Valentine Cupcakes! from Hoosier Homemade

Valentine Cupcakes! from Hoosier Homemade

Pretty much from the beginning, when I started sharing cupcakes with my readers, my husband has wanted me to share fondant. I dug my heels in VERY deep and haven't budged. Let me explain why...fondant {in my opinion} tastes terrible, but MORE importantly, it's my #1 goal to help woman be heroes to their families. And honestly...spending a whole day working with fondant, just isn't something that most women have time to do. So I've improvised, and found fun ways to share my creations with you WITHOUT using fondant. Now, don't get me wrong, I haven't jumped on the fondant train, but I have found a GREAT alternative that I think you will LOVE!

Remember the Puppy Love Pops that I made on Tuesday from Cupcakes, Cookies & Pies, oh my! Book? Well, in the book, they have a recipe called Candy Clay. Essentially it's like fondant, but taste great and super easy to work with and takes only 2 ingredients. See the cute glass? Yes, cupcake inspiration comes from lots of places in my world!

Valentine Cupcake Supplies:

• Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes {recipe below}
• Frosting, your choice - I used white decorator icing
• White candy melts
• 1/3 cup light corn syrup
• Coloring - I used No-Taste Red, Rose Pink, Buttercup Yellow, Green and Sky Blue
• VERY small heart cookie cutter
• Heart cookie cutter for flowers
• Decorator tip #12 - use to cut centers of flowers and leaves
• Parchment Paper

I used white candy melts, so that I could divide and color it several different colors, but if you are only making a single item, then just use that color of candy melts. I could not find a really small heart cookie cutter, so I bought a pie cutter, {it's sitting in front of the balls of clay}. Doug cut it apart so I could use a single heart to cut with. It was super easy to use.

How to make Candy Clay:

1. Melt candy wafers in the microwave, stopping every 20 seconds and stirring. It should take about 1 minute total. I stop when there are a few small pieces left and stir until completely melted, that way I don't over cook it.
2. Add 1/3 cup corn syrup and stir until well combined. It will look a little grainy.
3. Place clay on a piece of plastic wrap, cover and let set for at least 3 hours at room temperature.
4. Divide clay and color, add a little with a toothpick, it doesn't take much {I learned that really quickly}
5. Need clay with your hands. You can wear plastic gloves if you want, the coloring did wash off my hands, but you may want to.
6. After the clay is completely colored, wrap in plastic wrap and let set about 15-20 minutes. I found it was a lot easier to work with after it had firmed back up.
7. If you are using a cookie cutter, roll clay between 2 pieces of parchment paper to about 1/8 inch thick. Cut out shape.
8. Let it set on the parchment paper for a few minutes before you remove it, again, I found it easier to remove if it firms back up a little.

The ideas for Candy Clay are endless! I used a little larger heart cutter, and made some flowers.

And we can't forget about the yummy Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes too!

Fresh Strawberry Cupcakes Recipe:

• 1 box Strawberry Cake Mix
• 4 eggs, room temp
• 1/3 cup oil
• 1 cup strawberry fruit base

Directions:

1. Make the strawberry fruit base - Grab the recipe and directions from the Strawberry Cheesecake Milkshake Recipe
2. Combine all ingredients
3. Bake cupcakes as you normally do - I baked these without liners in the Wilton Cupcake Pan

Until next time...Happy Baking!