Inspired Passions: How to Sesame Street Cupcakes

Hi Friends,

So last week I made some Sesame Street cupcakes, which I have done a couple of times before, they are lots of fun and the kids love it. I am no professional but I think they turned out ok... well I was happy with Big Bird, Elmo and Cookie, but I think Grover and Oscar turned out better last time I made them, but Noah was still impressed with them. I jotted down some notes for those interested in making them and I added some pictures in case my steps aren’t that clear! J Enjoy.

Martha Stewart Cupcake Recipe:

http://www.marthastewart.com/282243/one-bowl-chocolate-cupcakes

This is my favourite cupcake recipe so far as I find them to be moist yet not too sweet like other cupcakes.

Donna Hay Chocolate Buttercream (Kid’s Magazine)

250 gm butter, softened

2 cups of icing sugar, sifted

2 Tbsp milk

Place the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer and beat for 6-8 minutes. Add the icing sugar, cocoa and milk and beat for a further 10-15 minutes.
Separate the buttercream into 5 equal portions and add the colours to make resemble sesame street characters.

Make sure all fondant is rolled and ready. Keep covered with a plastic freezer bag so it does not dry out.

After I added the buttercream to each cupcake I stored the cupcakes to set in the refrigerator for a few minutes so the buttercream would not run or get messy when it came to sticking on the eyes etc.

Elmo Cupcakes :

Wilton Red (Rojo Intenso) buttercream

Wilton Tip 18 or 21 (matter of preference)

Plastic drinking straw

Black and White fondant

Extra small circle cutter

Orange Baby Jelly Beans

Start from the edge of the cupcake and pipe your way around until the cupcake is covered.

Using the extra small circle cutter cut out white fondant to make Elmo’s eyes.
With a plastic drinking straw cut out black fondant to make the pupil. I used a little butter cream or drop of water to stick the pupil on the eye.
For Elmo’s mouth, cut out black fondant using a medium circle cutter, then within the circle you have cut, cut out a moon shape to use as Elmo’s mouth.
Add a jellybean in the centre below his eyes for his nose.

Oscar the grouch Cupcakes:

Wilton Moss Green (Verde Musgo) buttercream

Wilton Tip 3 or Inox Tip 1 (I would use Wilton tip 233 next time as my Oscar's came out looking more like a scary Oscar!) :)

Red, White, Black fondant

Queen’s Brown Writing Fudge

Extra Small Circle Cutter

Medium Circle Cutter

Plastic Straw

Starting from the edge of the cupcake, pipe your way around until the cupcake is covered.
For the eyes, cut white fondant circle with the extra small circle cutter. To get the oval shape eyes, cut within the circle slightly off centre.

Cut a tiny circle in black fondant using the plastic straw, then cut that circle in half, use each half for his pupils and glue on his eye with buttercream or drop water.
Cut out black fondant with the medium circle cutter, and then cut in half using each half for mouth. (Next time I would make his mouth smaller - see picture below of previous ones I made, because it resembles Oscar more)
To make Oscar’s tongue use the extra small circle on red fondant and follow instructions to his eyes. Stick the red tongue with bit of buttercream on his mouth.
For Oscar’s eyebrows using the Queen’s chocolate fudge, pipe around his eyes, it doesn’t have to be tidy.

Grover Cupcakes:

Wilton Tip 18

Wilton Royal Blue buttercream (I added heaps of blue to get the Grover colour).

White, Red, Black fondant.

Mini pink M&Ms (I would use bigger M&Ms next time)

Small Circle Cutter

Medium Circle Cutter

Plastic drinking straw

Start from the edge of the cupcake and pipe your way around until the cupcake is covered.
For the eyes, cut white fondant circle with the extra small circle cutter. To get the oval shape eyes, cut within the circle slightly off centre. (I would make his eyes smaller next time like in the picture below.)
Cut a tiny circle in black fondant using the plastic straw, then cut that circle in half, use each half for his pupils and glue on his eye with buttercream or drop water.
For Grover’s mouth cut black fondant using a medium circle cutter. Cut in half using each half for mouths.
To make the outline of his lips, cut red fondant using a medium circle cutter, then cut within that circle to get a moon shape or lip shape. See picture below.
Stick an M&M in the centre but touching the top of his lip.

Cookie Monster Cupcakes:

Wilton Tip 233

Wilton Royal Blue buttercream

Cookies (I used Yoyo biscuits)

White and Black Fondant

Small Circle Cutter

Plastic drinking straw

Starting from the edge of the cupcake, pipe your way around until the cupcake is covered. Make one side of cupcake higher than the other.

Using the tip 233 make short strands and cover the icing of cupcake. (I made mine too long, I had to give Cookie and Oscar haircuts! Lol)
Cut white fondant using a small circle cutter and roll in balls. Stick his eyes on the fuller section of the cupcake.
Using a plastic straw cut black fondant for pupils. Stick them on so pupils are looking in different directions.
Stick a broken cookie where his mouth would be.

Big Bird Cupcakes: (these are the most tricky I made a few different types cos he always turned out like an angry bird! lol)

Wilton Tip 18

Wilton Lemon Yellow buttercream

Yellow fondant (For the beak, I coloured a little using Wilton Golden Yellow)

Red, pink, black and white fondant

Plastic drinking straw

Small circle cutter

Starting from the edge of the cupcake, pipe your way around until the cupcake is covered. See picture.
For the beak, cut two circles of yellow fondant with the small circle cutter. Roll each circle in a ball, and form the shape of beak with fingers.
Cut a triangle of red fondant the size the beak, and also cut a slightly smaller triangle of pink fondant.

Get the two beak yellow beaks you made, stick the red triangle and the pink triangle to form his tongue on one side of the beak, then attach the other beak and press one end down with fingers. (I had to cut the ends of my beaks off to get them to size as I made them too big.)
Cut two circles of white fondant using the extra small circle cutter and roll into balls.
Cut a tiny circle in black fondant using the plastic straw, then cut that circle in half, use each half for his pupils and glue on his eye with buttercream or drop water.
Cut pink fondant using the extra small circle cutter, and cut that circle into quarter. Then use to make eyebrows. (I flatten it a little more with a spatula so it’s quite thin and covers the eye.)
If you have leftover buttercream from cookie monster cupcakes use to make the outline of big bird’s eyelids.