Make these cupcakes inspired by the ice bucket challenge and raise funds for ALS. These cupcakes are really simple to make with our step-by-step picture recipe by Victoria Threader.
The ice bucket challenge has hit the internet by storm and is raising money for ALS (which stands for Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the most common type of Motor Neurone Disease).
If you've taken part, or you want to find another way to get involved, we'd recommend making these ice bucket challenge cupcakes and selling them in a bake sale for the cause.
You can donate by...
- Texting ICED55 £5 (or other amount) to 70070 (only available in the UK)
- Donating at the Motor Neurone Disease Association's Just Giving page
- Calling 01604 611860 referencing the 'Ice Bucket Challenge'.
Ingredients
- 14 large fruit jelly sweets (white or clear)
- 120g blue modelling paste
- 1x batch of basic cupcakes
- 1x batch of buttercream
Step 1
The toppers take 12 hours to dry, so make sure you leave plenty of time before you start - ideally, leave them to dry overnight.
Roll the blue modelling paste out to 3mm thick and then emboss (if you wish) with the pebble texture mat. Cut 12 x scalloped circles and leave them to air dry overnight. Don’t be tempted to put them in an airtight container as this will make them soggy. Puttting them in a cardboard box or under a cake cover is good.
Step 2
The next day, cut the white fruit jelly sweets into 1cm cubes. Keep the off cuts as you’ll be using these in a minute.
Step 3
In a small saucepan, melt 3 sweets and the off-cut pieces over a low heat until you have a thick syrup-like mixture. When it’s smooth, pour the mixture over a heatproof baking sheet (you can get these quite cheaply at your local supermarket, next to the foil and clingfilm).
Next, pour the puddles. Pour 12 little puddles and then dot the rest of the sugar mixture to make splashes. Be very careful, as the melted sugar will be hot. Leave to dry for about 30 minutes. Don’t be tempted to peel them off the baking sheet before then or the puddles will cloud over.
Step 4
When the puddles are cold, place one on each blue topper adding a few ice cubes to the tops. They are pretty sticky so I didn’t need to glue them down.
Step 5
Make a batch of 12 cupcakes and leave to cool completely. Make up a batch of vanilla buttercream.
Ice the cupcakes by placing a round pipping nozzle (such as a Wilton 2A) into a small piping bag. Stand the bag in a tall glass, this will give you a free hand to fill the bag with your buttercream.
To pipe this swirl, hold the nozzle in the centre of the cupcake keeping the tip of the nozzle in the buttercream as you pipe. Pipe balls onto the top stopping just before the edge of the buttercream reaches the paper.
Step 6
Place the finished topper onto the buttercream, pushing down so the buttercream reaches the edge of the paper.
You might also like…