Dog Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Cupcakes have been done to death, so it's always refreshing to find a brand spanking new recipe or creative look, and here you have it with these sweet doggie-decorated treats topped off with buttercream. Dog lovers will get a kick out of these little bites of heaven, even though they're almost too pretty to eat... ALMOST.
Equipment
- Muffin pan
- Piping bag
- Hand mixer
Ingredients
- 200 g flour
- 125 g soft butter
- 125 g sugar
- 2 eggs
- 3 tsp baking powder
- white buttercream for Poodle and Pug
- brown buttercream for Labradoodle
- yellow buttercream for Golden Retriever
- light brown buttercream for Pomeranian
- dark brown buttercream for Pomeranian
- pale red buttercream for Shih Tzu
- chocolate drops or chocolate chips for eyes and nose
- red fondant for Poodle and Labradoodle
- pink fondant for Golden Retriever and Pomeranian
Instructions
- First mix the flour, butter, sugar, eggs, and baking powder with a hand mixer in a large bowl until smooth.
- Distribute the batter in a 6 cup muffin pan lined with cupcake liners. Bake at 390°F for 15 minutes.
- Fill a piping bag with white buttercream and pipe the surface of the cupcake in a spiral shape, starting in the center and working your way out. Smooth the frosting with a knife. Pipe dollops of buttercream on the tops and sides to create the hair and ears. Add one large dollop in the lower center section for the nose. Place two large chocolate drops or two regular-sized chocolate chips in the center for the eyes, and one small chocolate drop or one mini chocolate chip in the center of the nose dollop. Cut two small hearts out of the fondant and carefully place them into the hair as a bow.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a serrated icing tip with brown buttercream and pipe short, vertical dollops of buttercream all over the surface of the cupcake, then larger dollops of buttercream on each side for the ears. Pipe a final, generous dollop of buttercream in the center for the nose. Place two large chocolate drops or two regular-sized chocolate chips in the center for the eyes, and one small chocolate drop or one mini chocolate chip in the center of the nose dollop. Cut a small triangle from the fondant, make a line down the middle, and place it under the nose dollop as the tongue.
- Fill a piping bag with yellow buttercream, pipe the frosting onto the surface of a cupcake, and smooth out with a knife. Create two large sections, as seen in the picture below, to create the ears, and add a dollop of buttercream in the middle as the nose. Place two large chocolate drops or two regular-sized chocolate chips in the center for the eyes, and one small chocolate drop or one mini chocolate chip in the center of the nose dollop. Cut a small triangle from the fondant, make a line down the middle, and place it under the nose dollop as the tongue.
- Fill one piping back with white buttercream and the other piping bag with black buttercream. Pipe the white buttercream onto the surface of the cupcake as shown in the photo below, making sure to leave an oval-sized area in the lower half empty. Add five small dollops at the top of the cupcake. Pipe the buttercream on the empty oval surface and add slightly smaller ovals on the left and right side for ears. Use a knife to smooth out the snout and ears. Now pipe more black buttercream again on the snout to create details. Add a vertical line down the center and add two small dollops at the center of the top, and add a few small dollops on either side of the vertical line. Finally, place two large chocolate drops or two regular-sized chocolate chips in the center for the eyes.
- Fill one piping back with light brown buttercream and the other piping bag with dark brown buttercream. Both piping bags should be fitted with a grass icing tip. First pipe the light brown buttercream in strips from the center to the outside — this should cover half of the cupcake. Now pipe the other half of the cupcake with the dark brown buttercream. Pipe the nose with the light brown buttercream and the ears with the medium brown buttercream, making squiggly triangles. Place two large chocolate drops or two regular-sized chocolate chips in the center for the eyes, and one small chocolate drop or one mini chocolate chip in the center of the nose dollop. Cut a small triangle from the fondant, make a line down the middle, and place it under the nose dollop as the tongue.
- Fill one piping back with white buttercream and the other piping bag with pale red buttercream. Both piping bags should be fitted with a grass icing tip. First pipe the pale red buttercream in two opposite triangles from the center outward. Now pipe the white buttercream in the same pattern on the rest of the cupcake. Add an extra layer in the middle and two under the pale red cream. Finally, take the pale red buttercream and pipe vertical strips down the left and right sides to create the ears. Place two large chocolate drops or two regular-sized chocolate chips in the center for the eyes, and one small chocolate drop or one mini chocolate chip in the center of the nose area.
VIDEO
Notes
The great thing about working with colored butter cream, chocolate drops/chips, and fondant is that you can make any kind of dog you want — these cupcakes will make a perfect gift for your dachshund, chihuahua, beagle, and dalmatian-obsessed friends.