Dalmatian Cupcakes Part I

I have a dear friend Annie who asked me to bake up some cupcakes for her daughter's fireman- themed birthday party. She just wanted normal yummy cupcakes. But she is also the best party-thrower I know and always tries to tie in each detail of the party to the theme... soo... being the genius I am...I complicated things. I decided to try out something from the book Hello, Cupcake. Ummm...this is where things got interesting. This book is AMAZING and most of it really does seem do-able. However, it was a big undertaking for a beginner gal like myself. Half-way through the process I was cracking up at the final product one minute and near tears the next. Isn't it frustrating when you expect perfection and work so hard for it, only to be deeply disappointed by the result? Has this ever happened to you? Anyways, here are some quick snapshots of the journey. I will post recipes later. I used a vanilla cupcake and a buttercream frosting recipe. Both were pretty darn good...

First, I frosted all the cupcakes with buttercream. My crumb coat was pretty dry and I think this is where the trouble began. Things were not sticking. In this picture I have inserted little cut cookies for the mouth of the doggies. (I used Oreos from the 100 calorie packs.) The book has you using a cookie that you can not find anywhere...trust me, I looked...EVERYWHERE!
I cut the corners off of each cookies to give them the rounded shape. IF you attempt this microwave the cookie for about 10 seconds. It makes it easier to cut. Then stick the cookies deep into the cupcake...some of mine fell off later, so make sure your cookie is in good.

Next step is forming the snout of your little pups. As you can see the book has you using a big marshmallow and 2 miniature marshmallows for this step. The big marshmallows are cut in half. I used a little dot of frosting for each mellow as a "glue."
Here I have added the tongues. The book calls for pink starburst. For the amount of cupcakes ordered, I figured I would have to buy three bags. To save cash, I found little pink pigs at the candy store that I butchered to make the little doggie tongues. That is...I cut off their feet, tail and head. Once again, a little bit of frosting holds it down. Time consuming!

Last, the book says, frost over everything but the pink tongue. Easier said than done...spreading frosting with my butter knife was not working. It was moving the marshmallows and mouths too much and just didn't look good. I decided to try piping it out. I used the number 104 tip to cover the cupcake. It was so much easier, but the end result was not the perfectly smooth dalmatian I see in the book. HOW do they do that? Oh well...mine had "fur." Then the real fun began placing eyes, nose, spots and ears on. Some of them looked like cows, some dalmatians, and all looked eyeless. You will have to log on tomorrow to see the rest of the steps and the end result! Till then..