I had this idea way back in the spring (although back then it was a summer daisy). But as summer slipped by and I still didn't feel good enough to make them I decided I needed to come up with a more fall appropriate flower than a daisy.
The funny thing about sunflowers is that I'm allergic to them and therefor never have them around. So seeing any sunflower- even a chocolate one in this house is very weird. Flower variety aside... I think the completely edible cupcake terracotta pots still would have been my favorite part. (I just love making something edible that looks like a real life non-edible object!)
To make these I started by baking chocolate cupcakes in an extra tall cupcake pan. It looks very much like a popover pan and has the perfect proportions for flower pot shaped cupcakes.
Next I made the sunflower chocolate pops.
I really wanted the lollipop sticks to be green like stems so I sprayed them with green food coloring. Surprisingly the color soaks right in and doesn't come off on your fingers afterwards!
To make the actual flowers I put a spoonful of yellow onto some parchment paper and created petals by dragging a small offset spatula through the chocolate.
Once my flower was shaped, I rolled a lollipop stick into the chocolate before it set up.
When the yellow chocolate was dry I spooned some regular chocolate onto the center and poked dots all around it with a toothpick.
Last but not least I added a few leaves. These were made by spooning a small bit of green chocolate around the lollipop stick then using my offset spatula to shape it into a leaf. I also used the edge of my spatula to draw veins on the leaf (you could also do this with a toothpick).
Once my pops were done I turned my attentions to transforming the cupcakes into flower pots.
First I cut the tops off with a serrated knife to create a flat surface.
Then flipped the cakes over and gave them a thin coat of frosting.
Once the frosting set a little, I covered the cakes with terracotta colored fondant. (To make terracotta mix orange fondant with a little brown fondant. You may also need to add some red coloring to get a deep terracotta color.) And added a band of fondant around the top to finish the pot.
When the pots were done I gave them a bit of set up time (about a half hour), then frosted the top of each pot and topped it with ground Oreos for the "soil".
Finally, I "planted" a sunflower pop in each one.
Make Ahead Tips: Do what I did and make this project easier- by making what you can ahead of time!
Cupcakes: Bake the cupcakes way a head of time and freeze them. Once your cakes are cool, wrap each one in plastic wrap and place them all into zip top storage bags. Thaw on the counter a day before assembly. You can store them in the freezer for at least a month and the cakes will still taste wonderful!Chocolate Pops: You can make these weeks ahead of time, if you store them right. Wrap the finished pops in cello bags, then place into an airtight container. Store the pops at room temp away from light (if the weather is very hot/humid, then they'll need to be in AC).
You could also use a flower shaped mold to make creating the pops even faster!
Ground Oreo's: You can grind the cookies up to a week in advance. Store in a plastic bag at room temperature.
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