Flower Cupcakes

Today was a big day.  Not only was it Kyle's 13th birthday, it was also the birthday of a good friend.

Kyle insisted on plain chocolate cupcakes, with NO theme.  He didn't have a party, but ate at one of his favorite restaurants, and hung out with a friend.   His friend also happened to be the son of my birthday friend.  She told me that he if didn't want themed cupcakes, she would love some..  Hmm...  what kind of theme should I do.

I searched through all of my cupcake idea books, and knew when I saw the rose cupcakes that they were the ones  I wanted to try.   They are really pretty, but not that difficult to make.

To make a candy flower, you need a bag of candy fruit slices.  I found mine at Kroger.  Sprinkle granulated sugar on a clean work surface. Sprinkle some more additional sugar on the top of the candy.   The sugar keeps the candy from sticking when you roll it out.

Flatten the candy until it is about 1/8 inch thick.  Mine were slightly thicker because I found they ripped when they got too thin, and I was in a hurry to get them done. (we were meeting friends an hour later)

Cut the candy piece in half lengthwise. You will need  about 3 strips for each flower.

Start rolling the pieces of candy, pinching the the bottom edge to make it stick. Continue to add more pieces until you reach the size flower that you like.  My first flowers were a little thick, and looked like blobs while sitting on the plate. 

Once placed on the cupcakes, those blobs began to take shape

To make the leaves, warm green chewy candy in the microwave for a few seconds to soften. The time will vary by microwave.  The book recommends 3 seconds, which did nothing to my candy.  I needed to do 10 seconds.  I did once accidentally  put a piece in for more, and it was definitely too long.    When the candy is pliable, roll it  out on a flat surface. I have to admit I kind of took a short cut on my leaves because of the time. They are not as pretty as they could be, but they still looked like leaves.

I alternated sugar cupcakes with the flower cupcakes.  Had I had more time, I would have made more flowers. This way did turn out well though, because no everyone wanted the extra candy on their cupcake.

Not only are these cupcakes nice for birthdays, they would be perfect for Mothers Day as well.

I will be linking my flower cupcakes to these awesome linky parties . Be sure to check them out.