Hello, Cupcake!

Decorating cupcakes doesn't require baking experience or specialty tools. The designs here are built from sweets and snacks you can pick up at a corner store, and many of the photographs are so detailed that spotting the everyday candy hidden in each creation becomes a game in itself.

The projects range from silly to spooky to polished. Each one is assembled with a plastic zip-top bag and common candies and snack foods. Among them are a circus-themed cupcake tower for a child's birthday, candy vegetables sprouting from chocolate sandwich cookie crumb soil for a garden party, a set of candy treats shaped like dogs for a pet lover, spaghetti and meatball cupcakes for April Fools' Day, and pale, otherworldly alien cupcakes for Halloween.

The book's methods are simple enough for cooks who are uncomfortable in the kitchen. Holiday ideas include a white Christmas wreath, turkey-shaped place cards for Thanksgiving, and Easter egg cupcakes.