Marshmallow Flower Cupcakes

These beautiful spring cupcakes were created and shared by our friends Alan Richardson and Karen Tack, authors of the hugely popular cookbooks "Hello, Cupcake!" and "What's New, Cupcake?" They're perfect for your Easter celebration or anytime!

Serves: 12

Ingredients

• 12 unfrosted vanilla or favorite flavor cupcakes
• 2 tablespoons dark chocolate frosting
• 1 (16-ounce) can vanilla frosting
• Green and yellow food color
• 12 marshmallows
• 1/2 cup each yellow, pink and orange nonpareil sprinkles
• 2 each yellow, red, orange, green and black spice drops

Instructions

1. Spoon chocolate frosting into a resealable plastic bag. Tint vanilla frosting bright green with the green and yellow food colors. Spoon 1/2 cup green frosting into a resealable plastic bag. Press out excess air; seal bags.
   
   
2. Place each color of sprinkles in a separate bowl. Working with one sprinkle color at a time, cut a marshmallow crosswise into 5 thin slices, letting slices drop into sprinkles. Toss to coat sticky areas of marshmallow with sprinkles. Repeat with remaining marshmallows and colored sprinkles to make 20 petals of each color.
   
   
3. Cut each spice drop in half crosswise. For ladybugs, cut 2 of the halved black spice drops in half again to make quarters. Press one quarter against one half of a red spice drop to make the head and body. Snip a very small (1/16-inch) corner from the bag with the chocolate frosting. Pipe the line down the back of the red spice drop; add spots and antennae with chocolate frosting.
   
   
4. Working on one cupcake at a time, spread top with some green frosting and make smooth. Arrange 5 same-color marshmallow slices in a circle, like the petals of a flower, on top of each frosted cupcake. Press a cut spice drop, cut-side down, in the center of each petal arrangement. Repeat with remaining cupcakes and marshmallow slices.
   
   
5. Snip a small (1/4 -inch) corner from bag of green frosting. Pipe lines of green frosting as the stems on a serving platter (see photo). Add several leaf shapes next to the stems with frosting. Arrange cupcakes on platter to look like a bouquet of flowers. Add spice drop ladybugs.

You can find more of Karen Richardson and Alan Tack's outrageous cupcake creations at MrFood.com and also on their site, hellocupcakebook.com.