Hi all,

So I just got the What's New Cupcake? book and am really excited to try them out! I don't have the Hello, Cupcake book, but saw on their website that they have really cute vegetables on top of garden themed cupcakes. Would anyone with the book mind sharing (briefly) how they made them or what candies they used? I want to make a garden cake for my mom's birthday this year and thought this would be a different way to do the veggies instead of fondant. Thanks

I would love to help! email me and I can give you my photos and ideas. My daughter has the first book and we made the cupcakes for Easter. We had so much fun and got so creative. love to share them with you if you still are interested.

You could use colored tootsie rolls

I made them and used Starburst candies for the veggies as I couldn't find the colored tootsies as the book asks for. I used regular food coloring to color the candies if I didn't have the right color. I used skittles for the inside of the pea pods instead of smarties and it worked too.

I also have the book if you still need the info. I love the ideas in that book, and also the second book they came out with, but I do not like the use of candies, cookies, sunflower seeds, etc. to achieve a certain effect.

I made the pupcakes and found it rather disconcerting to bite into a cupcake loaded with frosting, junior mints, nabisco famous wafers, jelly beans, starbursts, and chocolate covered sunflower seeds. If I made any more cupcakes out of that book in the future, I would definitely render everything in fondant to make it a little more consistent.

Airheads and Starburst candies work really well for the veggies. My oldest daughter entered a 'farmer's market' cake in the fair a couple of years ago. She used Hersey bars to make crates and filled them with straw colored coconut- then she made tomatoes, carrots, peas, watermelons, corn and cabbages. Royal icing signs, Chocolate wafer dirt for down the aisle. It was adorable.

I have the book still and can send you whatever info you need. But basically you need a box of chocolate mix, some oreos smashed and a tub of frosting. YOu make your cupcakes then cover with frosting, then dip your cupcakes in the crushes oreos, i only used the dark wafer of the oreo. For the decorations I recommend, m&m's green for the pee in the pod or skittle will work too. Buy a pack of starbursts so you can create your carrots and radish. Now the trick with the candy is to place it on a plate and put in mircowave and 5 second interval till you get the candy soft, not melted. Once it soften you roll the orange starbursts with your thumb and pointer finger and shape it to the carrot. You can dust it with cinnomon to make it look like they have dirt on them, adds a bit of character to it all. For the pee in the pod I used green airheads, now these candies you have to be careful when softening in the microwave, I suggest 5 seconds in micro then scult to your likeing, at this point you can place the candy inside the airhead cause once this candy hardens you can't move it around. I hope this helps. I have posted my picture under cupcakes and hello garden cupcakes.

Hey these cupcakes are easy. for Dirt use cookie crumes on top of chocolate frosting put dirt on all cupcakes.To make the lettuce heads use a green tootsie roll or laffy taffy. Roll part of your tootsie roll into a ball and place it on the cupcake. Next take corn flakes and put them in a bowl. microwave green frosting until it has a texture like whipped cream. pour over cornflakes. Revove corn flakes and let them sit in the fridge for 5 minutes. Place cornflake leaves around the tootsie roll ball to finish the lettuce. Next is carrots take an orange tootsie roll and roll into a cone. create small indents in the cone with a tooth pick. roll in cinnamon to look like it has been freshly picked. poke a hole on the top of the carrot and pipe the greens coming out of the hole, place on cupcake. For peapods take a green fruit chew (tootsie roll) and roll it inot an oval. take three green MnMs and place them on one half of the fruit chew. fold the other half of the fruit chew over the MnMs. For the curly greens on the peapods use green thin licorice twists. For a radish use a white and red tootsie roll. roll the tootsie rolls into a ball keeping the colors seperate. pinch the red end into a point use extra cornflake leaves as the greens.