Ladybug Cupcakes

Deja Vu?  Didn't we just celebrate a birthday?  Don't worry, you aren't losing your mind.  This is "Me's Birsday" part 2.  This week my mom and sister are in town, so we are re-celebrating my hungry puppy's birthday.  Todays fabulousness?  Ladybugs!  There is a trend here, as my mom made a Ladybug quilt for my little hungry puppy.  I feel relatively safe telling you this, because although this blog is required reading for my hungry puppies, the birthday girl can't read yet.  Which means, if she finds out about the ladybug quilt, I will know that you told her!


Pressing on.  These cupcakes are so incredibly adorable that it should be a sin.  Maybe it would be if I told you how many of the decorations I sampled.  The green cupcake liners are a little bit hard to find in stores.  You can probably find them online, but I was lucky enough (actually my husband was) to find these in a little specialty cake decorating shop here in Fargo.  The actual ladybugs posed another slight problem.  I could not find a suitable "ladybug" that wouldn't outsize the actual cupcake.  After buying three different "ladybug" candidates, I decided to use doughnut holes cut in half.  Am I brilliant?  I like to think so.  Recipe adapted from here.


Ladybug Cupcakes


12 cupcakes baked in green cupcake liners


Frosting:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/4 cup (48 grams) shortening
3 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon French vanilla extract
2 to 3 Tablespoons buttermilk
Red food coloring
Green food coloring
2 to 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder or black cocoa powder 
(Or you can use 1 can vanilla frosting and 1/2 can of chocolate frosting, and color the vanilla red and green)


Decorations:
Green decorating sugar
Red decorating sugar
12 green gumdrops
White granulated sugar
 6 glazed doughnut holes, cut in half
24 brown mini M&Ms
1 Tablespoon chocolate sprinkles


First, prepare the frosting.  In a medium bowl, combine the butter and shortening, and beat with an electric mixer until thoroughly combined.  Add the powdered sugar, a little at a time, beating after each addition until all is incorporated.  Beat in the French vanilla extract and the buttermilk (starting with 2 Tablespoons, then adding more as needed for consistency).  Measure 1 cup (8 ounces) of frosting and place in a small bowl.  Repeat with another 1 cup of frosting in another small bowl.  You will have a bit of frosting left in the original bowl.  In the first small bowl, add the green food coloring and stir well. In the second small bowl, add the red food coloring and stir well.  In the original bowl, add the cocoa powder and stir well (you may need to add a touch more buttermilk if the frosting is too thick).  You should have one bowl of red frosting, one bowl of green frosting, and one bowl of chocolate frosting.


Spread the green frosting evenly on top of the cupcakes.  Pour the green decorating sugar into a small bowl, and roll the edges of each cupcake in the green sugar to coat.  On a piece of wax paper dusted with white granulated sugar, use a rolling pin to flatten the green gumdrops.  Use kitchen shears or a sharp knife to cut two leaf shapes out of each flattened gumdrop.  Place the leaves on one edge of a cupcake.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.


To make the ladybugs, stick a fork into the flat half of a doughnut hole.  This will allow you to frost the doughnut completely without sticking your fingers in the frosting (trial and error, people).  With the red frosting, cover the rounded side of each doughnut hole.  Pour the red decorating sugar in a small bowl, then (with doughnut hole still on the fork), roll each frosted doughnut half in the red sugar to coat it completely.  Carefully place each sugar coated doughnut hole on each leaf cupcake.


Spoon the chocolate frosting into a small zip-lock bag, and cut a small corner off of the bag.  Pipe a line of chocolate frosting down the center of each red doughnut hole.  Pipe an oval  at the front of each red doughnut hole to make the ladybug's head.  Place two brown mini M&Ms on either side of the chocolate line, then place two chocolate sprinkles upright in the ladybug's head to make antennae.  Repeat with remaining cupcakes.  Have fun, be creative, and...


Enjoy!  -Cardamommy