Royal Icing Bat Wing Cupcakes with Buttercream Frosting
Take a bite out of these Royal Icing Bat Wing Cupcakes, before they take a bite out of you! You'll be glad you did because they're BATtastically delicious, and not at all threatening to make.
Servings: 8
Calories: 992kcal
Ingredients
To make the royal icing and eyeballs;
- 6 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons meringue powder
- 1 teaspoon almond extract
- 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
- warm water
- black gel food color
To make the cupcakes;
- ¼ cup butter softened
- 3 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup milk
- ½ cup all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon espresso powder
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
To make the buttercream frosting;
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 cups confectioners sugar
- 3 tablespoons milk more if needed
- black gel food color
Instructions
To make the royal icing bat wings and eyeballs - Must dry for 4 days, so plan accordingly.
- Mix the royal icing ingredients in a large bowl. Remove 1 cup of white icing and set aside. Add the warm water sparingly. The icing should be thick, but not too thick. Use the water to thin the icing for piping as needed.
- Use cardboard to draw out two bat wings approximately 3" in length and 1½" in width. Cut with scissors.
- Color the largest amount of royal icing with the black gel color until you reach your desired shade of black. Spoon the outline icing into a piping bag, zip-top bag, OR parchment triangle.
- Trace 16 wing shapes onto parchment paper. Flip the paper and pipe the outlines of the wings. (watch video)
- Thin the more black icing with water to achieve the flood icing. Flood each of the outlined bat wings and use a toothpick or paintbrush to flood the entire wing evenly. (watch video)
- Set the wings aside to air dry for 4 days in an uninterrupted place
- For the eyes; pipe white dots onto parchment paper. Pipe black royal icing dots into the white dots to form the eyes. Allow to dry completely for 4 days.
- **Note - the eyeballs may be kept indefinitely by storing in a cool, dry place in an airtight container.
To make the cupcakes;
- In a large bowl, blend together softened butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, mayonnaise, egg, vanilla, and milk.
- Add the cocoa powder, espresso powder, salt, all-purpose flour, and baking powder to the bowl and blend until incorporated and smooth.
- Line 8 cupcake wells with cupcake liners. Divide the batter evenly between the 8 cupcake liners.
- Bake at 350-degrees for 15-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Set the cupcakes aside on a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the buttercream frosting;
- In a large bowl, blend softened butter with vanilla until creamy.
- Add confectioners sugar and milk. Blend until thick and creamy.
- Add black gel food color to the frosting and blend until you reach your desired color.
- Spoon the buttercream icing into a piping bag that has been fitted with a Wilton 1M tip.
- Pipe the buttercream icing in rosette form (starting in the center and working out to the edge of the cupcake), and subsequently build the frosting up so it's high enough to accommodate the royal icing bat wings.
- Gently and carefully press two bat wing into the frosting.
- Sprinkle the top of the buttercream frosting with black sprinkles (if desired).
- Add royal icing eyeballs.
- Keep refrigerated until ready to serve.
Nutrition
Serving: 1 | Calories: 992kcal | Carbohydrates: 171g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 34g | Saturated Fat: 19g | Cholesterol: 103mg | Sodium: 468mg | Potassium: 77mg | Fiber: 0g | Sugar: 162g | Vitamin A: 930IU | Calcium: 42mg | Iron: 0.6mg