How to: Dinosaur Cupcakes

Dinosaurs cupcakes are fun and can evokes a child's imagination as he conquers the dinosaur by biting off its head and tail. To make a cupcake look like a dinosaur, you must have a dinosaur mold and icing to make the features of the dinosaur pop. Depending upon how detailed you want to get with the dinosaur cupcakes, it could take 15 to 30 minutes to decorate each one. Give yourself plenty of time if preparing a large amount of cupcakes. Does this Spark an idea?

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Dinosaur cupcake molds
Spray cooking oil
Mixing bowl
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
Number 3, 5 and 18 size icing tip
Various colored icing in tube (e.g., green, yellow, pink, white and black)
Cornstarch

Instructions

Bake Dinosaur Cupcakes
- 1
  
  Obtain a dinosaur cupcake mold. These molds are available online and in many retail outlets that sell bakeware.
- 2
  
  Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- 3
  
  Line cupcake pans with paper liners or spray with cooking oil if the paper lines don't fit the dinosaur mold.
- 4
  
  Combine 2 1/4 cups of all purpose flour, 1 1/3 cups sugar, 1/2 tsp. of salt and 3 tsp. of baking powder in a mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup of shortening, 1 cup of milk and 1 tsp. of vanilla to the mixture. Then, beat the mixture until it is smooth. This mixture should yield about 20 cupcakes.
- 5
  
  Add two large eggs to the mixture and beat the mixture again until it is smooth.
- 6
  
  Pour cupcake mixture into dinosaur molds. Fill the molds one-half to two-thirds full with batter.
- 7
  
  Bake the cupcakes for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Then, remove the cupcakes and allow them to cool in the pans for five minutes. After five minutes, remove the cupcakes from the pans and allow it to cool for an additional hour on a wire rack or plate before decorating the cupcake.
Decorate the Dinosaur Cupcake
- 8
  
  Outline and color in the underside of the dinosaur tail and stomach with a yellow or green icing. Place a number 5 tip on the icing tube to create an even distribution of icing over these surfaces. Icing tips are available online or at stores that sell bakeware.
- 9
  
  Color the body of the dinosaur (except the teeth, tongue, eyes and spikes) with an icing color other than the color used on the tail and stomach. For instance, if yellow icing was used for the underside of the tail and stomach, use green or red for the body. Place a number 18 tip on the icing tube; this will allow for a wider distribution of the icing over the surface of the dinosaur cupcake.
- 10
  
  Outline the body with a icing color slighting darker than that used for the body. Outlining the body will allow the legs, arms and mouth to become pronounced. Use the same outline color to fill in the spikes, fingers and nostrils. Use a number 3 tip on the icing tube to fill these areas.
- 11
  
  Fill in the teeth with white icing. Use a number 3 tip on the icing. Fill in the rest of the mouth with a pink icing to represent the tongue.
- 12
  
  Dip your finger in cornstarch. Use your dipped finger to smooth the icing over the surfaces of the body.