How to Make Chocolate Toppers for Your Cupcakes

Decorating Cupcakes can be hard.  I found an easy way to make your cupcakes super cool, regardless of what you're into.
If you like to use fondant, that's fine, I just prefer the taste of chocolate instead.

Step 1: What You Need

1- The regular stuff...Cake mix/Awesome cake recipe - it's up to you, cupcake foils, cupcake baking sheets, etc.

2- Chocolate.  All possible colours, you can melt them together to make unusual colours.  You can go to a candy store, (I go to Bulk Barn) to find them.  You'll be surprised to see bright pink and purple chocolate, but they have it.

3- Frosting for extra decorations

4- Mini Bowls to melt the chocolate in, spatulas, wax paper, ziplock bags. piping gel

Step 2: How to Make Chocolate Creations

For this step you will need;

- Your design of what you want to trace on your wax paper (I'm using a Goomba image)  You're best bet is to stick with easy images, and eventually move on to the more detailed ones.

- Once you have traced multiple images onto your wax paper, it's time to start melting your chocolate.  The best method is the microwave.  Keep in mind, since you are making multiple creations of the same image, it's best to pipe each creation one after the other with the colour of chocolate you have melted at that time.

- You will also have to examine the image to figure out which colour needs to be piped on first.  For example, you wouldn't want to cover the entire image in chocolate, THEN add the eyes!  you want to add the eyes first and move your way out.

- Examine your image and find out what colours you need.  In this case, I need red, beige, brown and white.  I couldn't find beige chocolate, so I just melted white with brown chocolate.  It's a trial and error idea.

- So, melt the chocolate in a small bowl, mix with a spatula to make sure everything is combined and melted, make sure its not burning hot.  I like to put it in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds.

- Add the melted chocolate to a Ziplock bag, and clip a tiny corner off the bag. 

- You don't really need sturdy hands to do this, I shake when I do this, but try to stay within the lines of what you're tracing.

Step 3: Finishing

- Once you have all the layers of chocolate on the wax paper, you have to make sure a final coat binds everything together as one piece.  So whatever your final colour of chocolate is, make sure it covers everything.

- Let it sit for a few minutes.  (I find if you use milk chocolate, it will take much longer to become solid and you may need to transfer to the refrigerator)

- Once all pieces are solid, flip them over and take a look at your awesome creations.

- These can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, long before you make your cupcakes.

Step 4: Decorate!

- This step is totally up to you. Be creative!

- I made grass, a sky and some clouds to make my Goomba's happy.

- I also made some other chocolate creations for Halloween and Star Trek day for my co-workers. (Extra photos)