Butterfly Cupcake Ideas

Delicate, fluttering wings of butterflies capture the imagination of adults and kids alike. These creatures also inspire beautiful cupcake decorating ideas. Butterfly cupcakes work well for a variety of celebrations including birthdays, showers and weddings. Spring and summer events mesh well with the butterfly theme, but the butterfly cupcakes can be used year round. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Chocolate Butterflies

Melted chocolate allows you to create delicate butterfly wings for a cupcake topper. Draw a simple butterfly wing template. Make two separate wings, one for each side. Place the templates under a piece of wax paper. Melt the chocolate according to the package directions. Chocolate wafers used for candy making are ideal because they harden without adding anything extra. They also come in a variety of colors so you can customize the look of your butterflies. Place the melted chocolate in a pastry bag. Snip off the tip of the bag so the chocolate can come out. Trace the wing template on the wax paper with chocolate. You can leave it as just an outline or fill it in for a solid wing. Try using different colors for a more interesting look. Once the wings are hardened, press them into the icing on the cupcake so they stand up. Make the body of the butterfly with icing.

Pretzel Wings

This butterfly cupcake idea is a much easier way to decorate the cupcakes. Use candy or icing to make the body of the butterfly down the middle of the cupcake. Take two small pretzels and press them into the icing so they stick up off of the cupcake. The side of the pretzel with the two curved edges should face up to create the look of wings. You can also dip the pretzels in melted chocolate and let them harden before placing them on the cupcakes. Choose chocolate wafers in any color for bright butterfly wings.

Butterfly Sprinkles

Another simple option is to use butterfly sprinkles to top the cupcakes. Find sprinkles shaped like butterflies in the cake decorating section of craft stores. Specialty stores that sell baking supplies might also carry the sprinkles. Start by icing the cupcakes with a large swirl of colored icing. Shake the sprinkles on top of the icing and the cupcakes are done.

Cupcake Cake

The cupcake cake is an alternative to a sheet cake. The cupcakes are arranged in a particular shape and then iced with one layer of icing to make them look like one big cake. Place the cupcakes on a cake board in the shape of a butterfly. A bit of icing on the bottom of each cupcake will hold it in place to make decorating easier. Spread a layer of icing over the cupcake tops to create the base color for the butterfly. Add stripes, dots, swirls and other designs to the butterfly to complete the decoration.

Fruit Butterflies

This butterfly cupcake design uses fruit slices as the wings. You can use either real fruit slices or candy fruit slices. The curved edge of the fruit slice goes in toward the body of the butterfly. Cut a small slice in the outer edge of each fruit slice wing to create the look of the two separate wings. If you're using candy fruit slices, use a gummy worm to create the body of the butterfly. For real fruit slices, using icing to make the body.