Valentine Cupcakes

Here are two relatively simple Valentine cupcakes you can make, both using marshmallow fondant. Preparation for both kinds of cupcakes is the same.

1. Level the hump of the cupcake with a cake knife.

2. Pipe an even layer of buttercream on top of the cupcake but do not go all the way over to the edge. This will prevent it from coming out from the edges of the fondant that lays on top. 

3. Roll the fondant out to 1/8" thick and use a 2-1/2" circle cutter to cut out as many circles as you have cupcakes. 

The Teddy bear valentine cupcakes are made by pressing a rubber stamp into the fondant.

Teddy Bear Valentine Cupcakes

Roll out white fondant to 1/8" thick. Use the circle cutter to cut out the same number of circles as you have in cupcakes.

Press the rubber stamp down in the center of each cirle. Now lift away the excess fondant and wrap it up.

Place each circle of fondant on top of a cupcake. The colors used for the teddy bears are copper, black, blue, pink, green. Use a fine paint brush to paint each color in the appropriate area of the stamped picture.

Keep a paper towel handy to dab the paintbrush on. Only slightly wet the paintbrush before dipping it in a tiny dab of food color paste. Make sure the brush is not too wet. If the brush is too wet, the colors will run.

Finish the edge of the valentine cupcakes off with a snail trail border using tip #4.

Heart Fondant Cupcakes

Follow steps 1 - 3 above using pink fondant.In the spaces between the circles, cut out some of the smaller hearts.

Use the fondant trimmer with the zig zag wheel to impress the design into the fondant. Go straight across the middle vertically, then two more evenly spaced lines on each side. Now do the same thing horizontally.

Place all the fondant circles on the valentines day cupcakes. Gather up excess fondant, smush it back into a ball and roll it out again.

This time, use 3 different size heart cutters to cut out fondant hearts. Set aside. Tint some fondant lavender. Roll out to 1/8" thick and repeat the process of cutting out hearts.

Mix almond extract and lavender pearl dust to paint the tops of the cupcakes and some of the hearts. Mix almond extract and silver lustre dust to add various stripes and polka dots on some of the hearts.

Have fun creating different designs with the valentines day cupcakes by layering the smaller hearts on top of the larger ones. There's no right or wrong way to do it.

Wet the back of the heart cut outs with a dab of water to make them stick to the cupcake and to layer them on top of one another.