Bright, playful, and a little bit magical, mermaid cupcakes instantly turn any gathering into an under-the-sea celebration. With swirls of ocean-colored frosting, shimmering sprinkles, and charming mermaid tails, these cupcakes feel special without being complicated to make. Whether you’re planning a mermaid-themed birthday party or a summer pool celebration, these cupcakes are perfect. Maybe you just want a fun baking project with kids. This recipe walks you through each step in a clear, approachable way. You don’t need advanced decorating skills or specialty tools to get beautiful results. Just a few simple ingredients and a bit of creativity is necessary. In this post, you’ll learn how to make mermaid cupcakes that look bakery-worthy but are completely doable at home. This way, you can spend less time stressing in the kitchen and more time enjoying the magic when you set them out on the table.
Mermaid Cupcakes
Equipment
Ingredients
Mermaid Tails and Seashells
- 1 tube Pink fondant
- 1 tube Lilac fondantÂ
- 1 cup corn starch
- 1 tube gold luster dust
Cupcakes
- 1 box french vanilla cake mix
- 3 eggs
- ½ C sweet cream butter softened unsalted
- 1 C whole milk
- blue, pink, purple, and green gel food coloring
Frosting
- 1 C unsalted sweet cream butter softened
- 2 ½ C powder sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3-5 TBSP heavy whipping cream
- Blue and pink gel food coloring
- 1 bag Wilton White Jumbo Nonpareils Sprinkles
- 1 bag Wilton Purple Sprinkles
- 1 bag Wilton Green Sprinkles
- 1 bag Wilton Blue Sprinkles
- 1 bag Wilton Orange Jumbo Nonpareils Sprinkles
Instructions
Mermaid Tails and Seashells
- Lightly powder your hands with the cornstarch and start to work the fondant until it becomes soft and easy to work with.
- Using one of the brushes, dip it into the cornstarch and lightly coat the silicon mold
- Tear off a tablespoon amount of fondant and mold it into the tail mold.
- Once that is done, let it sit for 5-10 minutes before flipped over the mold and carefully push out the fondant tail out of the mold.
- Once all tails have been molded, lightly dip the tip of a paint brush into the gold dust and brush the tail with it
- Let the mold dry for 1 hour.
- Repeat steps for the Seashells
Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 350 and line cupcake pan with the liners
- In a medium bowl, combine the cake mix, butter, milk, and mix until combined
- Divide the batter into 4 small bowls
- Mix until combined and the colors are bright and vibrant to your liking
- Using a spoon, start spooning 1 color of batter into the cupcake liners
- Repeat step with other colors until 3/4th full
- Bake in the oven for about 21 minutes
- Pull out and place on the side to cool
Frosting
- Using a standing mixer, combine all ingredients and mix on medium speed
- If your frosting starts looking like powdery rocks, add another tablespoon of heavy whipping cream
- Mix until you see creamy stiffed peaks
- Once the frosting is made, scoop about 1 C of frosting into the 3 bowls
- Add a few drops of the blue food coloring into one bowl
- Add a few drops of pink into the second bowl
- Leave the third bowl white
- Scoop blue frosting into the piping bag with no tip
- Frost the cupcakes
- Dip the frosting into the sprinkles
- Using the piping bag with the star tip, scoop pink frosting onto one side of the piping bag
- Scoop white frosting onto the other side
- Pipe a medium dollop of frosting into the middle of the blue
- Push the mermaid tail into the pink and white frosting
- Place a shell piece onto the side of the frosting
Nutrition
Mermaid cupcakes are proof that a little creativity can turn a simple dessert into something truly magical. With their vibrant colors, whimsical decorations, and easy-to-follow steps, these cupcakes are just as fun to make as they are to serve. Whether you’re baking for a themed party, a special celebration, or an afternoon activity with kids, this recipe gives you the flexibility to customize each cupcake and make it your own. Once you see how simple and rewarding they are, these mermaid cupcakes may just become your go-to treat whenever you want to add a splash of fun and a touch of under-the-sea magic to the table.