Water Lily Cupcakes

Since Mother's Day is coming up, I decided to do a pretty little cupcake that would make a beautiful centerpiece on a dessert table.....Water Lily cupcakes.  I got this idea from Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh My.  They've got a ton of amazing looking ideas for totally fun desserts (having two little boys at home, I'm always on the lookout for fun stuff).

For these cupcakes, you can use any flavor cupcake you want...and any size you want (regular or mini).  Go fancy or go plain.....homemade or a box mix.....it's totally up to you.  Same goes for the frosting......homemade or store bought....your call.  I decided to go really simple, and make a box cake mix of chocolate fudge cupcakes, and bought a tub of vanilla frosting (something I would normally never admit to).

Once your cupcakes are baked and cooled you will also need:

white candy melt wafers
plastic spoons (they must be plastic, not metal)
vanilla frosting
red and green food coloring
yellow sprinkles

1.  To make the petals of the flowers, line a cookie sheet with wax paper.  Place the white candy melt wafers in a microwave safe bowl and heat until melted and stir until smooth.  Dip the back of the plastic spoon into the melted candy so that the back of the spoon is coated, and then gently shake off the excess melted candy.  If there is any melted candy that has oozed over the edge of the spoon use a finger or a paper towel to wipe it off.  Place the spoon, candy side up, on the cookie sheet and place in the refrigerator to harden (for about 5 minutes).

2.  Remove the spoons from the refrigerator and let stand for about 1 minute.  Then, very carefully, bend the back of the spoons to release the candy, forming the petals for the flowers.  You will break a few of them, but once you get the hang of it, it will go pretty fast.  You will need between 3-5 petals per flower, so continue with this process until you have enough petals.

3.  Separate about 1/4 cup of your frosting, and tint to a pale pink color using red food coloring.  Place this colored frosting in a ziploc bag.  Use the green food coloring to tint the remaining food coloring a vibrant (lily pad) green.

4.  Use a spoon to dab a dime-size dollop of the melted candy onto the wax paper.  Take a petal and place the larger end in the melted candy.  Repeat 2-4 more times with additional petals, overlapping each petal slightly, to make the water lily shape.  Refrigerate the flower until it has set, about 5 minutes.

5.  Frost the cupcakes with the green tinted frosting.  Use as much or as little as you like.

6.  Remove the flowers from the refrigerator.  Snip the corner off of the ziploc bag containing the pale pink frosting and dab on dots of pink frosting into the center of the flower.  Sprinkle the pink frosting with the yellow sprinkles.  Remove the flower from the wax paper and place on top of the cupcake.

7.  Serve, eat, and enjoy!

I really hope you give these a try......they're sure to impress!  Check out Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh My! for more fun dessert ideas.....and Enjoy!

This post is linked to:
Crazy Sweet Tuesday - Tasty Tuesday - T' Time - Link It Up Wednesday - Tip Me Tuesday - Tuesday Talent Show - Mrs. Fox's Sweet Party - Cast Party Wednesday - Bake with Bizzy - Wednesday Link Party - Full Plate Thursday - Sweet Treats Thursday - Show Off Your Stuff - Anything Goes Linky - Friday Favorites - Kitchen Fun and Crafty Friday - Friday Food - Sweet Tooth Friday - I'm Lovin' It - Seasonal Inspiration - Sweets for a Saturday - Scrumptious Sunday - What Makes You Say Mmmmm? Monday - Mix It Up Monday - Show Me What You Got