CUPCAKESCUPCAKESCUPCAKESCUPCA-

In case it isn't strikingly obvious by the first half of my blog title, I'm a HUGE cupcake fan. I think it's because they're like mini cakes, and you know how much I love mini things. A LOT. The first time I ever saw a picture of a bride with a tower of cupcakes instead of a cake, I fell in love. There was really no contest, in my mind. When we got engaged, the first thing we decided was that we were going to have cupcakes instead of a cake.

Now, I love a cupcake any 'ol time, but for a wedding, there needs to be something that makes the cupcake special. I started researching thursday night, to see if there was anything that would catch my fancy. I found lots of pictures of putting little toys and flags on the cupcakes, and I thought they were cute enough. I was planning to go to Hobby Lobby (an INCREDIBLE craft store out by us-- if you don't have a hobby lobby near you, you need to move) to pick up some items to make the little flags, when I came across this site. Warning: the stuff on that site looks so good, you might gain 5 pounds just perusing the pictures.

I loved it- a cupcake ON TOP of a cupcake?

It's like a whole meta-cupcake thing going on. The cupcake *knows* it's a cupcake, and tries to be ironic by wearing a cupcake- a little, mini cupcake- right on it's freakin' head.

That, to me, is amazing, and the decision is made.

The topper for our cupcakes is going to be: a cupcake! I made them two nights ago, and I want to share how they turned out.

You need some frosting, sprinkles, and a piping bag. Super simple.

First, you have to unwrap a mini reese's cup

Then, you have to unwrap about five more, because you keep eating them.

Why hello, naked reeces- you shall be naked no longer, very shortly.

Put the icing in the piping bag, and twist!

Lay some'a that frosting down, real gentle-like.

Repeat, approx: 150 times, and sprinkle sprinkles on top!

Try not to eat all of them-- look how friggin' adorable these guys are! Aaah!

Next, cupcakes need to be made (from scratch, of course) so you need eggs, flour, chocolate, vanilla...

...and one of these! Except you can't have this one, he's mine.

I would give you his recipe, but I have no freaking clue what he did. Maybe I'll have to have him blog 'guest star' so he can share his recipe, no?

(it was a pretty great deal for me- I made tiny, adorable, super easy cupcakes, and Mikey made chocolate cupcakes with raspberry filling, with a dark chocolate ganache* topping-- all from scratch. Mmmmmm....a man who knows how to bake....)

*also can be spelled, gnache. Mikey and I disagreed, and I looked it up, and discovered we were both right. I like it when that happens.

Put liners in the pan, and fill 'em up!

Using a squeeze bottle (we got this one from walmart for about 90 cents), inject some raspberry jam into the middle.

Cook 'em, for a while, at a certain temperature (I get really specific), plop some icing on those suckers, throw a mini cupcake on top, and....

ta daa!

THAT, ladies and gentlemen, is what our wedding cupcakes are going to look like.

What do you think?