Cupcake Tree Tutorial

Due to popular demand, I am taking a momentary hiatus from my self-imposed blogging hiatus to provide you a cupcake tree tutorial. The project idea originally came from my Mother's Day issue of Food Network Magazine, but I can't find a link with instructions on the website.

Here goes:

Materials:

-Flower pot (I'd recommend using one with a wider base than mine . . . it was a little top-heavy when finished. It might also be a good idea to weight the bottom (rocks?) before putting the floral foam in.)

-Floral foam and moss cut to fit snug inside pot (I used a pre-packaged pot from Michael's with the foam and moss already fitted inside. It worked marvelously, and saved some time.)

-White styrofoam craft ball (purchased at Michael's Craft)

-Stick for the trunk (I put Seth in charge of this one. He did a great job finding something to fit my specifications . . . though next time I think I'll specify that I need a thicker stick, as the ball was much heavier than anticipated once I got all the cupcakes on.)

-Toothpicks

-Craft paint for the styrofoam ball, I used pink because it matched my frosting.

-Mini-cupcake liners (Michael's craft)

-One box (per tree) of cake mix baked into mini-cupcakes (I baked extra so the trees didn't get completely mauled by kids trying to work the cupcakes off)

-Stiff icing (I make buttercream from scratch so I can adjust for stiffness by adding more powdered sugar as necessary.) I used two different tones of pink.

Allow at least an hour to build your first tree . . . successive trees should come more easily and take less time.

Paint styro ball with craft paint and allow time to dry.

Wash the stick to be used for tree trunk.

Push stick to the bottom of the foam in the pot, and then push styro ball onto the top.

Using a decorator's icing bag and a large round tip, ice each cupcake in a swirl design starting on the outer edge and finishing with a peak in the center.

Attach cupcakes to styro ball with toothpicks. Try not to swear too much during this step. The ones on the bottom take three toothpicks (some are going to stick out the sides a little, but it doesn't show too much once all the cupcakes are on) the cupcakes on the top only need one or two toothpicks.

The styro ball is going to show a little between the cupcakes, but that is okay because you painted it, remember?

Good luck!