A sweet and easy treat for corgi-lovers.

Corgi cupcakes for a corgi dessert or corgi treats. Recipes for cooking corgi cake or cupcakes.

Last winter I saw a picture of corgi pancakes that changed my life.

Okay, that's a little exaggeration. Maybe. In the picture, someone had shaped pancakes into corgi faces and then added strawberries, chocolate chips, and whipped cream to turn a normal stack of pancakes into a pile of smiling corgis. It was perfectly-imperfect and made me think, "wow, I could do that!"

I've looked everywhere to try to find that picture (and seen a lot of corgis named Pancakes on the way), but it made me think, why not make corgi cupcakes?

Of course, you all know I'm not a professional cake-decorator, and I really angsted about whether this was blog-worthy since I'm not. But, most of us aren't professional cake-decorators, we're dog-parents and kid-parents and people who just want to make a cute dessert for a summer barbecue.

I guess that's my disclaimer to tell you all not to come after me for my lack of fondant know-how or frosting technique. What you'll get here are just some simple instructions and salted-caramel corgi smiles. Oh and one more disclaimer—I know we run dog recipes normally, so just want to clarify that this is a recipe for humans, not dogs. Sometimes humans deserve treats, too.

If you don't already have fondant and fondant gear on hand, here's everything I used. The baking cups are optional, but I like the way they maintain their shape and color through the baking process.

You can use whatever batter you want for the cupcakes themselves. I made both the cupcakes and the frosting from Sally's Baking Addiction's Salted Triple Caramel Cupcakes, which is a recipe I've used (with great reviews!) for several years. The flavor is rich and buttery, and the color of the frosting works perfectly for decorating the corgis. All instructions are based on the assumption that you're decorating twelve cupcakes.

Start by spreading a thin layer of frosting across the tops of the completely cooled cupcakes. This will trap any crumbs and allow a smooth surface for your fondant to rest on. Plus, it tastes great. Refrigerate the frosted cupcakes for 30 minutes to allow the coat to set.

Roll out the white fondant until it's about as thin as you would roll sugar cookie dough. Use the circular cookie to cut out twelve rounds. If your fondant is sticking to the surface, try sprinkling the surface with powdered sugar first.

Lay the round fondant cut-out across the face of each chilled cupcake. Lightly press it to the surface and fold or trim any edges that are hanging off.

Using the small heart cookie cutter, cut 36 hearts out of the white fondant. I rolled this fondant slightly thicker than the rounds to give the ears more strength. Set aside 24 of the hearts.

Cut each of the twelve remaining hearts in half horizontally. Discard the pointy portion and keep only the rounded half. This will be the corgi muzzle. Set aside.

Add three drops of red food coloring into two heaping tablespoons of white fondant. Mix until the fondant is your desired color of pink. Take 1/4 teaspoon pinches and shape into 12 rounded tongues. Set aside.

Roll black fondant into a long thin rope, roughly the width of a standard piece of yarn. Cut off 24 segments that are roughly 1/4 inch long. Bend into crescents. Use the same black fondant to roll 12 small balls of fondant for the corgis' noses. Use roughly 1/4 teaspoon per ball.

Attach two ears at 10:00 and 2:00 on the cupcake round by molding the heart (point outward) onto the side of the cupcake. If your fondant is dry, you may need to smear a bit of water onto the seam to make the ears stick.

Once you've attached the ears, dab your salted caramel frosting along the sides of the corgi face. This will cover any seams on the ears (and also tastes delicious.)

Lay the muzzle in the center of the corgi face and then add eyes, ears, nose, and tongue. The nose and tongue may need to be lightly pressed to the muzzle if your fondant is dry.

Corgi Cupcakes Recipe

Ingredients

12 unfrosted cupcakes (any flavor)

1 batch of light-brown frosting (any flavor)

White Fondant (Roughly 2 lbs)

1/4 Cup Powdered sugar (optional)

1/4 cup black fondant

Red Food Coloring

Step by Step Instructions:

1. Frost the cupcakes with a thin crumb coat of your prepared frosting. Place in refrigerator to set for 30 minutes.

2. Roll out the white fondant until it's about as thin as you would roll sugar cookie dough. Use the circular cookie to cut out twelve rounds. If your fondant is sticking to the surface, try sprinkling the surface with powdered sugar first.

3. Remove the cupcakes from the refrigerator and place a round of white fondant on the top of each cupcake's face. Lightly press it to the surface and fold or trim any edges that are hanging off.

4. Using the small heart cookie cutter, cut 36 hearts out of the white fondant. I rolled this fondant slightly thicker than the rounds to give the ears more strength. Set aside 24 of the hearts.

5. With the twelve remaining hearts, cut each in half horizontally. Discard the pointy portion and keep only the upper half. This will be the corgi muzzle. Set aside.

6. Add three drops of red food coloring into two heaping tablespoons of white fondant. Mix until the fondant is your desired color of pink. Take 1/4 teaspoon pinches and shape into 12 rounded tongues. Set aside.

7. Roll 1/4 cup of black fondant into a long thin rope, roughly the width of a standard piece of yarn. Cut off 24 segments that are roughly 1/4 inch long. Bend into crescents.

8. Use the same black fondant to roll 12 small balls of fondant for the corgis' noses. Use roughly 1/4 teaspoon per ball.

9. Attach two ears at 10:00 and 2:00 on the cupcake round by molding the heart (point outward) onto the side of the cupcake. If your fondant is dry, you may need to smear a bit of water onto the seam to make the ears stick.

10. Once you've attached the ears, dab your salted caramel frosting along the sides of the corgi face. If your frosting is thick, you may need to add a splash of milk into it to make sure it sticks to the fondant.

11. Lay the muzzle in the center of the corgi face and then add eyes, ears, nose, and tongue. The nose and tongue may need to be lightly pressed to the muzzle if your fondant is dry.

12. Serve and enjoy!