Quilled Fondant Cupcakes
I've been seeing a lot of cool quilling projects popping up lately which has gotten me interested in giving it a try. Since this was my first go at it it's quite simple as you can see, but it was really fun and I like having a new way of using fondant.
Gather Your Ingredients
You will need some cupcakes, frosting, fondant, and a few common kitchen accessories. If you want to go with store bought or have your own recipes then that is great, you can just move on to the next step, otherwise read on:
For the cupcakes:
1 2/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter, room temperature
3 Eggs, room temperature
2/3 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
mix all the wet ingredients to a smooth consistency and then slowly mix in the dry ingredients to a smooth consistency.
Bake at 350°f for about 20 min.
For the frosting:
1 package softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
about 1 cup powdered sugar
Mix the cream cheese and butter to an even consistency and then stir in the powdered sugar a little at a time until it's smooth, add more or less sugar for a thicker or thinner frosting.
For the fondant:
1 (16 oz) package mini marshmallows
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or other desired flavor
food coloring (what colors and how much you use is up to you but start with only 1 or 2 drops)
4 cups powdered sugar
Combine the marshmallows, water, flavor, and color and microwave for about 30 seconds or until it's melted (keep an eye on it so it doesn't overflow). Stir it up to make it smooth and begin adding the sugar about 1/4 cup at a time until it's stiff enough to knead with your hands (you may end up using more than 4 cups of sugar). Dust your hands and work surface with powdered sugar and knead the fondant until stuff enough to mold it. Keep it covered until you are ready to use it.
For the cupcakes:
1 2/3 Cups All-Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1/4 tsp Salt
1 Cup Sugar
1 Cup Butter, room temperature
3 Eggs, room temperature
2/3 Cup Milk
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
mix all the wet ingredients to a smooth consistency and then slowly mix in the dry ingredients to a smooth consistency.
Bake at 350°f for about 20 min.
For the frosting:
1 package softened cream cheese
1/4 cup softened butter
about 1 cup powdered sugar
Mix the cream cheese and butter to an even consistency and then stir in the powdered sugar a little at a time until it's smooth, add more or less sugar for a thicker or thinner frosting.
For the fondant:
1 (16 oz) package mini marshmallows
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or other desired flavor
food coloring (what colors and how much you use is up to you but start with only 1 or 2 drops)
4 cups powdered sugar
Combine the marshmallows, water, flavor, and color and microwave for about 30 seconds or until it's melted (keep an eye on it so it doesn't overflow). Stir it up to make it smooth and begin adding the sugar about 1/4 cup at a time until it's stiff enough to knead with your hands (you may end up using more than 4 cups of sugar). Dust your hands and work surface with powdered sugar and knead the fondant until stuff enough to mold it. Keep it covered until you are ready to use it.
Prepare the Fondant
Once your cupcakes are baked and cooled, frost them and set them aside.
Roll out the fondant as thin as you want; I recommend going pretty thin since cupcakes don't have a lot of room for big designs. Now you need to cut the fondant into strips, keeping them as uniform as possible in width. For this step I used a pasta maker; it was quick and very uniform, but if you don't have a pasta maker then using a pizza cutter and a ruler would probably work just fine.
Roll out the fondant as thin as you want; I recommend going pretty thin since cupcakes don't have a lot of room for big designs. Now you need to cut the fondant into strips, keeping them as uniform as possible in width. For this step I used a pasta maker; it was quick and very uniform, but if you don't have a pasta maker then using a pizza cutter and a ruler would probably work just fine.
Add the Design
Now that you have the cupcakes ready to be decorated and the fondant ready for quilling you can let your creative side go crazy.
I found out very quickly that this is fun for all ages and skill levels. Even though we only knew the very basics of quilling we were still able to come up with a few fun designs.
Simply start by rolling one end of the fondant in one hand to make the start of a coil, if the fondant is fresh and pliable this is easy, especially if you get a little powdered sugar on your fingers first. Then roll it to the desired size and shape, adding colors or pinching corners into it as desired. It's easiest to place the design on the table once it starts getting awkward in your hands (after about 3 coils for me) and then carefully transferring it to the cupcake once you are done. Be sure to gently press it into the frosting to help hold its shape, especially for loose coils because they will unravel otherwise.
If the fondant gets too dry it will crumble instead of coil up and you wont get very good shapes from it. To soften it back up place a damp towel over it and microwave for a few seconds, be careful though because you don't want it getting sticky.
And there you have it. I was surprised at how fun this was to make even with the simple designs we came up with and I will definitely be making these again. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.
I found out very quickly that this is fun for all ages and skill levels. Even though we only knew the very basics of quilling we were still able to come up with a few fun designs.
Simply start by rolling one end of the fondant in one hand to make the start of a coil, if the fondant is fresh and pliable this is easy, especially if you get a little powdered sugar on your fingers first. Then roll it to the desired size and shape, adding colors or pinching corners into it as desired. It's easiest to place the design on the table once it starts getting awkward in your hands (after about 3 coils for me) and then carefully transferring it to the cupcake once you are done. Be sure to gently press it into the frosting to help hold its shape, especially for loose coils because they will unravel otherwise.
If the fondant gets too dry it will crumble instead of coil up and you wont get very good shapes from it. To soften it back up place a damp towel over it and microwave for a few seconds, be careful though because you don't want it getting sticky.
And there you have it. I was surprised at how fun this was to make even with the simple designs we came up with and I will definitely be making these again. Thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy these as much as I did.