Baby Face and Little Monster Cupcakes with Cake Pops and Homemade Fondant

Today, I had the privilege of co-hosting my very good friend's baby shower. She is one of the most easy going and fun persons I know, a nerdy sys-admin and bad-ass roller derby player with the most beautiful heart and soul. So when it came time to pull together a baby shower, there were no traditional Winnie the Pooh or the like theme and absolutely no baby blue & pink. My first idea was a zombie baby shower because this girl is all about zombies and the coming apocalypse, but my co-host wasn't too keen on the idea. 

My next idea was to go cuter, but not too cute-sy and came up with the idea of Little Monsters. It is actually perfect because her due date is Halloween and Halloween is one of her favorite, if not, favorite holiday. Co-host and mommy-to-be approved! Whew. 

To complement the theme, I made Little Monster Cupcakes and Cake Pops and because they were adorable and I couldn't resist, Baby Face Cupcakes. My friend specifically requested the Guinness and Irish Cream Cupcakes because she is really missing beer during the pregnancy. The monster cupcakes have the Irish Cream Swiss Meringue Buttercream Frosting and the baby ones are topped with a small amount of Irish Cream Buttercream Frosting to adhere the Homemade Fondant. Click on the links above for the cupcake, ganache, and frosting recipes.

Little Monster Cupcakes

1 Guinness and Irish Cream Cupcake recipe
1 Ganache recipe
1 Irish Cream Swiss Buttercream Frosting recipe
24 little straws, cut in half
48 dum-dum suckers
1 pk small candy eyeballs
melted chocolate to adhere eyes

1. Bake cupcakes according to directions. Set aside to cool.
2. Core cupcakes and fill with ganache.
3. Prepare frosting recipe according to directions, split into bowls and add color.
4. Pipe frosting onto cupcakes add two straws.
5. Add a small amount of the melted chocolate to eyeball and stick on sucker.
6. Place sucker in straw. repeat.

Fondant

adapted from Wilton
16 ounces mini marshmallows
2 tbsp water
8 cups sifted powdered sugar
2 tsp clear vanilla extract
butter flavored shortening

1. Melt marshmallows and water in microwave using 30 second increments until melted. Stir well.
2. Add vanilla. Stir well.
3. Add 3/4 of the powdered sugar in bowl. Grease hands using shortening and kneed into dough. Re-grease hands and add more sugar if too sticky. Add more water and kneed if the fondant tears. 

Baby Face Cupcakes

1 fondant recipe

Copper (flesh tone), red, and black icing color

1 cup Buttercream frosting

chocolate jimmies

black nonpareils

1. Prepare fondant according to directions.
2. Spilt fondant in half and fold in the copper color to one half. Split the other half in two and fold in the red and black respectively.
3. Cover in plastic wrap, let sit for at least 8 hours.
4. Bake cupcakes according to directions. Set aside to cool.
5. Core cupcakes and fill with ganache.
6. Roll copper color fondant and cut rounds with 3 inch biscuit cutter.
7. Spread a small amount of frosting onto cupcake and place round on top.
8. Take a tiny amount of fondant and roll into balls for nose and ears. For the mouths, roll out the black and red fondant and cut black into 1 inch rounds and cut a half of round out of the red. Using a sharp edge indent the top of the red to shape the tongue.
9. To adhere the eyes (chocolate jimmies or nonpareils , mouth, nose, and ears, wet fondant to make stick.

Little Monster Cake Pops

1 pk oreos, crushed finely

5 ounces of cream cheese

Green, purple, and blue Candy Melts

Sprinkles

1 pk large candy eyes

sticks, baggies

1. Kneed oreos and cream cheese into ball of dough.
2. Refrigerate until cool, roll into 1 inch balls. I like to use My Little Cupcake Pop Molds.
3. Refrigerate until cool. 
4. Melt chocolate in microwave in 30 second increments until melted. Be sure to not over cook, chocolate will harden with no way to fix.
5. Dip stick in chocolate and then cake pop. Return to fridge.
6. Dip cake pop in chocolate, removing excess chocolate from pop. Add eyes and sprinkles as desired. Let sit to dry.