These dainty birdcage cupcakes are perfect for weddings, birthday parties, baby showers or hen dos. The pretty birdcages and sugar roses sit atop a swirl of buttercream and are served in flowery cases to complete the look.
Fancy having a go at making our birdcage cupcakes yourself? Goodtoknow's cupcake queen, Victoria Threader, guides you through the fiddly bits with her step-by-step instructions...
Ingredients
- 370g white modelling paste divided into...
- 130g white modelling paste (for the topper discs and cages)
- 20g coloured green with Sugarflair Gooseberry
- 20g coloured pink with Sugarflair Baby Pink
- 20g coloured yellow with Sugarflair Egg Yellow
- 180g coloured yellow with Sugarflair Baby Blue
- Black nonpareil for the birds eyes
- Trex or similar vegetable shortening
Step 1
Make the topper discs the night before. (Leaving them to dry overnight will help them set and stop them drooping on the cupcakes).
Roll the white modelling paste out to 2mm thick and emboss with the texture mat. (Victoria used wood grain but you can use whatever you have) and cut 6 x 60mm discs. Using spacers on the rolling pin will help you get an even thickness. Leave these to dry overnight on a foam drying sponge or greaseproof paper.
Step 2
The next day, bake your cupcakes using our basic cupcake recipe and leave to cool completely on a wire rack. Bake them in plain cases and then add the pretty cups at the last minute, otherwise they tend to get greasy.
Meanwhile, colour the modelling paste.
Use 30g of blue modelling paste per cage and roll into a ball. Do this by rubbing a little Trex into your hands as it helps get a really smooth surface.
Step 3
When you have a neat smooth ball of blue paste, use your fingers to roll it into a sausage shape, keeping the top round but tapping the bottom on the counter to make it nice and flat.
Step 4
Roll the white modelling paste out to 2mm thick and cut 2mm wide thin strips. You can do this with a sharp knife but you may find it easier to use a ribbon cutter.
Step 5
Using a water brush, lightly brush where you want the strips to stick and then lay them over the top of the cage and press gently down with the tip of your fingers. When all four strips are stuck on to the cage, trim the excess off at the bottom.
Step 6
To make the trim for the birdcages, cut a 70mm scalloped circle out using the 70mm sized cutter. Then in the centre, but slighly to one side, cut a plain 50mm circle out to make a ring.
Step 7
Cut the scalloped ring in half and, with the water brush, stick the thick strip around the bottom of the cage, making sure the scallops are facing upwards. Then stick the thinner strip with the scallops facing down just underneath the dome on the top.
Step 8
To make the hook, roll two small balls of white paste, one slightly larger than the other. Flatten them both with the tip of your finger. Use a cocktail stick to add a hole in the smaller one and then stick it on top of the larger one.
Roll a small, thin sausage shape and bend it over to make the hook by rolling the two ends to a point and pushing it into the hole. Stick the hook on the top of the cage with a brush of water and then stick the cage onto the dried topper.
Step 9
To make the ribbon roses, roll a small sausage shape. Roll it out flat with a rolling pin and then quite tightly roll one end to the other, teasing the edges outwards with the tip of your finger. Don’t forget to make bigger ones for the other 6 cupcakes.
Step 10
To make the leaves, roll a small ball roughly the size you need then pinch one side to give you a petal shape and push a cocktail stick down the centre.
Roll the green modelling paste out to 2mm thick and cut 6 x 15mm robins. Trim the legs off with a sharp knife.
Step 11
Arrange the roses and the bird and stick them on with a brush of water. When using the brush to stick, make sure you rub the brush a little on the paste to make it really sticky, this way the decoration won’t fall off.
Add a black nonpareil to each bird for its eye.
Step 12
Make a batch of basic meringue buttercream and ice the cupcakes once they are completely cooled. Pipe classic swirls by starting in the centre and working your out to the paper case then up into a peak. To stop, push down slightly and pull up quickly.
Step 13
Arrange the roses and leaves and add the cage toppers to the iced cupcakes. Your beautiful birdcage cupcakes are now ready to serve.