Gingerbread Cupcakes with Christmas Tree Toppers

Sadly, my very last Christmas cupcakes :( I surely have enjoyed trying out different flavors and decorating styles this year! These were for my family's get-together - gingerbread cupcakes with brown sugar cinnamon swiss meringue buttercream and gum paste Christmas tree toppers!

Ladybug First Birthday

So I had to dig out of the piles of Christmas wrapping paper and toys to find my cake decorating tools, but so glad I did for this fun project! A ladybug themed First Birthday! There were three dozen cupcakes (one dozen fresh strawberry, one dozen chocolate, one dozen vanilla) all with vanilla buttercream frosting, fondant ladybugs, fondant leaves and fondant toppers bearing the number "1". Then the Birthday girl had her very own matching vanilla "smash cake" with vanilla buttercream frosting and fondant accents! I had such fun on this Birthday theme!

Winter Cupcakes

Yes, I have been enjoying my snowflake cutter/embosser this year - can you tell just a little? :) Peppermint Mocha cupcakes with gum paste snowflakes - some brushed with a lemon flavoring/luster dust paint in shades of purple, blue and white - loved playing around with colors a bit! I added white sparkling sugar to a few of the cupcakes as well.

Gingerbread Latte Cupcakes

Yes, I know - yet another cupcake...but in my defense it's another coffee-infused cupcake! When I saw the recipe by Bakers Royale, I knew at some point in time before Christmas was upon us I'd have to try these out! Coffee-infused, gingerbread cupcakes with a light lemon cream cheese frosting, edged with gingerbread cookie crumbs and topped off with a small army of gingerbread men - what could be more perfect for the Holidays? And to top it all off - your house will smell absolutely divine while they're baking!! You can find the recipe here on the Bakers Royale blog: http://www.bakersroyale.com/cupcakes/gingerbread-latte-cupcakes/

Snowflake Cupcakes

Finally got to use the pretty sparkly snowflake toppers I made! Yay! Cupcakes for Austin's teachers proved the perfect opportunity to use these sparkly beauties! I made my peppermint mocha cupcakes (chocolate espresso cupcakes with white chocolate peppermint buttercream) and topped them with gum paste snowflakes with a touch of shimmer dust and white sprinkles - just right for a Winter treat!

Sugared Cranberry Cupcakes

So I'd had this idea in mind for a while, but as I'm really not that much of a cranberry person...it had to grow on me! Finally, curiosity just got the better of me (plus I had a cute idea for decorating these cupcakes) and I just had to try them! I used my vanilla bean cupcake recipe, then added the fresh cranberry filling, my vanilla bean buttercream and finally, sugared cranberries and sugared fondant holly leaves! I just couldn't have been happier with not only how cute and festive these cupcakes looked, but I was pleasantly surprised with the taste of the filling as well! A little on the tart side, but definitely not too much! I may have to give cranberries another shot after all! :)

Chocolate Orange Cupcakes

Am I the only one who loves chocolate oranges at Christmastime? I can't be the only one. I mean, the stores do seem to sell quite a few of them after all! Chocolate oranges were always a tradition between my Dad and I when I was young - every Christmas would find him bringing one home for me and he'd crack it open and we'd share the slices - ah, a chocoholic in the making :) When I purchased some Orange Cream flavoring a few weeks ago, I just knew it was destined for cupcake greatness! I started with dark chocolate cupcakes (even threw in a little espresso powder for added kick), then frosted them with cream cheese frosting (with my orange cream flavoring mixed in) added dark chocolate sprinkles and finally - a slice of chocolate orange! And I must say, the overall flavor was quite tasty!

Disney Princess Cupcakes

Really had fun with this cupcake theme! Trying to figure out the most iconic symbols of each princess and portraying them accurately was a fun challenge! Fresh strawberry cupcakes with strawberry buttercream (just love that natural pink color!) with fondant toppers representing different Disney Princesses! There's an apple for Snow White, the glass slipper for Cinderella, a seashell for Ariel, a rose for Belle, Sleeping Beauty's crown and the magic lamp for Jasmine.