Easy Cupcakes

This rattle cupcake, perfect for a baby shower, is a variation of a design seen in a Betty Crocker publication. Change colors and candies for a less feminine look, or for variety. These rattles would also be cute with a baby’s name written on them in icing.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; pink frosting; lollipop stick; large yellow gumdrop; 5 small gummy candies; 5 purple candy-covered sunflower seeds; 1 small white candy; 1 white jellybean; length of pink gingham ribbon.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Insert lollipop stick into one side of cupcake, piercing through the wrapper. Stick other end into rounded part of gumdrop. Decorate with candies as shown, or use your imagination!

Sometimes all it takes to make the perfect cupcake is finding the perfect plastic topper. Check hobby shops, chain retailers, online cake supply stores, and so on for baby shower themed decorations such as babies, buggies, pacifiers and bottles.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; plastic rocking horse; silver dragees (the USDA considers these inedible, and supposedly they can’t be sold in California, but my mom had some in her cupboard).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add plastic topper. Sprinkle with dragees.

Cut apart sugar-coated fruit gel or “gem” candies to make these chick cupcakes for Easter, a farm party or anytime. They also make cute baby shower cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow or other light-colored icing; 3 yellow fruit gels or gems; 1 orange fruit gel or gem; 2 blue mini M&Ms; scissors, kitchen shears or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut a small (approx. 1/4 inch) amount off the bottom of one yellow fruit gel for chick body and position about 1/2″ from bottom of the cupcake, cut edge facing down. Cut second yellow fruit or gel or gem in half and position to left and right of body for wings. Place third gel on top of body for head. Cut two medium triangle wedges for feet and a small wedge for beak. Adhere beak and blue M&M eyes to head using small dabs of icing.

Planning a rubber duck themed baby shower? Place candy ducks in the center of a frosted cupcake and surround the cupcake with stars, made simple with icing in a tube or aerosol can.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; candy rubber ducks (I get mine from Kake Kreations in Canoga Park, California, which also offers mail order); orange icing in a tube or aerosol can; star tip. I also used ducky cupcake liners from Wilton.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use tubed icing and star tip to pipe stars all around the cupcake. Place cupcake in center. Of course, you can make baby shower cupcakes in any color or to match other candy designs.

These cute bear cupcakes would be great for a baby shower, fairy tale themed birthday party or any Goldilocks who loves cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; white or vanilla frosting; pink icing (in a tube or in a pastry bag with #1 metal tip and coupler); candy eyes or small candies; pastry bag and #5 metal tip.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Using pastry bag and #5 metal tip, pipe bears: make two faces larger than the third baby bear face and add smaller circles for ears. Add eyes. Use #1 tip and pink icing (or icing in a tube) for nose and mouth.

Pastel icing colors and cute plastic babies are the perfect recipe for a christening, baptism, baby blessing or baby shower.  These cupcakes would be just right for a girl baby shower, or use blues for a boy version.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; pink icing in pastry bag with star tip, or use premade icing in a tube; plastic praying baby figurine.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Pipe stars all around the edge of the cupcake (if you don’t stop squeezing the pastry bag or tube when you pull up, you’ll get a pointier effect). Place baby figure in center of cupcake.

Make baby shower cupcakes quick by using commercially made plastic toppers. These sleeping babies can be found at arts and crafts and specialty shops and come in both boy and girl versions. You could write the baby’s name, if known, on the cupcakes, or just “boy” or “girl,” or maybe some of each if you want to turn your cupcakes into a fun guessing game activity!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; frosting tinted blue; pastry bag and round metal tip #3 or similar (or use premade icing in a tube.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Pipe word in blue icing near front of cupcake, leaving room for plastic baby. Add the baby!