Gummy Snake Cupcakes

If you were to ask 8 year old me what my favorite candies were, this is what I'd tell you: "Pink Starbursts, Dum Dum Pops, Jolly Ranchers, Pop Rocks, Gummy Bears, and Gummy Worms." These were the ones I ate, and I had no interest in trying anything else.  Sweets tended to give me a headache, so I didn't even eat THESE very often.  Oh, and I absolutely hated chocolate.  Yeah, I was one of THOSE kids.



My general disinterest in candy followed me into adulthood, and although I probably consume much less chocolate than the average woman...I definitely don't hate it anymore.  I can even say that my current favorite candy treat is the Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate Bar with Hazelnuts...oh my gosh, SO GOOD!

I have't eaten the candies of my youth in years, but was recently given a bag of Gummy Worms.  Seriously...how did I forget how yummy those things are?!?!  I don't know about you, but I'm a bit of a sucker for all things cute and colorful.  Not only are Gummy Worms cute and colorful, but a serious argument could be made that they should be called Gummy Snakes instead.  Actually, I'm declaring them Gummy Snakes right now.  It's done.  Move over hazelnut chocolate bar, Gummy Snakes just became my new favorite sweet treat!

Considering Gummy Snakes are reptilian, cute, and colorful...it was only a matter of time before I decided I needed to create this cupcake.  My original idea was to create a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing, but then I decided that the colors of the Gummy Snakes would look really nice if I went with a rainbow base instead.  I'm so glad I did, because they turned out so pretty!

I first saw rainbow cupcakes over on The Dainty Squid blog years ago, and I think they're just the prettiest cupcake base.  They require dirtying up a few extra dishes, but I totally think they're worth it.  If you'e never made rainbow cupcakes before, I would definitely check out Kaylah's tutorial right HERE!

The icing is one of my favorite things about this cupcake.  When I'm in the mood for baking something, Sally's Baking Addiction is my go-to blog.  Her recipes are always to-die-for, and her photos are gorgeous.  The chocolate glaze that I topped the cupcakes with was literally the easiest AND delicious frosting I've ever made.  Seriously, it's the best.  You can check out the recipe in Sally's post right HERE!  I used dark chocolate in mine and added a tiny bit of sugar.  This is definitely going to be my go-to cupcake frosting from now on.

These cupcakes make me want to experiment with reptile and amphibian treats all year.  Any ideas?