Shark Cupcakes Recipes

Steps:

• For the cupcakes: Line two 12-cup muffin pans with cupcake liners; fill 9 with yellow liners and 15 with blue liners. Prepare the cupcakes according to the package directions. Transfer to cooling racks and cool completely.
• For the frosting: Color 3 cups of the frosting with blue gel food coloring until sea blue (12 to 14 drops). Color 2 cups of the frosting with yellow food coloring until pale yellow (2 to 3 drops). Keep the remaining 1 cup frosting white and transfer to a pastry bag fitted with a medium petal tip.
• Arrange the cupcakes in a 4-by-6 grid on a cutting board or a flat square serving platter, keeping the yellow liners together to make the sandy beach and the blue liners together to make the water. There will be 1 yellow liner in the row where the blue and yellow meet; keep it to the far left.
• With an ice cream scoop, scoop balls of blue frosting on the blue-lined cupcakes and yellow frosting on the yellow-lined cupcakes. Smooth the frosting across the cupcakes with an offset spatula so the blue and yellow almost meet; the line where they touch should be a gradual diagonal that looks like the shoreline when a wave comes in.
• Set aside 6 teddy bears. Put the rest in a food processor and process to crumbs. Reserve about 1/4 cup or so of the crumbs to anchor the palm trees later. Sprinkle the remainder over the yellow frosting to make sand.
• Pipe waves of white frosting along the shoreline where the sand meets the surf.
• Break off one end of the pretzel rods to make two 5-inch rods; discard (or eat) the smaller pieces from each rod. Cut the spearmint leaves in half crosswise and roll them out to flatten slightly. Press 3 leaf pieces into the broken end of each pretzel rod to resemble palm tree leaves. (If you have having trouble getting the leaves to stick, you can brush with a tiny bit of water at the spot where they adhere). Press 2 chocolate-covered peanuts on top of the leaves to make coconuts.
• Stick the trees into the sand in the spaces where the cupcakes meet. Spoon the remaining graham cracker crumbs around the bottoms of the trees to anchor them. Add a chocolate-covered peanut under each as a dropped coconut.
• Cut the sour candy strip into 4 equal pieces. Arrange on the sand for beach towels and lay a bear on top of each one.
• For the surfboards, unwrap and flatten the fruit roll up rounds. Fold each into quarters and press to adhere. Cut a 2 1/2-inch oval surfboard shape from each. Cut the black licorice into strips for lines on the surfboards (2 lines per board), but don't stick them on yet.
• Place the surfboards on a piece of parchment and microwave just until warm, about 10 seconds. Press on the licorice lines and microwave just until they stick, about 5 seconds more. Press a standing bear on each for a surfer and let cool. (You can put in the freezer to hasten the process.)
• Place the surfing bears on the water. Place the sharks on the water. With the remaining white frosting, pipe waves in front of the boards and in random spots around the rest of the ocean.

Steps:

• Make the cupcakes: Preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with foil or paper liners. Whisk the flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder in a small bowl. Combine the cocoa powder and boiling water in a medium bowl and whisk well. Let stand 5 minutes, then whisk in the sour cream and vanilla; set aside.
• Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium-high speed until light and slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to medium low; beat in the vegetable oil until combined. Beat in the flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the cocoa mixture. Finish mixing with a rubber spatula. Divide among the prepared muffin cups. Bake until the tops spring back when pressed, 16 to 22 minutes. Transfer the pan to a rack and let cool 5 minutes, then remove the cupcakes to the rack to cool completely.
• Make the fins: Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the white and black candy melts in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring, until melted. Let the candy melts cool slightly, then transfer to a resealable plastic bag. Snip off a corner and pipe 12 fin shapes 1 1/2 to 2 inches high on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until hardened, about 10 minutes.
• Make the frosting: Beat the butter and confectioners' sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Add the vanilla; beat on medium high until creamy, 3 minutes. Add the milk and beat until fluffy, about 1 more minute. Tint with blue gel food coloring until the frosting is swirled.
• Spread the frosting on the cupcakes and top each with a candy melt fin.

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.
• Beat 1 cup butter and 2 cups white sugar together in a bowl using an electric mixer until creamy and smooth. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated. Stir in raspberry extract. Gradually stir flour, alternating with milk, into creamed butter mixture until just combined; stir in 6 drops food coloring. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling them 3/4 full.
• Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes before removing to cool completely on a wire rack.
• Place blueberries, 1/4 cup white sugar, and cornstarch in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
• Cut a small hole in the top center of each cupcake. Pipe the blueberry filling mixture into the holes.
• Place 1/2 cup butter in a bowl; beat confectioners' sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, into butter using an electric mixer until just combined. Beat in strawberry extract, vanilla extract, and cream. Gently stir about 4 drops blue food coloring into frosting only until a blue-white effect is created. Pipe the frosting on top of each cupcake.
• Cut the candies to look like a shark's fin. Place one fin on top of each cupcake.