Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4 degrees and line a cupcake pan with 24 liners.

Using an electric stand or handheld mixer, place the cake mix, butter, eggs, milk, and rum (if using) into a large bowl and mix until combined and smooth.

Use an ice cream scoop to divide the cupcake batter between the liners - about three-quarters full.

Bake for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Leave to cool in the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

Choose a cake to be the King Baby cake (if using) and use a teaspoon to remove a small amount of cake from the center. Place the plastic baby inside and add the cake back on top. Frost as below.

If you have three piping bags and large star or round piping tips, fill 3 bags with frosting - one of each color.

Pipe swirls of frosting of your chosen colors on top of each cooled cupcake. You can pipe a few of each color using the star tip; you could mix the round tip frosting and the star tip frosting to get a fun frosting look; you could even just spread frosting on top with a spoon or knife if you are not confident with your piping skills!

Insert cupcake toppers - either the free printables included in the blog post, ones you've made yourself, or ones you've purchased.

Enjoy and Laissez Les Bons Temps Rouler!