Baby Shower Cupcake - Nicole Wills
A few basic tools and a little fondant are all that are needed to create a precious cupcake perfect for a baby shower.
Baby showers are special, rare events. Any new mother will feel honored and special when presented with these sweetly decorated cupcakes. Though they look elaborate, they're actually very simple to make. Only a few simple tools are necessary.
Materials for Baby Shower Cupcakes
- Plain cupcakes, completely cooled.
- Buttercream icing
- Fondant (either store-bought or homemade)
- Food coloring (skin tone for the baby, any preferred color for the blanket, black or brown for the eyes)
- Round cookie cutter
- Paring knife
- A very small and a slightly larger gumpaste flower cutter (see picture below for example)
- A gumpaste quilting tool
- A gumpaste ball tool or rounded dowel
- Toothpicks
- Small foam square (used in gumpaste work, available anywhere that sells cake decorating supplies)
- One tablespoon vodka or other clear alcohol
Instructions for Baby Shower Cupcakes
- Tint the fondant with desired colors. Leave approximately 1/5th white, tint approximately 1/5th skin tone, and color the remaining 3/5ths whatever color is desired for the blanket. When not using the fondant, keep it tightly wrapped in cling wrap and in a Ziplock bag to keep it away from the air and prevent hardening of the fondant.
- Use a spatula to spread a smooth layer of buttercream icing on top of a cupcake. Do not ice all the cupcakes at this time; ice only one at a time so that the buttercream will not crust before the fondant embellishments have been added.
- Take a small amount of the white fondant and form into a rectangular shape for the pillow under the baby's head. Set on top of cupcake.
- Take another small quantity of the white fondant and form a small cylinder shape for the baby's body. Don't worry about being careful or precise with this shape. It will be covered with the fondant baby blanket, so all that is necessary is the approximate shape of the body. Set the body shape on the cupcake below the pillow.
- Roll a small ball of the skin-tone fondant. Roll out a bit of the white fondant and use the larger flower cutter to make a hat. Use a small dab of vodka to glue the hat to the head and the head to the pillow. Water can be used if necessary, but the high alcohol content of vodka means that it will evaporate more quickly, and makes the fondant adhere better.
- Roll out some of the blanket-colored fondant and cut out a circle with a slightly larger diameter than the top of the cupcake. Cut off the top third of the circle. Use the quilting tool to create a grid pattern on the blanket. Working quickly, set the fondant blanket on the foam square and run the ball tool along the edge of the blanket, thinning the edge and creating the ruffle. Cover the baby's body and most of the cupcake with the blanket.
- Use the smallest flower cutter to make the pacifier. Adhere to mouth area with a tiny bit of vodka.
- Make a very small flesh-colored ball, and pat it mostly flat. Cut in half. Use the paring knife to score fingers for the hands. Glue hands to blanket.
- Paint eyes on using a pointed toothpick or extremely small paintbrush and food coloring.
For more fondant cake decorating ideas, see more tutorials like making fondant roses.
Copyright Nicole Wills. Contact the author to obtain permission for republication.
Nicole Wills - Nicole Wills is the President and Lead Designer for Tradewind Tiaras, Inc., where she has built a business and designed accessories for ...
