Alan Richardson - Make It Easy, Cupcake!: Fabulously Fun Creations in 4 Simple Steps

St. Martins Griffin
New York

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To Kirk
A brother, a sculptor,
an inspiration

Ever wish you could just follow photos and not need to read a recipe? Make It Easy, Cupcake! does exactly that. Each eye-popping cupcake design has four simple photos that show precisely how we made them. And weve even added our personal tips to the photos to make it easier! (Of course, if you have any questions, the full recipe is right there on the page for you to read, too.)

In Make It Easy, Cupcake! we are up to our usual trickery, turning ordinary candy and snacks into over-the-top cupcake masterpieces. But this time weve included big colorful illustrations with labels that reveal every candy and snack usedso you can see exactly how to make them. Its a blast just looking at the photos to see how many parts you can identify for yourself!

Our easiest techniques make these cupcakes simply spectacular! We show you how to smash sugar into frosting to magically transform a cupcake into a sparkling Ballerina, Glitter Fairy, or Unicorn, and how your microwave can be used to create gorgeous Pink Magnolias and Cherry Blossoms. Well even show you dozens of ways to turn ordinary cookies into Barking Dogs, Lucky Kitties, Chipmunks, Delivery Trucks, Football Players, and more.

Holiday decorating gets the Make It Easy treatment, too, with everything from gorgeous Valentines Day Hearts to Santa and his Reindeer. Theres even an elegant Christmas Village!

Now its time to turn you into a candy crafter! Its simplejust grab a few everyday tools and a handful of grocery store candy, and when in doubt, always remember to make it easy, cupcake!

18 vanilla cupcakes, chilled

1 cup white decorating sugar

9 orange fruit slice candies

2 (16-ounce) cans vanilla frosting

18 chocolate Pocky sticks

18 Mallowmars, or your chocolate cookie choice

18 brown M&Ms

cup M&Ms Minis

36 Mike and Ike candies

18 colorful pearls, such as SweetWorks

Sprinkle your work surface with decorating sugar to prevent sticking. Roll out each orange slice to a 3-inch diameter round. Cut out two 1-inch circles from each flattened candy to make 18 circles.

. Spoon cup of the frosting into a zip-top bag. Spread the top of the cupcakes with a mound of the remaining frosting and smooth. Place an orange candy circle on top and press it into the frosting. Roll the tops in a bowl filled with the sugar to coat. Gently pat to reshape. Brush excess sugar from the orange candy circle.

. Cut inch from the coated end of the Pocky sticks, discarding the longer pieces. Snip a small corner from the bag of frosting. Pipe a dot of frosting on the top and one side of each Mallowmar. Attach the cut end of a Pocky stick to the top dot and a brown M&M to the side dot.

. Pipe a small dot of frosting on top of each cupcake and attach the heads. Add dots to the front and sides of the cupcakes to attach the M&Ms Minis for the buttons, the pearl for the light, and the Mike and Ike candies for the arms.

Makes 18

Vanilla cake mix batter, prepared according to package directions

1 cup milk chocolate frosting

2 tablespoons light corn syrup, such as Karo

1 cups orange jelly beans, such as Jelly Belly

Line a 12-cup cupcake tin with paper liners. Fill the cupcake liners halfway with the cake batter. Bake for 11 to 14 minutes, until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (The cupcakes will bake up short, leaving a slight lip to hold the beans.) Transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. Freeze the cupcakes for 30 minutes before assembly.

. Combine the frosting and the corn syrup in a medium bowl. Microwave the mixture in 5-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted.

. Add the jelly beans to the warm chocolate mixture and stir to coat evenly.

. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of the jelly bean mixture onto the top of a cupcake and spread it to the edge of the liner. Repeat with the remaining cupcakes.

Makes 12 cupcakes

12 vanilla cupcakes, chilled

12 plain breadsticks, such as Stella Doro

1 (16-ounce) can vanilla frosting

1 tablespoon chocolate frosting

Red and yellow food coloring, such as McCormick

1 piece green apple licorice, such as Kennys Candy Juicy Twists

For the hot dogs, use a small serrated knife to saw 1 inches from each end of the breadsticks; discard the centers and reserve the ends. Put cup of the vanilla frosting in a small bowl and stir in the chocolate frosting and about 15 drops of red food coloring to tint the vanilla frosting brownish-pink. Microwave the tinted frosting in 5-second increments, stirring after each, until smooth. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Coat each breadstick end with the frosting, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl, and transfer to the lined cookie sheet. Refrigerate until set, about 15 minutes.