Domo Birthday Cupcakes

As a surprise for our Publicity Manager at work, our "Marketing Department" asked if I would make cupcakes for her birthday. As if I needed to think about the answer! So, we debated decorating cupcakes with something publicity related (ex: a phone), but I also suggested Domo-kun which I knew she loves! For those of you who are unfamiliar with Domo-kun, he is a mascot from a Japanese television station.

It was settled once I forwarded the above photo of Domo to Marketing. Even though the blue snake gave her the "heebie jeebies" (I love that word and I totally laughed out loud when she told me).

The "heebie jeebies" snake!

Domo is this cute and funny creature who was hatched from an egg on the first episode. His favorite food is Japanese-style meat and potato stew - yum! No apples though, due to his unexplained DNA. Domo communicates by producing a low-pitched noise but other characters appear to understand him. Domo loves watching television. Best of all, Domo-kun is known to pass gas when he is nervous or upset!

Domo lives in an underground cave with an old wise rabbit named Mr. Usaji. He loves to watch television and drink green tea. Not surprising, Mr. Usaji's favourite food is carrots.

Also living in the cave are two bats: a mother named Maya and her child Mario. Maya's favorite foods are seasonal while her least favorite food is alcohol. Mario's favorite food is Japanese-style tomato spaghetti, while his least favorite food is Shiitake mushrooms. Mario also loves sports. (I acknowledge that their tiny feet and antennas are missing in their fondant form.)

Tashanna is a female weasel who wants to be a fashion stylist or model in Tokyo. She always uses the latest technologies (television, cell phone, digital camera, laptop). Tashanna's favorite food is apricot and mint tarts, and her least favorite food is sea urchin. Fun fact: she once called Domo-kun a "weird-looking chocolate."

Hee (Flower One) and Haw (Flower Two) are pixie twins. To everyone else, they are regular flowers and Domo is the only one who can see them.

Domo-kun and friends laying on the grass, looking up at the sky (or my camera).

I also got the idea for the Domo-Kun cupcake faces from justJENN Recipes. The one twist I added to the appearance was making the surface of the cupcake liner a square.

Okaaay fine, point out that it is squarish. To get this lovely squarish effect, simply pinch the cup to create four corners! Love the versatility of these baking cups! Then, bake your chocolate cupcake, put on some dark brown frosting, add your fondant Domo mouth and use candy for the eyes.

Tashanna, Domo-kun, and Mr. Usaji.

References:
Domomode, Domo (NHK), and Domo Nation. You can also watch some of the Domo episodes by searching on YouTube.

Mini Cupcakes with Mini Eggs

Do you have a favourite seasonal candy? I have to say that I get a teeny tiny bit happy when I see Cadbury Mini Eggs back on the shelves!! I love the candy coated chocolates, in delicious egg-shaped bite sizes, and pretty speckled pastel colours! It is a good thing they're not made all year around!

It felt very Spring-like this weekend with all the drizzling rain. I attended a book launch on Saturday for Bradley McGogg, The Very Fine Frog. There was Cadbury mini eggs at this book launch too! Bradley McGogg is a picture book is about a finicky eater... but I wonder if Bradley would approve of cupcakes? For fun, I made some mini vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream and a Cadbury mini egg nested in the middle!

Yellow, pink, and green!

Yummy mini cupcakes with mini eggs!


This is how I carry them to work!

Pink Princess Birthday Cupcakes

Do we remember Brian's little red car birthday cake? Today is his cousin's birthday! Ashley's favourite colour is pink and she likes princesses. Her favourite princess story is Cinderella, so we made a castle, some crowns, a magic wand, and the famous slipper from fondant.

We heart chocolate cupcakes!


Castle, magic wand, "glass" - fondant slipper, and flowers!


Crowns fit for a prince and princess! Check out the sprinkle "jewels" embedded into the crowns.


Plaques made from fondant.


Happy 6th Birthday Ashley!

As always, there are more photos posted on our facebook page and flickr account!

Holiday Housewarming Cupcakes

Lastly, my aunt needed 3 dozen cupcakes for her in-law's holiday housewarming party today. We decided to make vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with lime buttercream, chocolate ganache buttercream, and vanilla buttercream with a variety of decorations. I also got to try out my new piping tip to create these swirls!

Housewarming Cupcakes: Telephone, spoon, teapot, lamp, bed, key, armchair, outdoor lamp, and bathtub. These were made from fondant - except the outdoor lamp. That was just a cute cake decor we had from a Christmas cake. We could never make fondant look clear like glass! It is not pictured here, but we also made a wok, a house plant, and a small, red Monopoly house. There are always more individual photos on our facebook page.

Hey there Santa! Santa here was made from fondant using brown jimmies for the eyes.

Christmas wreath! This wreath was made from fondant using red, white, and green sprinkles as wreath ornaments.

Hey there red-nosed Roo! This reindeer was made from fondant, using brown jimmies for the eyes and antlers.

How about some frosting recipes as our gift to you? That way you can enjoy cupcake goodies this holiday!

Lime Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon of fresh lime juice

1/2 tablespoon of fresh lime zest

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is nice and fluffy.
2. Add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla, continue to mix till smooth.
3. Wash the lime and using a zester, zest the whole lime.
4. Mix the lime zest with the buttercream.
5. Cut the lime in half and squeeze out the lime juice.
6. Add the lime juice with the buttercream and mix well.
7. If you want, tint the buttercream lime green!
   

Chocolate Ganache Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1/4 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Heat the heavy cream over a double boiler until the edges begin to bubble.
2. With the chocolates in a heat proof container, pour the heated cream in. Let it sit for a minute and then whisk the chocolate and heavy cream together. Set aside to cool.
   
3. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is smooth and fluffy.
4. Add the confectioner's sugar and continue mixing.
5. Finally, add the chocolate ganache mixture into the buttercream and mix until smooth.
   

Vanilla Buttercream

(Makes about 2 cups)

1 stick of butter

2 cups of confectioner's sugar

1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

1/8 cup of heavy cream

1. Using a mixer, beat the butter until it is fluffy.
2. Add in the confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract.
3. Add the heavy cream and continue mixing until the frosting is smooth.
   

EVE Birthday Cupcakes

Today is the birthday of a great friend of ours. Her boyfriend asked us to surprise her by secretly making cupcakes for her birthday party! So we're racking our brains as to what to create... she loves cute things, sweet things, funny things, and happy things. Di's strong, smart, independent, has directive, seeks out life, and can blast things out of her way - just kidding, she's not violent! But, we think that what we just described here is EVE from the lovable Pixar film Wall-E! We made vanilla cupcakes frosted with lime buttercream, chocolate ganache buttercream, and decorated with a fondant Eve! They are Simply 2 Di 4!

Lime buttercream on vanilla cupcakes. Yummy!

Chocolate ganache buttercream on vanilla cupcakes. Delightful!

Lime and chocolate ganache buttercream on vanilla cupcakes. Check out the disassembled Eve's! Eve was made from fondant and took lots of care to put together!

Happy Birthday Di! These plaques were also made from fondant.

Eve is featured on Photograzing!

WALL-E: Evaaaaa!

We can't wait to go to her surprise birthday party tonight and show her these cupcakes! As always, become a fan on our facebook page for more photos, updates, and sneak peeks! If you're shy about comments, you can also leave your reactions below!