Beach Umbrella Cupcakes

I have so many good recipes to share, but I have been busy grading papers! I'm hoping to get some updates done this weekend.


Ben's preschool had their "water day" yesterday - they wore swimsuits and played with squirt guns. At least, that was Ben's description - I'm sure there was more involved! The parents provided hotdogs, etc. for lunch, and I brought these beach umbrella cupcakes. They are a great choice if you need something for an end-of-the-school-year/welcome-to-summer party. And they're easy, too!


Items Needed

1. Cupcakes and white frosting (I used a great new chocolate recipe that I'll share soon, and no-shortening buttercream)


2. Graham cracker crumbs (process graham crackers in a food processor, or whack them with a rolling pin in a plastic bag until they look like sand)


3. Cocktail drink umbrellas (I got mine at Party City - they were a little big, but I think the kids liked them because they were shiny. I snipped the sharp tip off the bottom.)


4. Fruit gummi tape (I bought this at Fuzziwig's, a candy store. I cut it up to look like beach towels. You could also use Fruit-by-the-Foot, but the stripes on the gummi tape are very cute.)


Frost cupcakes. Put graham cracker crumbs in a bowl, and dip frosted top of cupcake into crumbs. Roll edges to cover.


Attach "beach blanket" with a dot of extra frosting. Stick beach umbrella into cupcake.


I saw Martha Stewart use drink umbrellas for beach umbrellas, and she put these cupcakes on a tray interspersed with blue-frosted cupcakes with a paper shark fin sticking out. I adapted this a bit - I piped blue frosting in a wave pattern and then put a gummi shark on top (also from Fuzziwig's). Ben was more excited about the sharks then the umbrellas!