How to make a
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Pull apart cupcake cakes are a simple, but impressive way to arrange and display cupcakes for a party or with your family!
A beautiful snowflake shape decorated in blue with shimmery decorations is perfect for any winter holiday celebration or a winter wonderland snow princess birthday party.
A beautiful snowflake shape decorated in blue with shimmery decorations is perfect for any winter holiday celebration or a winter wonderland snow princess birthday party.
What You Need
Find links for supplies and materials at the bottom of this page
Cupcake liners/wrappers
Cupcake pan
Recipes for cupcakes and buttercream frosting (find all my recipes HERE), or mixes
Cookie scoop
Gel coloring - blue
Piping bags
Piping tip 1M or other large open star tip
Piping tip 32 or other small open star tip
Wintery sprinkle mix
Fondant (find my recipe HERE)
Snowflake cutters
Large cake board, sheet cake board, platter, or large plate
Edible glitters or luster dusts
Cupcake liners/wrappers
Cupcake pan
Recipes for cupcakes and buttercream frosting (find all my recipes HERE), or mixes
Cookie scoop
Gel coloring - blue
Piping bags
Piping tip 1M or other large open star tip
Piping tip 32 or other small open star tip
Wintery sprinkle mix
Fondant (find my recipe HERE)
Snowflake cutters
Large cake board, sheet cake board, platter, or large plate
Edible glitters or luster dusts
Step 1: Baking Cupcakes
Mix up your favorite cupcake recipe (find all my recipes HERE) or as per package directions if using boxed mix. Optional: add rainbow jimmies sprinkles to batter to make rainbow confetti cupcakes.
Add cupcake liners to cupcake pan and scoop batter into liners 1/2 to 2/3 full. Bake as directed by recipe or mix instructions. Cupcakes will be done once a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely before decorating. May store in freezer in airtight container if decorating later. |
Step 2: Making Buttercream Frosting
Mix your favorite buttercream frosting (find all my recipes HERE) in a stand mixer or hand mixer on low to medium speed, or use prepackaged frosting if desired.
Stir 6-8 drops of blue gel coloring into buttercream. Color will deepen with time, so buttercream may be made a day or two in advance and stored in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Add coloring or make multiple buttercream colors if desired. Add 2 tsp powdered sugar to buttercream frosting to stiffen the consistency slightly. If refrigerating, allow buttercream to warm up a bit at room temperature before using to make piping easier. Keep covered until ready to use. Stir well just prior to using to press out air bubbles. |
Step 3: Preparing to Decorate
I used a 1M tip for these cupcakes, but any large open star tip with multiple prongs will give a similar effect.
Place the 1M piping tip into the piping bag, and cut the tip of the bag off so that the tip is sticking through the end of the bag, but still stays in place. Fill this bag with the blue buttercream. Place tip 32 (or any similar small open star tip) into another piping bag, and cut the tip of the bag off so that the tip is sticking through the end of the bag, but still stays in place. Fill this bag with the blue buttercream as well. |
Step 4: Piping a Buttercream Rosette Swirl
If this is a new piping style for you, I've found it helpful to try piping a couple of practice swirls back into the buttercream bowl (you can stir this and use it after practicing) to determine if you are more comfortable piping in a clockwise or counterclockwise direction.
To pipe the swirl, start in the center of the cupcake and squeeze with light to medium pressure to attach the buttercream to the cupcake. Maintaining this pressure, move your hand in a spiral around the center until the cupcake is covered. Finish by gradually easing up and then stopping pressure at the end of the spiral (see video). |
Step 5: Adding Sprinkles and Edible Glitter
Optional - lightly dust blue, white, or silver edible glitter on top of each cupcake.
Choose a sprinkle mix (or mix a few different sprinkle colors together) - both coordinating or contrasting colors will have fun, different looks! I chose a sprinkle mix with snowflakes and different shapes in coordinating shades of blue and white. |
Step 6: Arranging the Cupcakes into a Snowflake Shape
Using a large cake board or a large platter or plate, begin arranging the first 6 cupcakes into a ring. Secure the bottoms to the board using a dot of buttercream from either piping bag. Continue with the next 6 cupcakes around the first ring as shown in the video tutorial. Secure these with buttercream also. See video.
Optional – add a cupcake to the center if desired. Using the piping bag fitted with the 1M piping tip, add small rosettes in the gaps between the cupcakes by squeezing and spiraling (similar to how the cupcakes were frosted).Using the piping bag fitted with the 199 tip, add small drop stars into the smaller gaps by squeezing with medium pressure, releasing quickly, and then pulling away. Add more of the edible glitter and sprinkles to the new piping on the cupcake cake. |
Step 7: Making Fondant Snowflake Decorations
Find my easy fondant recipe HERE! Leave some fondant white, and color another portion of it blue by kneading in a few drops of blue gel coloring (or any desired color). Roll this out, and use snowflake cutters (the set used in the video is linked below) to make a few different snowflake sizes and shapes in each color. Dust these with matching edible glitter or luster dust to make them sparkle.
Place these on the snowflake cupcake cake. Note: these can also be made ahead of time, prior to decorating the cupcakes and stored at room temperature out of sunlight prior to adding to your cake. |
Supplies and Materials Links
Recipes for cupcakes, buttercream frostings, and fondant
Gel coloring: Chefmaster Liqua-Gel or Americolor Gel-Paste: Amazon Storefront
Cupcake pans: Wilton: Amazon Storefront
Cupcake liners: Mr Miracle: Amazon Storefront
Tip 1M and 32: Ateco and Wilton: Amazon Storefront
Piping bags: various brands: Amazon Storefront
Sprinkles: Sweets & Treats, SprinklePop, SimplySucre, and various brands: Amazon Storefront
Edible glitters: Sweets & Treats: Amazon Storefront
Snowflake plunger cutter set: various brands: Amazon storefront
Other fondant tools: various brands: Amazon storefront
Gel coloring: Chefmaster Liqua-Gel or Americolor Gel-Paste: Amazon Storefront
Cupcake pans: Wilton: Amazon Storefront
Cupcake liners: Mr Miracle: Amazon Storefront
Tip 1M and 32: Ateco and Wilton: Amazon Storefront
Piping bags: various brands: Amazon Storefront
Sprinkles: Sweets & Treats, SprinklePop, SimplySucre, and various brands: Amazon Storefront
Edible glitters: Sweets & Treats: Amazon Storefront
Snowflake plunger cutter set: various brands: Amazon storefront
Other fondant tools: various brands: Amazon storefront
Note: purchases made from links on this page may result in my earning a commission.