Angry Bird Cupcakes {Fun in the Sun}

First of all, Happy 4th of July. I hope you are having a great time celebrating with your family and remembering those sweet freedoms we enjoy! Thanks for stopping by today for another fun idea during this Fun in the Sun event!

I don’t know about you, but I have Angry Bird loving kids at my house! They love to play and beat those green little pigs as much as I will let them, but when I don’t let them get on the computer or my phone to play, they set up games with blocks and toys to play their version of Angry Birds. Over Christmas, I even came down the stairs and saw 3 broken red ornaments from my tree. Upon questioning my older son, he simply said he and his brother wanted to see if they would fly like Angry Birds!?! We put an end to that game really quick (yes, they both still had unbroken ornaments in their hands). When one of my sons requested Angry Birds for an end of school party, I enlisted his help and together we figured out how to make these:

These are perfect cupcakes to make one afternoon with your kids..or really you could change them to any characters that you want. All it takes are cupcakes, buttercream frosting, fondant, food coloring and some candy eyes..(i found mine at Wal-mart in their cake decorating section).

First of all, this is the recipe I use for my buttercream frosting:

Buttercream:

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup salted butter

4 tbsp. milk

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix all of the ingredients together. If you want it thicker, simply add more powdered sugar. If you want it thinner, simply add a little milk.

I know so many people dislike the taste of fondant, but this is the best I have actually ever tasted. It is a marshmallow fondant and has a great taste with smooth consistency.

Fondant:

1 package (16 ounces) miniature marshmallows

4 to 5 tablespoons water..i only used 3

1 package (2 pounds) confectioners’ sugar..i only used about 1 1/2 lbs.

1/2 cup shortening

In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine marshmallows and 2 tablespoons water. Microwave, uncovered, on high for 1-1/2 to 2 minutes or until melted, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir in three-fourths of the sugar; turn onto a work surface coated with 3 tablespoons shortening.

Knead until smooth and pliable, gradually adding remaining sugar and shortening. If necessary, moisten with remaining water. Wrap fondant in plastic wrap to prevent it from drying out.

recipe source: Taste of Homes my own changes are bolded

Alright, now the fun begins. First make your cupcakes. Use your favorite flavor and let them cool. Next we will use the buttercream. You need to get a good dome on the top of the cupcake, so you need a good chunk of frosting. Once you get a good bit on there, grab a spatula and a bowl of hot water. As you dip the metal spatula in the water and then shape the frosting just like you want, the frosting will smooth out and give you a really nice smooth finish. The warm heat simply melts that butter and makes it so smooth. I then placed these in the freezer for just a few minutes to firm up for the next step. It will look something like this when you are done:

To get the smooth colored frosting over the entire cupcake, I simply melted some buttercream by placing it in the microwave for just 15-20 seconds and then stirred in some food coloring. Get your cupcakes out of the freezer and holding the cupcake upside down, simply dip the tops in the frosting. Let it drip off and then let it sit to harden. This won’t take too long with the cold cupcakes. Now lets talk about the individual cupcakes:

Red Bird

After dipping the cupcake in red frosting and letting it harden up, you will get out your fondant. You just need a little bit for each one. (Any fondant used with color has just been tinted with a small drop of food coloring and kneaded into the fondant) Use the white fondant to make the belly. I just rolled it out and used a circle cookie cutter to make the cut. (All of these cuts can be done by hand as well). Form a beak out of orange fondant and for eyebrows cut 2 rectangles. Glue all of these on with a small bit of red frosting and add his top feathers with a little frosting in a v-shape.

White Bird

After dipping the bird in white frosting, make a beak with orange fondant, eyebrows and his feathers with black and small circles for his cheeks with yellow. Glue on with white frosting.

Yellow Bird

After dipping the bird in yellow frosting and letting it harden. Make the belly with white fondant, beak with orange fondant, and feathers with black fondant. Glue these on with yellow frosting and then I piped his eyebrows on with red frosting.

Pigs

After dipping the pigs in green frosting and letting them harden. Make the noses and ears out of green fondant and a little crown out of yellow. Glue these on with a little green frosting and then detail the rest of it on with an edible food marker. These can be found at any craft store in the cake decorating section. My son thought it looked better to have the eyes stuck down into the frosting, so we did just that!

Are they not all so cute?! I love spending time in the kitchen with my kids and baking and creating, but I also love giving away things that we make. I made these sweet little tags up to add to the cupcakes. They would be perfect for a birthday treat or just to make someones day a little brighter.