Easy Cupcakes

When I first took a cake decorating class many moons ago, I had dreams of being my very own

Cake Boss.  Unfortunately, lack of talent and limited time has made me take a much simpler route when it comes to my kids' birthday cakes.  One of my favorite (and easiest) ways of turning out cakes that kids seem to dig is to make cake toppers from Candy Melts.  They are easy to use (just nuke 'em), come in all the favorite colors, and the molds are (mostly) inexpensive.  Purchase some heart and star-shaped molds and you have what you need for most occasions. 

For SugarBear's birthday this year, I found some silicone ice cube trays shaped like Lego Minifigures over at lego.com.  These molds are pricier than most, but they work wonderfully for chocolate!  The boys went crazy for these cupcakes:

Now I just need to find a way to put the eyes and smile on them.  I tried the FoodWriter pens, but they didn't work well.  Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments.

Make a Wish!

Here are some other little cakes I've done in the past using molded chocolate decorations:

For a USC fan.

Alphabet Candy Mold

I molded a cake-topper using a #9-shaped cake pan. 

(You can find them on ebay.  Search for Wilton number pans.)

I molded this topper in a bowl and used a number candy mold. 

Then I added drop-flowers made of royal icing.