Cupcake a Week: Hamburgers

I am a burger lover...the more toppings the better as far as my burger goes! So when I first came across the idea for hamburger cupcakes on Bakerella's blog last year I was completely blown away by her creativity. I have been dying to make these bite size burger cakes ever since but just haven't had the perfect opportunity until this past weekend.

A friend I run with was having a football party grill out fundraiser and asked if I would make her some hamburger cupcakes! Of course my response was YES! These cupcakes were so fun to make and were a huge hit at the party!

Here are some step-by-step photos for assembling the perfect burger cupcake.

Bake a batch of vanilla cupcakes and then remove the paper liners.

Use a serrated knife and slice each cupcake horizontally to create the top and bottom half of the burger bun.

Bake a batch of brownies in a 9 x 13 pan. Once the brownies have cooled use a round cookie cutter, about 2" diameter to make your burger patties.

Place your "buns" and "burgers" on a tray in rows to make for easy assembly.

Make a batch of vanilla buttercream and tint in 3 colors: Red = ketchup, Yellow = mustard, and Green = lettuce. Place icing in piping bags fitted with tips for easy decorating. I used small round tips for the ketchup and mustard and the Wilton 104 tip for the lettuce.

Place the burger on the bun.

Add a squiggle of ketchup.

And a squiggle of mustard.

And some lettuce. Don't worry about being perfect with the icing, just squeeze it out and swirl it on allowing for some to overhang the edge of the brownie.

Add on the top bun and sprinkle with a few sesame seeds. Looks like the real deal from McDonald's doesn't it...only much sweeter!

And the burger assembly continues.

With football season just getting started these would be the perfect addition to any tailgating party. Or the perfect excuse to indulge in two desserts at once...cupcakes and brownies all in one bite! YUM!