Fabulous Cupcakes from Karen Tack and Alan Richardson
Hello, Cupcake! and What's New, Cupcake?

For information on Hello, Cupcake! click here.

Garden Party from Hello, Cupcake!

Edible Ornaments from Hello, Cupcake!

Pumpkin Patch from Hello, Cupcake!

For information on What's New, Cupcake?! click here.

Fur Balls and String Monsters from What's New, Cupcake?

Formula One Cupcakes from What's New, Cupcake?

Chinese Takeout from What's New, Cupcake?

Bagels and Lox from Hello, Cupcake!

Makes 24 bagel-and-lox cupcakes

Where's the Sunday paper? This bagel is a mini doughnut with a schmear of vanilla frosting. Add a slice of orange fruit-chew lox, sprinkle with scallions of green licorice, and serve with a wedge of candy lemon on the side.

• 24 Lemon Poppy-Seed Cupcakes [see below] baked in pale yellow paper liners
• 24 plain mini doughnuts
• 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon poppy seeds
• 24 orange fruit chews (Starbursts)
• 1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting Yellow food coloring
• 4 strands green licorice twists (Twizzlers Rainbow Twists), thinly sliced diagonally
• 24 mini candy lemon slices

1. Cut the doughnuts in half horizontally to make the bagels. Heat the corn syrup in a small bowl in the microwave until bubbly, 5 to 10 seconds. Brush the top of the doughnuts with the corn syrup. Sprinkle lightly with the poppy seeds and set aside.

2. Soften several orange fruit chews at a time in the microwave for 2 to 3 seconds. Roll out each fruit chew on a sheet of wax paper to a 2 1/2-by-1 1/4-inch rectangle. Score the top lengthwise with a knife.

3. Spread a thin layer of the vanilla frosting on the cut side of the bottom half of each doughnut. Arrange 1 fruit chew, folded slightly to look like lox, on top.

4. Tint the remaining vanilla frosting yellow with the food coloring and spread on top of the cupcakes. Place the bottom half of 1 doughnut on each cupcake. Scatter a few licorice slices over the doughnut and place 1 doughnut half with poppy seeds on top. Serve with a candy lemon slice on the side.

LEMON POPPY-SEED CUPCAKES

Makes 24 standard cupcakes

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 24 muffin cups with paper liners.

2. Whisk together the flour, poppy seeds, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.

3. In another medium bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the cream cheese, butter, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture alternately with the milk in batches, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating just until blended. Stir in the lemon peel.

5. Spoon half of the batter into a ziplock bag. Snip a 1/4-inch corner from the bag and fill the liners two-thirds full. Repeat with the remaining batter. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the cupcakes from the baking pan, place on a wire rack, and allow to cool completely.

Copyright © 2010 by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Reprinted from Hello, Cupcake! with permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

For pricing and more on Hello, Cupcake! click here.

Indian Corn from What's New, Cupcake?

Makes Makes 8 ears of corn, 24 cupcakes

Amaize your crowd with this crafty centerpiece inspired by the dried harvest corn decorations that grace doorways each fall. The kernels are gourmet jelly beans in beautiful autumn shades. Sheets of toasted phyllo dough form the tawny corn husks.

• 24 vanilla cupcakes baked in white paper liners
• 3 sheets phyllo dough, thawed
• Vegetable cooking spray
• 1 can (16 ounces) vanilla frosting
• 1/4 teaspoon unsweetened cocoa powder (Hershey's)
• About 4 cups assorted small gourmet jelly beans in russet, orange, gold, cream, and brown (Jelly Belly)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a cookie sheet with crumpled foil. Cut the phyllo sheets crosswise into 3-inch-wide strips, tapering both ends. Drape the stackec husks on the prepared pan, shaping them over the crumpled foil to make curves. Spray lightly with vegetable cooking spray. Bake until the phyllo is golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. (The husks can be made up to 1 day in advance and kept in an airtight container.)

2. Tint the vanilla frosting pale beige with the cocoa powder.

3. Working with 3 cupcakes at a time, spread some of the pale beige frosting on top. Arrange about 5 straight rows of jelly beans, side by side and close together, on each cupcake. (Try to select flavors that go well together, such as toastec marshmallow, banana, cappuccino, and chocolate pudding.) Repeat with the remaining cupcakes, frosting, and jelly beans.

4. For each ear of corn, place 3 cupcakes end to end on a serving platter, aligning the rows of jelly beans. Arrange the phyllo husks on either side of the corn.

Copyright © 2010 by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Reprinted from What's New, Cupcake! with permission of Houghton Mifflin Company.

For pricing and more on What's New, Cupcake! click here.

About Karen Tack:

Karen Tack is a cooking teacher and food stylist for Gourmet, Bon Appétit, Good Housekeeping, Family Circle, Woman's Day, Martha Stewart Living, Parents, Real Simple, Family Fun, Nick Jr. Magazine, and many more.

About Alan Richardson:

Photographer Alan Richardson's work appears in leading food and women's service magazines and in many best-selling cookbooks. He is the coauthor of The Breath of a Wok, which won two IACP Awards.