Little Mermaid Cupcakes with Fondant Mermaid Tails

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Make a splash at your next themed party or movie night with our whimsical Little Mermaid Cupcakes. Adorned with fondant mermaid tails, these cupcakes are sure to make a splash!

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Cupcake topped with sea blue frosting, sprinkles and edible pearls with a fondant mermaid tail inserted. The text overlay says Mermaid Cupcakes"". The same cupcakes are featured throughout from various angles, with different text overlays, unless otherwise described.

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The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post. I highly recommend reading the blog post all the way through so that you don’t miss any tips or substitution suggestions, to ensure that you have all the ingredients and equipment required and understand the steps and timings involved.

Little Mermaid Cupcakes

With the release of the live-action Disney movie, The Little Mermaid it’s time to put your baking hat on and make a batch of these adorable Little Mermaid Cupcakes!

The cupcakes are made using a box of cake mix (although you can always make the best vanilla cupcakes recipe from scratch if you prefer). Or indeed make them in another flavor.

The cupcakes are then topped with a mermaid tail diving into the sea of frosting and sprinkles!

Whether you are a fan of the new movie, or prefer the Disney animated version – or just love mermaids these mermaid cupcakes are a perfect treat.

Enjoy them as a movie snack or as a dessert at a mermaid or under-the-sea-themed party!

Ingredients for making Little Mermaid Cupcakes

The mermaid tail cupcake decorations are made using fondant, which might look tricky, but it’s not as difficult as you might think.

If you’re an experienced cake maker you can probably jump straight to the recipe at the end of this post and get baking!

But if not, please read through the steps as I’ve got lots of tips and suggestions along the way!

Ingredients & Equipment Used In This Recipe

For your convenience, any specialized or notable ingredients and equipment needed to make these cupcakes have been listed below and linked to Amazon or other stores if available online. Standard ingredients such as flour or sugar are not listed, as you are likely to have those in your kitchen. The full list with measurements is found in the recipe card.

Little Mermaid Cupcakes & Frosting Ingredients

  • Box of Vanilla Cake Mix – the usual additional ingredients are changed to butter, milk, and eggs to enrich the cake mix.
  • Powdered Sugar – also known as Icing Sugar and Confectioner’s Sugar.
  • Pure Vanilla Extract – always buy good vanilla as it really does make a flavor difference.

Decorating Ingredients

Cupcake Decorating Equipment

Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog use both cup measurements and/or weighted measurements. American cups and kitchen food scales are handy pieces of equipment to have in your kitchen as it means you’ll be able to make all of the different recipes on my blog! I try to give American, imperial, and metric measurements in my recipes. You can mix cup measurements with weighted measures, but never imperial (pounds, ounces, pints, etc.,) with metric (kilograms, grams, litres, etc.,).

Mermaid Tail Cupcakes

Little Mermaid Cupcake Recipe Tips

The mermaid tails that decorate these cupcakes are made with fondant (also known as sugarpaste).

Fondant needs time to dry before using them as cake decorations. Depending on the size of your decorations, they can be ready to use in a few hours or may take up to 24 hours to dry out.

Bear this in mind when preparing your Little Mermaid cupcakes.

Fondant Tips

If you have never worked with fondant before, don’t panic – it is really easy to use, follow my tips and you’ll be just fine!

  • Line a cookie sheet(s) or tray(s)with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat to place the fondant pieces on to dry.
  • Dust your work surface with powdered sugar (icing sugar/confectioner’s sugar) or cornstarch (cornflour) so that the fondant doesn’t stick. Think of it like the way you use flour when rolling dough.
  • Rub a little powdered sugar/cornstarch into your hands and knead a handful of the fondant to make it more pliable before rolling, rather than using it straight from the package.
  • Using a Silicone Mold: Dust with powdered sugar before pressing some fondant into the cavity and leveling off, before gently popping out and leaving to dry.
  • If there is excess powdered sugar on the pieces, you can gently brush it away with a pastry brush, or an unused, clean paintbrush.
  • Alternatively, you can use a vodka spray. Pour some vodka into a mini spray bottle and gently mist the fondant wings. Vodka dries more quickly than water which is why it is usually used when handling fondant.
  • Always make extra pieces – that way if some break or you have another mishap, you have got backups that you can use.
  • Leave the cut fondant pieces to harden in a cool, dry place – do not place them in the fridge.
  • The fondant pieces should be solid enough to handle and insert into the cupcakes after 3 – 6 hours. I personally like to leave fondant pieces to dry for around 24 hours. How long this takes, however, is based on the size and thickness of the fondant, and how humid your house is, so you will need to judge if they will hold up as they need to in the cupcakes.
  • If you need to paint or draw onto fondant, make sure the pieces have had time to dry first so that the edible ink or paint doesn’t bleed. Unless that is the look you are going for or the recipe says otherwise.
  • When making cakes or cupcakes that use fondant decorations I like to make them a few days ahead of time which allows for drying without stress. If fondant hasn’t dried enough it can mean disappointing end results.
  • After using fondant the surface will be super sticky (it always is in my experience!) so you will probably have to wipe away the sugar first, then give it a soapy hot wash over, and then another clean over! You can always buy a fondant rolling mat for easier cleanup.
  • Always keep fondant covered when making decorations to prevent it from drying out. And when you’ve finished, wrap up any remaining fondant very well – I double-wrap it in plastic wrap and place it in an airtight container. This keeps it fresh and you can use it for future cake-making.
How To Make Little Mermaid Cupcakes

Cupcake Making Tips

  • These cupcakes are made using a box of cake mix – the flavor is enriched by using butter, milk, and eggs, instead of the usual oil, water, and eggs. They also have sprinkles added to the mix.
  • Use your choice of cupcake liners – themed to the cupcakes, plain white or black, or a complementary color.
  • Use an ice cream scoop to equally divide the cupcake mixture between the cupcake liners. Fill them about three-quarters full.
  • The cupcakes should be ready in about 20 minutes – test their doneness by inserting a toothpick into the cakes. It should come out clean when the cupcakes are cooked all the way through. Bake for an extra 2 minutes and check again.
  • Cool the cupcakes in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely before frosting.

Cupcake Frosting Tips

  • When making the frosting you want the end result to be creamy, smooth, and hold a stiff peak. You may have to adjust the amount of powdered sugar and cream slightly to achieve the consistency you need.
  • The frosting is then colored using food coloring. Remember that you can always add more color, but can’t take it away. Add a little to start with and add more to get the shade required.
  • FOOD COLORING! Food coloring is available in various forms. You’re most likely to find liquid coloring in your grocery store, and other types of coloring like gels, pastes, and powders in more specialised cake decorating shops. The cheapest option is liquids, but they can alter the consistency of your frosting and cake batter, so I prefer to use pastes or gels which don’t. A little goes a long way with food coloring gels and you can usually get a much deeper shade than you would with liquids.
  • These cupcakes are double-frosted, for the first layer, pipe a thick ring around the edge of the cupcake and dip it into a bowl of sprinkles to cover it completely. Then add a swirl of frosting on top of the sprinkle layer.
  • SPRINKLES! Following the color or theme provided in the recipe. You can use any type you like such as nonpareils, jimmies, stars, confetti, pearls, or shapes – you’ll need about 2 cups of them in total to cover the cupcakes.
  • Use a piping bag fitted with a large star tip to pipe the swirl on top of the sprinkle layer.
  • If you feel like you are going to be making a lot of cookies, cakes, and cupcakes in the future, I think it is worth investing in a set of piping tips so that you know you always have the right ones on hand for a recipe.
  • Do not overfill the piping bag with frosting, and make sure you squeeze the frosting down the bag to expel any air bubbles.
  • If you are not confident with your piping skills you can practice on some parchment paper first and scoop the frosting back into the bag to use on the cupcakes.

More Disney Cupcake Recipes

Looking for more Disney-inspired cupcakes to make? Check these recipes out next:

Cute Little Mermaid Cupcakes Recipe

How Do I Make Little Mermaid Cupcakes?

Check out the printable recipe card below with full ingredients and instructions. Any demonstration photos do not print out to save your ink.

Little Mermaid Cupcakes Recipe

Little Mermaid Cupcakes

Yield: 18
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

Channel your inner mermaid with these charming Little Mermaid Cupcakes! With their vibrant colors and enchanting mermaid tail toppers, these treats are a must-have for any mermaid-themed celebration!

Ingredients

For the Mermaid Tails

  • Cornstarch (cornflour)
  • 1 ( 4.4oz) package blue fondant
  • Violet Wilton Color Mist
  • Gold Wilton Color Mist

For the Cupcakes

  • 1 box vanilla cake mix
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup whole milk
  • ½ cup unsalted butter, softened
  • ½ cup purple, green, red, and blue sprinkle mix

For the Frosting

  • 2 cups unsalted butter, softened
  • 5 cups powdered sugar (icing sugar)
  • 6 Tbsp heavy whipping cream (double cream)
  • 1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract
  • Sky blue gel food coloring
  • 2 cups mermaid sprinkles
  • Edible Sugar Pearls, an optional extra

Instructions

  1. Line a cookie sheet or tray with parchment paper or a non-stick baking mat and set it aside.
  2. When using fondant, use cornstarch as you would flour when making dough. Dust your work surface, hands, and tools.
  3. Knead the blue fondant in your hands to make it soft and pliable. Dust the mermaid tail mold with cornstarch using a clean, dry paintbrush.
  4. To make a mermaid tail, pinch off about 2 tablespoons of fondant and press it into the mold cavity. Leave for 3 minutes before carefully removing it from the mold. Set the tail on the prepared cookie sheet to dry in a cool, dry place (not the fridge) overnight or for 24 hours if possible. Repeat to make 18 tails total. TIP! Always make extra fondant decorations as backup!
  5. When the mermaid tails have dried, spray the purple color mist on the fin of the tail, and use the gold color mist to lightly spray the rest of the tail. Leave to dry.
  6. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C/Gas 4. Line cupcake pans with 18 cupcake liners and set them aside.
  7. Using an electric standing or hand mixer, beat the cake mix, eggs, milk, and butter until combined and smooth. Stir in ½ cup of sprinkles until evenly distributed.
  8. Use an ice cream scoop to divide the batter between the cupcake liners. Fill about ⅔ full.
  9. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.
  10. Remove the cupcakes from the oven and leave to cool in the pan for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely before decorating.

    Baked Cupcake
  11. To make the frosting, use an electric stand or handheld mixer and add the butter, powdered sugar, cream, and vanilla to the bowl.
  12. Beat on medium speed until creamy and smooth and stiff peaks form.
  13. Fold in a few drops of sky blue food coloring. Mix until the coloring is well incorporated and you reach the desired shade.
    TIP! Remember you can always add more coloring, but not take it away!
    Scoop the frosting into the large piping bag fitted with an open star tip.
  14. Pour the mermaid sprinkles into a bowl.
  15. Pipe a thick ring of frosting on top of each cooked and cooled cupcake.

    Cupcake with Blue Frosting

    Dip the cupcakes into the sprinkles to coat the ring of frosting.

    Frosting Covered with Sprinkles
  16. Pipe a small swirl of frosting on top of the sprinkle layer. Add edible sugar pearls, if using, to this layer of frosting.

    Second Frosting Layer
  17. Insert a mermaid tail into each cupcake. Serve and enjoy!

    Little Mermaid Cupcakes Recipe

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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 18 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 548Total Fat: 30gSaturated Fat: 18gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 9gCholesterol: 106mgSodium: 436mgCarbohydrates: 68gFiber: 0gSugar: 55gProtein: 3g

This site uses Nutritionix to provide estimated nutrition. Nutritional information is always approximate and will depend on the quality of ingredients used and serving sizes. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.

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© Michelle Ordever
Cuisine: Disney Recipes / Category: Cupcakes

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