Its a Circus of Cupcakes

I just loved these little silicone baking cups with FEET.  

Bake your cupcakes and cool completely.  You will need a bag of multi colored licorice, a bag of bugles snack chips, some vanilla wafers, some Cheerio's, a bag of skittles, a few spearmint leaves, some peanut cookies, a few marshmallow, some banana runts, colored sugars of your choice and some non-parelles, white and multi colored.

Frost your clown's body.  Cut the spearmint leaves into hands,  They are meant to be oversized.  Insert small nubs of licorice for his arms and attached the hands by inserting a piece of uncooked spaghetti into the hand at the wrist and then into the licorice.  

Using two vanilla wafers, frost one side and insert small strips of licorice for his hair then top with the second cookie.  Place on the body and pipe on his face.

Trim out his clothing with skittles and licorice.

His hat is a bugle with frosting and rolled in colored sugar.  Using buttercream and a rose tip make ruffles on his head to hold the bugle in place.

For the lion you will frost the cupcake top and using thin strips of licorice attach his mane.  You can see I used Cheerio's for his ear and skittles for his eyes and nose.  His mouth was piped on last.

Fellow clowns are not as detailed but add to the fun!

The little lamb is done by edging the frosted cupcake in white non-parelles.  Turn you marshmallow on its side and cut it in half so that you have two short circles.  I rolled the edges in the non-parelle to give it texture.  Stand the marshmallow on its side and pipe on eyes, nose and ears. 

Frost the monkey with brown buttercream and dip the top edge in brown sugar for his hair.  Using a #4 round tip pipe on his face and with a damp finger, smooth out the edges so you can overripe the eyes, nose and smile.

The elephant trunk can be done several ways I piped it over a stiff wafer paper cut to shape.  His ears are peanut butter wafer cookies and his tusk are banana runts.

This Circus was well received by the children from a local daycare who were graduating on to Kindergarten.