Bake a few different batches of cupcakes so that everyone can have their favorite flavor.
Mermaids are a popular motif for many young children. You can make this year's birthday party a splash with mermaid-themed cupcakes. Play up the underwater theme by adding these cupcakes to a pool party. Use toys and figures to adorn the cupcake display and then give them as favors when the party is over. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Frosting
Color your own frosting to get the perfect hue of blue-green to mimic ocean water. Mix food coloring into either store-bought or homemade white frosting. For extra variation, make more than one variety of frosting. Try some in deep blue, some in blue-green, and some in white. All combined, the colors will nicely imitate a set of crashing waves. Add a dusting of brown, raw, or turbinado sugar to white cupcakes to mimic the look of sand.
Cake Toppers
Purchase underwater and mermaid-themed cupcake toppers to add to your cupcakes. Get a few different packs so that each cupcake can represent a little piece of life under the sea. If you're having a tough time finding underwater cupcake toppers, you've got plenty of other options. Look for shark-shaped fruit snacks or multi-colored Goldfish crackers. If you're feeling creative, draw mermaids and underwater creatures onto small pieces of heavy card stock. Tape a toothpick to the back and insert them into the top of each cupcake.
Cupcake Tower
Since most store-bought cake decorations will be too large for cupcakes, consider making a cupcake tower topped by a traditional round cake. Fill the bottom layers of your cupcake tower with decorated cupcakes, but reserve the top tier for a 9- or 10-inch round cake. Frost it with matching frosting, add a little bit of sugar "sand," and adorn it with your special mermaid figurine. If you can't find an appropriate cake topper, use a small toy figurine instead.
Bubbles
Add a few blue or white button candies or mini M&Ms to cupcakes with mermaids or sea creatures on them. In addition to being delicious, these little candies will look like bubbles rising to the surface of the ocean. Place them on your cupcake tower as well to continue the bubble design. To take these cupcakes all the way under the sea, install a bubble machine behind your display table. When the time comes, turn the bubbles on and let the fun begin.
Tags: cupcake tower, cupcake toppers, each cupcake, round cake, these cupcakes