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Quick easy Mermaid Cupcakes for any birthday party! It’s so easy to make these at home – skip buying them and make this easy recipe. Use any moist cupcake recipe and the best buttercream frosting with homemade mermaid tails and fun sprinkles.
Unlock the undersea world of mermaids with these cupcakes! My nieces love all things mermaid so Mermaid Tail Cupcakes are the perfect thing to surprise them with! While you do need a few tools to make these, they’re actually SO easy. Skip spending all the money at a bakery and make your own cupcakes instead!
The secret to making Mermaid Cupcakes at home is to use shortcuts where you can: use a box cake mix. That’s right – no one will know! Simply make your favorite flavor cake mix and use homemade buttercream frosting for ease. Use the time you saved to make mermaid tails with colored candy melts and everyone will ooh and ahh at how adorable they are.
Ingredients and Tools for Mermaid Cupcakes
- You’ll need baked and cooled cupcakes, either from a box or homemade (or you can buy them unfrosted at many grocery stores). If you want to make them from scratch, try my vanilla cupcake recipe!
- When using a semi-homemade hack like cake mix, I always like to make frosting from scratch. I used vanilla buttercream. You can either make your own frosting or if you’re in a hurry, you can use store-bought (get 3 cans of frosting).
- To make the mermaid tails you’ll need a Mermaid Tail Mold along with white candy melts and gel food coloring.
- For the white candy melts, you can use the kind from the craft store or use Ghirardelli melts from the grocery store (they taste better!)
- You can color white candy melts with gel food coloring (NOT regular water-based grocery store food coloring). Use your little mermaids favorite colors, but traditionally, pink, purple, and teal are the best.
- Mermaid color sprinkles can be found at many craft stores, or just mix up your favorites from what you have.
Click to see the recipe card below for full ingredients & instructions. See below the recipe card for even more information: process shots, variations, FAQ and more.
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Dorothy’s Expert Mermaid Cupcake Tips
- I like to use paper bowls for easy cleanup when microwaving the candy melts. Learn how to melt candy easily!
- Use your favorite sprinkles, cupcakes, and frosting combinations.
- When piping your candy into the mermaid tail molds, use a piping bag to make it much easier.
- Chill the molds to set the tails before removing.
- You can use any colors for these cupcakes!
Mermaid Cupcakes Recipe
Recipe Video
Equipment
- Mermaid Tail Mold
Ingredients
- 24 cupcakes baked and cooled (see notes for links)
- 1 recipe vanilla buttercream (or 3 cans of vanilla frosting)
- 10 ounces White candy melts
- Gel food coloring: pink, purple, teal
- Sprinkles
Instructions
- Place the candy melts three microwave safe bowls. Tip: I like to use paper bowls for easy clean up. Melt in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until melted and smooth. If needed, add 1 teaspoon vegetable oil to aid in melting.
- Color each bowl a different color with gel food coloring (pink, purple, teal).
- Add each color to a small ziploc bag and cut off one tip (or use a pastry bag). Pipe as desired into your mermaid tale molds (either one color per tail or a mix). Scrape off excess and allow to set.
- Once the tails are hardened, very carefully remove them from the molds.
- Divide frosting into 3 bowls. Color each bowl a different color with gel food coloring (pink, purple, teal).
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and place one frosting color in a horizontal line. Repeat with second and third colors, making sure the lines touch. Roll up the plastic and twist the ends.
- Fit a pastry bag with a 1M (open star) tip. Cut off one twisted end and add to the pastry bag. Squeeze out some frosting until the colors start to swirl.
- Frost cupcakes as desired. Sprinkle with sprinkles. Top with a mermaid tail.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Recipe Notes
- Yellow Cupcakes
- Funfetti Cupcakes
- Chocolate Cupcakes
- Piñata Cupcakes
- Red Velvet Cupcakes
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- Mermaid Tail Mold
- White Candy Melts (sold in craft stores). Or use already colorful melts if you can find the colors you like.
- Mermaid Sprinkles
Recipe Nutrition
How to make mermaid cupcakes
- Melt the candy melts in microwave-safe bowls until melted and smooth. (Learn how to melt candy without crying!) Divide the melted candy into other bowls depending on how many colors you’re using. Color the candy as desired.
- Place melted candy into one of the piping bags and snip off the tip. Pipe into the mermaid tail molds.
- If you want swirled frosting, divide the frosting into bowls and dye each a color.
- Lay out a piece of plastic wrap and place a row of each color frosting. Roll up and place in a piping bag.
- Frost onto cupcakes with the desired tip (I use a 1M or open star).
- Top cupcakes with sprinkles and a mermaid tail!
FAQs
When making cupcakes from scratch it’s important to use whole fat milk, real butter, room temperature eggs, not to over mix and not to over bake to get moist cupcakes.
By adding candy mermaid tails and sprinkles to cupcakes you can make them mermaid themed.
Store frosted cupcakes in an airtight container in the fridge.
While you can for sure freeze frosted cupcakes, it’s best to freeze the cupcakes and frosting separately, then assemble when you need them.
