I am fascinated with steampunk cakes! I am an amateur baker myself and I recently purchased some great silicone food molds from an Etsy seller, MoldMuse. She has a bunch of molds available--a ton of which are steampunk! I love the ones that I purchased and I highly recommend them! They were super easy to use and yielded perfect geary confections. 
You'll need:
- Steampunk molds, safe for food. I highly recommend MoldMuse.
- Cake mix (or a cake recipe that you love)
- Frosting
- Bittersweet chocolate
- Pyrex measuring cup
- Sauce pan
- Vanilla extract (optional)
- Finely shaved orange peel (optional)
- Sandwich Toothpicks (optional)
- Oven and other baking supplies--bowls, spoons, etc.
Steps:
For your steampunk chocolate pieces:
- Melt your bittersweet chocolate in a double-dutch pan (or if you don't own one, in a Pyrex measuring cup placed in the middle of a sauce pan filled with water). This prevents your chocolate from burning.
- Once your chocolate has melted, add vanilla extract and finely shaved orange peel if desired. Add to taste.
- Next, pour your chocolate into your molds. Be careful not to overfill your molds otherwise you will have to cut them down to shape.
- Once your molds are filled, place them in your refrigerator to set.
- Once your chocolate has hardened (about an hour or so), pop them out of your molds. Mine were very easy to pop out because MoldMuse's molds are flexible.
- If you did overfill your molds, grab a sharp knife and trim around the edges of your chocolate gear.
- Set aside in refrigerator while you bake your cupcakes.
Cupcakes:
- Bake as directed by your cake recipe or box instructions.
- Frost when cooled.
Steampunking your Cupcakes:
There are 2 ways you can steampunk your cupcakes: 1) By arranging your chocolate molds on top of your cupcakes and, 2) Making a gear rotatable with a sandwich toothpick through your cupcake.
Option 1:
- Arrange your chocolate gears on top of your cupcakes artfully.
Option 2:
- Poke a hole in your chocolate gear (large enough for your toothpick to go through).
- Slide the toothpick through the hole in the chocolate gear and then diagonally through your frosted cupcake (so that the toothpick comes out of the side). Clean any icing off of the toothpick with a wet cloth.
- Now your cupcake's gear turns! Watch the video to see![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4PA6fucCqk]