Phillies Cupcakes

It will indeed be another Red October!!

You may recall from an earlier post that I am a huge Philadelphia Phillies fan, and I am proud to say that my team has yet again secured themselves a spot in the post season. To commemorate this achievement and also celebrate my roommate's 30th birthday (she is a huge fan as well), I made Phillies themed cupcakes.

I made 30 cupcakes -15 chocolate and 15 french vanilla, rotating between chocolate and vanilla icing.

• On top of each cupcake I sprinkled either blue or red sprinkles on the icing that I piped out of a pastry bag using a large round tip. 
• I found red and blue cupcake cups at the party store to keep with the theme.
• For an extra added touch I tried out something new this time. I piped out the trademark "P" using red candy melts. This was surprisingly easy and added so much to the team spirited little cakes.

Decorating with chocolate melts. 

• Candy melts (I prefer Wilton's) -You can purchase these at any grocery store, although you will find a broader selection of colors at a craft store or even some party stores. They are about $2.99 but I almost always find them on sale at Micheal's Craft store. They do store well so you can hold onto the leftovers until Christmas.
• Wax paper
• Decorating squeeze bottles -You can also pick these up at your local craft store. When you are finished with your project try to dump out as much of the melted candy as you can and then stick the bottle in the freezer. After a few hours crunch and shake the frozen candy out of the bottle. 

Melting the candy:

Fill the squeeze bottle with the candy melts and secure the lid and little orange cap. Place into a small sauce pan filled about halfway with warm water. Keep the burner set on LOW mixing and shaking the bottle often until the candy is melted. Add more candy melts as they turn to liquid and fill the bottle. Make sure the tip of the bottle remains out of the water and dry at all times. You do not want to get water into the bottle. When you are ready to squeeze out the melted candy shake it all the way to the tip with the cap on. You want to remove as many air bubbles as you can.
Lay out some wax paper and patiently squeeze out whatever shape or letter you want. Practice and allow yourself enough so that you can choose the nicest looking shapes to use. Allow them to harden (about 30 mins) and gently pop it off of the wax paper and place on your cupcake. That's it!

This new little trick has opened up so many possibilities for future cupcake toppers. If you decide to try this yourself, please post a comment below and let me know what you made and how it worked out for you. I am always open to new tips, tricks and ideas!