Feeling a little sheepish

Have you ever had one of those weeks that sort of grabs you by the hair, swings you around a few times, and tosses you into a heap in the corner?  Yes?  Then you understand why it's been so long since my last post.  Things have been busy busy busy around here, and I've been short on baking time.  Between the desperate ending to my weight-loss competition (more on that in a minute), my birthday, a surprise visit from my sister, a whirlwind shopping trip that almost got us grounded (hi, mom!), a big family get-together, coordinating Easter morning for my girls and having brunch at our house......well, it's a miracle I could even get my shoes on the right feet, let alone get some decent cupcakes together.

Eventually, I did find time, even though I had to spread it over a couple of days.  I can't say the end product was worth the time or effort, though.  Here, take a look at what is supposed to be a sweet little lamb cupcake but actually looks kind of like a demented poodle. (Ack!  Did I break my "No Dogs On Cupcakes" rule?)

Okay, so I guess they turned out sort of lamb-like, but I have to be honest; they were completely annoying to make.  The cake was tasty and I wouldn't hesitate to use it for another cupcake, but OMG.  These lambs were boring and tiresome and annoying, and the end result wasn't even that good.  Wow.  How's THAT for an endorsement?  

Basically, what you have to do to make these little guys is put a layer of frosting on your cupcakes, then stand in the kitchen with a pair of scissors and cut about a million tiny marshmallows in half.  And then cut a million more, because you're going to run out after you've made about 4 lambs.  

I suppose marshmallow-cutting would be a good job to delegate to the kids, if you're okay with them using a sharp scissors.  But if your kids are anything like mine, you'll end up with a serious marshmallow shortage.  I'd trust mine with a whole drawerful of scissors before I'd give them a bag of marshmallows with the expectation that they stand there and NOT gobble them all up.

Anyway, I ended up only making seven complete lambs.  Maybe I just have a short attention span, but making these got boring in a BIG hurry.  I suppose it's a good thing I didn't try to make the lions I had planned on......you know, I was going to do this whole "in like a lion, out like a lamb" spring thing?  But after making the lambs, I just couldn't get behind the coconut-y lions.  My animal cupcake enthusiasm was gone.  

I'll provide you with instructions here, in case you really feel like these are something you have to make, but I can't say I'd encourage it.  I promise next time I'll be back with something more compelling.  

Oh, and for anyone who is wondering, after KILLING myself at the gym and pretty much dehydrating myself before the final weigh-in, I'm very proud to say that I won our weight-loss challenge.  By a TENTH of a percentage point.  I think it was the 90 minutes in the sauna the night before that did it.  Eek!  I think I need a cupcake.  A REAL cupcake with no marshmallows and no face.  

Lamb Cupcakes

From Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

12 White Cupcakes (this is silly, since the recipe makes 36. I vote for spreading the other 24 with Nutella.  Done.)

Swiss Meringue Buttercream (you could probably cut this recipe in half, since we're only frosting 12 cupcakes. Don't forget the Nutella when you go to the store, though.)

4 oz (or more like 40 oz) mini marshmallows, each cut in half

Pink and black gel paste food coloring

Tint 1/4 cup of the buttercream pink, and 1/4 cup black.  Put into pastry bags fitted with couplers.  With an offset spatula, spread a smooth layer of frosting over each cupcake.  Put remaining untinted frosting into a pastry bag fitted with a coupler.

Starting in the center of each cupcake, pipe a pear-shaped head with untinted buttercream, increasing pressure as you pull back. (I read and reread this line of instruction, trying to get it to make sense.  Just pipe an oblong semi-head-shaped blob on each cupcake, and you'll be fine. Remember, we're putting a million marshmallows on top.) Switch to a small V-leaf tip (#352), and pipe ears.  Pipe black eyes and a pink nose and mouth using a fine plain tip (#1).

Place 3 marshmallow halves on each sheep head, cut side down.  working from the base of the head out, cover cupcakes with halved marshmallows.