A Birthday Treat...

A few weeks ago it was one of my good friend's Birthday. I sent over a yummy treat to let her know I was thinking about her. I wanted to share this idea with you. A little bit of chocolate that will dress up any kind of cupcake.

(I sprinkled edible glitter on top of the frosting for a special touch)

Next time you are making cupcakes for home, the bake sale or even to take to a friend, why not add these easy pieces of chocolate candy?

Thinking you can't do this? Think again, it's easy and doesn't take much time. Take a look at the siver tray I placed the cupcakes on. The "Dollar Tree" sells these wonder silver metal plates. They come in different sizes. Add a pretty white doily and they look like you spent way more than a $1.00!

After I arranged the cupcakes on the silver platter they looked nice, but I wanted them to look special for my friend Maggie. A little saying about FRIENDSHIP and a little vintage photo adorned with a flower petal and ribbon did the trick. Now my yummy gift was ready to be delivered.

Let me share with you a few tips on making the chocolate pieces to

top your cupcake treats with. The chocolate I use can be purchased at the local grocery store. It is found right where the chocolate chips are in the baking aisle. It is call "Bark Chocolate". You can also use the Wilton chocolate disks that can be purchased at Michaels Craft Store or a cake decorating store. Just melt a 1/2 cup or so according to the directions on the package. I always use the directions for the microwave. Just a word of warning, take your time melting the chocolate. Don't rush it, or you will over cook the chocolate and then you will be starting completely over! Get a small zip lock sandwich bag and cut the tip off.

(When cutting the tip off, just cut a TINY bit off.)

Click to zoom on photo This is a nifty trick I use.... Place the plastic sandwich bag into a cup (like the photo below). This makes it easy to pour the melted chocolate into without creating a BIG mess.

Now put a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet. Use cooking spray on the wax paper so that the chocolate does not stick to the wax paper. Now it's time to be creative. Just squeeze the plastic bag and the chocolate will come out of the tip. It's time to form your design. I make my design about 2"x2". Just squirt the chocolate across, back and forth, then up and down. There is no right or wrong. No matter what you do, it will look great in the end!

(Here's a close-up)

No two will ever look alike. Let them cool and harden. Be careful removing them from the baking sheet. They are fragile and can easily break. If this happens OH WELL..... It's chocolate just pop it in your mouth and continue! I use a metal spatula to lift them off. Then you can sick them into the frosting. It's that easy....

Now next time you make a batch of cupcakes, you can try this. A little bit of chocolate is bound to put a smile on someones face.

Hope the start to your week brings you may smiles....