Easy Cupcakes

My son had a Harry Potter birthday party, and I whipped up these cupcakes. To make them easier, I went with a design similar to one I’d seen online, where only Harry’s glasses and lightning bolt scar were included. My kid wanted the scar to be red, so I used red gel writing icing.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting tinted “flesh” tone (I added a little Wilton Ivory, but a tiny bit of Copper would also work); red Decorating Gel in a tube; black writing icing or gel (I used Wilton’s Sparkle Gel).

How to Make It: After tinting icing, frost cupcake. Use writing gels to draw glasses and a red scar (which goes on the right side of the boy wizard face — your left). No black magic required.

Magical for a little girl’s birthday party or any fantasy-themed event, these easy unicorn cupcakes feature a horn made from a Bugle snack!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; marshmallow; 2 blue mini M&Ms, 1 Bugle snack; 2 white jelly beans; black food-safe pen. (Ateco, Wilton and other companies sell food-safe writing tubes and food-safe markers with edible ink.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut marshmallow in half width-wise and use food-safe pen to make two nostrils on the side that’s not cut. Place marshmallow in center of cupcake. Add M&M eyes. Place Bugle horn at top of cupcake and then place white jellybeans on each side.

These cute bear cupcakes would be great for a baby shower, fairy tale themed birthday party or any Goldilocks who loves cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; white or vanilla frosting; pink icing (in a tube or in a pastry bag with #1 metal tip and coupler); candy eyes or small candies; pastry bag and #5 metal tip.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Using pastry bag and #5 metal tip, pipe bears: make two faces larger than the third baby bear face and add smaller circles for ears. Add eyes. Use #1 tip and pink icing (or icing in a tube) for nose and mouth.

Sure, teddy bears love their picnic cupcakes, but did you know they also like to party in winter?

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; coconut; red and green gummi bears, white gumdrops or spice drops covered with white non-pareils.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with coconut. Add gummi bears and “snow drift” gumdrops.

This is the day the teddy bears have their picnic … on your cupcakes, that is! Gummy bears chill out under parasols on this quick cupcake.

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white or green frosting; coconut and green food coloring (optional); gummy bears; paper umbrella.
How To Make It: Frost cupcake with white or green icing. Tint coconut green and sprinkle on cupcake for grass. Open paper umbrella and stick into cupcake. Arrange as many gummy bears as you’d like at your picnic.

These snowy owls would work just as well for a Halloween party as a Harry Potter party. They’re a real “hoot”–ugh, sorry!

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white frosting; coconut flakes; two red Lifesavers candies; small green “dot” candies (the kind sold on a paper strip) or similar candy; Junior Mint candy.
How to Make It: Frost cupcake and immediately sprinkle with coconut. Using butter knife, make small slit a little below the center of cupcake and insert Junior Mint, sideways, for beak. Add two red Lifesavers for eyes and put small green candies in the center. (Tip: You might want to wait until just before serving to put the eyes on, as the red might “bleed” onto the white background.)