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Let’s dive under the sea with these Little Mermaid cakes and cupcakes.
I absolutely adore being an Aunt/Godmother. I am Auntie to two silly and beautiful little girls, Ella and Lila.
Ella is my lovely goddaughter. For her first birthday I made her a cowgirl horseshoe cake, a cowgirl smash cake, and cowgirl animal cupcakes. Baking these cakes/cupcakes for her is what prompted me to start this blog; it reminded me where my heart was career wise.
Lila is my feisty redheaded niece. She is curious and intelligent beyond her year. She’s our adorable little Smoochie-Pie, and the reason behind today’s post.
A couple of weekends ago, we celebrated Lila's first birthday in Little Mermaid style. I was tasked with the all-important Little Mermaid birthday cake. I am partial to cupcakes, especially after last year’s Purple Cake Disaster of 2014, but “successful people fail until they succeed”, so I was making cake. I am glad I did!
Let’s talk about the main attraction, The Little Mermaid cake. I baked two layers of 8” round cake, stacked and filled with American Buttercream. I used Magic Line 8” Round Cake Pans, which I adore, and Wilton’s Bake Even Strips. The cake was my very favorite Triple Chocolate Fudge Cake.
The cake was frosted with American Buttercream that I colored using Americolor Sky Blue Soft Gel Paste. I frosted using a Wilton Straight Blade Spatula, and gave it a messy look to insinuate water/waves. The little hump that Ariel is sitting on is the top of a cupcake cutoff, and the sand is crushed {food processed} graham crackers. I also used CK Sugar Pearls 4mm Pearlized Blush, as little pearls in the sand.
For the decorations on the side of the cake I used Marshmallow Fondant that I colored using Americolor Soft Gel Paste in red red, electric purple, electric orange, and electric pink. I made the marshmallow fondant decorations using the Round Fondant Plunger Cutters and the Daisy Fondant Plunger Cutters. I also did some buttercream work using Decorating Tip #2 Round in electric green and Decorating Tip #5 Round in electric purple. {Americolor Soft Gel Paste Electric Set}
The Little Mermaid smash cake was a one layer 6” square cake frosted with American Buttercream. I use Fat Daddio's 6" Square Cake Pan {another great brand}. It was funfetti cake and I used aqua, blue, and green sprinkles for the funfetti to make it water-ish. I used the same marshmallow fondant decorations as the Little Mermaid cake. I used Decorating Tip #2 Round for the writing. The Little Mermaid figurines were Disney Princess The Little Mermaid Story Set, which worked perfectly for decorating a cake.
In addition to the cakes I also made a dozen and a half funfetti cupcakes. I used foiled cupcake liners that I will never use again because they made the cupcakes bake weird. They had a pretty water effect that worked swimmingly for a Little Mermaid theme though.
I frosted the cupcakes with Decorating Tip #1M, and gave them a swirl. The chocolate cupcake toppers were made using this Sea Creatures Chocolate Mold. I piped chocolate into the mold using a disposable pastry bag with the tip snipped off, and used Merckens Candy Coating in orchid, pink, and orange. These turned out so awesome I am definitely going to use this technique again. I also added green and blue sugar pearls.
I absolutely loved making these cakes and was thrilled with how it all turned out. Everyone enjoyed the cake and cupcakes, including our little Smoochie-Pie, and that is really the most rewarding and awesome part!
And now for my little giveaway...
Today’s giveaway is for adorable Cupcake Salt and Pepper Shakers, previously mentioned in 2014 Holiday Gift Guide for Bakers. I am giving a set away because I♥ my readers. You allow me to have this blog, which I positively LOVE!
Want to win?
Enter using the rafflecopter form below. The first step is to log-in using Facebook OR your email address.
Once you are logged in, leave a comment on this post.You are now entered into this giveaway.
At this point you can pick and choose the ways you want to enter. The only one you absolutely have to click on to get into the drawing is the “Leave a Blog Post Comment.”
The Rules:
*Giveaway ends Monday, March 2nd at 12am CENTRAL.
*US residents only. Winner will be chosen at random.
*Winner will be emailed and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen.
Good Luck and Happy Baking!
Photos by my sister-in-law, Krystle {nieces mommy}, at Krystle Lois Photography {unless otherwise noted}.
This post may contain affiliate links. Please see my disclosure policy.
