Easy Dinosaur Cupcakes {Fondant Toppers}
Learn how to make easy dinosaur cupcakes with fondant. Great for kids dinosaur birthday parties. No fancy tools needed! Can also use as cake topper.
If you enjoyed these Dinosaur Cookies, you are going to really love today’s dessert. They are so much fun to make and even kids can help out. Make them in any color you like!
How to make easy dinosaur cupcakes?
- Bake cupcakes– And allow them to cool completely.
- Make buttercream icing- Color it green.
- Make fondant dinos– You will need about 1 per cupcake
- Assemble- Pipe green grass on top of cupcakes and stick one dino and few flower candies.
Variations for edible dinosaur cupcake toppers
Try other colors– I used purple and orange colors since they go so well together but you can use whatever colors you like.
Make a bigger topper- You can also use the same tutorial to make a bigger edible dinosaur figure for a cake. The drying time would be longer.
Make mini cupcakes- Use mini cupcake liners. The baking time will be shorter. Also, the fondant toppers will have to be smaller.
Fill cupcakes- With Easy Chocolate Ganache.
Try another cupcake flavor- Such as these Oreo Cupcakes (With Cake Mix).
Consider a different frosting– Such as this Peanut Butter Frosting.
Use other candies- I used flower candies but you can use crushed Oreos or candies that look like stones or you can just omit all of this and let the dinos shine.
Use a different decorating tip instead of grass tip- Pipe a swirl of frosting using Tip 1M and then, stick the decorations.
Tips and techniques for dino cupcakes
Homemade marshmallow fondant vs. Store-bought fondant- Either can be used. Both have their pros and cons. Homemade fondant tastes really good and also smells amazing. Store-bought fondant, however, is quick and convenient and also comes pre-colored, which means less work for you.
Don’t decorate warm cupcakes- Because the heat will cause the icing and fondant decorations to melt, leading to a sticky mess.
Can I use gum paste? Yes. Please note that it dries hard very quickly and fondant takes longer.
Use gel colors– They are vibrant and more concentrated than normal liquid food colors and thus, the consistency of icing and fondant does not change.
Drying time may vary- This depends on the humidity in your area. Higher humidity = Longer drying time.
Storage
Room temperature- Store decorated cupcakes in a covered box for up to 2 days. They should not be in a sealed container because that will cause the fondant decorations to become sticky.
Refrigerate- This is not recommended since the moisture from the fridge can make the fondant decorations sticky. However, you can store iced cupcakes in a covered box in the fridge. Stick the fondant dinos on top before serving.
Freeze– Decorated cupcakes cannot be frozen because when they thaw, the fondant decorations become sticky due to condensation.
More Decorated Cupcakes
- Bee Cupcakes (Bumblebee or Honey Bee)
- Watermelon Cupcakes (Pull Apart Cupcakes)
- Easy Flower Cupcakes (Fondant Pansy)
- Ladybug Cupcakes
- Pinwheel Cupcakes
Easy Dinosaur Cupcakes (Dino Toppers)
Ingredients
- 24 Red velvet cupcakes
- 3 cups Cream cheese frosting, Colored green
- 1 cup Marshmallow fondant, Orange, Purple
- 1/4 cup Flower candies
Instructions
- Bake cupcakes and allow them to cool completely.
- While cupcakes are baking and cooling, prepare green cream cheese frosting.
- Use grass tip (Wilton Tip # 233) to pipe green grass on top of cupcakes. Keep aside.
- Make a ball shape out of orange fondant.Use your fingers to mold it into an odd shape, as shown in the collage above.
- Use a knife/pizza cutter to make a little cut along the side for the mouth.
- Cut out a thin rectangular strip of purple fondant. Cut a zig-zag pattern, using a knife.Stick this zig zag piece on top of the dino's body with some water.
- Draw eyes with a black edible marker.
- Roll out four really small balls of orange fondant and flatten them into a slight oval shape. Stick these along the sides of the dino's body with some water.
- Let the dinosaur topper dry for a few hours or overnight.
- Repeat these steps to make as many dinosaurs as you need.
- Place them on top of the frosted cupcakes, along with some flower candies. Enjoy!
Omg these are the cutest cupcakes! Im having a Jurassic world movie party next week, and these are the perfect treat for the movie!
Omg yes! Just change up the colors and they would be perfect for your party!
Cute little dinosaur! You are so talented and the pictures are stunning! Pinning!
That’s so sweet… Thanks!