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Kids’ birthday party critter cupcakes

These adorable little critter cupcakes from The Australian Women's Weekly's 'Easy Party Cakes' cookbook make the perfect childrens' birthday party treats. Each animal takes about an hour to put together, so allow yourself half a day if you want to make them all.
36
4H
5M
4H 5M

Ingredients

Fearless lion
Perplexed panda
Youcan toucan
Crazy crocodile

Method

Fearless lion cupcakes

1.Spread frosting over the tops of the cupcakes; cover with crushed biscuits.
2.Insert sliced almonds into the frosting around the cupcakes for the lion’s mane.
3.Cut licorice strap into thin strips; then cut each strip into 2.5cm pieces. Use black writing icing to stick licorice and a black Jelly Belly jelly bean onto cupcakes to make lion’s nose and mouth (as shown in picture).
4.Use black writing icing to attach 2 edible white confetti to each face for eyes. Squeeze a drop of icing on the confetti for lion’s pupils.

Perplexed panda cupcakes

5.Place coconut in a medium bowl. Spread frosting over the tops of cupcakes; press tops into coconut to cover well.
6.Using picture as a guide, press 5 chocolate chips onto each cupcake to form the ears, eyes and nose.
7.Press a brown candy-coated chocolate chip (from a tub of rainbow choc-chips) onto each cupcake for the mouth.
8.Use black writing icing to stick 2 edible white confetti on each face for eyes; squeeze a drop of icing on confetti for panda’s pupils.

Youcan toucan

9.Reserve 2 tablespoons of the frosting; tint this reserved frosting orange (using orange food colouring).
10.Tint half the remaining frosting black. Using picture as a guide, spread black frosting in a quarter-moon shape around each cupcake; spread white frosting on the remaining cupcake tops.
11.Using picture as a guide, cut wafers to make beaks. Use a new clean paint brush to paint a little orange frosting on the tips of the top beaks. Attach beaks to cupcakes.
12.Split jube rings in half; place on centre of cupcakes.
13.Use black writing icing to stick a yellow M&M and an edible white confetti onto jube for eyes; squeeze a drop of icing on confetti for pupils.
14.Cut sour strap into thin strips; trim strips to fit around front half of the jube rings.

Crazy crocodile

15.Tint one of the tubs of frosting blue; spread this over the tops of the cupcakes. Using the back of a teaspoon, make peaks and waves on frosting.
16.Using picture as a guide, trim 16 pieces of extra thick ice-cream wafers into 9cm x 4.5cm rectangles, tapering slightly at one short end.
17.Tint remaining tub of vanilla frosting green in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave frosting on HIGH (100%) in 20-second bursts until melted.
18.Dip wafers, one at a time, into green frosting; place on a wire rack over baking paper.
19.On half of the wafers, press 2 large green M&M’s for eyes and 2 mini green M&M’s for the nose. Stand until set.
20.Use black writing icing to stick 2 edible white confetti to large M&M’s; squeeze a drop of icing on confetti for pupils.
21.Place plain green wafers on cupcakes; using a little writing gel, attach 1 white mini marshmallow to the front end of each wafer.
22.Using a little icing, attach the remaining wafer on top to complete the crocodiles’ jaws.

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