Cupcake cutes

Many of you may not know this, but baking and artistic presentation is definitely my family’s bloodline. From my mother, who made enviably creative and delicious cakes when I was a child, to my sister, Aurelia, who makes beautiful and delicious sweets of her own, to my older sister, Angela, who creates unique and artistic cake creations that most would never attempt!

I, myself, prefer cooking over baking, where I don’t have to use measurements and where I have fun coming up with my own recipes. However, as a mother to a toddler, the inevitable has happened. I must bake…for my toddler’s preschool class, for church, for her birthday, for the holidays.

So, this Sunday, our women’s group at church had a bake sale fundraiser. Wanting to bake cupcakes, but also wanting to do something creative, I came up with some requirements:
Here were some requirements that I had:
1. Must be gluten free. (Thank you Betty Crocker gluten free cake mix)
2. Must be milk free. (Thank you Earth balance soy butter)
3. Must be delicious. (In my opinion, the chocolate gluten free cake mix not only tastes better, but has a better texture, more comparable to cupcakes made with wheat flour).
4. Must be lovely.

I found inspiration on Pinterest:

I love this idea! How lovely! How creative!

So, with ideas swirling in my brain, off to the supermarket I went. The first thing I saw when I walked into Super Target was beautiful, fresh strawberries! The idea formed instantly. Chocolate cupcakes with strawberry flavored icing, garnished with a strawberry.

And this is how they turned out! Lovely, delicious, gluten free, milk free, but definitely not guilt free! They were a huge hit!