Cupcake Flag

 Summer is close people...are you happy?

I am happy.

Summer means no homework for the kids.  I am pretty sure I hate homework more now as an adult than I ever did as a student.  Having to beg my first grader to sit still and write his spelling words 3 times each is TORTURE...for me!

And then we run into the issue where I get stumped.  

On 1st grade math.

Embarrassing. 

It's that new math...right?

And another reason I love summer... Big Brother...

Don't be a hater.  It's solid reality programming.  Do you watch?

So, this coming weekend is the kick off to the summer season, Memorial Day weekend.

Parades.

BBQs

Corn on the Cob

...and the inevitable strawberry/blueberry jello flag dessert that always rears it's played out head around this time of year.

So, my friends...stay away from the jello and come on over to cupcake land.  It's more fun.

 Cupcake cakes are one of the things that I get the most questions about...(sorry cake wrecks ~ I know how you feel about the CCC)

Soooo my friends I decided to put together a little how-to for ya.

It's not rocket science, but sometimes a step-by-step helps...here goes:

Start with a 1/2 sheet (13x9) cake board...

Now, I am assuming that you have already baked your cupcakes.

When you bake your cupcakes you need them all to be the same size....different heights on the cupcakes won't work for a smooth finish on the cake...

My trick for this is to use my 1/4 cup measuring cup to measure out batter.  All the same amount of batter = the same size baked cupcake.

I have found that a 13x9 board will hold up to 40 cupcakes.

In this case I was asked to do 20 chocolate and 20 vanilla.

Make your frosting.  You CAN NOT use canned frosting here, people.  If you do, I highly recommend adding powdered sugar to thicken it up a bit, otherwise your frosting will sink into the cracks in between the cupcakes. 

My buttercream recipe works perfect.

Now, you will need to put some frosting on the bottoms of outside cupcakes to hold the cake together and work like "glue". 

There is no need for you to smear frosting on all the cupcakes...just the outside is enough.

 Now, I crumb coat the tops of the cupcakes a little bit...

Then blob on some major frosting and with an offset spatula smooth it all over the top.

Once you have a nice smooth surface to start on, you're ready to decorate.

I cheat and use a toothpick in my frosting sometimes to outline my design.  If I mess up I just smooth it out and start over...

Now, color the frosting...

And bag it up in Ziplocks, or in piping bags ~ whichever you prefer.

Decorate it up, baby!

and voila...

See how easy that was?
I'm linking this up over at Hoosier Homemade's Cupcake Tuesday

I hope everyone has an safe and fun holiday weekend!