Finding Nemo Cupcakes [GMG Originals]

If your family is anything like mine, they adore Finding Nemo! If you're planning on heading out to see this cinematic favorite, whip up a batch of these adorable Finding Nemo-themed cupcakes to take along, or bake these for a birthday party to really wow your kids! These cupcakes look fancy, but they really are so easy to put together. All you need to do is bake some vanilla cupcakes from a box, tint your frosting to a pretty ocean hue, and get 'em candied! This is a fun project to include the kids with, and the hardest part is eating them up! But don't worry, these cupcakes don't mind coming along for the ride - trust us, these little Squirt turtles so totally rock!

Ingredients:

For the cupcakes

- Vanilla cupcake mix

For the frosting

- 1 (8 oz) pkg cream cheese, at room temp
- 1.5 cups powdered sugar
- 1.5 cups cold heavy whipping cream
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Squirt decoration

- Sour Peach Gummy Rings candies
- Gumdrop candies (red and green)
- Spearmint Leaves candies
- Mini chocolate chips
- Wooden kitchen skewer or toothpick

Directions:

For the cupcakes, prepare your vanilla cupcakes according to the box directions. For the frosting, whip the cream on high speed (1-2 minutes) until thick, fluffy and spreadable. In a second mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and powdered sugar (start on low speed), then beat in ½ tsp vanilla extract. Fold the whipped cream into the cream cheese mix. Tint your frosting with blue coloring until the desired color. Keep it covered in the fridge until ready to use on your cupcakes. When cupcakes have cooled, frost the cupcakes. For each cupcake decoration, slice off and discard the bottom half of a red gumdrop. Place the gumdrop top on the center of a Gummy Ring to create a turtle shell. Set the shell atop the cupcake, pressing down slightly to stick it in place. For fins, slice a Spearmint Leaves candy in half. Then use an oval fondant cutter to cut each half into two pieces. Use the outer pieces for the front fins and the inner pieces for the hind fins. For the head, use a kitchen skewer or toothpick to poke eye holes in the sides of a green gumdrop. Press a mini chocolate chip into each hole, using a dab of white icing to help hold it in place. Set the head in place, again pressing down slightly so that it sticks to the frosting.

http://www.shared.com/these-finding-nemo-cupcakes-so-totally-rock-1960250482/
[GMG Originals]