Succulent cupcakes

Yes, you read correct! They taste good, look good and the best part is that they are very easy to do. I know, I know… these are not real succulents, though some might look as the real thing. I made this tutorial base on a great Pinterest finding a I did a while ago. You can check out my “Easy tutorial board”  here. For this tutorial all you’ll need are some vellum paper, scissors, skewers or toothpicks and some cupcakes that can be store bought or you can make your own.

Here is the recipe I used. I have to say they came out perfectly moist and soft and the frosting was just perfect. Both recipes can be found on the Simply Sweet magazine but I’m putting here the cupcake recipe for easy access.
Butter cake:
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all purpose soft wheat flour (I used regular all purpose)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
2. Combine flour, baking powder and salt; add to butter mixture alternately with milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture. Beat at low speed until blended after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
3. Place paper baking cups in muffin pan (I used the aluminium one since with the black one time varies). Spoon batter into cups, filling two-thirds full.
4. Bake at 350° for 12 to 15 minutes. (I waited around 6 minutes and then turned the pan around for the other half of the time. This way they cook evenly.) Take them out of the oven and leave them to rest for 10 minutes.
This recipe was way too easy and the results were spectacular. For the frosting I used the basic vanilla frosting but you can used any type of flavor and color.
While the cupcakes cooled down, I started preparing my succulents. I took some pictures and placed them all outlined on a Photoshop document. After they were all arranged, I printed them on vellum (available at Michael’s) and started to cut them out. I’m sharing with you the hi-res one that I used for you to print it. Remember to adjust the size so it will fit in a letter size vellum paper.

When I was done cutting, I used a pin to make the hole on the center of each succulent so I could pass the skewer through them. To decorate each cupcake, I combine some small and the big plants to make a great mix. This is how they end up looking. These mini yumm-ariums (Yummy terrariums) are an attention grabber and a fun thing to do for a party. Hope you enjoy this easy tutorial and let me know your feedbacks. I really would love to read what is on your mind! I’m also posting this tutorial on Whipperberry so, join the fun and take a moment to say hi to her and others on her “Link party“. She’s got a terrific tutorial on chalkboard banners.