Easter Chicks

Last year, I had made these cupcakes when I was still living in the States - and had a regular oven. I wanted to replicate them again this year (especially since I had brought a small bottle of leftover yellow sugar crystals with me.) I didn't really have much issue with the cake recipe (though it's not the greatest of cake flavor-wise.) Still, the original recipe was for one 9-inch square cake, so I didn't have to alter anything to get the right size for my cupcake batch.

For the actual decoration, I found that it was far more work than I remember (though I do remember it being more time-consuming than it would appear.) I made a basic buttercream frosting from the Wilton website - though I found that I had to add several additional tablespoons of water to get the correct consistency! I iced the cupcakes with yellow and the added the yellow sugar. (I was actually surprised at how much more yellow sugar I used this time. I had only used &frac13 of my bottle last year...this year I used all the remaining sugar!)

After frosting and sugaring the cupcakes, I used a piping tip to make the wings. I know the original design called for a 102 tip (which is shaped somewhat like an elongated teardrop.) Sadly, the decorating kit I purchased at my local Home Plus did not have anything similar, so I had to improvise with a leaf tip, which didn't give me as nice of shape as the 102. After coating the wings in additional sugar, I used my remaining yellow frosting as the base for my orange (for the beaks and feet.) Unfortunately, the second I added the red food coloring to the yellow frosting, I got a nasty salmon color rather than the bright orange I'd hoped for. Since I couldn't use the hideous salmon, I had to think of a quick substitute. Since I had made previously made owl cupcakes that used yellow M&Ms as beaks, I decided to copy that idea with orange M&Ms. I finished the cupcake with chocolate chip eyes with white frosting for the midle. Although I prefer the design with frosted beaks, my co-workers thought they were extremely cute. I think they spent more time photographing the cupcakes than they did actually eating them; they especially like how each chick was looking a different direction and seemed to have a unique expression.


Vanilla Cupcakes
(yields 16 cupcakes)

1 c sugar
½ c butter
2 eggs
2 t. vanilla
½ t. salt
1½ c. flour
1¾ t. baking powder
¾ c. milk

Cream butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Add vanilla. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the butter and mix completely. Add the milk to complete the batter. Pour into a lined muffin tin (I used individual silicone cupcake molds.) Bake at 350°F (175°C) for 25-30 minutes.