Turtle Cupcakes

My best friend Sharon had a party for her fiancé, Jon's, birthday this past Friday. She asked me to make some chocolate cupcakes for the event. I knew which recipe I was going to use, but I wanted to decorate them specifically for him. So, after some thought I decided to do something using turtles. That has always been his nickname since he got a turtle tattoo on his back one night in high school.

So I went to the internet and found the cutest turtle cupcakes. So I took this as a start and improvised a little as I went.

They turned out so cute and he was so surprised!

For the turtles I used the ingredients below:

Green Food Coloring

Green M&M's

Tootsie Rolls

Green Fondant cut into circles for the face

Mini Brown M&M's for the eyes

Pink Writing Icing for the mouth

Another picture of the other cupcakes...

Rich Chocolate Cake found on Bakerella (Recipe from Bundt Classic Recipe Book)

1 (18.25 oz.) pkg. dark chocolate cake mix

1 (3.4 oz.) pkg. instant chocolate pudding

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup warm water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1 1/2 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Line cupcake pans with baking cups.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine all ingredients except chocolate chips.

4. Mix 2 minutes on medium speed.

5. Increase speed to medium-high; mix 3 minutes.

6. Stir in chocolate chips.

7. Spoon into cupcake pans.

8. Bake at 350 for around 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean and cool.

Made about 30 cupcakes.

Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting (From Bakerella)

1/2 cup butter, softened to room temperature

8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 box (1 lb) confectioner's sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1-3 Tbsp milk

Cream the butter and cream cheese with a mixer.
Add the cocoa and vanilla.
Add the confectioner's sugar in small batches and blend on low until combined. Scrape down sides with each addition.
Add 1 tablespoon of milk at a time until you get the consistency you desire.

Buttercream Frosting (Also from Bakerella)

1 cup (2 sticks) butter (room temperature)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1b. 10X powdered sugar

1-3 teaspoons milk, half and half or cream

Using a mixer, cream softened butter and vanilla until smooth.
Add sugar gradually, allowing butter and sugar to cream together before adding more.
If you want your frosting a little creamier, add a teaspoon of milk at a time and beat on high until you get the right texture.
Then, just use icing colors to tint the frosting the color of your choice.

Print This