FIESTA CUPCAKE TOPPERS !! OLE !!

Aren't these fun? Mini chili peppers out of modeling chocolate and mini tacos . All sweet of course, and made from fondant. They will turn your cupcakes into a FIESTA !

I'm going to show you how to make these, step by step. Impress your friends and family and even yourself. Go on, you can do it! I'll share my secrets, and you get the credit. Does that sound good?  Let's get started.

First you will need some fresh baked cupcakes with a generous swirl of buttercream icing. Not too high, or your toppers may fall off.

I decided to try modeling chocolate for the first time. I know, what took me so long?! Let me just say, I love how nice it is to work with. You'll be seeing more of it on my cupcakes and for three dimensional designs on cake.

Starting with the chili pepper toppers, you will need:

*Wilton candy melts in the color red


Wilton Red Candy Melts, 12-Ounce

*Green pre-colored fondant. You can buy pre-made colored fondant in boxes at places that sell Wilton products. Or , like me, make your own.

Wilton Primary Colors Fondant, Multi Pack

*1/3 cup light Karo corn syrup

I made only half of the recipe, using one half bag of melts, and 1/6 cup of light corn syrup. And it made enough for the chili peppers you see here, plus a good size chunk for lots more. 

Microwave the candy melts according to the package directions. Slowly stir in the 1/3 cup of light corn syrup. Keep stirring until stiff and dough-like. Knead briefly into a ball and cover with plastic wrap and place in a zip top baggie to rest overnight. It will become very firm in consistency.

 Don't be concerned about the firm texture, but break or cut off a piece and work it in your hands. The heat will soften it to a wonderful consistency for modeling all kinds of things! Keep the rest covered so it doesn't dry out. Mine seemed a little greasy, so I dusted a very small amount of corn starch onto it and worked it in. Problem solved.

Next you will need to roll out your green fondant into small flower shapes with any sort of a cutter. Mine were about one inch across. Let these partially dry on a curved surface so they are not flat. 

The shapes pictured above weren't flat enough for me, so I pressed the petals with my finger to lengthen them a little. Then they resembled the leaf on the chili pepper near the stem.

Wilton Gum Paste and Fondant Student Kit

 Remember, the goal is the overall effect. Perfection is not necessary. 

Next, make a small ball as shown in the photo above. Roll it in your hands to elongate the shape, like a teardrop. Gently bend the end in classic chili pepper fashion. Press the green stem cap on the end, and set them in a good place to dry.  When you place them on the cupcake, you may pipe a small green stem in the center of the green cap. I didn't, because I was short on time, and no one even noticed. 

Next, let's make some adorable mini tacos, out of fondant.  I'm SO sorry, I cannot for the life of me get this photo the other way. It's showing up correctly in my pictures, but not on this blog. I will try to figure out why. In the meantime, if you would please proceed with turning your head sideways.

You will need some yellow fondant. I added some gold, non-metallic icing color to this to make a softer hue like taco shells. I like how it came out. Roll your fondant about 1/8 thick, and cut with a small circle cutter.

Wilton 2308-0914 Nesting Circles Cookie Cutters, Set of 4

 If you don't have one, but have large icing decorating tips, you can use the end of one, in a pinch. This one is about 1/5 inches across.  After cutting the circles, I pressed each one into some yellow sanding sugar, to give a cornmeal effect. I know, pretty clever. 

To make any colored sanding sugar, just use regular table sugar, and add liquid food coloring,one drop at a time. Mash it around with a fork until all is distributed. That's it. You're welcome. 

Next, you want to dry these into a taco shape. I gently pressed the center of each with a wooden skewer to fold it and make a nice crease. Then I simply folded some wide strips of card stock to dry them on. 

While the taco shells are drying, prepare your lettuce. Your green tinted coconut lettuce, that is. Use any kind of shredded coconut, and into a small bowl, also add green food coloring one drop at a time, tossing around with a fork until it reaches the desired hue. Another easy way is to put it in a glass jar, cover and shake enthusiastically, twisting your wrist as you go. Hey, you may get nicely toned wrists out of it. 

Wilton 417-1187 6-Pack Form-N-Save Flower Storage trays

Once the fondant taco shells are dry enough to hold their shape, then you add the 'meat' first. Use chocolate or brown tinted icing and pipe it in, end to end with a pastry bag and medium sized round tip.
Wilton 100-Pack Disposable Decorating Bags 12inch

 Or place the icing in a small zipper top baggie, squeeze out all the air, seal and cut off a SMALL part of the tip. Instant pastry bag. 

The green tinted coconut lettuce goes in next. For the red accent, which could be sauce, salsa etc, I hand picked out red sprinkles from multi-colored sprinkles. You may use any red mini sprinkle or tiny candy. Remember, use whatever gives you the overall effect that you want.  And, that's it.  Here are some close up pictures of the finished cupcakes.

And of course, a FUN way to display them is on a sombrero !! Here are just a few to give you the idea:

US Toy Child's Mexican Sombrero If you have questions , please feel free to send me a message on my Facebook page, 'Playing With Food'  as seen below. Also feel free to check out my new website, which I am currently updating, playingwithfood.tv  . And, please join me on Pinterest! All of the links are below. Thanks for visiting and please share. 

I hope this has inspired you to make a Fiesta of your own. Enjoy!



Liz
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CHECK OUT MY CAKES

What is GLUTEN FREE, anyway? In this case, DELICIOUS !

GLUTEN-FREE = Delicious !

 Coconut Almond Cupcakes
with Orange zest infused Buttercream. 

Bob's Red Mill Almond Meal/Flour, 16-Ounce Packages (Pack of 4)

When searching for a gluten-free cupcake recipe, I came across a great one on the bag of almond meal/ flour. I have used this numerous times since then given the hearty positive feedback. 

What exactly is gluten and eating gluten free? Well, simply put, gluten is a protein that is found in wheat, barley, rye, malts and triticale.

Some people have an autoimmune disease called Celiac Disease, which is triggered by gluten. The body attacks the lining of the small intestine, causing malabsorption and unpleasant symptoms.

Living Gluten-Free For Dummies

There seems to be alot of talk of gluten -free these days, some think it's even a weight -loss diet. Well, there are those who have found they have a gluten addiction and when it was eliminated from their everyday diet, they lost weight. 

It is good to know some gluten free recipes, and this one is a winner. In fact, I would choose this recipe over some regular cupcake recipes. You have to like both coconut and almond flavors, and I happen to LOVE both! I have been baking for years and years, but I am now expanding my learning and experience to include gluten-free recipes as well. My gluten- free friends are exited as they can now enjoy some of my treats. 

HIC Brands that Cook Essentials Silicone 12-Cup Muffin Pan

When baking gluten free you must find a substitute for flour which contains gluten,(all purpose flour, whole wheat, etc.) Some common substitutions and additions to a recipe include: almond flour, coconut flour, sorghum flour, xanthan gum, and potato starch. Since baking is essentially based on basic chemistry, you can't simply make a substitution of one thing for another. Your results may be less than desirable. I recommend trying a recipe that is designed to be gluten free and then follow the suggestions for substitutions.

I discovered the following recipe on a bag of almond (meal)flour by Bob's Red Mill. I'm not a big fan of the xanthan gum or sorghum flour and this one uses neither. Everyone's taste is different , so experimentation is a must.


Bob's Red Mill Organic Coconut Flour, 16-Ounce Units (Pack of 4)  

Magically Moist Almond Cake

3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar (organic is best)
4 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla 
1 1/2 cups almond meal flour
1/2 cup organic coconut flour
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder


Cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Add in eggs, one at a time, and beat until fully blended in. Add milk and vanilla, and mix until combined. In a separate bowl, combine flours, salt and baking powder.

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and beat until creamy.

Spread into a greased 9"x 13" pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. For cupcakes, spoon into greased cupcake tins or cupcake liners and bake for approx. 18 minutes. Look for light golden brown on edges.

Serve with fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Wholesome Sweeteners Fair Trade Organic Sugar, 16-Ounce Pouches (Pack of 12)

Let me know if you tried this recipe and if you liked it. The photo shows orange zest buttercream on the standard and mini sized cupcakes. Find my buttercream recipe in the blog, "The Perfect Cupcake" and substitute half of the milk or cream with orange juice and add 1 tablespoon of fresh grated orange zest.

You could even make this VEGAN by using an egg replacer such as "Ener-G" and almond milk for the dairy milk.

Ener-G Foods Egg Replacer, 16-Ounce Boxes (Pack of 4)

Enjoy!

making your life a little sweeter,

Liz

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