Easy Oreo Penguin Cupcakes
Are you looking for some fun, tasty, and delicious cupcakes that your family will love? Then these penguin cupcakes with Oreos might be just what you are looking for. These decorated cupcakes look just like penguins heading out on a snowy winter’s day when you are done decorating them.
These decorated cupcakes are easy to make, but the decorating does take a little time so you may want to make them in advance. These easy penguin cupcakes would be perfect for a wintertime birthday party celebration, or a fun movie night snack to surprise your family with. They could also be a fun snow day treat and activity to make with the kids and share.
Oreo Penguin Cupcakes
You will only need a few ingredients to make these decorated cupcakes. You will need a box of French vanilla cake mix, crushed Oreos, eggs, milk, and butter. You will need a few additional ingredients to make the frosting and decorations for your penguin cupcakes with Oreos.
For the frosting you will need powdered sugar, whipping cream, unsalted sweet cream butter (softened), and vanilla extract. For the penguin decorations, you will need black gel food coloring, orange gel food coloring, red fondant, white fondant, holly sprinkles, circle fondant cutters, a heart fondant cutter, and two disposable piping bags with a star tip.
How to Make Easy Penguin Cupcakes
To make your cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and in your stand mixer beat together the cake mix, eggs, butter, and milk. Once these ingredients have combined, fold in your crushed Oreo cookies to the batter.
Put liners in your cupcake pan and fill each one ¾ full with batter. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Set the cupcakes to the side to cool.
To make the frosting for your cupcakes, use your stand mixer to beat the butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, and vanilla extract until combined, and the icing holds a peak.
Put ½ cup of frosting into two separate bowls. In one bowl add your orange gel food coloring and mix until combined. In the other bowl add your black gel food coloring, you may need a few extra drops because you want your black icing to be very black.
Put your orange and black icing in two separate piping bags with the star tips. Place a mound of frosting on top of each of your cupcakes and smooth it out with a cake spatula.
For the penguin part of your decorated cupcakes, you are going to need your red and white fondant. Roll out the fondant on a cutting board sprinkled with powdered sugar until it is ¼ inch thick. Use the heart cutter to cut out 16 hearts and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Use the circle cutter and cut out 16 red circles. Use the circle cutter again to create a half-moon shape for your penguin’s hats. Use the small circle cutter to make the balls for the top of the hats.
Take some of the red fondant and roll it into 32 thin ropes. Take one end of each rope and press them together. Then twist the two ropes together to look like a braid.
Use a small amount of fondant glue to place the braids on the bottom of each hat. Cut off any excess that extends beyond the hat. Take another small amount of fondant glue and attach the small circles to the top of the hats. Leave them to dry for 15 minutes. Add some fondant glue to the holly sprinkles and place them in the top corner of the hat above the braid.
Place your heart-shaped fondant on each cupcake for the penguin’s face. Use the black piping bag to make two eyes, and the orange piping bag to make a small beak. Carefully place your fondant hats above the eyes and your super cute penguin cupcakes are ready to go!
NEED TO SAVE THIS? PIN THE IMAGE ABOVE ⬆️ TO YOUR SCIENCE WEATHER BOARD ON PINTEREST—SO IT’S EASY TO FIND WHEN YOU NEED IT!
These Oreo penguin cupcakes are absolutely adorable and tasty too! Your family and friends will love them. Although the decorated cupcakes do sound a little challenging to decorate, they really aren’t. It just takes a few extra minutes and they are so worth it when you see and taste the end result!
Oreo Penguin Cupcakes
Ingredients
- 1 box French Vanilla Cake mix
- 3 large Eggs
- 1⁄2 C unsalted Sweet Cream Butter, softened
- 1 1⁄4 C whole Milk
- 1 C crushed Oreo Cookies
- 2 C unsalted Sweet Cream butter, softened
- 5 C powdered Sugar
- 5 tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream
- 3 tsp pure Vanilla extract
- 1 medium scoop Cookie scooper
- Black gel Food Coloring
- Orange gel Food Coloring
- 2 disposable Piping Bags fitted with star tip
- 1 4 oz package of White satin Ice Fondant
- 2 4 oz package of red satin ice Fondant
- 1 container of Holly decorating Sprinkles
- 1 package of circle Fondant press Cutters
- 1 3 in round circle Fondant Cutter
- 1 2 in heart Fondant Cutter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line a cupcake/muffin pan with cupcake liners.
- Using a hand mixer or standing mixer wtih whisk attachment, beat the cake mix, eggs, butter and milk until smooth.
- Fold in the crushed oreo cookies.
- Fill liners 3⁄4 way full and bake in in the oven for 20 minutes Allow to cool completely.
- Using a standing mixer, beat the butter, powdered sugar, vanilla, and heavy cream until combined, smooth and holds a peak.
- Scoop 1⁄2 C of frosting into a bowl and mix in 4 drops orange gel food coloring.
- Mix in 5-7 drops black gel food coloring into the frosting, you want to make sure the frosting is a nice rich black shade so you may need to add in a few more drops of gel food coloring.
- Scoop a mound of frosting on top of the cupcake and use the cake spatula to smooth into a thick mound.
- Scoop some of the black frosting into the second piping bag Decorating the cupcake.
- Lightly dust a cutting board with powdered sugar.
- Roll out the white and red fondant to 1⁄4 in thick.
- Using the heart cutter, cut out 16 hearts and place onto another cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Using the circle cutter, cut out 16 red circles.
- Use the circle cutter again on the cutouts and create a large moon, this will be the hat Use the small circle plunger and cut out 16 small circles.
- Roll the red fondant back into a ball and pinch off about 1 tablespoon of fondant.
- Roll the fondant into a thin rope about 3 inch long.
- You will need two logs for each red circle, 32 thin ropes.
- Take 1 end of both ropes and pinch together.
- Twist the ropes together to look like a braid.
- Using the fondant glue, brush a thin amount on the bottom part of the hat.
- Carefully place the braid onto the glue and lightly press down so that it sticks to the hat.
- Cut the ends off of the rope to make it even with the hat.
- Take the fondant glue again and lightly brush a small amount on the back of the smaller circles.
- Carefully place the circle on top of the hat.
- Allow to dry for 15 minutes.
- Brush a small amount of fondant glue on the back of the holly sprinkles and place in the top corner on the hat above the braid.
- Take the heart shaped fondant and place onto the lower part of the cupcake frosting, this is the penguins face.
- Take the black frosting piping bag and pipe two small dots for the eyes.
- Take the orange frosting piping bag and pipe a small cone for the beak.
- Carefully place the hat on top of the face and lightly press down onto the frosting.
- Enjoy!
