Erica's Neopolitan Cupcakes

12-19-10
  So here's the deal on this creation.  Erica, another coworker of mine, ordered some chocolate cupcakes with strawberries and vanilla icing.  They were similar to the cupcakes I did for Sophia's daughter Endya (posted on 11-21-10).  As usual, I tried something different by dipping the strawberries in chocolate.  The taste was fine (especially since it was hershey's chocolate) but the texture didn't go well with the softness of the cupcake.  Some people thought the vanilla icing was too strong but I think that might have been a preference since only a few people mentioned it.  Erica thought the vanilla was fine and the order was for her anyway so the vanilla stays.  Now you might be wondering how I got so many opinions from an order of Erica's right?  No the cupcakes weren't for our coworkers.  The container almost slipped out of my hands when I was putting it into my car and although I didn't actually drop the box.....let's just say that the cupcakes didn't look ANYTHING like the final picture posted on this blog.  Hours of work (not to mention money lost) for nothing.....   But my moto in life, which keeps me from going crazy, is that there is ALWAYS an upside to every down situation in life.  In other words there's always a positive for a negative.   Many times there's even more than one upside.  So the upside here was ..... so that Erica's order did not go to waste, I decided to use them as samples. 

I had to go to 5 stores this time to find fresh strawberries.

I wanted to just eat these and forget putting them inside the cupcakes.

OK, I made myself put them inside the cupcakes.

Then I topped the strawberries with

a little strawberry icing so that......

the little dunce cap would stay attached.

I thought the white icing looked so nice on the chocolate.

I cut off the tip of the cone/cap and added another strawberry

(just the tip of the strawberry)

Then a couple more floret rings.

I couldn't decide which of the previous 2 shots looked better.

TA DA I made it to the top!

Now to add some tiny strawberry stars

Thought the top view was interesting

Then I sliced some more strawberries, cut them in halves

and attached them to the sides.

I thought it looked like flower petals.

The others that I did had more petals.

This one was a mistake.  I forgot to pipe the 2nd row of floretes on the top row.

I was wondering why the strawberry at the top looked soooo much bigger

than the others!  (didn't take the before picture)

I don't think anyone would've even noticed if I hadn't pointed it out.

Then for the strawberry petals.

Just pick one...

or two

OK how fast can you find the one that's NOT like the others?

Do you REALLY need the answer...keep going....

 bottom left.