
Ever since I bought the Martha Stewart Cupcakes
For the cupcakes, I decided to go with chocolate instead of vanilla, though, thinking it looked more like dirt. Don't we all want our cupcakes to look like dirt? ;)

The recipe for the chocolate cupcakes (below) is so good...the cupcake are moist and light...perfect!

In Martha's book, the ladybugs are made from marzipan. These I made from fondant that I had on hand. And, I tried the Satin Ice fondant, although making it at home is easy, too. The Satin Ice brand tastes great and smells like sugar heaven...it's nice to have on hand for fondant emergencies. ;) I found it at Sur La Table. Either way you go, you'd use AmeriColor

One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
{adapted from Martha Stewart Cupcakes
3/4 c. dutch-process cocoa powder, such as Hershey's Special Dark
1 & 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1 & 1/2 c. sugar
1 & 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. coarse salt
2 eggs
3/4 c. warm water
3/4 c. buttermilk
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18 muffin tins with cupcake liners; set aside.
With the whisk attachment of an electric mixer, whisk together cocoa powder, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla, and mix on low speed until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl as needed.

The batter is very wet. Pour into a large glass measuring cup to easily pour into muffin cups.
Fill baking cups 2/3rd full of batter. Bake about 20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean and the tops bounce back when lightly pressed. Cool on wire racks 10 minutes, then invert and remove from pans. Cool completely on the wire racks.

The frosting is swiss meringue buttercream, although you could use any frosting that holds its shape. For a great post on SMBC (I hear that's what the cool kids call it), visit my friend Gail, over at One Tough Cookie. Her recipe is delicious and she makes the process look so easy!
The buttercream was tinted green with AmeriColor Leaf and Forest Green food colorings and piped onto the cupcakes with a #233 Wilton tip.

*That grass frosting counts as a serving of "greens," right?*
Oh my goodness, aren't those just the cutest things ever! Love them!
ReplyDeleteSo adorble Bridget! I LOVE them! {Oh and of course, it's green, it's good for you. ;-)
ReplyDeleteFicou demais, me parece deliciosos. Um abraço, Marta.
ReplyDeletethese are adorable! And, I say the greens count! ;-)
ReplyDeleteI must make these for my friend's daughter's second birthday!!!
ReplyDeleteHi, Is it just me or do you need to print five pages just to get a copy of this recipe? I can never figure out how to print the recipe in a more compact form!
ReplyDeleteSo adorable! :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE THESE!
ReplyDeletePrecious, just precious.
ReplyDeleteCutest cupcakes ever!!
ReplyDeleteLOVE these!! So adorable :)
ReplyDeleteTotally counts for veggies for the day, its like a wheat grass shot with a side of chocolate. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI'd love a double serving of your greens and know I'd enjoy eating these adorable little bugs too!
ReplyDeletethey're so funny!!! Iìm so glad to spend few days in USA next Summer . so I'm going to buy Martha's book and fondant colors!!! HUgs, Flavia
ReplyDeleteThis would intimidate the HADES out of me. REAL ICING?! and fondant...Well that sounds So serious!!! But there's no two ways about it, these are adorable. AND very healthy I am sure!
ReplyDeleteHow much food coloring did you have to use? Every time I've made SMBC, the color seems very pale. I feel like I must be doing something wrong.
ReplyDeleteYou are genius. I adore these. I adore everything about them. I adore you!!!
ReplyDeleteThese are so cute, Bridget! I finally ordered the AmeriColor Super Red and Super Black~fantastic!
ReplyDeleteBridget these are so cute! And I love that grass tip - it is so much fun to use! ♥- Katrina
ReplyDeleteYou are so talented! These are adorable:-)
ReplyDeleteLove these! Wouldn't they be perfect for a summer garden party?
ReplyDeleteYour ladybug cupcakes look incredible! I made these a year ago for my daughter's birthday party, but because I got lazy and used (shhh) tinted canned frosting, the grass looked more like worms! I see how well the SMBC works for this. Excellent job!
ReplyDeleteThe ladybugs are adorable! oh and green frosting is way better for you than lettuce.
ReplyDeleteThese are incredibly cute and so appetizing. Wonderful creativity!
ReplyDeleteadorable! wish I could reach in there and eat one!
ReplyDeleteSo very cute. You can never go wrong with a ladybug. :)
ReplyDeleteThese are adorable! I've seen the marzipan lady bugs and the fondant ones look so much yummier!
ReplyDeleteAww... You did you're grass so much more grassy than I did at Easter! So cute, love the lady bugs!
ReplyDeleteThese are so stinkin' cute! Love them!
ReplyDeleteSimply adorable! With your baking prowess you should totally consider entering our "cupcake" themed recipe contest starting next week! Check it out here: http://www.betterrecipes.com/contest/
ReplyDeleteThese are to die for!! Gorgeous. :)
ReplyDeleteThese are darling! Perfect for a summer birthday party! Thanks for sharing the idea!
ReplyDeleteAllyson
http://cupcakescandycanes.blogspot.com
Not only are these delicious looking cupcakes whimsical and adorable, your photography of them is stellar!
ReplyDeleteThese cupcakes are SO adorable!!!!! I love the little ladybugs! My best friend adores ladybugs so I will have to send this link to her.
ReplyDeleteYour cupcake looks fantastic! I love the green.
ReplyDeleteThose cupcakes are so cute.....eee gads! : )
ReplyDeleteohmuhgawdie - these are just wayyyyyyy tooooooo cute!! seriously, Bridget, you are just too cool for school!!!
ReplyDeleteADORABLE Bridget!! Isn't that grass tip fun!
ReplyDeleteHow cute! I bet these would be perfect for a children's birthday party (or my own birthday party...) And yes, frosting grass definitely counts as a serving of greens. Without a doubt.
ReplyDeleteI wish some sweet blogger had mentioned I could have added this to my breakfast. Would the banana I had made a balanced meal when paired with a cupcake? ;-)
ReplyDeleteThese are so....... cute! My granddaughters would love these. They have spend hours looking at the Hello Cupcake cookbook deciding which cupcakes they want for their birthdays for the next 5 years. I think they might squeeze in the line-up these adorable lady bugs when they see them!
ReplyDeleteadorable!
ReplyDeleteDarling!
ReplyDeleteThose are so cute! And especially great for this season! I would say that greens are greens:)
ReplyDeleteAlso, I just wanted to let you know, I LOVE your sugar cookie recipe. Thank you so much for sharing it!
http://allpossiblethings.typepad.com/possible_baker/2011/05/cookies-for-heides.html
These ladybugs are too cute! I love that they are hiding in the grass.
ReplyDeleteThese are so adorable, then again, everything you do is just amazingly creative(and tastes amazing as well). Thanks so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo adorable! Love the little ladybugs.
ReplyDeletethose look almost too good to eat! Great job!
ReplyDeleteAdorable! I like the dirt decision!
ReplyDeleteThese are amazing!I love cupcakes so much we bought an electric cupcake maker that bakes perfect everytime!
ReplyDeleteTus trabajos son maravillosos... gracias por compartir tanto.
ReplyDeletelove the cupcakes!! I think a chocolate cupcake looks better than the vanilla as well for the ladybug on grass theme ;)
ReplyDeleteOh wow. How have I not found your blog before. Those gorgeous, such lovely photos and full of ideas. Impressive baking!
ReplyDeleteI love the Special Dark cocoa. Makes a damn good cupcake!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.alittlenosh.net
They are so cute! And I will have to try the swiss meringue the next time I try to make grass on my cupcakes because my grass never seems to hold its shape very well.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous May 16. Just Highlight the recipe usuing your mouse with left click, hold and swipe. When what you want to print is highlighted right click on the highlighted section anywhere and choose "copy". Open any Word-type program and right click on a new page. Select "paste" and whala. Don't forget to save as....
ReplyDeleteOBTW 350, your cupcakes look absolutely adorable!
I just made some of these and they turned out SO adorable! I stumbled across your blog while looking through the pioneer woman's blog. I love everything you've put up and I look forward to trying out some of the cookies you've posted! Thanks so much for the beautiful baking and ideas!!!
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine made those for a garden party...love them (she used the vanilla cupcakes ;-) ) Really like the effect of dirt. Thanks for sharing. I think they would look great for Easter...I could replace the Lady bug with a bunny... ;-)
ReplyDeleteThese are adorable and perfect for my daughter's ladybug birthday party! Quick question though...What is coarse salt? Is that different than regular table salt?
ReplyDeletecoarse salt is kosher salt. :) Yes, different than table salt, with larger grains. I use it in all of my baking.
DeleteI made these over the weekend and they came out incredible! They were fudgy, gooey and soooo moist! Love them!!
ReplyDelete