Buckets o' Popcorn Cupcakes.
I made these cupcakes back in November as one of the treats I took to a friend's house for the New Moon midnight premiere party. They were received very well, and I was glad - I put a lot of work into them!
Even having Philip help me for an hour or so, as well as my friend Liz for a few hours too, the "popcorn" still took FOREVER to make. I estimated that, over five days, I spent eleven hours making enough "popcorn" to decorate 22 regular-sized cupcakes. Holy!
The cupcakes were a dark chocolate mix, and I made them a week before the party, then froze them. I thawed them the night before the event, and I iced them with cream cheese frosting in the afternoon hours before the party. Immediately, I decorated them with the "popcorn," making sure it was still very sticky. I let them dry a few hours while I got ready for the party.
I made the "popcorn" using mini marshmallows. I ripped each one in half, then smushed the pieces together tightly in groups of two or three to make the popcorn shapes. I then used a knitting needle to indent holes on each marshmallow end to make them look like real kernels. I used a tiny paintbrush to "paint" bronze pearl sugar dust into each kernel. Once all the popcorn pieces were finished, I spread them over two large cookie sheets and "buttered" them, using a small paintbrush to apply yellow pearl sugar dust.
They turned out PERFECT!
In fact, they were even a little too perfect. I took a plate of four cupcakes into work to share, and the next morning when I arrived, three were still leftover. I was disappointed, and when my coworkers arrived for the day, I asked them why they hadn't eaten a cupcake. Ryan, my boss, gently explained, "Well Nicole, you know I don't really like popcorn." (And I do know that he doesn't.) "Besides that, we talked about it last night, and we all decided that salty popcorn sounded really disgusting on a cupcake. No offense, though. It just didn't sound good enough to try." He looked really apologetic, and then I burst out laughing, explaining to him that it wasn't real popcorn. I showed him up-close on one of the cupcakes, and he was amazed! Then he gladly ate one. :-)
Even having Philip help me for an hour or so, as well as my friend Liz for a few hours too, the "popcorn" still took FOREVER to make. I estimated that, over five days, I spent eleven hours making enough "popcorn" to decorate 22 regular-sized cupcakes. Holy!
The cupcakes were a dark chocolate mix, and I made them a week before the party, then froze them. I thawed them the night before the event, and I iced them with cream cheese frosting in the afternoon hours before the party. Immediately, I decorated them with the "popcorn," making sure it was still very sticky. I let them dry a few hours while I got ready for the party.
I made the "popcorn" using mini marshmallows. I ripped each one in half, then smushed the pieces together tightly in groups of two or three to make the popcorn shapes. I then used a knitting needle to indent holes on each marshmallow end to make them look like real kernels. I used a tiny paintbrush to "paint" bronze pearl sugar dust into each kernel. Once all the popcorn pieces were finished, I spread them over two large cookie sheets and "buttered" them, using a small paintbrush to apply yellow pearl sugar dust.
They turned out PERFECT!
In fact, they were even a little too perfect. I took a plate of four cupcakes into work to share, and the next morning when I arrived, three were still leftover. I was disappointed, and when my coworkers arrived for the day, I asked them why they hadn't eaten a cupcake. Ryan, my boss, gently explained, "Well Nicole, you know I don't really like popcorn." (And I do know that he doesn't.) "Besides that, we talked about it last night, and we all decided that salty popcorn sounded really disgusting on a cupcake. No offense, though. It just didn't sound good enough to try." He looked really apologetic, and then I burst out laughing, explaining to him that it wasn't real popcorn. I showed him up-close on one of the cupcakes, and he was amazed! Then he gladly ate one. :-)