Clown Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 12-cup muffin tin or line cups with paper liners.
• Combine butter and sugar in a bowl. Beat using an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, and beat well after each addition. Mix in vanilla extract. Stir flour, baking powder, and salt together in a separate bowl. Alternate adding flour mixture and all the milk in small amounts, mixing well after each addition.
• Spoon batter into the prepared muffin cups, filling each 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 20 minutes. Cool in the tin for 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely, about 20 minutes.
• Combine cream cheese and butter in a bowl. Beat using an electric mixer until creamy. Add confectioners' sugar 2 tablespoons at a time and mix. Add vanilla extract after 1/2 the confectioners' sugar has been incorporated.
• Frost each cooled cupcake with a layer of cream cheese frosting. Place 2 chocolate chips for eyes, 1 red M&M® candy for the nose, and 1 gummy worm for the mouth on each cupcake. Place 2 rows of orange M&M's® on top to make the hair.

Steps:

• Heat oven to 350°F. Place paper baking cup in each of 24 regular-size muffin cups.
• Make cake mix as directed on box, using water, butter and eggs. Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake and cool as directed for cupcakes.
• On surface lightly dusted with powdered sugar, roll each color fondant to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut 12 (2-inch) triangles from each color.
• Frost cupcakes with vanilla frosting. Use black decorating gel to draw eyes and mouths on cupcakes. Place red candies on cupcakes for nose. Place fondant triangle on each cupcake for hat; decorate hats with yellow decorating icing. Attach star tip to tube of red decorating icing; pipe onto cupcakes next to hats for hair.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12 cup) muffin tins with white paper liners.
• Make the cake mix according to package instructions, substituting the milk for water. Pour the batter into the lined muffin tins and bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 12 to15 minutes. Remove the tins from the oven and let them cool completely on a wire rack.
• In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the frosting with enough confectioners' sugar to create a stiff consistency. Remove about 1/2 cup of the frosting and color it with either red or yellow food coloring. Put the frosting into a pastry bag or resealable plastic bag fitted with a small star tip.
• When the cupcakes are cool, frost the top of 12 cupcakes with an offset spatula. (Reserve the remaining cupcakes for a centerpiece or frost if you have more guests). Put each cupcake into a red or yellow liner. The liners will not fit snugly but will resemble a frilly clown's collar.
• To decorate: Write the name for each guest on colored flags. Using a small amount of rubber cement fold 1 edge over the top of the toothpick to attach. Using a serrated knife cut about 1 1/2-inches off the bottom of the sugar cones. Using pastry brush, coat each lightly with piping gel. Roll 6 cupcakes in yellow sanding sugar and the other 6 in the red. Firmly but gently insert the flag into the top of each cone. Put the cones slightly towards the back of each cupcake. Snip the licorice into 12 (2-inch) pieces for mouths, and approximately 120 (1- pieces) for hair. A clean pair of tweezers is helpful for attaching the hair along the base of the sugar cone. Add a gumball to each for a nose and either 2 brown or blue candy coated chocolates for eyes. Pipe small stars with colored frosting along the base of the cones and hair and along the base near the top of the liner.
• For extra cupcakes: Divide some white frosting into 2 small bowls and color 1 with red coloring and 1 with yellow. Fit 2 pastry bags with a star tip and fill each with 1 color of the frosting. Pipe a swirl of red frosting onto 6 cupcakes and a swirl of yellow on the remaining cupcakes. Sprinkle each cupcake with nonpareil sprinkles.
• Arrange all of the cupcakes on a cupcake stand and serve.

Steps:

• For the eyes: Place the malt balls cut side down on the work surface. Add a mini chocolate chip as a pupil to each ball by gluing with a little buttercream. Set aside.
• For the mouths: Place the small orange gumdrops on the work surface standing upright. Snip each gumdrop with scissors straight down three-quarters of the way through the candy to make the open mouth.
• For the tails and fins: Cut each orange gumdrop fruit slice in half horizontally to make 2 thinner slices. Cut 12 of these pieces in half crosswise to make fins. Make tails from the remaining 12 slices by cutting and removing a wide "V" into the concave side of the candy. Set aside.
• For the stripes: Unroll the licorice and cut twelve 2 1/2-inch strips and twelve 3-inch strips. Separate the two sides of each strip.
• To assemble: Frost each cupcake with about 2 tablespoons buttercream. Arrange a long and a short piece of licorice across one end of each cupcake, placing the longer piece toward the middle and the shorter piece toward the edge, about 1/4 inch apart to make a stripe. Repeat with another set of licorice pieces across the other end of the cupcake. Trim the licorice pieces so that they are even with the edges of the cupcake.
• Attach the eyes, mouth, fins and tails by pressing gently into the frosting. Carefully sprinkle with orange nonpareils, leaving the 2 white stripes between the licorice pieces free of orange. Repeat steps for all cupcakes.