Baby Chick Cupcakes
- Yield: 12 baby chick cupcakes
Ingredients
24 small white flat sprinkles (for the eyes)
24 mini chocolate chips (for the pupils)
2 cups vanilla buttercream
14 yellow gumdrop fruit slices (for the wings and tails)
6 orange gumdrop fruit slices (for the feet)
12 small orange gumdrops (for the beaks)
12 vanilla cupcakes
34 cup yellow sanding sugar
Directions
- For the eyes: Arrange the white sprinkles on the work surface. Attach a mini chocolate chip as a pupil to each sprinkle by gluing with a little buttercream. Set aside.
- For the wings and tails: Cut each yellow gumdrop fruit slice in half horizontally to make 2 thinner slices. Take 4 of these slices and cut each into 3 triangles to make the tails. Set aside.
- For the feet: Cut each orange gumdrop fruit slice in half horizontally to make 2 thinner slices, and then cut each slice in half crosswise. Using scissors, snip and remove 2 triangles from each foot to form the toes.
- For the beaks: Place the small orange gumdrops on the work surface standing upright. Snip each gumdrop with scissors straight down three-quarters of the way through the candy to make the open mouth. Snip either side of the gumdrop to narrow the overall size and shape into a tapered beak.
- To assemble: Frost each cupcake with about 2 tablespoons buttercream. Place the yellow sanding sugar in a small bowl. Invert each cupcake and press gently into the sugar to adhere.
- Attach the eyes by pressing gently into position. Insert the beak just below eye level. Push the wings and feet into the sides of the cupcake and the tail into the back. Repeat steps for all cupcakes.
Cook’s Note
Coarse yellow sanding sugar gives this baby bird a sparkly finish; tinting the frosting yellow instead would brighten it, too.