Cake Week Day 3 ~ WFMW ~Creative Cupcakes

Wow - Day 3 of Cake Week! Welcome! I hope you are having fun! If you are just getting here, you really should get caught up - I wouldn't want you to miss out on great recipes and giveaways! And once you get to the bottom of this post, link up your favorite cake or cupcake recipes/posts!

Day 1: Video preview, German Apple Cake, Giveaways
(I was having trouble getting my video to play earlier, but you can also check it out here: Video on facebook )
Day 2: Yellow Cake with Raspberry Filling and Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

What's working for me today is creative cupcakes! When we think of cake, sometimes we forget that cupcakes are also cake. I even wrote a couple of haikus for the occasion!

Little cupcake says:
Don't forget that I'm CAKE too,
Perfectly portioned.

Cupcakes are cake too
Already perfectly sized
For your enjoyment

Write up your own cupcake haiku and submit it to Cupcakes Take The Cake! Isn't that fun?

Cupcakes can be presented in so many ways, not just cake mix poured into paper cups with a little frosting on top (though I won't refuse one if you offer it to me!). Check out other blogs to find all sorts of great cupcake recipes and unique designs. I have a couple of cupcake blog friends you can start with:

Cupcakes and Crinoline ~ a lovely twitter friend and maker of what I call my BFF cupcakes :)

Susie's Homemade ~ a loyal commenter and a cupcake competitor, maker of this cute tea cupcake

I have a few creative cupcake ideas for you today!

Have you tried Cupcake Cones?
These are so fun for the kids! And I have decided I am a huge fan of these because they are so easy for the kids to carry around and much less messy for them to eat.

Cupcake Cones

1 package Cake Mix
ice cream cones
Frosting

1. Heat oven to 350.
2. Make cake batter as directed.
3. Fill each cone about half full.
4. Stand cones in muffin pan.
5. Bake 20-25 minutes. Cool. Frost.
Makes 24-36 cones.

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You can also try using molds to make your cupcakes pretty! My favorite thing to use to make fancy cupcakes is my Pampered Chef Silicone Flower Mold. You can get the recipe for these delicious Powdered Sugar Poundcakes (my son's fav) from Pampered Chef. They're really nice for serving at a tea or giving as gifts.

Another creative presentation is to serve your cupcakes in cups! Take a look at how you can serve up these Mochaccino cupcakes! Cute, huh? The recipe is from a Cupcakes cookbook.

Mochaccinos

MOCHA MUD CAKE
1 stick plus 3 tablespoons butter, chopped coarsely
3 1/2 oz. dark chocolate, chopped coarsely
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup coffee liqueur
3 tablespoons instant coffee granules
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons self-rising flour
3 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 egg

DECORATIONS
1 1/2 cups heavy cream, whipped
3 tablespoons chocolate syrup
1 1/2 tablespoons cocoa powder

1. Preheat oven to 325 F. Line 12-hole standard muffin pan with paper baking cups.
2. Combine butter, chocolate, sugar, the water, liqueur and coffee in small pot; stir over low heat until smooth.
3. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; cool 15 minutes. Whisk in sifted flours and cocoa, then egg. Divide mixture among baking cups.
4. Bake about 50 minutes. Turn cakes onto wire rack to cool.
5. Remove baking cups from cakes. Place cakes in coffee cups, top with cream. Place chocolate syrup in piping bag with small plain tube, pipe spirals over cream; feather and fan cakes by pulling a skewer through the spirals or, dust cakes with sifted cocoa.

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I hope I have inspired you to give cupcakes the respect they deserve - LOL! What was your favorite cupcake idea today?

Creative cupcake ideas work for me - to see what's working for everybody else, stop by Works-For-Me-Wednesday at We Are THAT Family! And creative cupcakes can be part of a beautiful life, a series at The Inspired Room!

Now, make sure you're entered in the giveaways and go find a cake post, then come back here and link it up. I want to see a lot of recipes shared here today - for some strange reason I'm feeling like having a piece of cake. :)

See you tomorrow with a cake that goes well with a cup of coffee!