Quinceanera!

My latest cupcake adventure almost turned into a disaster. I definitely learned my lesson that when making more complicated cupcakes, I need to break up my tasks. I spent about 6 hours in the kitchen and, when done, I was a mess, my kitchen was a mess, and I had a party to get ready for!

Kevin's step-sister, Emily, had turned 15 that weekend and since she is of "latin" origins, I made some themed cupcakes for her Quinceanera!

The cupcakes were apple flavored with cinnamon cream cheese frosting. I made white chocolate cactus molds and sombrero molds. I tried experimenting with making some maracas out of hollowed out white chocolate but didnt have any luck. I had found some techniques online using balloons dipped in white chocolate, then popped when dry, but the problem I ran into was that even with the chocolate at nearly room temperature, the heat was too much for the little balloons...after about an hour of trying and brainstorming, I gave up on the maracas. Balloons-1, Michelle-0. :)

Check out the completed cupcakes below:

OLE!!