Sunflower Cupcakes

Tonight I decided to bake chocolate cupcakes decorated to look like sunflowers for my friend's birthday tomorrow.  I got the inspiration for the cupcakes from here: http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/cm/goodhousekeeping/images/VC/ghk-sunflower-cupcakes-with-ladybugs-0503-s3-medium_new.jpg.  I decided to make sunflower cupcakes because spring is coming up soon (the 20th).  The recipe I used for the chocolate cupcakes can be found here: http://sallysbakingaddiction.com/2014/06/03/classic-chocolate-cupcakes-with-vanilla-frosting/ and the recipe for the vanilla buttercream frosting can be found here: http://addapinch.com/cooking/classic-vanilla-buttercream-frosting-recipe/#axzz2wYqdpHg6.  I reduced the sugar of the frosting by a little over a cup because I don't like frosting that's overly sweet and overpowers the cupcake itself.  I simply dyed the frosting yellow and used the star tip to make the "petals" of the sunflower.

Instead of little ladybugs made of M&M's, I decided to use little gummy butterflies that I found in the store.  In addition, since tomorrow is also St. Patrick's Day, I decided to use only green butterflies.  Just as the picture, I used mini chocolate chips to add texture to the cupcake to make the cupcakes look more like actual sunflowers.  To make the chocolate chips stay, I spread a little bit of the frosting onto the cupcake and then sprinkled the chips onto the cupcake.  This project helped boost my confidence slightly in my ability to see a picture of a cupcake and become resourceful to replicate the cupcake's design to the best of my abilities.

I hope to do to continue to expand my pastry decorating skills by seeing and replicating other cupcake designs to the best of my abilities.

Time Logged for this Session: 2 hours
Total Time Logged: 28.5 hours

I made and decorated a dozen cupcakes in total, but I took close-up pictures of a single cupcake to have a closer view of the cupcakes' details.  (Unfortunately, I don't have white-lighting in my home, so the colors of the cupcakes and the decorations may have a slight tint to them).