One of the first creative tasks I undertook as part of Project Pinterest, The Blessingway Edition was the making of cupcake decorations from sugar paste in the form of butterflies (my chosen blessingway motif) and flowers. I own the Wilton Ultimate Decorating Set (which I love, by the way), so many of the tools I needed for this project I already had on hand. The rest of my supplies came mostly from Panduro. Below you’ll find a list of things I used to create my cupcake decorations, some pictures and a few simple tips/notes.
- Wilton 9″ rolling-pin
- Milla’s sugar paste (absolutely perfect as it came in 3 ready-made shades; 1 pale green, 1 pastel purple and 1 dark purple)
- PME daisy plunger cutter set
- Mix of corn flour and icing sugar (for use in Wilton dusting pouch)
- Wilton rose cutter set
- Panduro butterfly plunger cutter set
- Wilton thick foam pad
- Wilton plastic ball tool
- Milla’s purple confetti sprinkles
- Panduro white edible pearls
- Squire’s Kitchen edible glue
- Clean paint brush (small)
- Wilton forming cups
- Wilton wave flower formers
- Lemon juice
- Wilton silver pearl dust
SOME NOTES & DIRECTIONS:
- I started this project by quickly sketching out some ideas, so that I had a notion of how many butterflies and flowers I’d need altogether and in what sizes/colours.
- When I was ready to make my decorations, I rolled out fondant (starting with the pale green coloured one, which was the lightest) using non-stick rolling-pin on my Wilton practice board. I wanted my fondant rather thin so that the elements appeared delicate, but not so thin that they would not hold up well.
- I then cut the fondant using both regular cutters and also plunger cutters that left a nice texture/impression on the fondant butterflies. I always made sure to keep my unused fondant covered while working so that it didn’t dry out (it dries out fast!). Plastic wrap or ziplock bags work well for this.
- Using a small spatula, I gently lifted each cut out element from the work surface and placed in a forming cup/tray or on a clean plate to dry. Some of the butterflies I placed in the Wilton wave former so that their wings curved upward. The small blossoms and daisies I placed on a foam pad before drying and used a ball tool to press a little indent into the middle (this curves the petals upward and creates a perfect little space in the center of the flower for placing a smaller flower, sprinkles or pearls).
- I allowed the cut-outs to dry well overnight.
- I brushed silver pearl dust over some of the fondant decorations with a dry paint brush. For others, I mixed a couple of drops of lemon juice with pearl dust before applying so that the glitter had a little more staying power and allowed me to highlight very specific areas of a fondant decoration (eg, tips of petals).
- I finished off the flowers by adding pretty centers of pearls or sprinkles (affixed with edible glue) in colours that matched the fondant.
- I used edible glue to stick some elements together (eg, small butterflies and flat blossom “discs”).
- I left everything out to dry again overnight before placing carefully in an airtight container lined with baking paper.
They worked perfectly and looked so pretty on my cupcakes on the day. Effort well worth it! 😀
Elena says
Oh wow, you are truly amazing. What beautiful things you create. And i have to always mention that you images are fantastic! You are so talented 🙂 what a gift and thank you for sharing it with us!
mmmarzipan says
Aw, thank you Elena! You are so very sweet! 🙂 xx
veggiewhatnow says
How lovely! 🙂
mmmarzipan says
Thank you very much! 🙂 x
betchacanteatjustone says
these are so beautiful!
mmmarzipan says
Oh, thank you so much 🙂 Very kind!
deliciouslynell says
WANT! WANT! WANT! Those decorations look amazing, you did great!
mmmarzipan says
Oh, thank you! Very sweet of you! 😀
rarasaur says
This is amazing, 🙂 Such beautiful pictures!!
mmmarzipan says
Very kind! Thank you 😀
Gallivanta says
They certainly look perfect. Edible pearls and edible glue; I am amazed.
mmmarzipan says
Thanks so much! Yes the world of cake decorating is an amazing place! I could spend soooo much money in cake deco shops. I was actually relieved that I got my supplies from the local craft store, thereby limiting my choices somewhat… otherwise I might have gone loco 😉 But it was also good to see how many different things I could create with 3 fondant colours and 2 types of sprinkles 🙂
Sophie33 says
You are truly an amazing & creative decorations cake master!! hahahahahaha! Wonderful! This is not my thing but I learned so much here!
mmmarzipan says
Aw, Sophie, you’re too kind! I hardly feel a master, but I do love creating pretty things. This was my third attempt at making decorations with fondant, so I feel I have a long way to go… but I am having fun teaching myself and experimenting 😀 xx
Sophie33 says
🙂 xxx
No Naughties says
These are so pretty! I wish I could make sugar-free versions!
mmmarzipan says
Oh, I wish you could too! I’d love to know how! If I ever come across some amazing sugar-free cupcake decorating ideas similar to fondant style, I will be sure to share them with you! 🙂
No Naughties says
Thank you 🙂
Green Door Hospitality says
These are gorgeous!!
Kenley
mmmarzipan says
Thank you so much, Kenley! x
Francesca says
So special and unique! As always you did such a great job. 🙂
mmmarzipan says
Thanks so much, Francesca! Very sweet of you! 🙂 x
motherhoodisanart says
gorgeous!!
mmmarzipan says
thank you so much :)!
lemoncake says
What a lovely tutorial!
mmmarzipan says
Thank you so much 😀
petit4chocolatier says
These are beautiful. I love the silver dusting!!
mmmarzipan says
Thank you so much! 😀
lifeBelle says
Ahh ok…found the link from your cupcake post! Awesome!
3 things i’ve learnt from this post:
1. there’s such a thing as ‘kitchen glue’ :O just so so awesome
2. you can eat shiny things (edible pearls and silver dusting….how cool is that – you do realise once i get my hands on that dusting everything (yup even lasagne) is going to have silver dusting for some time… imagine that…hmm this salad looks boring…what about silver dusting!)
3. rolling pins have sizes!! (just when i thought they came in big or small)
Thanks Miss Marzipan!!
mmmarzipan says
Hi! So glad you found the post and that you found it informative! Thanks so much for the feedback 🙂 I sometimes wonder if its worth sharing tutorial style info when I’m a beginner and home cook myself, but I figure it probably makes me a little more sympathetic to the questions/queries/issues that other DIYers have. All the best to you x
naomimgruer says
Maybe one day, I’ll try this. I’ll have to work up my nerves!
mmmarzipan says
Do let me know if you try 🙂 I can’t wait to have another day of making flowers and other decorations… that day is a long way off right now, however 😉
hearthomemade says
Wow, this post is the very first thing I clicked upon seeing you stopped by my blog. Holy moly you’re talented! These are absolutely beautiful. I think we might be a bit late heading to my in-laws since I can tell I’m going to be absorbed in your site this morning. 🙂
mmmarzipan says
Oh, you’re very sweet! Thank you… and thanks for stopping by. Have fun with the in-laws 🙂
Debbie Roxborough says
Oh wow! Those are amazing.
mmmarzipan says
Thanks so much, Debbie 🙂
CurlyCupcake says
They’re beautiful!
mmmarzipan says
Thank you so much :)!