Monday, December 19, 2011

Penguin Cupcakes


To say I love penguins would be an understatement, so I had to put some on my blog.  I decided cupcakes would be the best way to go, and I'm delighted with how they turned out.  I can't help but smile when I look at them!  Of course I had to give them sparkly hats, because thats what all penguins wear, right?!  They're perfect for holiday parties, and were pretty simple to put together too.
For the cupcakes I used my vanilla cupcake recipe that I used in the Holiday cupcake tree.  At first I thought they might be difficult to decorate, but then I looked at one of my many penguin dishes from Home Goods, and realized that the white part of the face was kind of heart shaped.  That's when it clicked!  The first thing I did was color some fondant black.  I rolled it out, and used a wine glass to cut out the circles.  Next I rolled out white fondant and cut out hearts.  I placed the hearts over the circles and trimmed the excess.  I put a small amount of buttercream on each cupcake so the fondant had something to stick to, and placed it on top.

Cut out black & white fondant using a wine glass  & heart cookie cutter

Place the hearts on top of the circles & trim the excess

To make their little beaks, I colored some fondant orange and cut out little triangles.  I stuck two triangles together using a bit of water, and then adhered them to the face with another bit of water.  Please note that you only need a dab of water to make fondant stick. I gave them eyes by just dotting a bit of black food coloring on with a paint brush.  To get the rosy cheeks I used a paint brush to lightly dust on some orchid pink pearl dust.
At this point they looked totally cute, but I needed to accessorize them!  To make the hats I cut out circles of pink and purple fondant, and chopped the tops off.  I gave them a little bit of detail on the trim and then brushed them with disco dust.  The hats add that bit of sparkle every penguin needs, and takes them over the top.  They're almost too much for me to handle, almost!

This penguin is my favorite!

What you'll need

  • Regular sized cupcakes
  • Small batch of buttercream
  • Fondant
  • heart cookie cutter, 2 inches at the widest part
  • Black, orange, pink, and purple food coloring
  • Paint brush
  • Disco dust & pearl dust
Assembly

  1. Prepare cupcakes & buttercream.
  2. Ice each cupcake with a thin layer of buttercream.
  3. Color some fondant black & roll it out.  Using a 3" ring mold or a wine glass, cut out circles.
  4. Roll out white fondant, and using a heart cookie cutter, cut out hearts.
  5. Place hearts on top of circles and trim excess.  Place on top of cupcakes.
  6. Color small amount of fondant orange, and cut out little triangles.  
  7. Press widest part of triangles together with a dab of water to form beak.
  8. Adhere beak to face with a dab of water.
  9. Use a paint brush dipped in black food coloring to dot on the eyes.
  10. Lightly brush on orchid pink pearl dust to give them rosy cheeks.
  11. Color more fondant pink & purple for the hats.  Using the 3" ring mold again, cut out circles.
  12. Chop the tops off & adhere them to the penguin.
  13. Add some detail by making little white pompoms out of fondant for the hats.
  14. Brush with disco dust.




55 comments:

  1. OMG these are sooooo adorable! How creative with the heart cut out for the face. You're pretty amazing, I must say.

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  2. LOVE the glitter hats!

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  3. These are so freaking cute! My son loves penguins he would die if I made these.

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  4. awww, these are so adorable!

    http://chicgeekery.blogspot.com/

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  5. Anonymous12/19/2011

    These are too cute - I just tweeted them! I LOVE penguins!

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  6. Meghan, these are incredible. You are just so talented!!

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  7. oh my gosh these are soo cute! I made a penguin cake a few weeks ago, but not as cute as these ones.
    http://www.cupcakedesign.ca/2/post/2011/11/who-doesnt-like-penguins.html

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  8. These are the cutest! I love the disco dust in their little hats - adorable! Buzzzzzzzzz!

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  9. Super cute, they have tons of personality!

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  10. Anonymous12/19/2011

    These are adorable - little pink cheeks!!

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  11. These are so cute! My daughter is a penguin fanatic so she will love these!

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  12. These are so incredibly adorable! I love the addition of the glitter as well, almost too pretty to eat!

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  13. OMG! I just died and went to cute heaven!! These are SO cute!! I love penguins too!

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  14. Anonymous12/20/2011

    You are AMAZING! I was just telling my parents about your Christmas cupcake tree and now I'll be telling them about these! I'm constantly surprised with your talent - although I shouldn't be! These are so cute!

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  15. very cute penguin cupcakes ! love your creative ideas..hope you have a very merry christmas :)

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  16. These are adorable! After seeing this, I now know why some little kids are obsessed with penguins. Love their little faces! One of my first thoughts, however, was how did you make the knit caps-because they look like something I could wear, but in a bigger size of course. I enjoyed reading how the whole idea for these transpired. Talented post. Have a Merry Christmas if our comments do not cross until after the holidays XOXO

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  17. Love these gorgeous little penguins!

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  18. Charlie12/20/2011

    I absolutely love them!!!

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  19. So cute!! Too cute to eat infact! : )

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  20. Aw, how can you pick a favourite when they're ALL SO OVERWHELMINGLY CUTE!? :D

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  21. These are so amazing! I'm always stunned when people create such beautiful works of art out of food! I wouldn't even want to touch it cause it's that cute...but eventually I would, haha :)

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  22. These are TOO CUTE!

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  23. I LOVE these, you are so talented :) The glitter hats make everything 10x better (to an already amazing cupcake)!

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  24. Anonymous12/20/2011

    May your Christmas sparkle with moments of joy, love, laughter & family time. May the year ahead be full of contentment and love.
    Wishing you all the best, and loads of smile, not only for upcoming Holidays but for every day in a year. Have a Merry Christmas!!!

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  25. Those are super cute! You're on a roll lately!!

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  26. I love these and keep going back to look at them! Penguins are the best. My grandson is in love with Happy Feet so I may just have to try these!

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  27. In a word, SENSATIONAL! Wishing you a sparkly holiday season...just like those adorable hats!

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  28. These are just too cute! Thanks for sharing with step by step photos... you make it look easy enough to try with my nieces and nephews this weekend.

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  29. Wow! I love them. I will have to surprise my daughter and make her some.

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  30. These are amazing! I love them! And you're right, every penguin DOES wear a sparkly hat, with disco dust. Fab.

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  31. Your penguin cupcakes are adorable!

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  32. My hubby is addicted to anything related to penguins :D so I bit he's gonna love these lovely cupcakes, thanks for sharing :)

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  33. These are WAY too cute! I love watching what you come up with next! Congrats on the Top Nine!

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  34. These are so cute..........too cute to eat....almost.. :)

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  35. These are so adorable! Congrats on the top 9!

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  36. Wow, these are the cutest penguins! I'm not sure if I would have the patience to make those.

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  37. Anonymous12/21/2011

    omg these are sooo adorable!! I LOVE the glitter hats :) congrats on top 9!!

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  38. These are adorable and so creative!

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  39. haha I love the little glitter hats

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  40. These are amazing!! Loove those little penguins. How cute.

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  41. Ohmaghee. I'm swooning over these ADORABLE penguins! They just look so completely cute and I would have a hard time biting into their cuteness.

    Congrats on Top 9 - so much deserved!!

    Happy Holidays!!

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  42. Anonymous12/21/2011

    these are so adorable!!!! I love penguins!! I would never have thought to use a heart cookie cutter for the shape!! SO cute!! Perfect Buzz!

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  43. Disco dust and Pearl dust....I don't know what it is but I know that I love it...great job and congratulations!

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  44. Just found you thru foodbuzz...and OMG these are so freaking adorable!!! Really awesome job. I totally wouldn't be able to eat these because they're just too cute! :)

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  45. Incredible!!! I too am beyond obsessed with penguins. These are too amazing.

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  46. So cute!! You are so talented!! Have a Happy Christmas and a happy new year!

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  47. These totally make me smile too! L O V E !!

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  48. Hi,

    These cupcakes are an increasingly popular dessert for any occasion. Whether a baby shower, birthday party, or wedding, these cupcakes are a delicious, cute, and cost effective way to satisfy your guests sweet tooth. Thanks for sharing this unique idea of cupcake decoration.

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  49. Those are TOO stinkin' cute! You did an awesome job!

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  50. These are the most adorable cupcakes ever!

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  51. Anonymous1/04/2012

    These are absolutely adorable! Even though Christmas has passed, they are still perfect for this time of the year. Love them!

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  52. these are so adorable. my kids would just love it if I made these for them.

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  53. These Penguin Cupcakes are just so adorable. You have just given me a perfect idea for my niece's 1 year old birthday this coming July. I would really love to make something memorable for my cute little niece, so she would remember me always, hopefully. Btw, I am your newest follower, since I am such a sucker when it comes to sweet treats and beautiful desserts. Have a good week ahead. Cheers, Jo

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