The Great Cupcake

I am a sucker for a fun cake pan, and this Great Cupcake Pan has been calling my name for quite some time.  In spite of my efforts to be selective, somehow my collection of specialty shaped cake pans keeps growing, but who can resist a giant cupcake? I think I can squeeze one more pan into the attic!

I love the scalloped detail that makes up the “cupcake liner.”  I wanted to preserve this detail but I was afraid that it would get lost if I covered it in frosting, so I went a completely different direction, chocolate!  I melted some white candy melts and threw in a few pink candy melts to get a light pink color.  I sprayed the bottom part of the cupcake pan with non-stick spray and then wiped out the excess.  Then I brushed the melted candy coating up the sides of the pan.

To make sure the candy shell was nice and sturdy, I painted two coats of chocolate.  I waited for the first coat to dry before applying the second.  I left the candy shell to set overnight and then unmolded it in the morning.  I wasn’t sure if the chocolate would stick, so this was experimental, but to my surprise and delight, the shell released from the pan beautifully!

You may recognize the cake here; it’s Funfetti! This cake was for my goddaughter’s birthday and she always makes a special request for Funfetti.  The bright colorful spots always liven up a party, and kids especially love it.  The cake fit perfectly in the shell; I just leveled it a bit to make it slightly shorter than the top of the chocolate shell.

I added some light pink frosting to seal in the cake and make sure no cake would peek through.

So this is the top that I originally made.  I covered the cake in poured icing and added some confetti sprinkles.  I was happy with the color and sprinkles, but the icing started to crack, and that wasn’t the look I was going for.  Also it looked more like an ice cream than a cupcake.  Hmmm… Scratch that one!

I went ahead and put the top on just to see the overall look.  As you can see, the top of the cupcake is a little too small for the cupcake base; it doesn’t go all the way out to the edge of the chocolate shell.  Details, details! These are the kinds of issues that you just can’t think of! The top portion of this cake would make a really cute shell for a snail cake.  I’m putting that one on my list!

So here is the revised version frosted with Ateco tip 825 in pink buttercream. It takes a lot of frosting to cover this cupcake! Hint –  Use a large pastry bag to get one continuous swirl of icing.

A few confetti sprinkles and voila! Time to dig in! This giant cupcake is sure to be the center of attention at any party!