Butterfly Cupcakes

If you're a fan of butterfly cupcakes, you'll be thrilled to learn that you have many options when it comes to creating beautiful butterfly decorations. Butterflies can be made from just about any cake decorating material...fondant, icing, candy and even rice paper.

It doesn't matter what level your decorating skills are, you'll find an idea on this page you can use to create stunning butterflies for your cupcakes.

Butterfly Cupcake Tutorials Royal Icing Butterflies Made with delicate royal icing strings, these pretty royal icing butterflies look like a bits of icing lace. >>See how to make our Royal Icing Butterflies Edible Wafer Paper Butterflies The fragile wings of these butterflies are made with wafer paper and come in a variety of styles and colors. >>Learn how to use Wafer Paper Butterfly Decorations Fondant Butterflies Fondant lends itself well for creating beautiful butterfly decorations for your cupcakes. >>See our step-by-step directions for making Fondant Butterfly Cupcake decorations

Royal Icing Butterfly Cupcakes

Difficulty Level: Experienced

Etheral and light, you’ll be captivated by these beautiful butterfly cupcakes. Suitable for just about any gathering—wedding, birthday or bridal shower—you’ll have no trouble finding an occasion to serve these pretty delights.

Bakery/Cake Goods needed:

• Your favorite batch of vanilla cupcakes
  
• Your favorite Butter Cream Frosting tinted pink (we used Wilton's paste icing color in Pink)

Butterfly Cupcakes Supplies:

• 1 recipe royal icing
• Clean, Grease-free Icing Bags
• Bag Coupler and Round Icing Tip #3
• Round Icing Tips #3 and #4
• Leaf Tip #67
• Butterfly template (you can make your own, or use our template)
• Wax Paper

Flower Decorating Supplies:

• Small premade batch of fondant
• Pink and blue paste food color
• Green paste food color
• Small floral/petal cutter
• White candy sprinkles
• Round wood dowel
• Small rolling pin
• Wax Paper

Cupcake Icing Tools

• Ateco #804 Round Icing Tip
• Icing Bag

Finishing Touches

• Green cupcake wrappers or Lacey Cupcake Wrappers

Directions for making the butterflies:

Step 1: Load your icing bag with royal icing. Be sure you are using a clean bag or a bag that you have not used regular icing in. Oil or grease breaks down royal icing and it will not maintain its consistency. Attach the bag coupler and #4 icing tip. Make sure those two items are grease free as well.

Step 2: Tape the butterfly template to a flat surface and cover with wax paper. (Download our free butterfly template here.) Trace the lines with the royal icing. Change to the #3 tip and pipe the wing veins. Let icing dry completely.

Directions for making the leaves:

Step 1: Tint a small amount of royal icing green. Fill a grease free icing bag with the royal icing and fit the opening with a #67 tip.

Step 2: Pipe out short icing leaves on wax paper. Set aside to harden.

Directions for making the flowers:

Step 1: Break the fondant into two pieces. Tint one part pink and the other part blue (you can choose any color, of course.) With each color, roll out the fondant with the small rolling pin on a flat surface. With the floral/petal cutter, cut out flower shapes. You'll need two to three flowers for each cupcake. Gently shape the flower using a wooden dowel. For detailed instructions, please see the flower cupcake decorations page. Set aside the flowers to harden.

Step 2: Place a very small dab of butter cream inside each flower and add a white sprinkle to create the flower centers.

Directions for Icing the Cupcakes:

Step 1: Fill the icing bag with pink butter cream and fit the opening with a 804 tip. Using a circular motion, squeeze out icing to cover the top of the cupcakes.

Step 2: Place a left and right butterfly wing slightly off center on the cupcake. Add two to three small fondant flowers and a royal icing leaf. With the #3 tip and white butter cream, pipe the butterfly bodies and head. Your butterfly cupcakes are complete!

Directions Finishing Touches:

Assemble wrappers and place each cupcake inside by lowering the cupcake into each wrapper.

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Edible Wafer Paper Butterflies

Difficulty Level: Easy

Wafer paper butterflies are created with paper made of potato starch, water and vegetable oil) and printed with food coloring.

Bakery/Cake Goods needed:

• Your favorite batch of vanilla or chocolate cupcakes with your choice of icing

Butterfly Decorations:

• 1 set of wafer paper butterflies in your choice of color
• Scissors (use a pair dedicated to food preparation)
• Royal Icing tinted black
• Pastry bag and Round Icing Tip

Directions for preparing the the butterflies:

Step 1: Remove wafer paper from packaging. (Butterflies are printed on flat sheets.)

Step 2: With food-safe scissors, carefully cut out butterflies. Gently fold butterfly down the center to create upright wings.

Step 3: Fit opening of the pastry bag with the round icing tip and fill with black royal icing. Carefully pipe out a body shape between the upright wings. Allow royal icing to dry.

Step 4: Carefully place butterflies on your cupcakes.

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Fondant Butterfly Cupcakes

Difficulty Level: Experienced

What makes these butterfly cupcakes stand out is the delicate blue color of the cupcakes paired with white decorations. A cupcake tower using these beauties will certainly make for a spectacular display. For variation, you can change the blue to any color you’d like, but the greater the contrast the more drama.

Bakery/Cake Goods Needed:

• Your favorite batch of vanilla cupcakes
• Your favorite butter cream frosting

Butterfly Cupcake Decorating Supplies:

• 1 small batch of fondant
• Small metal butterfly-shaped cutter
  (we used the small butterfly cutter PME)
• Blue food coloring (we used Wilton’s paste food color in Sky Blue)
• Small rolling pin
• Wax Paper
• Royal Icing* (see Royal Icing recipe above)
• Icing Bag
• Icing Coupler and Ring
• Wilton #2 Round Tip
• Small and Large Sugar Pearls (we used Wilton Brand)

Cupcake Icing Tools:

• Ateco #804 Round Tip
• Icing Bag

Finishing Touches:

• Light blue cupcake liners

To Make the Butterflies:

Step 1: Roll out white fondant on a flat surface. With the butterfly cutter, cut out shapes. Set aside on wax paper for several hours or overnight.

Step 2: Place an icing coupler in the icing bag. Fit the opening with the #2 round tip and secure with the coupler ring. Fill bag with a small amount of white royal icing.

Step 3: Outline the butterfly in royal icing. Pipe a line down the center of the butterfly and carefully apply small white sugar pearls to form the butterfly's body.

Icing the Butterfly Cupcakes:

Step 1: Tint the butter cream with the blue food coloring.

Step 2: Fit the opening of a pastry bag with the #804 Round metal tip and fill with butter cream.

Step 3: Starting from the outside edge of the cupcake, use a circular motion and squeeze the icing out to cover the cupcake.

Decorating the Cupcakes:

Step 1: Sprinkle cupcakes with white sugar pearls..

Step 2: Carefully place two butterflies on each cupcake.

Related Butterfly Decorating Products:

Royal Icing Butterflies	Butterfly Wrapper

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