Orange Bird Cupcakes

Makes 12 Cupcakes

Ingredients

• 12 vanilla Cupcakes {use your favorite mix or recipe}
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 16 oz. confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Pinch of salt
• 1-2 tablespoons milk or cream
• Wilton orange gel food coloring
• Orange fondant
• Yellow fondant
• White fondant
• Black fondant
• Green fondant
• Black gel pen

• Piping Bag
• Wilton 1M Tip
• Rolling pin
• 2″ round cookie cutter
• 1″ circular cutter (a marker cap works great)
• 1/2″ circular cutter (a pen cap works great)
• 1″ leaf fondant press
• 1″ crescent moon cutter
• Orange Bird Cupcake Wrappers

Instructions

1. Make frosting – Cream butter in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or in a medium bowl using a hand mixer. When light and fluffy, add confectioner’s sugar bit by bit until fully combined. Add vanilla extract and a pinch of salt. Add 1 tablespoon cream or milk. If it seems too thick, you may add another tablespoon of milk or cream. If it seems runny, you may add more confectioner’s sugar. Add a small amount of orange gel food coloring and mix thoroughly.

2. Frost cupcakes – Fit a pastry bag with a large round tip and fill with orange vanilla frosting. Top cupcakes with frosting.

3. Create Orange Bird faces – Lightly dust your work surface with powdered sugar. Roll out orange fondant to 1/4” thickness. Using a round cookie cutter, cut fondant into circles for faces. Set aside and repeat process with white fondant. Cut out 1″ circles for eyes. Gently shape into ovals. Next repeat process with black and cut out 1/2″ circles for pupils and gently shape into ovals. Finally, repeat process with yellow and cut out mouth shapes using a crescent cookie cutter. Gently cut away the inner round to create an Orange Bird mouth. Using a toothpick or your finger, slightly moisten the back of the eyes and place on face. Repeat process for pupils and mouth. To create leaves, roll out green fondant and cut out leaves using a fondant leaf press. Arrange leaves at top of face. Using a black gel pen, carefully add eyebrows.