One trip to the cupcake pumpkin patch, and this project will become a favorite fall tradition. It's a terrific dessert centerpiece for any gathering from Halloween to Thanksgiving. The pumpkin patch boasts both standard and mini cupcakes, and each one is a little different—just like a real pumpkin patch—so you can pick and choose your favorite.

　　

Ingredients

12 standard Pumpkin Spice cupcakes baked in orange paper liners

　　24 mini Pumpkin Spice cupcakes baked in white paper liners

　　4 green licorice twists (Twizzlers Rainbow Twists)

　　1 can (16 ounces) plus 1 cup vanilla frosting

　　Orange food coloring (available at baking supply stores)

　　1 cup orange decorating sugar (available at baking supply stores)

　　Green licorice laces (Watermelon Madness Fruit Streamers)

　　

Step 1

Cut the licorice twists into thirty-six ¾" pieces for the pumpkin stems. Tint the vanilla frosting orange with the food coloring. Tint ½ cup of the orange frosting a darker shade of orange with more food coloring, and spoon into a ziplock bag. Press out the excess air, seal the bag, and set aside.

　　

Step 2

Place the orange decorating sugar in a shallow bowl. Spread the lighter orange frosting on top of the cupcakes, mounding it slightly. Starting on the edge, roll the cupcake tops in the sugar to cover completely.

　　

Step 3

Use a wooden skewer to mark ridges in the top of each cupcake. Starting in the center or slightly off center, lightly press the skewer down toward the top of the paper liner to create 5 or 6 indentations. Snip a 1/16" corner from the bag with the darker orange frosting and pipe a line in each indentation to make the ribs. Insert a cut green twist for the stem. Arrange the cupcakes on a serving platter or a cutting board and add the green licorice laces, trimmed to various lengths, for the tendrils.

　　From Hello, Cupcake!: Irresistibly Playful Creations Anyone Can Make © 2008 by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson. Reprinted with permission by Rux Martin, an imprint of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.Buy the full book from Amazon.