Easy Cupcakes

Whether you’re making Easter cupcakes or anytime carrot cake cupcakes, candy-covered sunflower seeds make for cute, quick “carrots.” Add some leaves and you’re ready for the Easter Bunny!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; orange candy-covered sunflower seeds; icing tinted green or gel or writing icing in a tube; #3 metal tip with pastry bag and coupler (or just use tubed icing).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Place candy-covered sunflower seeds all over the top. The pointy ends are the tips of the carrots. Add bit of green icing to wide end of each seed to make carrot.

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.

Take a teddy bear and get him wearing the green! Voila, St. Patrick’s Day cupcake.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green frosting; chocolate frosting; 1 red hot candy (round); 2 red hot candies (heart shaped); 6 green mini M&Ms; 2 candy eyes or small white candies; pastry bag with coupler and #5 and #2 metal tips.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake green. Use chocolate icing and pastry bag with round #5 tip to pipe a bear face, muzzle and two ears. Add eyes and red nose. Place 2 heart-shaped red hots with points facing to form bow tie. Arrange 3 green mini M&Ms in two areas to form shamrocks. Use #2 metal tip to add chocolate stem.

Sometimes, simplest is best. Especially when there’s a last-minute call for cupcakes for the school St. Patrick’s Day party, or for the after-work party where everyone’s bound to be a little tipsy anyway. These green jellybean cupcakes add sparkle without taking much time. The St. Pat’s liners are a nice touch, and available from Wilton.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green icing (I used Pillsbury’s holiday frosting); green sugar or sprinkles; green jellybeans (or go smaller with Jelly Bellys).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with or dip in green sugar. Add jelly beans.

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.

Make an entire pig body on a cupcake using just one metal tip! (Or, if you want to take it a step further, use a ribbon-type tip to make pointier ears). These pink pig cupcakes are perfect for a farm themed party or anytime!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; pink frosting; black gel or writing icing; candy eyes (or small candies such as mini M&Ms); pastry bag fitted with coupler and #5 metal tip.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. With pink icing, pipe pig body, arms, legs and head. Pipe smaller “blob” of icing on top of head for snot. Add ears, pulling away to form points. Use black icing for nostrils. Add eyes.

Jazz up simple cupcakes by adding Valentine’s Day sprinkles to coconut! The combination makes for an attractive cupcake with taste and texture.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; pink frosting (I used Pillsbury’s canned Valentine’s Day frosting and it came with sprinkles in the lid); shredded coconut.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with coconut. Add Valentine sprinkles.