Brain Cupcakes (First Attempt)

When I read the following line from an invite to a friend's party for the season premier of Walking Dead: "We'll supply the beer, but you must Bring Your Own Brains." I instantly thought of the many 'brain cupcake' images I've seen online lately.  They'd be perfect for this party.


So, this morning, I decided to try and make some.


The results?  Eh, you'll see below.  But, I feel it was a solid attempt (there's always room for improvement).


First, I mixed up a box of Duncan Hines Super Moist White Cake mix.  I followed the instructions but added about 10 drops of green food coloring.  Then, I scooped a bit into liners, and put a bit of strawberry jam in the middle:

Then, I covered them with a bit more batter.  Baked according to directions.


Next, I took a tub of Duncan Hines Cream Cheese frosting and dumped it into my stand mixer.  I beat it while adding some powdered sugar (probably about four heaping tablespoons).  I also added two drops of red food coloring.  


The frosting was put into a zippie bag with the corner cut off.  I piped two D shapes and filled them in with squiggles:

Definitely not perfect.  But, I think everyone will know what they're supposed to be (thanks to the theme of the party).

Notes for next time:

- Need to figure out a way to keep the jam in the middle of the cupcake.  Mine sunk all the way to the bottom for some reason.

- Add more powdered sugar to the frosting.  It wasn't quite firm enough for piping.

- Consider getting an actual icing bag + tip to pipe with...  This would prevent a lot of lost icing when the zippie bag splits at the seam all of a sudden.