Create Your Own Mermaid Cupcakes!

I do not think there is a little out there that is not enamored with Mermaids. I know Peyton is! She’s a huge fan of The Little Mermaid so in honor of it’s release to Blu-Ray we decided to make some mermaid cupcakes! I will warn you, this is a time-consuming recipe and it cannot be done in one day. So be sure to set aside 2 separate days to work on these.

To create this yummy, mouthwatering, eye-catching mermaid cupcakes at home you will need the following –

For the Mermaid Tail –

White Fondant
Pink Food Color Gel
Green Food Color Gel
Blue Food Color Gel
Purple Food Color Gel
Edible Silver Spray Glitter
Mermaid Mold
Toothpicks

For the Cupcake –

Duff’s Mermaid Cupcake Mix
3 Egg Whites
2 Tbs Vegetable Oil
Cupcake Liners

For the 1st Layer of Frosting –

1 Cup Butter, room temperature
4-5 Cups Powdered Sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbs Milk (optional)
Teal Food Color Gel
Sweet Tooth Fairy Mermaid Sprinkle Mix
Piping Bag

For the 2nd Layer of Frosting –

2 sticks of butter
4 -5 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp Vanilla Extract
2 tbs Milk (optional)
Pink Gel food coloring
Purple Gel Food coloring
Teal Gel Food Coloring
1M Pipping Tip
Piping Bag

Mermaid Tail Directions

The mermaid tail are a little labor intensive and need a day or two to firm up. You can even make these one weekend and the cupcakes another. That’s what I did. First step – knead the fondant until it is soft and workable. Take a fair amount of fondant, like the size of a golf ball and add a few drops of the food coloring. Work it in by kneading the fondant some more. This step is fairly messy so if you have a pair of plastic gloves to wear I’d suggest it. My hand were pretty colorful by the time we were done! You are going to repeat this step until you have 4 golf ball size balls of color – one pink, one blue, one purple and one green.

Next, take a little piece from each ball and combine together. Knead it a little until they are blended, then press into the mermaid tail mold. I had two molds I was using so I would let it sit in one mold while I pressed the second mold. You can either trim the excess off while the mermaid tail is in the mold or you can take it out and trim it on a flat surface.

Once your mermaid tail is trimmed down, insert a toothpick into the tail. This is going to help when we place the tail into the cupcake. It’ll keep the tail upright and it won’t fall over or off the cupcake.

Then take your silver edible spray and give a fine silver mist to the mermaid tails.

Set your mermaid tails on some wax paper and let them dry. Overnight is fine but you can let them dry for a little longer if you don’t have time to circle back.

I made 18 mermaid tails and I would say it took me about 2 hours from start to finish.

Cupcakes

Prepare your cupcakes per the directions on the box. It’s a fairly simple process. However, if you cannot find Duff’s Mermaid Cupcake mix don’t fret. Grab a white cake mix, mix it per the box directions and then separate equal part into 3 bowls. As 2 drops of purple food coloring to one bowl, 2 drops of pink food coloring to another bowl and 4 drops of purple to the last bowl. You can also use different colors if your party has a specific color theme.

1st Layer of Forsting Directions –

These cupcakes have a fair amount of frosting. You’ll want to use a stand mixer for the frosting. It’s easier and has more power than a hand mixer. Also, you’ll want your butter at room temperature. If it’s not, pop it in the microwave for 15-30 seconds to soften it up. If you try to use hard butter it can burn out your mixer.

First, whip the butter until creamy. Take about 5 minutes.

Then add in 2 cups of powdered sugar until combined.

Next, add in the vanilla extract and slowly add in 2-3 more cups of powdered sugar.

If your frosting feels too stiff you can add in a little milk or heavy cream to help soften it.

Add 2-3 drops of Teal food coloring and mix well.

Place in either a gallon Ziploc bag or piping bag. Cut the tip off. You do not need a piping tip.

Place an even layer of frosting on cupcake in a circular motion.

Roll the cupcake in the Sweet Tooth Fairy Mermaid sprinkles and set aside.

2nd Layer of Frosting Directions –

Whip 1 cup of butter (about 3-5 minutes and room temperature butter works best. If the butter is not room temperature it can burn out your mixer. Place in microwave for about 15-30 seconds to soften)

Slowly add in 2 cups of powdered sugar until mixed

Add in 2 tsp of Vanilla extract and gradually add another 2-3 cups of powdered sugar. If the frosting is too stiff add a little milk or heavy whipping cream to soften.

Place a 1/3 of the frosting into 3 separate bowls and add 2 drops of each color of food coloring to the bowls and mix well.

Place cling wrap on the counter and spoon out the frosting into lines next to each other. Then bring the sides together and twist the ends like in the picture

Snip the bottom off one and place in a piping bag with tip 1M

Swirl the frosting on to the top of the first layer of frosting.

Add Mermaid Tail

These can be left out for the day as long as it’s not hot and humid. If it is, your mermaid tail and all that wonderful frosting will start to melt. Place in the fridge but remove about 15-20 minutes before you would like to serve for the frosting to soften.