How to make Penguin Cupcakes
July 28, 2009 by ThePartyAnimal
Filed under Cupcakes
I recently had a Penguin Birthday Party for my daughter which turned out to be a hit. Nothing like a Cool party in the heat of the summer. Instead of a cake I made Penguin Cupcakes. I like using cupcakes at Birthday Parties to avoid all the fighting over what piece each guest wants and it also makes it easier on me the host not having to cut anything. The kids just take what they want and you are done. It also makes a great display on the table when you have them all on a Cupcake Stand. I ended up making 2 different designs and I am going to walk you through how you can make them too – they were so easy to do and the kids went crazy for them.
Here are a few tips to start – I made the cupcakes the day before the party and I purchased some bakery boxes at the local grocery store bakery so I could store them until party time. I also made both vanilla and chocolate cupcakes so the kids had choices and that’s how I ended up making two different penguin designs – the second design happened on a whim while making the original one planned, but I think they turned out great.
Here is Step by Step Instructions to making your Penguin Cupcakes Design #1:
Here is what I used and the prep before you frost your cupcakes
The Keeblers Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper Cookies are going to make up the Head and Wings of your Penguin and what you need to do is take a sharp knife and cut them in half. You will need 3 halves per cupcake as show in the photo.
I then used Orange Jelly Circles (Sunkist Fruit Gems) for the Penguin Beaks and Feet and cut each one into 8 Triangles – you will need 3 Triangles per Cupcake. To make them less sticky to the touch I rolled them in a tiny bit of regular sugar – this will help them from sticking to your fingers when placing them onto the cupcake later.
Next I used the Candy Dots for the eyes of the Penguin – I chose to use the Blue and Pink Colors – you can use M&M’s and other small circle candies. I took them off the paper ahead of time so they were available for the assembly.
So now that the prep of the Penguin Parts is done you can start making your Penguins. I used Chocolate Cupcakes and then you frost with Vanilla frosting. You will need to frost them one at a time because the frosting will act as your glue for the parts you will be sticking on to them.
So now your cupcake is ready to assemble – First Start by adding on your Cookie Parts like this:
Now you are going to take two of the orange triangles and stick the on the bottom between the wings for the Penguin’s feet. I faced the points of the triangle up.
When that is done you are now going to add the eyes. Take two dabs of frosting using the tip of your knife where the eyes will go. Then take your candy dots and stick them into place so some of the frosting comes out the sides to form your eyes.
Now we will move onto the beak and do the same thing – add a dab of frosting and place the other Orange slice triangle – point facing down.
Now you have made Penguin Cupcakes that are so adorable and trust me the kids loved them – how easy was that?
Now lets move on to Penguin Cupcakes Design #2.
This came about because I had to make some Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Frosting and at first I was just going to keep them aside, but I had lots of cookies left over and then came up with a different design for those. Here is what you do:
Take one Fudge Shoppe Grasshopper Cookie and with Vanilla frosting – make a heart on the cookie.
I then took some of the Candy Dots and added them on for the eyes – I also added a tiny dot of chocolate frosting to the middles of each to make a pupil. I then took some Orange candy coated kisses and used that to make a great 3D beak. When done adding that frost your cupcake with the Chocolate Frosting and stick it on in the middle. Now you are done.
I did not worry about the kids liking the Grasshopper Cookies or any of the candies I used for the decorations – some ate them and some picked them off, but the cupcakes made them all smile and they loved the way they looked – so that is all that mattered to me. Oh and with a few of the cupcakes I had I added Vanilla Frosting and sprinkled some Blue Sugar Crystals – those were for the older folks – lol.
The kids got silly with them too as you can see from this picture of some of the girls who decided it would be fun to dip in a bit too much!!!