How To Make Rainbow Cupcakes and Unicorn Cake Toppers by The Pink Whisk

We’ve teamed up with The Pink Whisk and she shares how to make Rainbow Cupcakes and Unicorn Cake Toppers with easy, intermediate and advanced unicorn and rainbow cupcakes. It’s a chance to see all our gloriously coloured ready to roll icing in action… which cupcake are you tempted to make? Over to Ruth Clemens, of Great British Bake Off fame, to show you how…

I made these cupcakes and they were gone by teatime! I think their playful nature and whimsical colours make them an irresistable treat for anyone who spots them in the kitchen. Enjoy my step-by-step instructions for decorating your cakes.

Rainbow Cupcakes – Easy

Very easy and very quick to do. I love this because it gives the impression of a rainbow without being a traditional rainbow style.

You will need: Renshaw Ready to Roll Icing in Baby Blue, White, Ruby Red, Orange, Yellow, Lincoln Green, Atlantic Blue and Amethyst

• Cut out fluted circles from Baby Blue Icing for the topper and set to one side.
• Cut out 1cm circles using a plunger cutter, you will need one of each colour; Ruby Red, Orange, Yellow, Lincoln Green, Atlantic Blue and Amethyst for each topper. (If you don’t have a small circle cutter the buttons can easily be made by rolling a small ball of ready to roll icing – also known as sugarpaste – and flattening gently with a fingertip).

• Create the rainbow by arching the buttons across the baby blue base, securing each with a light brush of water underneath.

• Roll small balls of white sugarpaste in varying sizes and position in a groups at either end of the rainbow, again securing with a light brush of water.

• Ta da! It’s as easy as that.

Rainbow Cupcakes – Intermediate

These 3D Rainbow Cupcakes are surprisingly quick to make, but make sure you allow yourself plenty of drying time. I wanted the rainbows to stand up-right, and to be sturdy, the plaque at the back ensures the rainbows stay where they should be.

You will need: Renshaw Ready to Roll Icing in White, Duck Egg Blue, Ruby Red, Orange, Yellow, Lincoln Green, Atlantic Blue and Amethyst.

• Cut out Duck Egg Blue Icing fluted circles to form the base of each topper.
• Work a small amount of CMC into the white sugarpaste. Roll out and cut out a white fluted circle, the same size as the duck egg blue discs. Using a sharp knife cut away the bottom third and then split the small section into half. Set these pieces to one side to dry out completely, ideally overnight.

• To form the rainbow, position a large cupcake type piping nozzle across the flat edge of the large white piece. Using a sugarpaste extruder, create thin sausages of each of the rainbow colours. Working in reverse order, from Amethyst to Ruby Red, secure each rainbow stripe to the base wrapping it around the nozzle as a guide for the shape, using a little edible glue and leaving a little overhang on either end. Once the full rainbow has been created take a sharp knife and trim off any excess at either end of the rainbow. Allow to dry.

• Affix the rainbow to the duck egg blue base with a little edible glue along the base. Using a triangular piece glue into position behind the rainbow to form a support.

• Roll balls of white sugarpaste in varying sizes and fix at each end of the rainbow.

• Finished! Time to enjoy.

Unicorn Cupcakes – Advanced

The difficult part of these cupcakes is getting the design right. Once you’ve created one though, its just a jigsaw to put together. After one, you’ll find the others come together much more quickly. Uncorns are great because they’re a mythical creature, which allows a lot of creative license.

You will need: Renshaw Ready to Roll Icing in White, Pastel Yellow, Black, Jade, Turquoise, Fuchsia

• Cut out Black Icing fluted circles for the base of each cupcake topper and set to one side.
• Work a small amount of CMC into the white sugarpaste. Roll out thinly and using a sharp craft knife cut out the two shapes required for the unicorn; head and neck. Imprint a mouth using a small piping nozzle and a nostril using a small ball tool. Set aside to dry.

• Fix the neck and head to the black base using a little edible glue.
• Using a black and blue edible icing pen draw on the unicorn’s eye.

• Dust a small amount of pale pink lustre dust to create the blush on the unicorn’s face.
• To form the mane, roll sausages of Jade, Turquoise and Fushia Pink in varying sizes keeping one end fatter and tapering the other end to a fine point and curling. Fix around the unicorn’s face using a little edible glue.

• Roll a small ball of white sugarpaste and pinch one end to form the ear and flatten slightly. Indent the centre of the ear using a bone tool. Brush the inside of the ear with a little pink lustre dust and fix into place again using edible glue.
• Roll a very thin sausage of pastel yellow with tapered ends. Fold in half and twist the pieces around each other to twirl.

• Trim the horn to size and position as the Unicorn’s horn on the top of the head.

• I added my unicorns to vanilla cakes baked in silver cases.

Renshaw Guest Blogger

Ruth Clemens, Baking Blogger The Pink Whisk and self confessed Manic Mummy Baker Extraordinaire. She came second in the very first series of BBC2’s The Great British Bake Off in 2010. Ruth now works with major UK brands on baking related projects, demonstrations, recipe commissions for magazines, and is the author of The Busy Girl’s Guide to Cake Decorating and The Pink Whisk Guide to Cake Making. For recipes, tutorials and inspiration see www.thepinkwhisk.co.uk

Enjoyed Ruth’s step-by-step unicorn and rainbow cupcakes? Take a look at her book with 30 mouthwatering recipes, hints, tips and more! The Pink Whisk Guide To Cake Making Book >>