Carnival Cupcake Treats … and the winner is…

A couple of months ago, I posted five trial cupcake recipes my daughter and her friend practiced making for a fundraising Cupcake Wars they were planning on entering in April. The event was held this past weekend and what a successful learning experience it was for these 12-year-old girls! The girls not only won the Middle School Team vote, they also won the Popular Vote for the whole Cupcake Wars!

My daughter bakes all of the time, she especially enjoys decorating cupcakes with various themes. Most of the time, my husband, son and I are the ones enjoying the cupcakes. We try to have her bake cupcakes when we have an event or another family to visit, but most of the time it is just for fun! This Cupcake War was the first opportunity she ever had to actually sell her cupcakes (100% of the proceeds went to the Town’s High School Class Council to defray the cost of school events.)

In addition to achieving her goals of improving her cupcake decorating skills, I reminded her that she was also learning about teamwork, how to compromise, working on a budget and a timeline, and how to appreciate positive and negative feedback from others.

All of the cupcake ideas were inspired by various cupcake decorating posts on Pinterest (thank you!!). Her friend baked all of the cupcakes and my daughter made all of the frosting, which consisted of 12 lbs of powdered sugar ! The girls came together to decorate the cupcakes… 133 to be exact! The contest required 100 cupcakes in order to qualify. The moms helped the girls out with ordering most of the carnival themed table decor on Amazon (www.amazon.com), along with some items that we had at home and, also, from other craft stores. The moms also worked as their apprentices, a little role reversal!

After all of their hard work, they were able to share their creations with the public… and they sold out in 1 hour! They both enjoyed hearing the all of the compliments from the guests… and, in the end, they were so excited to find out that they won!

In case you are ever hosting a Carnival Themed Party or Event, here are the Carnival Cupcake Recipes the girls used:

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: POPCORN

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: SNOW CONES

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: HOT DOGS

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: COTTON CANDY

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: HOT DOGS

Day 5 of 5: Carnival Themed Cupcakes

My 12-year-old daughter is at it again… exploring the world of decorating CUPCAKES! This time she had a friend help her out, which always makes it more exciting! Both girls have decided to enter a Cupcake War Fundraising Contest … pick a theme, flavors, and display, get creative… and bake and decorate 100 cupcakes! They had a trial run this past weekend and the results were a huge success! They came out and tasted so good (Ok, I am slightly biased!), I thought I would share them on my blog. So, over the next 5 days, 1 new Carnival Themed Cupcake Design will be shared to inspire our followers for their next themed party or event! Designs include POPCORN, SNOW CONES, HOT DOGS, COTTON CANDY, and ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES!

We would like to give a HUGE shoutout to Pinterest for inspiring these girls with creative cupcake designs. The girls used some ideas from Pinterest, while adding their own creative flavors and supplies (all while sticking to a budget). Looking forward to the main event, but until then… enjoy these nostalgic cupcake designs!

Day 5 – Carnival Themed Cupcakes: HOT DOGS

A chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla buttercream frosting and a caramel and fudge “hot dog”.

What you will need: chocolate or vanilla cupcakes, buttercream frosting, Kraft Caramels,  mini Tootsie Rolls, red and yellow gel writer, decorative cupcake liners

Directions:

1. Bake cupcakes according to package. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare buttercream frosting. (Recipe used : http://www.wilton.com/buttercream-frosting/WLRECIP-41.html )
3. Decorate cupcake with simple swirl design.
4. Soften caramel square in microwave. Shape into hot dog roll.
5. Soften Tootsie Roll in microwave. Add to “hot dog roll”.
6. Add gel writer for “ketchup” and “mustard”.

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES

Day 4 of 5: Carnival Themed Cupcakes

My 12-year-old daughter is at it again… exploring the world of decorating CUPCAKES! This time she had a friend help her out, which always makes it more exciting! Both girls have decided to enter a Cupcake War Fundraising Contest … pick a theme, flavors, and display, get creative… and bake and decorate 100 cupcakes! They had a trial run this past weekend and the results were a huge success! They came out and tasted so good (Ok, I am slightly biased!), I thought I would share them on my blog. So, over the next 5 days, 1 new Carnival Themed Cupcake Design will be shared to inspire our followers for their next themed party or event! Designs include POPCORN, SNOW CONES, HOT DOGS, COTTON CANDY, and ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES!

We would like to give a HUGE shoutout to Pinterest for inspiring these girls with creative cupcake designs. The girls used some ideas from Pinterest, while adding their own creative flavors and supplies (all while sticking to a budget). Looking forward to the main event, but until then… enjoy these nostalgic cupcake designs!

Day 4 – Carnival Themed Cupcakes: ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES

A chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting “milk shake”, Tootsie Roll Candy” hot fudge, buttercream “whipped cream”, and a red candy “cherry”.

What you will need: chocolate cupcakes, buttercream frosting, lime green and aqua blue food coloring (or milk shake color of your choice), mini Tootsie Rolls, red colored candy (Suggestions: sour cherry balls, M & M’s, gum balls, Skittles), decorative cupcake liners and striped paper straws

Directions:

1. Prepare cupcakes according to package. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare buttercream frosting (Recipe used: http://www.wilton.com/buttercream-frosting/WLRECIP-41.html). Divide frosting – white for “whipped cream” and add aqua and lime colors to make “milk shake”.
3. Add “milk shake” frosting to decorating bag, cut off small tip with scissors and swirl onto cupcake.
4. Soften mini Tootsie Roll in microwave. Using fingers, shape into a “hot fudge swirl”. Add on top of “milk shake”.
5. In another decorating bag, add white buttercream along with a small star tip. Swirl on top of “hot fudge” for “whipped cream”.
6. Top with a red candy. Add straw.

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: COTTON CANDY

Day 3 of 5: Carnival Themed Cupcakes

My 12-year-old daughter is at it again… exploring the world of decorating CUPCAKES! This time she had a friend help her out, which always makes it more exciting! Both girls have decided to enter a Cupcake War Fundraising Contest … pick a theme, flavors, and display, get creative… and bake and decorate 100 cupcakes! They had a trial run this past weekend and the results were a huge success! They came out and tasted so good (Ok, I am slightly biased!), I thought I would share them on my blog. So, over the next 5 days, 1 new Carnival Themed Cupcake Design will be shared to inspire our followers for their next themed party or event! Designs include POPCORN, SNOW CONES, HOT DOGS, COTTON CANDY, and ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES!

We would like to give a HUGE shoutout to Pinterest for inspiring these girls with creative cupcake designs. The girls used some ideas from Pinterest, while adding their own creative flavors and supplies (all while sticking to a budget). Looking forward to the main event, but until then… enjoy these nostalgic cupcake designs!

Day 3 –  Carnival Themed Cupcakes: COTTON CANDY

A pink and blue swirled vanilla cupcake with cotton candy buttercream frosting.

What you will need: yellow cupcakes, buttercream frosting, pink and blue food coloring, cotton candy flavored lollipop and cotton candy flavoring (Loranne’s Oils Cotton Candy Flavoring.)

Directions:

1. Bake yellow cupcakes according to package. Let cool completely. Optional: If you would like color swirled cupcakes: before baking the cupcakes, divide the cupcake batter in half, add pink and blue food coloring and then scoop each color batter into the cupcake liners of choice.
2. Prepare buttercream frosting (Wilton Recipe : http://www.wilton.com/buttercream-frosting/WLRECIP-41.html ) and add 2-3 drops of cotton candy flavoring.
3. Divide frosting in half and add pink (approx. 1-2 drops) and then blue (approx. 1-2 drops) food coloring to each to resemble cotton candy colors.
4. Using Wilton’s Color Swirl Decorating Set, add frosting on top of cupcake using a swirl tip.
5. Top with a cotton candy flavored lollipop. (She used Dum Dum Brand Cotton Candy Flavor Pops.)

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: SNOW CONES

Day 2 of 5 –  Carnival Themed Cupcakes 

My 12-year-old daughter is at it again… exploring the world of decorating CUPCAKES! This time she had a friend help her out, which always makes it more exciting! Both girls have decided to enter a Cupcake War Fundraising Contest … pick a theme, flavors, and display, get creative… and bake and decorate 100 cupcakes! They had a trial run this past weekend and the results were a huge success! They looked and tasted so good (Ok, I am slightly biased!), I thought I would share them on my blog. So, over the next 5 days, 1 new Carnival Themed Cupcake Design will be shared to inspire our followers for their next themed party or event! Designs include POPCORN, SNOW CONES, HOT DOGS, COTTON CANDY, and ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES!

We would like to give a HUGE shoutout to Pinterest for inspiring these girls with creative cupcake designs. The girls used some ideas from Pinterest, while adding their own creative flavors and supplies (all while sticking to a budget). Looking forward to the main event, but until then… enjoy these nostalgic cupcake designs!

Day 2 –  Carnival Themed Cupcakes: SNOW CONES

A chocolate cupcake with raspberry flavored buttercream frosting sprinkled with red, white and blue sugar crystals..

What you will need: chocolate cupcakes, buttercream frosting, raspberry flavoring ( Loanne’s Oils Raspberry Flavoring), red, blue and white decorating sugar crystals, mini wooden or plastic spoons, white candy/nut snack bowl (see example in photo, available at Hobby Lobby)

Directions:

1. Bake chocolate cupcakes according to package in the white candy/nut snack bowls. Let cool completely.
2. Prepare buttercream frosting (Recipe used: http://www.wilton.com/buttercream-frosting/WLRECIP-41.html).
3. Add 2-3 drops of raspberry flavoring to the frosting and mix thoroughly.
4. Spread frosting onto cupcake evenly. Dividing the cupcake in thirds, add red sugar crystals to one side and blue sugar crystals to the other side, leaving the middle third plain. Then, pour the white sugar crystals into a plate and dip the whole cupcake into the white sugar crystals to cover the whole cupcakes. This will give the snow cone an “icy” look.
5. Add a mini wooden or plastic spoon to the top of the cupcake.

Carnival Themed Cupcakes: POPCORN

Day 1 of 5 : Carnival Themed Cupcakes

My 12-year-old daughter is at it again… exploring the world of decorating CUPCAKES! This time she had a friend help her out, which always makes it more exciting! Both girls have decided to enter a Cupcake War Fundraising Contest … pick a theme, flavors, and display, get creative… and bake and decorate 100 cupcakes! They had a trial run this past weekend and the results were a huge success! They looked and tasted so good (Ok, I am slightly biased!), I thought I would share them on my blog. So, over the next 5 blog posts, 1 new Carnival Themed Cupcake Design will be shared to inspire our followers for their next themed party or event! Designs include POPCORN, SNOW CONES, HOT DOGS, COTTON CANDY, and ICE CREAM MILK SHAKES!

We would like to give a HUGE shoutout to Pinterest for inspiring these girls with creative cupcake designs. The girls used some ideas from Pinterest, while adding their own creative flavors and supplies (all while sticking to a budget). Looking forward to the main event, but until then… enjoy these nostalgic cupcake designs!

Day 1 –  Carnival Themed Cupcakes: POPCORN

A marshmallow filled chocolate cupcake with a vanilla buttercream frosting and marshmallow topping.

What you will need: For cupcake: plain chocolate (or vanilla) cupcakes, plain cupcake liners, red and white stripped cupcake liners

For frosting:  vanilla (white) buttercream frosting (Recipe used: http://www.wilton.com/buttercream-frosting/WLRECIP-41.html ), mini marshmallows, scissors, Wilton Yellow Food Color Spray, large “dot” decorating tip, decorating bags

For marshmallow filling: marshmallow creme, Betty Crocker Whipped Fluffy White Vanilla Frosting

Directions:

1. Bake cupcakes according to package in plain cupcake liners and let cool completely.
2. Prepare buttercream frosting.
3. Using a Wilton Treat Corer or the bottom of a decorating tip, core out the center of the cupcakes, and set the removed piece aside.
4. Combine 3/4 cup Betty Crocker whipped frosting and 3/4 cup marshmallow cream. Add to a decorating bag. Cut a small slit at the tip and fill the whole in the center of the cupcake. Replace the small cupcake piece.
5. Using scissors, cut a slit at the top of the mini marshmallow and then cut a 2nd slit in the opposite direction (creating an x on one top of the marshmallow.) Repeat for approximately 20 marshmallows for each cupcake.
6. Spray the cut marshmallows with the yellow food color spray. Let dry.
7. Pipe buttercream frosting using the dot tip onto the plain cupcake.
8. Gently press each marshmallow into the dots of frosting.
9. Add cupcake to red and white stripped cupcake liner.