Cat and Dog Cupcakes

My 1-year-old daughter loves cats and dogs (in fact she can say both "cat" and "dog" very well but still hasn't said "mama") so I decided to do cat and dog cupcakes for her first birthday party.

Once I figured out how to do the first ones, the rest didn't take too long. It was perfect for our small party of just 12 people, but it would take a long time for a party with a lot more guests.

For the dog cupcakes, I frosted the whole cupcake with chocolate frosting, and added a dollop of chocolate frosting toward the bottom for the snout.

I then used Wilton tip #233 (the grass/hair tip) to do brown fur originating from the snout and going outward. I didn't do it on the snout, or in the center part of the head.

Next I added ears toward the top using the same tip.

I then switched to white frosting colored with "Ivory" food coloring until it was a light tan color. I used the same tip (Wilton #233) to do the center of the head, and then the snout. I always made sure to start each strand of fur in the center of the top of the snout.

I added a chocolate covered raisin for the nose.

I added eyes using the same chocolate frosting, and a pink bow.

For the cat, I frosted the cupcake white and added two balls for the cheeks using Wilton tip 12.

I added eyes using chocolate frosting and piped in a pink nose as well.

For the ears, I cut a miniature marshmallow in half using my kitchen scissors, and then pinched one end to form the triangle.

I then cut 6 strands of black licorice about 2 or 2 1/2 inches long, and poked them into the cupcake until they were the desirable length.