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happy birthday
to us!
WE’RE30YEARSOLDTHISMONTH(BUTWEDON’TLOOK
ADAYOVER29)ANDWE’RECELEBRATINGALLMONTHLONG.
CHECKOUTTHECUTESTCUPCAKESYOU’VEEVERSEEN,
PLUSOURLOOKBACKATHOWPARENTINGHASCHANGED
SINCEWEPUBLISHEDOURFIRSTISSUEIN1984.
THIS WAY TO THE CUPCAKES
JUNE 2014 todaysparent.com 61
features

NO. 07
CLEAR SAILING
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Using a large star tip, pipe a blue icing swirl on
cupcake, then sprinkle with blue-coloured sugar.
Use a toothpick to poke a hole in the thin edge of
a lemon wedge candy, and insert a 2-in.-thin biscuit
stick. Roll a piece of white taffy candy flat between
parchment paper, and cut into a triangle sail.
Using food colouring pens, draw lines on sail and
use a dab of icing to affix to biscuit stick.
Place boat on cupcake.
NO. 08
BROWN BEAR
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Fit a piping bag with a small star tip and fill with
chocolate icing. Working from the outside in, pipe
little stars all over top of cupcake. Stick two brown
M&Ms on top edge of cupcake for ears. Use a dab
of icing to attach a pink heart sprinkle to the top of
a white-chocolate button candy. Using a black food
colouring pen, draw a mouth under the heart. Place
white button candy on cupcake. Cut a black licorice
pellet in half. Place above white button for eyes.
NO. 06
HOCKEY NIGHT
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Warm up a Tootsie Roll for 5 to 7 seconds in the
microwave and roll into a thin log. Bend the end
of roll to make a hockey stick shape. Flatten stick
slightly. Roll a piece of white taffy candy flat
between two pieces of parchment. Cut into thin
strips. Wrap strips around top and bottom of hockey
stick handle. Cover cupcake with white glaze
icing. Place hockey stick and black licorice
gummy “puck” on top of cupcake.
NO. 05
OVER THE RAINBOW
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Cover cupcake with blue glaze icing. Cut a piece
of rainbow ribbon candy. Curve candy into an arch
and place on cupcake. Using a small round tip,
pipe white icing clouds around rainbow.
Dip a finger into water and gently press
down peaks of cloud icing.
NO. 04
POLKA TIME
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Cover cupcake with white glaze icing.
Press an assortment of coloured M&Ms
lightly into glaze.
NO. 10
DIP DYE
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Divide white cake batter into two portions. Colour
one portion with red gel food colouring. Scoop red
batter into cupcake liners, then carefully top with
white batter. Bake as per recipe directions. Using
a large round tip, pipe a white icing swirl on top of
cupcake. Dip icing peak halfway into red glaze icing,
letting excess drip off. Set on a rack until glaze firms.
NO. 09
ICE CREAM SUNDAE
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Fill a small piping bag with white icing. Fill another
piping bag with pink icing. Cut off tips from piping
bags and place both piping bags, side by side,
into a larger piping bag fitted with a large star tip.
Pipe a swirl on top of cupcake. Add coloured
sprinkles and top with a maraschino cherry.
WE’VEWHIPPEDUPAMONTH’SWORTHOF
DECORATINGIDEASFOROUR30THBIRTHDAY,BECAUSE
WETHINKEVERYDAYCALLSFORADORABLEDESSERTS!
CupcakedesignandstylingbyIRENENGOPhotographybyERIKPUTZChalkdrawingsbyERINMCPHEE
NO. 01
MONSTER MASH
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Cover cupcake with red glaze icing, then dip into
red-coloured sugar to coat. Cut two short pieces of
black licorice lace, then attach pea–sized balls of red
taffy candy to one end of each. Stick the other ends
into top of cupcake. Attach a brown mini M&M
onto a white Necco wafer with a dab of icing.
Place in centre of cupcake. Use a small piece
of black licorice lace for the mouth.
NO. 03
PRETTY PRINCESS
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Roll flat one or two pieces of pink taffy candy
between two pieces of parchment. Cut into a 1x4-in.
rectangle. Cut a zigzag along one edge with scissors.
Wrap around to form a crown. Use a dab of icing
to attach heart–shaped sprinkles. Using a large
star tip, pipe a pink icing swirl on cupcake.
Top with crown, then sprinkle with pink
sugar pearls and silver dragées.
30AWESOMECUPCAKES
NO. 02
GARDEN PARTY
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Ice cupcake with chocolate icing, then sprinkle
with chocolate-cookie crumbs. Insert a sprig
of fresh mint into centre of cupcake.
63

NO. 17
CIRCUS CIRCUS
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Cover cupcake with white glaze icing. Place a red
M&M in centre of cupcake. Cut a piece of red fruit
leather into a smiling mouth shape. Place under
nose. Stick a piece of black licorice lace on mouth.
Arrange small pieces licorice lace into X-shaped
eyes. Cut a mini ice cream cone in half
lengthwise and place at top edge of cupcake.
Press cotton candy “hair” into icing on either
side of cone and on tip of hat.
NO. 18
GO FISH
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Brush one side of a goldfish cracker with corn syrup,
and coat with orange-coloured sugar. Pipe two thin
lines of white glaze icing on goldfish and add a black
gel icing dot for the eye. Pipe a thin border of
chocolate icing around edge of cupcake. Dip edges
into chocolate-cookie crumbs. Fill centre with blue
sparkle gel icing. Stick green sprinkles around
blue “pond.” Press the tail of goldfish into pond.
NO. 22
RAINBOW LOOM
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Ice cupcakes with white icing. Follow the tutorial
to create a flower with a toothpick mini-loom and red
and yellow licorice laces. Remove flower from
loom and place on top of cupcake.
NO. 19
COOL CAT
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Cover cupcake with orange glaze icing. Cut an
orange Warhead candy in half, and then diagonally to
make triangles. Place at top edge of cupcake for ears.
Draw eyes on two yellow mini M&Ms with a black
food colouring pen. Arrange on top half of cupcake.
Pipe two white icing rounds on centre of
cupcake. Poke three licorice string whiskers into
each side and add a heart-shaped spinkle for a nose.
NO. 20
RAD ROBOT
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Cover cupcake with white glaze icing. Roll blue
fondant to ½-in. thick and cut into two small cubes.
Using little dabs of icing, decorate the head with a
licorice pellet antenna, confetti eyes, candy button
ears and a licorice lace mouth. Decorate the body
with licorice pellet arms and legs, mini M&M feet,
silver dragées and Warhead body parts. Attach
head to body using a piece of taffy candy.
NO. 21
TIE-DYE
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Fit a piping bag with a large star tip. Rest empty piping
bag, tip down, in a tall glass. Fold the top edges of
the bag halfway down around outside of glass. Paint
thick lines of red, orange, yellow, green, blue and
purple gel food colouring from the tip to the top of
the bag. Fill with white icing. Pipe a swirl on cupcake.
NO. 12
LADYBUG PICNIC
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Fit a piping bag with a small grass tip and fill with
green icing. Pipe grass all over top of cupcake. Using
a black food colouring pen, draw a line down the
middle of a red M&M. Colour one end with pen for
ladybug’s head. Draw symmetrical dots on either
side of lines. Place ladybugs on cupcake.
NO. 14
MOVIE NIGHT
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Ice cupcake with white icing. Wrap a red-and-white
striped cupcake liner around cupcake.
Top with caramel popcorn.
NO. 16
MINECRAFTTM
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Cut a crispy rice treat into a square. Roll out white
fondant to ⅛-in. thick and cut into a square just
larger than the rice treat. Cut a rampart pattern
from each edge. Drape fondant over treat. Cut small
squares from red fruit leather and lightly press onto
top of fondant. Ice cupcake with green icing
and top with crispy rice treat.
NO. 15
THE NINJA
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Ice cupakes with white icing. Roll out a piece of
cream-coloured taffy candy between parchment and
place on cupcake. Roll out black fondant to ⅛-in.
thick. Cut a 1x3-in. piece for the hood and place on
top of cupcake. Cut a 3x3-in. piece for the mask.
Leaving space for the eyes, drape mask fondant over
bottom half of cupcake, creating folds of fondant.
Trim off excess from cupcake edges. Draw eyes
using a black food colouring pen.
NO. 11
FLOWER POWER
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Cut mini marshmallows in half on the diagonal.
Dip the cut side of each marshmallow into purple-
coloured sugar. Ice cupcakes with white icing. Press
three purple licorice pellets into centre of cupcake.
Working from the inside out, carefully place
marshmallow petals around licorice,
with pointed edges facing out.
TABLET EXTRA
Find out how to make
this licorice-lace flower.
NO. 13
MAKING TRACKS
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Cover cupcake with white glaze icing. Lay black
licorice lace “tracks.” Fit a piping bag with a small
grass tip, fill with green icing and pipe grass on
outside of tracks. Cut a vanilla wafer cookie to be
2-in. long. Place a chocolate wafer roll on top, using
a dab of icing to secure. Cut another wafer cookie
into a 1-in. square and stack on top of wafer roll. Stick
a yellow mini M&M to the front of wafer roll. Place
train on tracks and add round black licorice gummies
for wheels. Cut a chocolate-covered biscuit stick
to be ¾-in. long, top with a small licorice
gummy and attach to top of wafer roll.
64

NO. 29
SNOW CONE
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Mound cupcake with white icing, then smooth
into a rounded shape with a palette knife. Dip gently
into orange-coloured sugar to coat. Cut a striped
straw to 3-in. length and stick into icing.
NO. 30
ELE-FUN
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Roll out licorice chew or grey fondant to ⅛-in. thick.
Using an elephant cookie cutter, cut out shape.
Cut ear with a teardrop-shaped cookie cutter.
Attach ear to elephant with a dab of icing. Pipe
a black gel eye. Fit a piping bag with a small
grass tip and fill with green icing. Pipe grass all
over top of cupcake. Top with elephant.
NO. 28
STAR WARSTM
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Cover cupcake with chocolate icing, then dip into
black-coloured sugar to coat. Roll out licorice chew
or grey fondant to ⅛-in. thick. Cut into a 1-in. square
and wrap around one end of a thin biscuit stick.
Wrap the “lightsaber” end of stick with fruit leather.
Trim edges and place on top of cupcake.
NO. 24
BEACH PARTY
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Ice cupcake with white icing, then dip into brown
sugar or graham-cracker crumbs to coat. Mould
pieces of crispy rice treats into one square and four
turrets. Coat with brown sugar or graham crumbs.
Wrap a piece of crispy rice treat around the middle
of a pretzel stick. Poke pretzel into square, then into
centre of cupcake. Press turrets into icing on each
corner. Cut red fruit leather into a flag. Use
a dab of icing to attach to top of pretzel stick.
Sprinkle chopped chocolate rocks around edges.
NO. 25
OUR HERO
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Pipe a blue icing swirl on cupcake with a large star tip.
Roll out red and yellow fondant to ⅛-in. thick. Cut out
one 2½-in. red circle and one 2-in. yellow circle. Using
a small round cutter, cut a wave pattern from edges of
circles. Use a dab of icing to affix yellow fondant on top
of red fondant. Using a red food colouring pen, draw
dots all over yellow fondant. Cut the letters P, O and
W from red fondant and colour edges with black food
colouring pen. Place letters on yellow fondant,
using icing to secure, then place disc on top of cupcake.
PRINCESS -
RUBBER
DUCKS
BATH
BRUSH
SHOWER
CAP
+
WHITE
BALLOONS
++
NO. 26
TINY DINO
DIFFICULTY: ADVANCED
Roll out orange taffy candy or fondant into a
2-in.-long rope. Pinch one end into a tail. Round the
other end into a head. Roll out yellow taffy candy or
fondant to ¼-in. thick. Cut a thin strip, then cut a
wave or spiky pattern along edge of strip. Press gently
to affix to top of dinosaur body. Ice cupcakes with
chocolate icing, then sprinkle with chocolate-cookie
crumbs. Top with dinosaur and chocolate rocks.
NO. 27
BUILDING BLOCKS
DIFFICULTY: EASY
Cover cupcake with white glaze icing.
Stack blocks of Warhead candy into a pyramid
using dabs of icing to secure in place.
NO. 23
LEGOTM
DIFFICULTY: INTERMEDIATE
Cover cupcake with green glaze icing. Stick nine
green mini M&Ms on cupcake, forming a square.
Warm yellow taffy for 5 to 7 seconds in the micro-
wave. Roll taffy into a ball, then flatten ends to
create a cylinder. Attach two pea-sized pieces of
flattened yellow taffy on top and bottom of cylinder.
Using a black food colouring pen, draw eyes and
mouth on head. Place in centre of cupcake.
GLOSSARY
Find these supplies at a bulk food or grocery store.
For classic cupcake and
icing recipes, go to
todaysparent.com/
cupcakerecipes
.COM
GLOSSARYPHOTOS:TONYLANZANDERIKPUTZ
66
CITRUS WEDGE
CANDY
CHOCOLATE
ROCKS
CHOCOLATE
TOOTSIE ROLLS
COLOURED
LICORICE
LACES
COLOURED
TOOTSIEROLLS
LARGE LICORICE
GUMMIES
LICORICE
CHEWS
LICORICE
PELLETS
M&MS
MINI M&MS NECCO
WAFERS
RAINBOW
RIBBON CANDY
RED FRUIT
LEATHER
SMALL LICORICE
GUMMIES
STRIPED FRUIT
LEATHER
WARHEADS WHITE-
CHOCOLATE
BUTTONS
BLACK-
COLOURED
SUGAR
BLUE-
COLOURED
SUGAR
CANDY
BUTTONS
CHOCOLATE-
COOKIE
CRUMBS
HEART
SPRINKLES
LARGE
CONFETTI
SPRINKLES
ORANGE-
COLOURED
SUGAR
PINK SUGAR
PEARLS
PURPLE-
COLOURED
SUGAR
RED-
COLOURED
SUGAR
SILVER
DRAGÉES
CARAMEL
POPCORN
CHOCOLATE
BISCUIT STICK
PRETZEL
STICKS
VANILLA WAFER
COOKIE
GRAHAM
CRUMBS
MINI ICE
CREAM CONE
PLAIN
BISCUIT STICKS
SMALL
CONFETTI
SPRINKLES
GOLDFISH
CRACKERS
CHOCOLATE
WAFER ROLL
CRISPY RICE
TREAT
RED & WHITE
TAFFY
BLACK & WHITE
FONDANT
BLACK GEL
ICING
BLUE
SPARKLE GEL
COLOURED
FONDANT
COTTON
CANDY
CUPCAKE LINER
GEL FOOD
COLOURING
FOOD
COLOURING
PENS
MINI
MARSHMALLOWS
ACCESSORIES
CANDY
MISCELLANEOUS
SPRINKLES