I made these Peacock Cupcakes as part of my daughter’s 8^th birthday celebrations. She had an India-themed party, so after making Mehndi Cupcakes and an Indian Cake, I thought to make Peacock Cupcakes to take to school for her classmates.

These are really easy to make. They are chocolate cupcakes with green/light blue vanilla buttercream and fondant peacock feathers as decorations. I used cookie cutters to make them and I highly recommend to add some edible glitter to the feathers to make them look more real and more festive. I love to work with fondant, it’s so much fun! It helps me be creative.

Everyone in school liked these little treats, both for their taste and for their looks, so this recipe is definitely a keeper. Enjoy!

5 from 1 vote

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Peacock Cupcakes

Peacock Cupcakes – delicious chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream and shiny fondant peacock feathers!

Course Dessert

Cuisine International

Prep Time 45 minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Servings 15

Author Manuela Zangara

Ingredients

Chocolate Cupcakes

• 190 gms – 1 ½ cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp sea salt
• 115 gms – 4 oz. unsalted butter at room temperature
• 125 gms – 1 cup + 2 tbsp packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs at room temperature
• 1 tsp vanilla
• ½ cup buttermilk or yogurt
• 2 tbsp milk
• 3 to 4 tbsp cocoa powder

Vanilla Buttercream

• 125 gms – 4.4 oz. butter softened
• 225 gms – 8 oz. icing sugar
• 1 ½ tsp vanilla extract or to taste
• Green and Blue colouring

Decorations

• Coloured Fondant green, blue and orange
• Golden cachous/pearls
• Edible glitter
• Edible glue

Instructions

Chocolate Cupcakes

1. Preheat the oven to 165°C – 330°F and line muffin trays with papers.
2. Combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Then cream the butter, vanilla and brown sugar until pale and fluffy.
4. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating until well incorporated. Remember to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed.
5. Add the flour and cocoa powder mixture in three batches, alternating it with two additions of buttermilk (or yogurt) and milk. Beat until well combined.
   
6. Put the batter into the lined muffin tray cups, filling each to about half.
7. Bake for about 25 minutes or until cooked through.
   
8. When cooked, let them cool down in the tray for 10 minutes, then put them on a wire rack to cool down completely.

Vanilla Buttercream

1. Beat the softened butter with an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for a few minutes and then slowly incorporate the icing sugar, vanilla extract, and green and blue colours. Mix well. I made 2 different shades of buttercream: one greener and one bluer.
   

Decorations

1. Cut out fondant “feathers” using cookie cutters. I used a leaf shaped cutter for the bigger part of the feather, then used 2 different sized teardrop cutters for the smaller parts.
2. Top with a golden pearl and some edible glitter. Use edible glue to stick all the elements together. Keep aside to dry.
   

To Assemble the cupcakes

1. Put the vanilla buttercream in a piping bag fitted with an open star tip (I used 1M Wilton) and decorate the chocolate cupcakes with it.
   
2. Top with 2 fondant feather each.

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• Indian Cake
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