Rubber Duckie, You're the One . . .

...you make cupcakes, so much fun! These are some duck cupcakes that I made for a baby shower this weekend. They were very fun to look at and the kids had fun eating them too... a hit I'd say!

The idea was from a book called What's New, Cupcake? by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. I have to admit, it seemed simple enough. It's a cupcake, topped with a timbit and a half a marshmallow - easy peasy, right? 24 cupcakes=2 hours of decorating. Undeterred, I will attempt them again when the right party crosses my baking tornado.

Here's the basic instruction for decorating the cupcakes...once you have the cupcakes baked that is! You'll need:

12 marshallows, cut in half on the diagonal (for the tails)

48 mini m&ms, brown ones!

10 orange tootsie-rolls, cut in half (roll into an oval, fold in half for the beaks)

4 more orange tootsie-rolls, cut in half on the diagonal (shaped into the feet)

20 old-fashioned glazed timbits

2 cans of white frosting (not whipped variety, and not cream cheese...just plain ol'white frosting)

yellow tint/gel

I guess the most difficult part was assembly - frosting the cupcakes with white frosting (3/4 cup reserved for this), landing the timbits and marshmallow into place - and freezing them for 15 minutes. This wouldn't have taken me so long if I actually had room in my freezer! Once that's done, the fun begins. Reserve another 1/4 cup for "glueing" the eyes into place. Tint the other can with lots of yellow colouring, melt in a measuring cup, in the microwave for about 45 seconds stirring often (thick paste-like consistency works best, I find...don't make it too runny or the decorations won't stick well to them). Dip the frozen cupcakes into the yellow goodness, allowing the excess to run off. Invert and ta-dah...a faceless duck. Allow to cool and harden slightly - I'd say 30 minutes is perfect, this way the beaks won't fall off (cough, learned the hard way).

Then put the decorations into place. I was pretty fond of the diving ducks personally! I look forward to making them again, and ensuring that my freezer is empty before I begin :-)