Friday, October 2, 2009

Grace's Cupcakes

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EDIT: People have been emailing, asking about the cherry blossom paper. I got it from Paper Source, a specialty craft/paper store. It's from their "Japanese Paper" collection. It comes in all different colors, and they're all so beautiful. Click on the link above to see all the varieties! One sheet of paper will give you about 19 cupcake wrappers.

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I'd like to take a brief intermission from the "Welcome Autumn: Apples Series" to wish happy birthday to Grace!

Grace is the "G" in GH Kim Photography, our wonderfully talented wedding photographers!


All of our family and friends were in awe of our wedding photos! They turned out so beautifully. G & H's artistic talent captured the magic of our special day flawlessly. I really couldn't thank them enough. So when I saw that Grace's birthday was coming up, I decided to show my appreciation by offering her my catering services!

I told Grace to pick anything she wanted from the collection of recipes featured on my blog. And of course, what better way to celebrate a birthday than with cupcakes. Salted caramel ones, no less! Excellent choice, Grace! =)


Since these were for a birthday celebration, any old salted caramel cupcakes wouldn't do! They had to be fancy ones. I wanted to make gum paste flowers to match the pretty cherry blossoms on the cupcake wrappers.


I started by making the toppers and wrappers. The necessary items: gum paste, silver beaded sprinkles, small white sprinkles, fancy wrapping paper, small flower cutters, edible sparkly pearl dust in pink, tiny brushes, fancy craft scissors, and various other gum paste tools.


First up: the TINY flowers. These could fit on the tip of your pinky. They're so cute! I used the smallest flower cutter I could find- not even a centimeter in diameter. After cutting them, I gently created a small dent in the middle of the flower, wet the tip of a gumpaste tool and stuck a tiny white sprinkle in the center. In retrospect, pink sprinkles would have been cuter.


The larger flowers were easier to make. Cut them out with a small cookie cutter, stick on a shiny silver bead, then paint it with the pink sparkly dust!


They turned out great!


Next, onto the wrappers. See my previous post on cupcake wrappers for more details.


On the day of, I baked the cupcakes and prepared the caramel Swiss meringue buttercream. Please see this previous post for the recipe and instructions.


After the cupcakes have cooled, assemble the cupcake wrappers. Do this by wrapping the wrapper around the cupcake and drawing a faint line in pencil. Then unwrap the cupcake and use double sided tape to create the cup.


Lastly, drop the cupcake into the wrapper/cup!


You'll need to have the same craft scissors you used earlier handy. You might have to trim down the wrapper before taping it together, to get it to be the correct height.


Ta-DA! They're already so pretty, even without frosting! =)


Now, here comes the best part! Frost your cupcakes with the caramel Swiss meringue buttercream and sprinkle with a pinch of sea salt. I used a super course one called Fleur de Sel.



Aren't they super cute?


Two dozen of them fit perfectly into a windowed box I bought at Michael's. I lined the box with pink tissue paper as a finishing touch! =)

Grace, I hope you and your family/friends enjoy these!

Happy Birthday!


27 comments:

  1. Wow Judy - those are quite stunning. One can't help but marvel at the decorations and. Those unfrosted cupcakes are perfect looking (mine are usually low or hang over the edge) - how full do you fill your liners with batter??? Exquisite - everything looks fantastic!

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  2. I am so hungry AND inspired right now! Judy--these are fabulous. Grace is a lucky gal indeed. Happy b-day Grace!

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  3. Thanks for the awesome compliments, guys!

    Mike- I fill them about 3/4 full. And also, I think it's because the chocolate cupcake recipe is a really good one! =) Give it a try sometime!

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  4. Your wedding photo is so lovely!

    You are so talented! I want to learn to make those pretty flowers! Happy Birthday to Grace!

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  5. I really AM a lucky girl. :D And Judy, you are indeed a domestic goddess. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!

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  6. Those cupcake wrappers are beautiful, I'm very envious!

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  7. wow, these cupcakes are divine!! love the idea for the cupcake wrappers too!!! so pretty i couldn't imagine eating one!!

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  8. Possibly the best looking cupcakes, ever? Beautiful.

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  9. These are absolutely beautiful!
    So elegant and perfect :)

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  10. Oooooh is this Heaven? My eyeballs are spinning with happiness. So many yummies!!

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  11. Just beautiful. You did a lovely job with every aspect of these pretty cupcakes.

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  12. u r so clever...love yr work.

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  13. I love the wrappers you created!!!

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  14. You have a knack for presentation. You always take the extra time to add all the little details that make it look so perfect in the end. Your box of cupcakes looks like you bought it at some expensive boutique!

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  15. hi, i have question, could you make your cup cake and ice them a day ahead?, would you keep them in the fridge?would that make the icing stiff?
    love the wrappers!

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  16. you can make them a day in advance and ice them, but it won't be as good. they taste the best before they've been refrigerated. and yes, it will make the frosting super stiff and flavorless. if you absolutely have to do them a day in advance, take the cupcakes out of the fridge about 4-5 hours in advance before serving so that they can warm to room temp.

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  17. thanks!i did as you said, I hope they like them, wish me luck !

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  18. Judy these are LOVELY i'm so inspired to try making them for mom & her kindergarten class for her birthday! thanks! YUMMY!

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  19. Wow! I'm amazed! Beautiful! By the way, how did you achieve that color on the buttercream? is not white nor brown, it's kinda soft caramel looking???

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  20. the buttercream is naturally white-ish in color. once you mix the caramel in, it becomes that color! =)

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  21. How did you attach the little flowers?

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  22. Hola Judy,me llamo Mirian, soy de Buenos Aires Argentina, me encanta tu blog, y quisiera que me recomendaras que puedo hacer, con respecto a los cupcakes, para el primer añito de mi bebé, mi correo es luzbelle2002@hotmail.com
    Gracias y saludos.
    Mirian.

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  23. could ypu share a video on piping your cupcakes pls.

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  24. where did you find the tiny cookie cutters?

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  25. Tina, I got the small flower cookie cutter from this pack:
    http://www.wilton.com/store/site/product.cfm?id=3E30D6EB-475A-BAC0-5E5EF66C57041711&fid=D765F976-1E0B-C910-EA574CE0FE43834F

    you can find it at your local craft store - i bought mine at Michael's.

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  26. Descobri seu blog hoje e já estou encantada, parabéns tudo muito lindo!!!
    Beijos...

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  27. I love these cupcakes they are beautiful!

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