Karen Tack and Alan Richardson may be the only two people outside a candy factory that know how many green candies a box of Dots yields.
Karen, cooking teacher/food stylist, and Alan, photographer/cookbook author, have applied their talents and their love of candy to the art and craft of cupcake creations with Hello, Cupcake and What's New, Cupcake? -- their New York Times bestselling titles aimed at the DIY market.
Forget those high- end baked goods beyond the skill of the home baker, these cookbook authors offer whimsical creations using packaged cake mixes, frostings and convenience store treats. That's right: pretzel sticks, fruit chews, Circus Peanuts, jellybeans, cookies, donut holes, marshmallows and chewing gum transform plain cupcakes into cupcake fantasies.
For the purist, the books also include homemade batter and frosting recipes that work well for cupcake crafting.
Karen and Alan outline easy to follow instructions and tips for their inspirational designs.