink paste using PME medium Blossom cutter.  Apply to the center of the flower with a little water and finish with a pink dragee.  Attach the flower and tendril to the cupcakes with poured fondant in a pastry bag.  Wrap the cupcakes it a Cupcake Wrapture Heather wrapper.  Please see the instructions to make the flowers for Cupcake 4 below.  The method is the same, you wil just be using different colored paste and transfer sheet.

Roll yellow 50/50 paste and cut blossoms using the Large PME 5 Petal Cutter.  Cup with a ball tool on and CelPad and place in foil cups to dry.  Dust with Bumblebee Shimmer Dust.   Cut additional yellow blossoms using the small PME Flower Blossom cutter and dust the same color.  Prepare the Luck’s Summer Variety polka dot sheet on 50/50 paste as in Step 1.  Cut blossoms using the Medium PME Flower Blossom cutter.  Attach the polka dot blossom into the large yellow blossom with water.  Finish the flower with the small yellow blossom in the center.  Dry.

Slightly grease the medium swirl cutter from the Patchwork Cutters Swirls & Hearts set.  Cut out a swirl from the Polka Dot pattern.  I used a straight pin to help ease out the swirl. Attach to the cupcake with a little poured fondant.  Add the flower to finish the cupcake.  Wrap the cupcake in a Cupcake Wrapture Pink Floral Swirl wrapper.

Prepare the flowers using the same method as for cupcake 3 but substitute yellow 50/50 paste for the outside and inner blossom and Polka Dot paste for the middle layer.  Prepare the Luck’s Sunny Paisley Variety striped sheet on 50/50 paste as in Step 1.  Cut out swirls using a slightly greased Patchwork Cutters medium swirl cutter.  You will use the inside swirl of the pattern.  This is the part you would normally discard.  Attach the swirl and flower to the cupcake with a little poured fondant in a pastry bag.  The finished cupcakes were placed in Orange Swirl Cupcake liners for display.

Prepare the butterflies as outlined in Step 2.  This time you will prepare the transfer sheet on Mexican Paste so that it will hold its shape while while moving and drying.  Follow all the steps outlined in Step one but use Mexican Paste.  Slightly grease the Medium Swirl cutter and cut out the swirl.  Gently remove the swirl with a pin and allow to lay flat on a Celpad.  Cut a #2 Celbud in half and pin the pointed end to the CelPad.  Apply a little shortening to the Celbud so the paste will not stick to it.  Lay the swirl over the Celbud and gently wrap the inside end to the top the Celbud.  This will create a 3 dimensional swirl that lifts the butterfly off the cupcake.  Dry thoroughly.  Apply the swirl and the butterfly with a little poured fondant.  Cut a few small pink blossoms out of pink 50/50 paste using the PME Medium Flower Blossom Plunger cutter.  Add yellow centers and attach to the cupcake at the beginning of the swirl.  Wrap the cupcakes in a Paper Orchid Picket Fence wrapper.