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With the month winding down, I took a look back at my calendar and realized August has been filled with birthdays- both at work and with friends. Two of the girls on my team have birthdays within a few weeks of each other, so instead of baking twice, I decided to consolidate the celebration. One of Jen’s favorite foods is Swedish Fish, and Allie is a big fan of french fries, so “fish and chips” seemed appropriate!
The “fish” were simple cupcakes, a little food dye added to cream cheese frosting, and Swedish Fish I attempted to make look like they were swimming (not chopped in half as it actually appears!). The cupcakes with multiple fish remind me of Dr. Seuss’ book "One Fish Two Fish Red Fish Blue Fish", one of his many books that was read to me growing up.
As for the “chips”, I had been wanting to try making cupcake french fries ever since I saw them in Food Network Magazine. I decided not to use pound cake, but instead used the excess batter from the “fish” cupcakes to bake a mini loaf cake. I was very excited to see how these “fries” would turn out, so it took a lot of self control to let the loaf cake sit in the fridge for a few hours, making it easier to cut.
It was all worth the wait- the “chips” look pretty realistic, sitting in cups I bought at a craft store by my apartment, and dipped in “ketchup” I also used for the sliders. When I say I really like ketchup, I mean I put enough on burgers, fries, etc. that I have been asked if I would like a side of real food with my ketchup, so it’s no surprise I took the same approach to the frosting for these “french fries”.
As I presented them to the girls, some of the “fries” looked like they were drowning in “ketchup” more so than the beheaded Swedish Fish. But if you ask me, there can never be too much ketchup or too much frosting.
