A Koala-ty Valentines Day

Think Valentines Day is all about hearts and flowers? Or chocolate and stuffed animals? Why not chocolate in adorable animal form? Well there you have all the koala-fications for an amazing Valentines Day treat!

These koala bears were very easy and can be made out of items you'll find on a quick trip to the grocery store!

In addition to your cupcakes (we went with chocolate) and frosting, you'll need:

- Mini Oreos
- Chocolate chips
- Chocolate covered almonds
- Black food coloring*

*If you don't have black food coloring, you can use store bought black gel icing or black tube frosting and then mix it in to your prepared frosting to get the perfect koala bear gray.

Once you have your frosting the perfect shade of gray and your materials assembled, you are ready to go! Each cupcake gets one mini Oreo, two chocolate chips, and one chocolate covered almond. Frost each cupcake and then place your Oreo (split into halves) on top for the ears. You can then follow with the chips for eyes and the almond for the nose. You'll need to wait for the frosting to set a bit and then you can cover the Oreo halves in frosting. 

And there you have it - an adorable koala bear for your valentine! 

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March Madness (Sadness?)

Yes indeed, it's that time of year again.

Americans love their sports, but never more so than in March when even the sanest individuals rise to levels of fanaticism previously unheard of. In the beginning, every team starts with a blank slate soon to be filled with crushed hopes and dreams as the field narrows.

Tonight is night #2 of the Sweet 16.
Gonzaga v. UCLA
Duke v. Utah
Louisville v. NC State
Michigan State v. Oklahoma

And all are dreaming of the Final Four. 

Well here in our office, we have a native Michigander whose birthday always falls in the middle of the Madness. There's no question where his loyalties lie between Michigan State and University of Michigan - he bleeds green and white.

These cupcakes were a lot of fun to create and pretty simple! We made simple devils food cupcakes, but added a twist. Baked into the center of each cupcake was a peppermint patty. We made our cupcakes from scratch, but this is an easy way to make a boxed mix your own. After you've mixed the batter, fill each liner about halfway. Place a mini peppermint patty in the center and cover with another layer of batter so that the liner is filled about 3/4 of the way. Bake as directed on the box!

 

We used green fondant to create the Spartans on our cupcakes and hopefully this added school spirit will spur them on to victory tonight against Oklahoma!

On the banks of the Red Cedar,
There's a school that's known to all;
Its specialty is winning,
And those Spartans play good ball;
Spartan teams are never beaten,
All through the game they fight;
Fight for the only colors:
Green and White.

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Mardi Gras Goodies

I know I'm a day late with this one, but with Fat Tuesday being...well, a Tuesday...life seems to get in the way. Next year maybe I'll get my act together a little earlier and come up with some sort of King Cake in cupcake form, but for now some festive decorations are as good as it gets. Luckily the vibrant colors of Mardi Gras make even the simplest toppings sparkle.

I found a bag of sour Skittles that came in the perfect shades of green and purple and then we added some simple fondant masks. A dusting of gold shimmer powder gave them the hint of glitz they needed. A few gold sprinkles later and it was officially a party!

Luckily these decorations will fit whatever flavor cupcake you want to make. We used a basic chocolate recipe just for simplicity, but pick your favorite and dress it up for the masquerade!

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"Schock-ingly" Awesome Downton Cupcakes

Downton Abbey.

It seems that every Sunday night and every Monday morning, it's all anyone can talk about. My best friend loves it. My boss adores it. My neighbor is borderline obsessive about it. A certain Congressman from Illinois clearly has a fondness for the British drama. Yes, even the hallowed halls of Congress aren't immune to the Dowager Countess's charms.



When Rep. Aaron Schock's vibrant red office was unveiled in the Washington Post a week and a half ago, it was all anyone in Washington was talking about. Most offices you find on the Hill are varying shades of beige with personal touches coming in framed pieces hung on the walls. Aaron Schock needed a change of pace from the dull finishes a Member's budget usually provides. Enter an interior designer from the Land of Lincoln with paint rollers, a penchant for gold and glitz, and what must be some sort of nostalgia for pheasant shooting in England.

Well this week PoppyCakes had a commission for a lover of all things political and Downton Abbey. Could we have ASKED for a better week for this order?!

Naturally we opted for red velvet cupcakes with a rich cream cheese frosting. Our favorite red velvet comes from Martha Stewart and is super easy to follow - which leaves plenty of time for mastering your decorations!

Aside from making sure we had the right "red room" backdrop, our focus was on the pheasant feathers that received such a prominent place in Congressman Schock's office. We used a pale brown tinted fondant and a leaf cutter to achieve the basic shape. Add a few cuts of a knife, some colorful stripes, and you've got yourself some Downton ready feathers! Of course the real icing on the cake was achieved with a few tricks in PhotoShop...

Dowager Schock may be having the "worst week in Washington," but we've clearly been having a blast (all in good fun of course).

Fwiw, I thought the office looked rad. http://t.co/dhDUoBMnNF pic.twitter.com/XKnK5yNori

— Ben Terris (@bterris) February 3, 2015

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Take Me Out to the Ballgame!

Here in my office we have what I would call a "friendly" rivalry involving Major League Baseball. Some of us love the Seattle Mariners, and others live and die by the Cleveland Indians. In keeping with this playful banter about who's team is better, we've also made a bet regarding the post season odds for each of our teams. (Never mind that the Mariners haven't made the playoffs in eons and the Indians lost in the Wild Card playoff last year.) Regardless of our (and by our, I clearly mean the Mariners) chances, it's still fun. The loser will have to wear the opposing team's hat and take all of us winners out to a fancy dinner.

When two of these teams biggest fans share a birthday, the cupcake design was clearly a no-brainer. I topped yummy chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream dipped in white sprinkles, followed by red icing "laces." A few pennants printed and attached to straws later, we were done!

When you don't have much time to devote to decorating, it's amazing how far some quick signs or banners will take your cupcakes. Especially with using baseball as your theme, these toppers can easily customize them with little effort.

The Mariners are facing off against the Indians this week and based on Game 1 of the 3 game series, I'd say the Cleveland fan in the office is going to be in big trouble come October.

Go Mariners!

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