#sugarskulls

"Little something cute for someone cute," He offers her the keychain and a kiss on the cheek.

Celebrate the Day of the Dead with these colorful and fun cupcakes. They are not only delicious but also beautifully decorated with skull designs, making them perfect for this festive occasion.

Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder. 1/4 teaspoon salt. 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened. 1 cup granulated sugar. 2 large eggs. 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. 1/2 cup whole milk. 1/4 cup sour cream. Black, white, and colored icing gels for decorating. Decorative skull-shaped cupcake toppers.

Instructions: Preheat your oven to 350F 175C and line a cupcake tin with cupcake liners. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, cream together the softened butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk and sour cream, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake liners, filling each about 2/3 full. Bake in the preheated oven for 18-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Allow the cupcakes to cool in the tin for a few minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely. Once the cupcakes are completely cool, use the black and white icing gels to create skull designs on top of each cupcake. Get creative with colorful icing gels to decorate the skulls and make them vibrant and festive. Place decorative skull-shaped cupcake toppers on each cupcake for an added Day of the Dead touch. Let the icing set, and your colorful and fun Day of the Dead cupcakes are ready to enjoy!

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

“RYUUUUUUUU~!”

“Ryuuuu!”

Hana cooed as she hugged the plushie close, and leapt up to kiss him.

“Oh older. Hana is the youngest child.”

Carmen chuckled. “Our little imp.”

“Mama!” Hana whined as her cheeks flushed at the mention of her nickname. Sure, she was known as a total gremlin by her family…but goddammit that didn’t mean she wanted her boyfriend to know!

“Eliza and Maya are four and two years older than Hana respectively.” Robin playfully patted Hana on the head.

As if on cue the doorbell chimed. Hana floated over to her boyfriend, “That would be them.”

Carmen headed over to the door and opened it.

In the entrance were two older girls.

Both much taller than Hana, and with a clear family resemblance.

One was more slender in build than her two siblings, and had the straightest hair as opposed to her two sisters who had bouncy waves. She wore a pair of rectangular glasses, a black halter top and a blue skirt. She also had a wedding ring on her finger.

Guess her husband couldn’t get away from work yet…

“My husband says he’ll be here in an hour, but he’s stuck in the subways…says there was some kind of mess with the trains!”

Eliza sighed, “I just hope he’ll be okay…there’s been such weird things happening…”

“I’m sure he’ll be here soon Eliza…”

The other girl was an inch taller than Eliza. She had a curvier build that Maya, but wasn’t quite as chesty as her little sister. Her clothes were simple. A green T-shirt that said the phrase, “just keep swimming.” With two fish, circling the other. A pair of washed out blue jeans paired with a simple pair of white sneakers.

Her hair was to the middle of her back and far more wavy than Hana’s. Much like Eliza, she lacked the freckles that Hana did.

On the bridge of her nose, rode a pair of oval glasses.

As much as Hana wanted to complain about Maya’s decision to not at least attempt to dress a little nicer, she knew that was a losing battle. For Maya, all she really cared about was comfort with her clothes. Style will be damned.

“So this is the boyfriend.” Maya looked over Ryuji, almost as if scanning him.

Eliza followed suit, trying to size him up and see what she could glean from him from his body language.

“GUUUYS!” Hana flailed, she had hoped that they wouldn’t do this, but they were both very protective older sisters.

I SHOULD HAVE KNOWN…