thanksgiving cupcakes - brown sugar pound cakes with bailey's irish cream frosting

After being inspired by Bakerella's Thanksgiving cake pops, I decided I wanted to make turkey cupcakes for Thanksgiving.  (And no, they are not made out of turkey!)  I went with brown sugar pound cakes (recipe from Martha Stewart once again), with a Bailey's Irish Cream frosting.  

Then I piped the turkey's body out of chocolate cream cheese frosting.  I added candy corn for the feathers, and an M&M for the face (I originally tried using Whoppers, but the eye balls didn't stand out enough).  I dotted the eyes with an edible food writer, added an orange rainbow chip for the beak, and an upside-down heart confetti for the wattle.

I haven't had candy corn for years, but I remember loving them as a kid (I could eat them by the handful).  But when I tasted the candy this time, I couldn't believe how they were much too sweet!  So I ended up  removing most of them when eating the cupcake.

As for the cupcake and the frosting, I loved the combination.  The brown sugar pound cake was caramel-y and not too sweet, and the Bailey's in the frosting complimented the cake perfectly, and gave it just a little touch of Holiday cheer.

Happy Thanksgiving!!!