How to Decorate Train and Butterfly Cupcakes

Elaine Cohen, author of Super-Duper Cupcakes, shares step-by-step directions to decorate train cupcakes and butterfly cupcakes at a cupcake-decorating party.

Try your hand at decorating one of these delicious creations. Just make sure to snap a shot for the photo album before you dig in!

Butterfly Beauty

You need:

• Cupcakes
• Green frosting
• 2 candy slices, one yellow and one pink
• Black licorice string
• 1 tiny jelly candy
• 2 fruit-shaped candies
• Spoon
• Knife
• Scissors

 Instructions:

1. Frost the cupcake with the green frosting. Drop a spoonful on top of a cupcake. Use a knife to spread the frosting to the edges of the cupcake.
2. Cut the yellow and pink slices in half with scissors. Cut two short pieces of black licorice string.
3. Place the yellow slices on top of cupcake in the center to form the butterfly’s lower wings.
4. Place the jelly candy and the fruit-shaped candies between the wings to form the butterfly’s body. Place pink slices to the sides of them to make the other set of wings. Place the two pieces of black licorice on top of the body as antennae. Try this with different colored candies—you can’t go wrong.

Chew Choo Train

You need:

• Cupcakes
• Green frosting
• 2 striped layer candies
• 8 chocolate chips
• Black licorice string
• Spoon
• Knife
• Scissors

Instructions:

1. Frost the cupcake with green frosting. Drop a spoonful on top of a cupcake. Use a knife to spread the frosting to the edges of the cupcake.
2. Place the two striped layer candies on the cupcake.
3. Place the chocolate chips at the base of each “boxcar” to be the wheels—two on each side. Use a drop of frosting as glue if you need it to hold the wheels in place.
4. Cut a tiny piece of black licorice string with scissors. Place the small piece of black licorice string between the boxcars. Use a tiny dab of frosting to glue it if necessary.

 
Check out Cohen's tips for hosting a cupcake-decorating party.

Reprinted with permission from Super-Duper Cupcakes © 2013 by Elaine Cohen (Sterling Children’s Books). Photography by Zeva Oelbaum.

Also see:

Chocolate Chip Layer Cake with Milk Chocolate Mocha Frosting

Easy Cheesecake Cupcakes