Owl Cupcakes

5 from 1 vote

Soft and fluffy chocolate cupcake decorated with a vanilla buttercream to look like gorgeous, googly eyed owls! Perfect for a birthday cake, party, get together or just for fun.

Prep Time45

Cook Time15

Decorating1

Total Time1

Course: Dessert, Snack

Cuisine: American

Servings: Cupcakes

Calories: 375kcal

Author: Emma Burton

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes;

½ Cup Butter, Softened (110g)
1 Cup Caster Sugar (200g)
2 Large Eggs
½ tsp Vanilla Extract
½ Cup Cocoa Powder (50g)
1 Cup Cup Boiling Water
1 and ⅓ Cups All-Purpose Flour (190g)
½ tsp Baking Soda
½ teaspoon Baking Powder

Vanilla Buttercream;

⅓ Cup Butter, Softened (75g)
3 Cups Icing Sugar (360g)
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
2 tablespoon - ¼ Cup Milk
1 Drop Red Food Colouring Gel

Decorating;

24 White Chocolate Buttons
24 Chocolate Chips
12 M&Ms

Metric - US Conventional

Instructions

First make the Chocolate Cupcakes;

Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 12 piece muffin tray.
Mix the cocoa and boiling water together until the cocoa has dissolved. Place in the fridge to cool.
Cream the butter and sugar together.
Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Mix the flour, baking soda and baking powder together.
With the mixer on, add a ⅓ of the flour mixture to the butter mixture. Then add a ⅓ of the cocoa mixture. Continue alternating between the two, always beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in the vanilla essence.
Spoon the mixture evenly between the muffin cases and place in the oven for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and the cupcakes are soft to the touch.
Place them on a tray to cool completely while you make the vanilla buttercream.

Vanilla Buttercream;

Beat the softened butter until smooth.
Add in the vanilla extract and one cup of icing sugar and beat.
Beat in the remaining icing sugar and two tablespoons of milk.
Add extra milk if the icing is too stiff. You want it to hold its shape but be soft enough to pipe.
Add a drop of red food colouring gel and beat through. Add more as needed until you have a nice pink shade. (You can use whatever colour you like).

Decorating;

Once your cupcakes are cooled and your icing is ready to go, it's time to assemble and decorate.
Take around about two teaspoons full of buttercream onto a cupcake and ice it so you have a thin layer of icing.
Repeat with remaining cupcakes.
Scrap the remaining buttercream into a piping bag with a closed star piping tip.
Take your piping bag and starting from the midway point on the left side of the cupcake and going around the top to the opposite side, dot buttercream into an M shape around the edges of the cupcake. (You may need to do two lines of this depending on your cupcakes size.
Once you have the owl feathers done take the white chocolate buttons and place one on each side in the hollow bits of the M you have made.
Dot a smidgen of buttercream on the bottom of the chocolate chips and place off centre on top of the white chocolate buttons for the pupil of the eyes.
Take the M&Ms and press one in vertical at the tip of your M for the nose.
Take the piping bag and starting on the left, swipe buttercream up from the left eye to the outer edge of the cupcake for the 'eyebrow'. Repeat on the right side

Video

Notes

You can use whatever food colour you like. Blue, green, red.. Whatever you fancy!

Nutrition