Like I mentioned yesterday, I love Shark Week. We go through the entire week ahead of time and DVR way too many shows then spend the week of glued to the TV once Noah goes to bed. It’s kind of ridiculous but I look forward to it every summer.

And what makes Shark Week better? Shark cupcakes. Especially lightly fluffy cupcakes with wavy delicious cream cheese frosting and a surprise center to fit the shark theme. And the chance to make homemade marshmallow fondant for the shark fins!

The inspiration came from these adorable cupcakes I saw on Pinterest. Aren’t they adorable? But just wait until you bite inside. See, they are gory too. I kind of love it.

Because of the filling, I decided to keep the cake simple and go with my favorite white cake recipe.

Once the cupcakes are cooled, cut out the center and fill. Rather than pipe the frosting on, I decided to slather the cupcakes with it then take a knife which I dipped in the frosting then quickly lifted to make it appear like choppy waves.

When it came to the fondant, I simply rolled it out and used a little template I drew to cut out the shark fins (make sure to use a sharp knife).

And they would look even cuter dyed gray but I ran out of black food coloring and the nearest store that carries the gel colors I like is about 30 minutes each way and it was one of those “ain’t nobody got time for that” kind of days. So, alas, the fins are white but still pretty darn cute in my opinion.

I sent these to work with Joel and his coworkers probably think I have a weird obsession. And this post probably isn’t helping matters.

If you are a shark lover like me, whip these up, put on your stretchy yoga pants and settle on the couch for Shark Week.

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Shark Cupcakes

Celebrate Shark Week in the best way possible, with Shark Cupcakes! Moist vanilla cupcakes filled with strawberry jam and topped with the creamiest frosting. Decorated with a shark fin.

Prep Time45 minutes mins

Active Time30 minutes mins

Total Time1 hour hr 15 minutes mins

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: shark cupcakes

Yield: 30 cupcakes

Author: Meg’s Everyday Indulgence

Ingredients

For the cupcake batter:

• 1 18 oz. box white cake mix
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 1/3 cups water
• 1/8 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. almond extract
• 1 cup sour cream, room temperature
• 4 egg whites
• 1 18 oz. jar strawberry preserves

For the frosting:

• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 lb. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• prepared fondant**

Instructions

• For the cupcakes: Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. In a large, whisk together all the dry ingredients. In another bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients and dump in the wet mixture. Stir together until combined but don't overmix.
• Line muffin tin with paper liners. Divide batter evenly. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes. Allow to cool. Once cupcakes have cooled, cut out a hole in the center of the cupcakes (not all the way to the bottom). Fill with strawberry preserves.
• For the frosting: whip together the butter and cream cheese. Slowly incorporate the powdered sugar. Add vanilla. Whip for a few minutes until frosting gets light and fluffy. Swirl in blue or teal food coloring to desired look (I left a little white throughout to look like the surf of the ocean). Slather cupcakes with frosting and lift knife or spatula as you are swirling it on to make it appear like waves.
• Roll out fondant to between 1/4 -1/8-inch thickness. Cut into shark fin shapes. Top each cupcake with a shark fin.
• **Find the recipe to make your own fondant here: http://www.megseverydayindulgence.com/2013/08/04/homemade-marshmallow-fondant/