How To Make Love Bug Cupcakes Recipes

LOVE BUG CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Scoop out about ½ of the frosting and place in a bowl. Add 1-2 drops of the pink food coloring and mix well.
• Frost the cupcakes with the remaining white frosting. Then with the pink frosting, frost about ¾ of the cupcake leaving a little "V" wedge in the back. The pink will represent wings.
• Cut little slivers of black licorice to represent the antennas. You will need 12.
• Place a dab of frosting on the back of the candy eyes and place on the pink candy melts. Draw a smile with your edible marker.
• In the front of the cupcake, place a lovebug head and 2 antennas. Then, place 3 confetti hearts on each side of the wings.

HOW TO MAKE LOVE BUG CUPCAKES

Steps:

• If you are making your own cupcakes, follow the directions on the cake mix box.
• Scoop out about ½ of the frosting and place in a bowl. Add 1-2 drops of the pink food coloring and mix well.
• Frost the cupcakes with the remaining white frosting. Then with the pink frosting, frost about ¾ of the cupcake leaving a little "V" wedge in the back. The pink will represent wings.
• Cut little slivers of black licorice to represent the antennas. You will need 12.
• Place a dab of frosting on the back of the candy eyes and place on the pink candy melts. Draw a smile with your edible marker.
• In the front of the cupcake, place a lovebug head and 2 antennas. Then, place 3 confetti hearts on each side of the wings.
• You now have a cute little love bug cupcake! Enjoy!!

LADYBUG CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Cupcakes:Preheat oven to 350 degrees with rack in center. Line two standard muffin tins with 18 paper liners. In a medium bowl, whisk together flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
• In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and sugar on medium speed until fluffy. Beat in vanilla seeds. Add eggs and yolks, one at a time, beating until each is fully incorporated before adding the next. Reduce speed to low; gradually add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture and beating until combined after each addition.
• Using an ice cream scoop or large spoon, divide batter evenly among muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake, rotating pans halfway through, until cupcakes spring back when lightly pressed and a tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 16 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.
• Buttercream:Combine egg whites, sugar, and salt in the heatproof bowl of a mixer set over (not in) a pot of simmering water. Whisk constantly until sugar is dissolved, and mixture is warm to the touch and feels completely smooth when rubbed between fingertips.
• Transfer bowl to mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Starting on low speed and gradually increasing to medium-high, whisk until stiff (but not dry) peaks form. Continue whisking until meringue is fluffy and glossy, and completely cool (test by touching the bottom of the bowl), 6 to 8 minutes.
• Reduce speed to medium-low and add butter a few tablespoons at a time, whisking well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla. Switch to paddle attachment and beat on low speed until all air bubbles are eliminated, about 2 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl with a flexible spatula; continue beating until frosting is completely smooth. Keep buttercream at room temperature if using same day. If not, transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate up to 3 days or freeze up to 1 month. Before using, bring to room temperature and beat with paddle attachment on low speed until smooth again, about 5 minutes.
• Reserve 1/2 cup buttercream. Tint remaining buttercream green, adding food color a drop at a time until desired color is reached. If necessary, use reserved buttercream to lighten color.
• Transfer buttercream to a pastry bag fitted with a small multi-opening tip (such as Wilton #233). Starting at the center and moving outward, pipe grass on top of cupcake: With tip on surface of cupcake, squeeze bag, then release while quickly pulling up to form 1/2-inch-long blades. Pipe some slightly longer for a realistic look.
• Marzipan Ladybugs:Tint marzipan red, adding a small amount of food color and kneading until thoroughly incorporated, until you reach desired color.
• Pinch off eighteen 1 teaspoon-sized pieces of marzipan and shape into ovals for ladybug bodies. Using the back of a paring knife, score a line lengthwise along surface of each body to form wings. Place a chocolate chip at one end of each body, point-side out, to form heads. Insert chocolate pearls into wings to form spots. Place a ladybug on top of each frosted cupcake.

TASTY LOVE BUG CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Bake the cupcakes according to the instructions on the packaging. Then allow the cupcakes to fully cool. .With the red frosting, make the wings. To do so, simply apply the frosting as two triangles. The wide ends of the triangles should face the head white the pointed ends face the backside. Then with the white frosting, make two dots to attach the edible eyes to the cupcakes. Add an additional white frosting dot to attach a heart from the sprinkles to the cupcake to make the nose.
• Simply add additional sprinkles and decorations as desired. Then enjoy the cupcakes!

LADY BUG CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt; gradually add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk and coffee, beating well after each addition. , Fill paper-lined muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely., For lady bug wings, microwave chocolate wafers for a few seconds to slightly soften. Use a serrated knife to cut each in half. Cut off the tips to allow room for the lady bug face; save remaining wafer pieces to prop up wings. Frost both wings, and dip in red jimmies. Cut black jelly beans in half; add as spots to the wings. Set aside., For antennae, cut licorice into 1-in. pieces. Dip one end into frosting and roll in black nonpareils; set aside to dry., To assemble cupcake, frost with chocolate icing. Position decorated wings on cupcakes; if desired, add reserved wafer piece under wing tip to prop up. Add antennae and white hard candy eyes. Pipe a small frosting dot for eyeballs. Add a large curved red jimmie and two small ones for the mouth.

BUG CUPCAKES

Steps:

• One-Bowl Chocolate Cake:Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake pans with cupcake liners.
• Into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, sift cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. With the mixer on low, stir in eggs, 1 1/2 cups warm water, buttermilk, vegetable oil, and vanilla until smooth, about 3 minutes.
• Put scant 1/3 cup batter in each cupcake liner. Bake, rotating once, until tester inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 25 minutes.
• Cool cupcakes in pans on rack 20 minutes. Cupcakes can be made in advance and stored up to 1 day in refrigerator. They can be stored 1 week in the freezer.
• Swiss Meringue Buttercream:Beat butter with electric mixer until fluffy and pale. Transfer to small bowl.
• In double boiler over simmering water, whisk sugar and egg whites until warm and sugar is dissolved, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer to clean bowl of electric mixer; beat on high with whisk attachment until fluffy and cooled, about 10 minutes.
• Reduce mixer to medium-low; add butter a scant 1/4 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in vanilla.
• Switch to paddle attachment; beat on lowest speed 3 to 5 minutes. Leave at room temperature if using same day. Or store airtight in refrigerator up to 3 days. Bring to room temperature; beat until smooth.
• Simple Sugar Icing:Beat butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Add milk, vanilla, salt, and lemon juice; beat until smooth. Refrigerate at least 1 hour.
• Divide frosting in to 5 small bowls, and tint each bowlful a different color with food coloring. Use serrated knife to evenly cut the domed tops off of each cooled cupcake. Cut each top in half.
• Use a small offset spatula to evenly spread 1 1/2 tablespoons colored frosting over each flat cupcake top. Then position halved cupcake tops on top of frosted cupcakes, pressing gently to adhere wings to soft frosting. To make bugs, attach tops with the domed side up and points meeting just inside the edge of cupcake and extending off the opposite side. To create butterflies, attach pieces, cut side up, with rounded edges in center of cupcake (domed shape will create angled wings). Refrigerate until frosting is firm and wings are secure, about 30 minutes.
• Prepare gumdrop and licorice heads: Snip licorice strings on a diagonal into 1 1/2-inch lengths. Use a toothpick to make 2 holes in the top of each gumdrop on opposite sides. Insert the pointed end of one licorice strip into each hole to create antennae. Using extra frosting as glue, attach gumdrop head to cupcake.
• Decorate wings as desired with assorted colored frostings: Place frosting in pastry bags filled with couplers and round tips, and pipe over surface of wings. Alternatively, gently spread frosting with a small offset spatula over the surface of the wings as desired. For lots of frosting, spread each wing with a base coat of frosting first and pipe out decorations in a different color. For just a touch of frosting, pipe simple decorations onto the bare black wings.

LOVE BUG CAKE BALLS

Steps:

• Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 13x9-inch pan. Cool completely, and crumble cake. Reserve approximately one-fourth of cake crumbs, and set aside. (These will be used to coat the love bugs.)
• With large spoon, thoroughly mix remaining cake crumbs and the frosting.
• Roll mixture into quarter-size cake balls, and place on waxed paper-covered cookie sheet. Place cake balls in freezer about 15 minutes to firm up. Then transfer them to the refrigerator to keep chilled and avoid freezing.
• Place candy coating in microwavable bowl so coating is at least 3 to 4 inches deep. Microwave uncovered on Low (10%) in 30-second intervals, stirring after each, until melted and smooth.
• Remove 2 cake balls from refrigerator at a time. Dip tip of lollipop stick into melted coating, and insert into cake ball no more than halfway through. Dip and remove cake pop into coating in one motion without stirring, making sure entire cake ball is covered. If coating is too thick, add a little vegetable oil to help thin it and make it easier to work with.
• Remove and gently tap off any excess coating to fall off pop and back into bowl. Before coating sets, gently press cake crumbs around entire ball. Place stick in craft foam to dry.
• Once dry, remove cake ball from lollipop stick for decorating. Using photo as a guide, get creative with placement of desired candy decorations for fun expressions and details. Use melted candy coating to attach candy decorations. For feet, attach cake ball to a mini heart cookie. Use string licorice for antennae, heart candies for ears and eyes. Let dry completely; store loosely covered.

BUG CUPCAKES

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F (325°F for dark or nonstick pans). Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• Make and bake cake mix as directed on box for 24 cupcakes. Cool in pans 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 30 minutes.
• Frost cupcakes with frosting. Decorate with whole or cut-up gumdrops, candies, cut-up or thinly rolled fruit snacks and gel to look like ladybugs, bumblebees, butterflies, caterpillars and beetles.