Rilakkuma Bear Mini-Cakes!

[Gene Latorre]

Do you like sweets and teddy bears? Well, this is a very easy recipe for Rilakkuma bear cakes that you and your kids (or your little brother/sister!) can make for bonding time!

You'll need:
4 pcs. store-bought cupcakes (you can make your own if you want!)
3 bars of 38 g. milk chocolate
1 bar of 38 g. white chocolate
1 bar of 38 g. dark chocolate
A few drops of yellow food coloring
A little coconut oil
Parchment paper
RIlakkuma face print-outs

Now, let's get started!
1. Prepare your Rilakkuma face print-outs. Tape them on a baking pan and then tape the parchment paper on top. This will serve as your guide for making Rilakkuma's face.
2. Melt the dark chocolate with a double boiler OR improvise with a bowl and a pot of boiling water.
3. Using a toothpick or a very small (clean!) paintbrush, outline the eyes and the nose and mouth. When you're done, place the pan in the fridge to let it harden.
4. While you're waiting, melt the white chocolate. However, white chocolate is notoriously hard to melt, so make sure you're stirring constantly to keep it from burning. Add a little coconut oil to make the chocolate smooth in texture. Keep stirring until you get the right consistency.
5. Now that the white chocolate is melted, take out your baking pan and carefully peel off the dark chocolate pieces and put it back in the fridge.
6. But don't throw away your print-out and parchment paper yet! Use it as your guide to draw and fill in the white snout with the white chocolate. Then, put in the middle the nose and mouth you made earlier and pop it into the fridge. Do not throw away the leftover white chocolate! Instead, add in a few drops of yellow food coloring to achieve the good shade of yellow for Rilakkuma's ears.
7. Now, take your milk chocolate and melt it. To make ears, slice off a little from the bottom of the cupcakes and make balls as ears and coat them with chocolate. Then, coat the cupcake with chocolate.
8. Take the chocolate eyes and peel off the chocolate snouts from the fridge and place them on top of the covered cupcakes. Pop those in the fridge along with the balls that will serve as ears.
9. When the chocolate has set, take them out of the fridge once again and using the remaining milk chocolate, stick the ears onto the heads and let it set in the fridge again for about a minute Then, add the final touch of yellow-colored chocolate for the ears and put the cupcakes in the fridge to let it all harden!
10. You're done! This is best served with milk or with milkshakes! Enjoy!

Pictured above are the Rilakkuma mini cakes my little sister made!