You gotta mo it

I've been making cupcakes. Some for my mums' group, some for my friend Hannah (also my sometime-beautician) and some for Partner so he could take them to office for Movember. That's November with a mo. Partner took 22 cupcakes and earned AUD $40 from them. The money went to charity, for spreading awareness about prostate cancer. That's the idea behind Movember, when men grow a moustache in November. You can read all about it here. And you should. Because I know three men, very dear to me, who've had it. One man is in his 80s and two in their 60s. It's horrible, it's the second greatest cause of cancer deaths in men and it can get any man above the age of 50 (above 40 if there's family history). I've asked my dad to go for a check-up, you ask yours.

Partner also grew a moustache through November and despite the good cause it was for, thankfully he's shaved it off. No, no, I think he looks hot with a mo, just that I think he looks hotter without one. ;) Here's Partner, or rather his chin with the mo. That's Partner's grrrrrrrrrrrowl-baby look, it often leaves me speechless. Please don't say bad things about it. :P

<--- Here are the cupcakes, they are yummity-yum carrot-apple-raisin cupcakes. The recipe is the same as the carrot-apple cake, with a cup of raisins thrown in. You put the batter in patty cases and bake for 20 minutes or till a toothpick inserted in the cupcakes comes out clean.

Once the cupcakes were done and cooled on a wire rack, I iced them with fluffy vanilla-butter frosting. I used a waterproof icing cone and the 'star' nozzle to make the swirls. I think they look rather pretty.

Next was the Movember touch and I wanted to add moustaches to the cupcakes. I used store-bought fondant (Orchard White Icing) and rolled it out to the the thickness of a pencil. Always remember to lightly dust your working surface with sifted icing sugar before you roll out fondant. For the stencil, I drew a moustache on a visiting card and cut it out. I merely pressed the stencil on the fondant and then cut out the shapes using a fondant-cutter (any sharp knife/blade will do).

Later on I kicked myself as the stencil would have been easier -- and neater -- had I simply downloaded a moustache-format from the net. Once all the mos' were stuck I painted them with edible black colour (Wilton black icing paste). While most of my baking stuff is from the supermarket, I buy my specialised ingredients from Cake Deco. I really, really love the store and can't spend much money there because the pram does not fit inside. Thank god for that, otherwise I'd blow the budget on cake tins. The cupcakes were a hit and I'm waiting to hear all details once Partner comes back home. I enjoyed the work involved in making them, hope you think they're cute too. I know they were tasty because I've eaten five since morning.

I also do cupcakes for birthdays and special occasions. Here's an example of baby-shower cupcakes. However these I'd made for my mums' group. They were chocolate cupcakes with white and pink fondant frosting/shapes.