Sunflower Cupcakes

Before we start talking about cupcakes, let's discuss sunflowers. You can buy packets of sunflower seeds ($$$) or you can do what I do which is much less expensive. Use bird seed.

Each June, a local farmer plows part of our field and we scatter a bag of bird seed, either the solid black or striped ones. By the middle of August we have a a huge bounty of flowers. Up goes a sign saying "Free Sunflowers" (with a pair of clippers) and then we watch while people stop to gather bouquets. It's kind of like a human aquarium. Every once in a while notes appear saying that our sunflowers were featured in an arrangement at the local fair or went to a hospital to cheer up a patient. One young husband excitedly told me that he let his wife know that she was getting a very special surprise that evening - my sunflowers. I only hope she wasn't expecting a precious gem.

The only downside is that sunflowers are voracious feeders. They deplete the nutrients in the soil. The first year the plants are 6 feet high. Then next year, 3 feet and the third year a foot. We let our field go fallow every so often, then plant again.

Now for the cupcakes which I always make in August.

Materials

yellow cake mix (or your favorite cake recipe)

cupcake liners

Pam

yellow icing (tube or tub)

nonpariel candy

Tools

cupcake pan

star shaped piping tip

pastry bag (optional)

I threw away my regular muffin pans and now only have mini ones with the thought that I will consume far fewer muffins and cupcakes if they are little. Who am I kidding? Although I've done the minis here, this idea works for the regular sized cupcakes as well.

Put white or yellow cupcake liners in your pan and spray Pam on the top of your pan. Fill the cups up to the top so that the batter will spill over and form mushroom tops. This way you'll have more surface to form your flowers. (the Pam is so that the tops don't stick to the pan)
The easiest way to ice them is to buy a tube of yellow icing and this assortment of tips. The tube should be enough for 7 mini cupcakes. This is not the the least expensive way, but the most readily available if you do not have access to a pastry bag and tips. (available at Michael's)

Use the flower shaped tip that is in the upper right hand corner of the picture above. Screw it onto the end of the icing tube and pipe a petal starting at the middle of the cake and move to the outside perimeter. Pipe petals north, west, south and east then fill the petals in between. If necessary, fill between those petals as well.

Place a nonpareil candy in the center.
Now tell me that this doesn't shout summer.