For my daughter’s first birthday, I decided to use her ladybug halloween costume as inspiration for the theme. The result: garden party, complete with ladybugs and butterflies galore. Most aspects of the party were standard fare: food, family, friends and goody bags. However, I wanted to share the centerpiece/dessert for the afternoon, ladybug cupcakes:

I started off with Martha Stewart’s recipe and in fact followed her directions for the ladybugs themselves (7 oz of marzipan, half tinted black, half tinted red then roll into dozens of tiny balls to make about 36 ladybugs). However, as a chocolate lover, could not bring myself to serve only vanilla cupcakes with swiss meringue buttercream as directed (though I was ECSTATIC to get the SMB down on my first try during the trial run). On the flip side, anyone who has entertained South Asians knows you can’t serve just chocolate for dessert and get away with it.

My compromise? Gina’s Banana Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting II from AllRecipes.com. I realize I’m not sharing anything incredibly original or authentic here, but thought I’d share the idea for those who might appreciate a cupcake with a little extra umph. The cream cheese frosting piped well when chilled slightly…though my partner in crime (Moury Sultana – part time baker, full time med student) and I ended up using zip loc bags to frost when we couldn’t find the right tip for my piping bag!!

 (photo courtesy of Vijai Kalathur)