Brown and Blue Baby Shower Cupcakes

There is nothing more joyful than celebrating a new life. I made these baby shower cupcakes for one of my coworkers who is expecting a son. The blue and brown combination is quite popular for little boy nurseries at the moment, and I was excited to get a chance to try my hand at putting together a simple treat that reflects that trend.

I used a basic vanilla cake recipe and folded fresh blueberries into the batter. The fresh fruit lent a light note to the fluffy sweetness of the vanilla cake. I chose to use fresh blueberries rather than frozen to avoid the purple color that frozen berries would have inevitably brought to the batter. I also believe the integrity of the fresh berry is much greater than that of a frozen one, making the cake void of any mushy berry pockets that are often found in mass-produced blueberry baked goods. The berries also made the cupcakes rather pretty in their white liners. They took on a polka-dotted appearance. If you look carefully at the cupcake in the lower right corner, you can see one of the blueberries peeking out from under the frosting.

The simple decoration on the cupcake is made from marshmallow fondant, tinted blue and brown. My coworker specifically requested no chocolate in the decorative elements. I felt that using a fondant would be better than attempting to color frosting a deep brown hue without the benefit of cocoa powder.

You'll notice that the cupcakes appear to be wearing skirts. I have started double wrapping the cupcakes I make for special occasions. I do this because many times a printed liner will lose its vibrancy when going through the baking process, and I want my cupcakes to have a polished look that is appropriate for the occasion. I want to try using some sort of ribbon or seal to keep the additional liner from fanning out so much. I will post comments and pictures when I get an opportunity to try this technique.