Mermaid Cupcakes

Moist cupcakes decorated with fluffy buttercream and a mermaid tail. These mermaid cupcakes are gorgeous and easier than they look!

Just like our German chocolate cupcakes and our Nutella Cupcakes our Mermaid cupcakes start with a chocolate batter.

Do you have a mermaid fan in your life? What little girl isn’t! Try making them together. They’re fun, and easier than they look.

They are also great for summer picnics, beach-themed parties, or even a Little Mermaid Birthday party. Serve with ocean water for a true beachy vibe.

Mermaids are magical and will always have a special place in my heart.  With these cupcakes, you can create magical cupcakes that taste good too!

Why I Love These Cupcakes

1. Semi-Homemade: We’re going to make our cake mix taste as if it came from a bakery with butter and milk.
2. Cute: With mermaid tails and shells, these look great on any party table.
3. Easy Molds: Anyone can make cupcake art with the molds we’ll use.

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

• Triple Chocolate Cake Mix: You can use any flavor you like. This is just my favorite. Homemade cupcakes would work too!
• Butter: I use butter instead of oil when using cake mix. It lends rich flavor and perfect texture.
• Milk: I also use milk instead of water. It leads to a moist tender cupcake every single time.
• Fondant: Fondant makes a great topping for these cupcakes. Look for moldable fondant, also called rolled fondant. Here we’ll use it in a mold to create our mermaid tails and seashells. I used store-bought, but homemade would work well too.
• Cornstarch: This helps make our fondant easier to work with. You can also use powdered sugar here. Avoid flour which you don’t want to eat without cooking.
• Cake Spray: Cake spray is an edible decorating spray that comes in many colors. It helps give our mermaid tail cupcakes a beautiful shimmer and shine.
• Brown Sugar: If you don’t want to use brown sugar: crushed vanilla wafers, graham crackers, or even shredded coconut would be similar in color.
• Food Coloring: Use gel food coloring if possible for more vibrant colors.

Can You Use Anything Else Besides Fondant?

If you prefer to not make the mermaid tails using fondant, you can use white chocolate or candy melts instead. Also, most craft stores sell premade fondant tails. Some are made of fondant or candy, while others are made of plastic. I prefer these DIY tails though as they are simple to make and only take a few minutes! I also try to avoid putting anything nonedible on my cupcakes as I don’t want someone to eat it by accident.

Tools I Used

• Mermaid Silicone Fondant Mold: We’ll use this for making our mermaid tails. I used this one from Wilton.
• Seashell Silicone Fondant Mold: I used this one from Amazon.
• Food Safe Paint Brushes: We’ll be using these to dust our molds so our lovely fondant work does not stick. I like these ones by Wilton.
• Piping Bags and tips: I like to use the star tip for icing cupcakes.

How To Make Mermaid Cupcakes

For the Cupcakes

1. Prep Work: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cupcake pan with paper liners.
2. Mix Ingredients: In a large bowl, combine cake mix, butter, milk, and eggs until well combined.
3. Bake: Fill liners about ¾ of the way full. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Cool completely.

For the Frosting:

1. Cream Butter: In a large bowl, cream butter. Stir in vanilla.
2. Add Sugar: Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Add heavy creamy as needed to reach your desired consistency.
3. Food Dye: Add teal food coloring to ~1 cup of prepared frosting.

For the Fondant Decorations

1.  Soften Coat hands in cornstarch.  Work fondant until it is soft and easy to work with. Coat silicone molds with cornstarch using food-safe paintbrushes.
2. Mold: Use ~1 tablespoon of fondant per mold.
3. Mold for 5-10 minutes before removing.
4. Spray: Spray with cake spray, and allow to dry for one hour.
5. Repeat with seashell molds.

Decorating:

1. Frost: Spread cupcakes with white frosting. Dip in brown sugar.
2. Pipe teal frosting into the center of the cupcake. Attach mermaid tail.
3. Repeat with seashells.
4. Sprinkle: Add nonpareils as desired.

Tips and Tricks

1. Ice Cream Scoop: Fill cupcakes with an ice cream scoop to ensure they are uniform size, and that will bake at the same rate.
2. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched. You can also insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If you see cake batter continue baking a few minutes at a time.
3. Make-Ahead: You can make the cupcakes and fondant decorations up to 2 days in advance.  Assemble just before serving.
4. Store leftover fondant tightly covered at room temperature for up to 2 months.

More Party Eats and Treats

Sonic Ocean Water Recipe

Mexican Street Corn Salad

Funfetti Dip

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes

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Mermaid Cupcakes

Moist cupcakes decorated with fluffy buttercream and a mermaid tail. These mermaid cupcakes are gorgeous and easier than they look!

5 from 9 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 21 minutes minutes

Total Time: 41 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 Cupcakes

Calories: 338kcal

Author: Krystle Smith

Ingredients

For the Mermaid Tails and Sea Shells

• ▢ 1 Tube Pink fondant
• ▢ 1 Tube Lilac fondant
• ▢ 1 Cup Corn Starch
• ▢ 1 Can Silver Cake Spray

For the Cupcakes

• ▢ 1 Box Triple Chocolate Cake Mix
• ▢ 3 Eggs
• ▢ ½ Cup Butter Softened
• ▢ 1 Cup Whole Milk

For the Frosting & Decorations

• ▢ 1 Cup Butter Softened
• ▢ 2 ½ Cups Powdered Sugar
• ▢ 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
• ▢ 3-5 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
• ▢ Teal Gel Food Coloring
• ▢ 2 Cups Brown Sugar
• ▢ 1 Bag White Jumbo Nonpareils
• ▢ 1 Bag Purple,Silver, and Blue Jumbo Nonpareils

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Instructions

For the Mermaid tails and Sea Shells

• Lightly powder your hands with cornstarch ,and work the fondant until it becomes soft.
• Using a food safe paint brush, coat the silicon mold with corn starch.
• Tear off a tablespoon of fondant and place into the tail mold.
• Let sit for 5-10 minutes before flipping over the mold and carefully pushing out tails. Spray with silver cake spray. Allow to dry for one hour.
• Repeat steps for the Seashells

For the Cupcakes

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F ,and line cupcake pan with paper liners.
• In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, butter,  and milk, and mix until combined.
• Using a medium ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the cupcake liners until about ¾ of the way full. Bake in the oven for about 21 minutes. Cool completely.

For the Frosting and Decorations

• In a large bowl, cream butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Add heavy cream as needed to reach your desired consistency.   
• Reserve 1 cup of frosting and add a few drops of teal food coloring. Place teal frosting into a piping bag fitted with the star tip. 
• Scoop some of the white frosting onto the cupcake and smooth out using an angled spatula.
• Dip the cupcake into the brown sugar to make a sand effect.
• Pipe a dollop of the teal frosting onto the center of the sand. Place the tail into the teal frosting. Place seashells around tail.
• Randomly place the nonpareils around the tail and seashells.

Notes

Ingredient Notes and Shopping Tips

• Fondant: Look for moldable fondant, also called rolled fondant. 
• Cornstarch: This helps make our fondant easier to work with. You can also use powdered sugar here. Avoid flour which you don't want to eat without cooking.
• Brown Sugar: If you don't want to use brown sugar: crushed vanilla wafers, graham crackers, or even shredded coconut would be similar in color. 
• Food Coloring: Use gel food coloring if possible for more vibrant colors.

Tips and Tricks

1. Ice Cream Scoop: Fill cupcakes with an ice cream scoop to ensure they are uniform size, and that will bake at the same rate. 
2. Cupcakes are done when they spring back when lightly touched. You can also insert a toothpick into the center. It should come out clean or with just a few moist crumbs. If you see cake batter continue baking a few minutes at a time. 
3. Make-Ahead: You can make the cupcakes and fondant decorations up to 2 days in advance.  Assemble just before serving.
4. Store leftover fondant tightly covered at room temperature for up to 2 months.

 

Nutrition

Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 49g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 54mg | Sodium: 268mg | Potassium: 107mg | Sugar: 37g | Vitamin A: 430IU | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 1.1mg

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What do you think of these Mermaid Cupcakes?