Trophy-shaped Cupcakes

My son wanted a "sports-theme" for his birthday party.  I sighed a breath of relief.  This would be an easy one!  I've had some interesting requests over the years.

Sadly, the weather disallowed us from playing outside, so I had to be creative with the games.  We played tabletop soccer and trash can basketball.  The kids were pleased to whack a pinata in the garage as well.

I wanted to create something fun and unique for the cake/cupcakes.  I discovered that by using two of the ice cream cake cups, I could create cupcake trophies to give to all my sons M.V.Fs (Most Valuable Friends).  Here is a brief tutorial on how I achieved the look.

In advance of the party a couple of days, I made the handles out of fondant.  I made snakes (like the ones you used to do with play-dough) and then shaped them into a curved handle shape.  I measured them against an ice cream cake cup to ensure they were a size and shape I liked.  Allow the fondant to dry out.  Don't cover.

The day of the party, I baked and decorated the trophies.  To bake, cover a cupcake pan with foil and punch holes to set the cups through.  I was feeling lazy, so I whipped up a cake mix.  I only filled the cups with about 1/4 cup of batter each.

After they came out of the oven and cooled slightly, I pierced the bottom of the cups with a fork to allow excess steam to escape.

To create the trophy base, I cut another ice cream cup with a serrated knife.  For the particular cups I used, this picture shows where I cut. 

After covering my counter with paper towels, I sprayed my trophies with yellow Wilton color mist.  It is available at most craft and hobby stores in the cake decorating section.

Next, I used yellow royal icing to attach the bases and the handles.

To finish, I decorated to my heart's content.  I was able to use my new edible ink printer for the names.  I topped the cupcakes off with a scoop of ice cream after the traditional birthday song.

Hmmmm....for a simpler version, I wonder if licorice rope would work for handles!? 

The Cub Scout Den Leader in me can't help but think these would be so cute for the pine wood derby!  A checkered flag cupcake topper would look really cute.