Edible love notes

Photos from Giver's Log, as seen on Party Perfect

Remember how I wanted to make B some sweet treats for Valentine's Day but wasn't sure if he'd be into it? Well, a very smart reader suggested that I take B's favorite dessert - carrot cake - and make it in cupcake form to make myself happy too. A whole new level would be adding a custom love note to the top of the actual cupcake. What a sweet idea!

Amber of Giver's Log figured out how to custom-decorate cupcake tops by painting wafer rice paper with food coloring and adding the sheet to the top of cupcakes, where it then disintegrates. This is a great idea for adults and kids alike (the second photo above shows the cupcakes that Amber's kids decorated, flanking her own calligraphied love note cupcake). If you're interested, you can see her step-by-step process here.

I adore Amber's idea for custom decorating, but if you're feeling a bit intimidated by doing it yourself, you could always just buy a decoration from Ticings and slap it on a store-bought cupcake (I wouldn't tell anybody).

Ticings are thin sheets of edible icing printed with food-grade inks; they're also gluten-free, kosher and made here in the US. They're simply peel and press, so they'd be a super easy way to decorate your cakes, brownies or cupcakes.

With so many options, I can't wait to try and bake something sweet for B for V-day this weekend....now I just have to figure out how to make my way through this blizzard to get to the grocery store!