Page 410 - Cupcakes

BILLIARD BALL CUPCAKES

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This clever idea for turning cupcakes into something more is thanks to Alicia
Flanery of Knoxville’s Bearden High School. You begin with sixteen white
cupcakes, but you decorate them with tinted coconut, and write numbers on them
with a black food-decorating pen or some black frosting piped through a very
thin tip. Voilà! Billiard balls! Arrange 1 through 15 in the shape of a triangle on a
platter. Put the last cupcake, which is simply the white cue ball, to the side. This
makes a fun conversation piece for parties for all age groups.

SERVES UP TO 16

Buttercream Frosting (page 318)

16 white or yellow cupcakes of your choice
2 bags (7 ounces each) sweetened flaked coconut
Yellow, orange, red, green, blue, purple, brown, and black food colorings (or see
“the Cupcake Doctor says”)

Black food-decorating pen or pastry bag fitted with a thin decorating tip
18-by 15-inch serving platter or board

1. Prepare the frosting and place a heaping tablespoon on each of the cupcakes.
Swirl to spread it out with a short metal spatula or a spoon, taking care to cover
the tops completely. Set aside any leftover frosting.

2. Sprinkle 1 cupcake with the coconut, covering the top completely. Set it aside
as the cue ball.

3. Divide the remaining coconut among 8 small plastic bags and add a few drops
of a different color of food coloring to each bag. Close the bags and shake to