cupcake tutorial Archives - JUNIPER CAKERY

22nd February 2021 // 0 Comments

Modern Fondant Rainbow Tutorial!

Everyone needs a few more sunshines and rainbows in their life right now. With the 3rd lockdown in full swing in the U.K. why not set aside some time to re-create this cute modern rainbow! It’s perfect to nestle on top of cupcakes or add to the sides of drip cakes. Plus you can change it up to match your style. Swap or add colours like a sweet lilac or a bright yellow. You can even change the gold splatter / pattern to hand painted hearts or use star sprinkles. For this cute little fondant rainbow tutorial read on.

You’ll need…

Modelling / gum paste / fondant with added tylo powder in different colours
Edible glue
Edible metallic paint
Blade tool
Food safe paint brush
Icing smoother
Small to medium piping tip

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1 Firstly, take your modelling paste / gum paste / fondant and roll it out into a rope shape. You can do this by just using an icing smoother tool to roll it back and forth. This will create a much more even look rather than using your hands. It’s also so much quicker and avoids any heat from your hands softening your work.

In terms of thickness we rolled out rainbow colours out to around 4mm. For smaller sizes you’ll need to make thinner rainbow sections. For larger designs try going to a thickness of approximately 1cm.

Note: If you’re creating a cool fondant rainbow that will need to stand up on top of a cake then you’ll need to make this in advance so that it has time to set. You’ll also need to think of the structure inside a little more and how it will fasten onto a cake. Utilising food safe wooden sticks such as brand new kebab skewers or cocktail sticks.

Modern fondant rainbow tutorial!

2 Next, use a piping tip to map out your rainbow. Take the first rope of modelling paste / gum paste / fondant and ‘fit’ it around the piping tip. Using your blade tool cut away the ends. For larger rainbows make sure to test using larger items like a circle cookie cutter to use as a guide. For tiny rainbows a thinner piping tip should work great!

3 For our rainbow we wanted the first section to be an on-trend gold colour. You can choose a different metallic or go for another cool colour to make your rainbow unique. This is pretty handy if you want your modern rainbow to fit in with different party themes. For Easter add in a touch of yellow or attach flower sprinkles! If you’re creating more beach vibe rainbows try out neon food colouring!

4 Add a tiny amount of edible glue along the top edge of your rainbow section. Then roll out another rope and attach it to your first section.

This layer of our rainbow is decorated with cool gold edible paint splatters. This is an effect we LOVE. It’s quick, easy and it’s looks so modern too. Just get some edible metallic paint and a food safe brush and flick it onto your work.

Idea: You can change up the design and hand paint leopard print, hearts etc on this section of your rainbow. Why not even texture it by piping royal icing pearls on top!

Cute rainbow tutorial for cupcakes!

5 Now roll out another colour. We went for a bubblegum pink. Paint a tiny amount of edible glue along the top of your previous rainbow layer and attach the pink in place. Cut away the ends with your blade tool.

6 Finally repeat the last step but with any other colours you’d like to add and build your rainbow up!

Now you’ll have bright edible rainbows ready to dress up all your treats with. We added ours to some super cute cupcakes. You can make multiple and make a repeat pattern on the sides of a buttercream with yours. Why not add tiny clouds, rainbow sprinkles and a fondant sun on top for a super sweet idea? Whatever you do and however you make them one of a kind… have fun!

6th January 2021 // 0 Comments

Knit Hat Cupcake Tutorial!

With the cold winter months here AND a 3rd strict nation-wide lockdown (in the U.K. at least) we thought everyone would need a project or two! It’s easy to camp out on the sofa with a Game of Thrones box set feeling down, but why not make something fun? Like this cute winter cupcake decorating idea! Plus you get to eat it afterwards. Here is our super easy tutorial on how to pipe a knit hat cupcake. You can even watch a video version on our Instagram reels! It’s fun and pretty adorable too. Plus, like us, if you are missing Christmas you’re going to want to hold on to anything remotely festive.

You’ll need…

Cupcake(s)
Buttercream
Sprinkles
Piping bags
Plain round piping tip
Closed star piping tip
Grass piping tip

1: With a piping bag of buttercream fitted with a plain round tip pipe a ring of buttercream around the top of your cupcake. This is going to be the base of your cute knitted hat!

Note: This part doesn’t need to absolutely perfect because you’ll be covering it with sprinkles soon so don’t worry. You can even use a different piping tip if you like. We used a plain round as we think it gives a nice smooth buttercream surface to work with.

Winter cupcake decorating idea!

2: Pour your sprinkles or sprinkle mix onto a dish or plate. This is going to make it a lot easier for you to coat your buttercream with them. We created a sprinkle mix of our own with sugar pearls, sanding sugar, snowflakes, hearts etc.

Tip: Don’t like sprinkles? Why not op for chopped hazelnuts, desiccated coconut or dried fruit pieces? These will add a fun bit of flavour too!

3: Again, with your buttercream in a piping bag fitted with a round tip pipe a ‘blob’ in the middle of your sprinkled coated circle!

Note: This is going to be the foundation of your hat. If you want to have less buttercream then you can also use a tasty chocolate truffle, medium to large marshmallow or even a fresh strawberry instead.

How to pipe a knit hat cupcake!

4: Now using the ‘base’ you created in step 3 you can being piping your hat! Fit a piping bag with a closed star tip and then add your buttercream. Carefully pipe vertical lines up the ‘base’ to the centre of the top. Work your way around the cupcake until it’s covered.

5: Pipe a small ‘blob’ of buttercream on top using your plain round tip. This is so you have something to pipe your cute pom-pom onto!

Easy winter cupcake decorating idea!

6: Now with a piping bag fitted with a grass piping tip add the fun pom-pom on top.

Tip: Simply pipe onto the ‘blob’ you made in step 5. Have a few practice tries at first if you’ve not used a grass tip before.

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You should now have one cute and winter-y treat in front of you. Or several if you’ve made a few. This tutorial is great if you want to add extra customisation too. Change the colours or sprinkles for different people. Add fondant decorations or characters for some added sweetness. However you decorate yours we hope you have fun!

11th December 2020 // 0 Comments

Melting Snowman Cupcake Tutorial

Perfect for both kids and grown-ups our melting snowman cupcake is going to be one fun treat at the festive table this season! It’s also surprisingly easy to create. Pressed for time? Make a few and mix them in with plain swirled cupcakes studded with snowy sprinkles so you don’t have as many to craft. Box them up as cute Christmas gifts and finish with a festive bow. Or why not nestle each on plates at the dinner table? Have time and want to get extra creative? Then make each snowy character unique with different colours, hats, sprinkles and scarves! To get ready for the holiday season check out our melting snowman cupcake tutorial below!

Melting snowman cupcake!

You will need…

Cupcake(s)
Buttercream
Cupcake piping tip (We used an Ateco 869)
Piping bag
Snowflake sprinkles
Edible pearl sprinkles
Chocolate truffle (we made our own, but Lindor balls are perfect!)
Edible glue
Small sharp knife
White fondant / sugarpaste
Black edible marker
Small amount of orange fondant / sugarpaste
Pink blossom dust
Small food safe paint brush
Pretzel sticks

1: Pipe your cupcake with a pretty swirl of fresh buttercream. You can use any piping tip or nozzle you like! We used an 869 tip by Ateco. The majority of your swirl won’t be seen too much so don’t panic if you mess up a little.

How to make a cute snowman cupcake!

2: Next add some lovely snowy themed sprinkles on top of your cupcake. You can also opt to leave this out, but it’s a cute touch. Why not opt for different styles too. How sweet would little edible stars or glitter look?

Tip: Want a super frosty look worthy of a winter wonderland? Grab a white sprinkle mix, pour a good amount into a small bowl and gently roll your the your swirled cupcake in it.

3: Now nestle your chocolate truffle into the middle of your buttercream piped cupcake. Gently press it in a little too so it’s sticking approximately halfway out.

Tip: Opt for both a lighter coloured truffle AND make sure it’s smooth too. Darker chocolate might be seen from underneath the fondant / sugarpaste. Rough or textured truffles will also affect the fondant making it bumpy looking.

4: Roll out your fondant. Using a small sharp knife cut out a wobbly shape from it. This should be a little larger than your truffle. You can also test this out before hand by simply layering rolled out fondant on top of another truffle and checking the sizing.

Christmas cupcake tutorial!

5: Use your black edible pen to draw on your snowman’s facial features including eyes and mouth!

Tip: If you want to use simple black edible pearl sprinkles to create a face go ahead. You could press them in to make the eyes and a traditional looking coal mouth!

6: For the nose shape a tiny amount of orange fondant / sugar paste into a teardrop-like shape. Indent with lines using your small sharp knife and attach with edible glue!

7: We always love to add a little blush to all our characters. It adds the cutest it of warmth to them. To do this lightly brush some pink petal dust onto the cheeks with a food safe brush.

Note: Food safe brushes are simply brushes bought just for use with food / edible items.

8: Finally, use your pretzel sticks to make some cute twig-like arms! You can poke a little hole in the fondant if it’s in the way otherwise you can just insert them into the buttercream.

Yay! You should now have one cute little cupcake (or several if you’ve made a batch) in front of you. Aren’t they fun? Remember that you can tweak this tutorial to make them truly one of kind. Add top hats or ear muffs on top. Or add sweet fondant mittens not he ends of your pretzel stick arms! There are so many fun ideas out there to make these all your own.

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