Berry Bloomers

Despite being on a my strict 5 day diet throughout the week, I haven't stopped baking! I wasn't allowed to eat sweets; but it didn't mean I wouldn't bake them *wink* Haha. I brought these to my dear aunt Pauline's place when I went over for a visit. She hasn't been feeling very well lately and it was nice to see her after such a long time. I baked these in the morning with some extra lindt chocolate I had lying around and was trying extremely hard to resist eating them! I covered a couple of strawberries with chocolate and coated them with dessicated coconut and dragees. I stuck them onto satay skewers which were then inserted into the center of my iced cupcakes.
The bee's and flowers were made from fondant at the last minute and positioned on to the frosting with tiny mint leaves to match. The recipe for the chocolate cakes were from my favorite recipe resource website Epicurious. Link here for the cupcake recipe. I chose not to use the ganache glazing and instead; I piped a pretty swirl of whipped cream cheese frosting tinted in baby pink to help tone down the rich chocolatey flavor of the cupcakes.On the way there; I was getting stressed out and worried about what my aunt Pauline would think when she saw my sloppy display of baking cupcakes! She was an immensely talented pastry chef during her younger days and I've heard she makes the BEST fruit cakes! I finally convinced myself that it was the thought that counts and she would love them despite how it tasted! *laughs* I was happy that it was exactly what happened....she was delighted and impressed that I showed an interest in sugarcrafting. My several hours spent in her home was indeed an eye opener! We browsed through her huge collection of photographs of the cakes she's made through the years and I was absolutely blown away. She does magnificent lace and amazingly intricate piped royal icing designs in dainty and fragile borders. She filled me in with a couple of handy tips and interesting ideas and we were on our way. I've been looking forward to our next trip to her place since!! Haha If only I drove and I knew my way around the western suburbs. *sigH*