Mermaid Cupcakes

These beautiful and easy Mermaid Cupcakes are perfect for a little girl's mermaid party. Mermaid cupcakes are the cutest party treat and a must-make for your next summer party!

This is a super easy way to make impressive and gorgeous mermaid cupcakes for your next mermaid birthday party. Everyone will love these cupcakes, guaranteed! They are so pretty that you won't want to eat them.

This cupcake recipe is also cute for an ocean-themed party, just like our shark attack cupcakes!

All you need to make mermaid cupcakes is a package of cake mix, mermaid tail molds and candy melts, a piping bag set and a colorful sprinkle mix.

Ingredients

For the cupcakes and mermaid decorations you need:

• Boxed cake mix
• Colored candy melts: to make the mermaid tails use brightly colored candy melts, such as these bright pink or purple ones. Fondant can also be used.
• Edible shimmer dust: sprinkle some edible shimmer on the molds to create a shimmery mermaid tail. This it optional but a nice little touch!
• Mermaid sprinkle mix: there are a lot of options here but these sprinkles are my favorite because they include a small mermaid tails, pearls, sugar sprinkles and jimmies all in one.
• White shimmer sprinkles: I use these around the tails to look like wave foam, as though the mermaid is splashing in the water.

For the frosting you need:

• Cream cheese
• Butter
• Powdered sugar (confectioner's sugar)
• Vanilla extract
• Food coloring: gel food coloring is best to use when making icing because it doesn't add liquid to it. If you only have liquid food coloring, that is okay- just don't use too much. I use a mixture of blue and green food coloring in a ratio of 3:1 (more on that below).

Tools Needed

To make these mermaid cupcakes you need:

• Mermaid tail silicone molds: I use these, which have 2 large size molds plus baby mermaid tails and an assortment of shell shapes if you want to get really creative!
• Electric hand mixer for the frosting.
• Cupcake tin, standard size.
• Cupcake liners: I like using the colors that match the mermaid tails and icing to create variety. Pink, blue, teal, purple, and white all look beautiful with this recipe.
• Piping bag and piping tips: I use a reusable piping bag with screw on tips similar to this one. It's so much easier to work with piping tips that screw into place and are secure.

Instructions

STEP 1: Preheat the oven to the temperature indicated on the box of cupcake mix (usually 350° Fahrenheit). Line the muffin tin with the liners. Make the cupcake batter as indicated on the package and fill each liner ½ full. Bake for the time indicated on the box, usually 15 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the oven when done and place on your decorating workspace. I suggest lining your workspace with paper towels or parchment paper, as the sprinkles can be messy! Let the cupcakes cool for at least 15 minutes before frosting.

STEP 2: I recommend doing this the night before (or in advance the day of) because it will take time. Each mermaid tail takes about 5 minutes to harden, so if you're making 20 tails using the 2 molds that is about an hour or more of time needed.

Make the candy mermaid tails using the candy melts. Prepare the candy melts according to the instructions on the package and fill each mold. If you're using edible shimmer, use your finger to coat the inside of the molds before filling with the melted candy. Let cool for about 5 minutes in the fridge then carefully remove from the mold. Continue until you have as many as you need. Store candy tails in the fridge until ready to use.

STEP 3: While the cupcakes cool, make the frosting. Combine room temperature butter, room temperature cream cheese and vanilla extract in a large mixing bowl. Using the electric hand mixer, beat on low speed until smooth, about 1 minute. Add the powdered sugar 2 cups at a time and continue to beat on low speed until smooth. Add the blue and green food coloring and mix until the color is evenly incorporated into the frosting. For every 3 teaspoons of blue, add 1 teaspoon of green to make a teal color. Add more food coloring as needed to create your desired shade of teal. I used about 6 teaspoons of blue and 2 teaspoons of green. Pink frosting and purple frosting would also be pretty.

STEP 4: Select the piping tip you'd like to use and secure it to the piping bag. Fill the piping bag halfway with frosting. You may need to frost the cupcakes in batches depending on the size of the piping bag. Twist the top where the frosting ends and hold securely while squeezing the frosting onto each cupcake. Use a generous amount of frosting or a small amount- it's up to you!

STEP 5: Decorate the cupcakes- the fun part! Take one candy tail and push it into the center of the cupcake, so that it pushes down into the cupcake itself and not just the icing. The tails are quite heavy and will fall down if they are only inserted into the icing. Once the tails are in place, add more icing around them if needed. Create a foamy wave look with the white sprinkles around the base of the tail and sprinkle the mermaid sprinkles around the frosting in any pattern you'd like.

Transfer decorated cupcakes to the fridge to chill and set the frosting. Serve within a few hours or within 2 days for the best results.

Tips For Making Mermaid Party Cupcakes

• Make the tails the night before to save time. The cupcakes can also be made the night before.
• If you want to make super easy mermaid cupcakes, buy frosting and scoop it into the piping bag rather than make the homemade frosting.
• Don't buy white candy melts and try to dye them with food coloring. Doing this will change the texture and make them unusable. Liquid cannot be added to candy melts.
• If using fondant, plan for extra time. It will take about 10-15 minutes in the freezer for the fondant to harden enough to remove from the molds.
• Insert the mermaid tail into the cupcake about ½ inch to secure it and make sure it doesn't tip over.
• For best results, let the frosted and decorated cupcakes chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving. The frosting will cool and harden slightly, keeping the tails and other decorations nice and secure.

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