Autumn Cupcakes

A project never really comes together for me until I've settled on the colours.  That was just the case for the Autumn themed cupcakes I was working on this week.
 I was sitting at my work table trying to come up with ideas, cursing myself for scheduling a theme for which I didn't have any pre-existing inspiration!
The Autumn colours were obvious - rusty reds, orange/yellow, brown. But how to pull it all together? Well, it's clear now  - but I was having a reptilian day: my brain was taking a while to warm up!

Which is your favourite season? For me, without a doubt it is Autumn - there is something about the quality of the sunlight, the thinning trees, and the stillness that comes at this time of year that I just love.
And the clear blue skies.
Duh! Teal blue - there it was: the perfect complementary colour!

So, here are the colour blends that I used (all with Cake Flora gel colours added to plastic icing / fondant for covering the cupcakes, and tylose paste for the decorations)

Red-Red + Chocolate Brown
Red-Red + Electric Orange
Egg Yellow + a drop of Red-Red
Avocado Green + a drop of Super Black
... and ... Teal!

(The brown is chocolate marshmallow fondant)

When you add colour to fondant, do so slowly - too much and you'll be dealing with a sticky mess, and your hands will be more coloured then the icing!
And bear in mind that left overnight, many colours mature and might even become a shade darker.

And finally, one that is just coloured with cocoa (the tastiest colourant, by far!) -
a hedgehog cupcake made with chocolate buttercream using a grass nozzle (Ateco 133) and some chocolate MMF.

Happy Autumn!

xxM