Check out these fun fondant cat cupcakes. They’re made to help raise awareness of the Cat’s Protection fundraising initiative, Pawsome Afternoon Teas. They comprise of a delicious and moist chocolate cupcake which are topped with a chocolate ganache frosting before being decorated as a cute cat with fondant! Includes video tutorial.
I’ve had so much fun making these cute cat cupcakes, seriously I felt like a giddy two year old again, chuckling as the fondant cat cupcake came to life! As a baking fanatic (which I’m sure is pretty obvious given that I share a baking blog with you) and a cat lover, these cat cupcakes were right up my street.
Since being a toddler there’s always been a cat or two in my life, and the same is true for Mr E. These days hubby and I share our home with Chester, a loving, funny, mischievous, sleepy, beautiful Ragdoll cat. He was just 8 weeks old when we first met him, but it was pretty obvious from the start he was the boy for us when he felt so content that he fell asleep in my hands! He was just a small ball of fluff back then, and these days he’s just, well, a bigger ball of fluff!
I’m totally nuts about cats, it doesn’t matter if they’re moggies or pedigrees, house cats or feral cats, tabby or colour point. Cats are so endearing, and loving and yet with a blink of an eye they can change from a sleepy lap cat to a predatory killer after a fly, a mouse, a bird, or even a scrunched up piece of paper! That wild instinct is never far away.
Cats Protection’s Pawesome Afternoon Tea.
So, when Abi from Cat’s Protection told me all about their initiative, Pawsome Afternoon Tea, I couldn’t wait to get making some cat themed bakes. Pawsome Afternoon Tea runs throughout April and is all about having a ‘feline-fun filled afternoon’ with the aim of raising vital funds to help Cat’s Protection continue their work with cats and kittens most of which are less fortunate than our own cats. If you’d like to host your own Pawsome Afternoon Tea party with friends, family and colleagues, just click on the green link above to get your fund raising pack, you’ll also find lots more baking inspiration with their cat themed recipes which can be found under their resource button. Or to find out more just click here to read their FAQs.
Fondant Cat Cupcakes.
Our cat cupcakes, are a nod to our feline friend. Being a ‘blue’ colour point (the name given by the cat world to describe a washed out black colour) he’s dark faced with blue eyes, but of course these cupcakes are easy to modify to your own cat’s colouring be it a ginger tom cat, a pure white cat, or even a silver tabby.
So, here’s how to make Fondant Cat Cupcakes!
Fondant Cat Cupcakes
These fun fondant cat cupcakes comprise of a delicious and moist chocolate cupcake which are topped with a chocolate ganache frosting and before being decorated as a cute cat with fondant!
Servings: 6 cupcakes
Ingredients
for the chocolate ganache frosting
- 150 ml double cream
- 150 g milk chocolate
for the chocolate cupcakes
- 50 g milk chocolate
- 120 g butter unsalted & softened
- 60 g caster sugar
- 60 g golden caster sugar
- small pinch of salt
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 medium eggs lightly beaten
- 90 g self-raising flour
- 30 g cocoa powder
- ½ tsp baking powder
- 1 tbsp milk
to decorate the cat cupcakes
- 150 g light grey fondant see note g below
- 60 g dark grey fondant see note g below
- black fondant
- soft pink fondant
- white fondant
- blue fondant
for the cats whiskers
- 1 tbsp royal Icing sugar
Instructions
- Make the chocolate ganache. Pour the cream into a small pan and set over a medium heat. Allow the cream to heat through but avoid letting it boil. Meanwhile chop the chocolate into small pieces. Place into a bowl. Pour the heated cream over the chocolate. Use a teaspoon to stir the ganache, gradually the chocolate will melt and the ganache will become smooth. Once the chocolate is completely melted and the ganache is smooth, set aside to cool and firm up.
- Prepare the cat’s whiskers. (see note f below.) Line a tray with grease proof paper. Make a thick icing with the icing sugar, adding a few drops of water at a time and mixing before adding any more water. Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small plain round piping nozzle. Pipe short lines about 2cm long (note they’re less likely to break if you pipe a double line for each ‘whisker’ when you come to handle them). You’ll need 6 for each cupcake, though pipe significantly more than this to prepare for breakages. Set the tray aside. After an hour careful release the icing whiskers from the greaseproof paper to allow them to dry and harden up further.
- Preheat the oven to 190℃ / Fan 170℃ / 375℉ / Gas 5. Place the muffin sized cases into the muffin tray.
- Melt the chocolate. Break the chocolate into small pieces and place into a heatproof glass bowl. Create a bain marie by positioning the bowl over a pan of water, ensuring the water doesn’t touch the base of the pan. Sit it over a low to medium heat. Allow the chocolate to melt, stirring periodically with a spatula. Remove the bowl from the pan when it has almost finished melting (the residual heat will allow it to melt completely). Set aside allowing it to cool a little, though not allowing it to set.
- Make the cupcake batter. Place the soft butter and sugars into a good sized bowl and beat together with a wooden spoon or electric beaters until very pale and fluffy. Add the salt and vanilla extract and beat again to combine. Gradually add the beaten eggs a little at a time, beating well after each addition, (see note a below). Add the milk and mix in. Sieve the flour, cocoa powder and baking powder into the mixture. Use a spatula or large metal spoon to fold this in gently. Add the melted milk chocolate and mix together gently.
- Fill the muffin cases & bake. Using a teaspoon, fill the cases with the batter mixture. You’re aiming for them to be half to two-thirds full. You may decide to weigh each muffin to ensure equal sizes. Each will weigh about 62g. Place the muffin tray in the centre of the oven and bake for 20 – 23 minutes. You may need to rotate the tray after 15 minutes of baking. Once baked, remove from the oven and muffin tray and place onto a cooling rack.
- Pipe the whiskers. Line a tray with greaseproof paper. Spoon the Royal Icing Powder into a small bowl or cup and mix with a few drops of water to create a thick paste that would be just spreadable. Transfer into a piping bag fitted with a small plain writing nozzle. Pipe short lines of the royal icing onto the greaseproof paper, about 1 cm long. Set aside to dry. After an 1 – 1.5 hours release each of the whiskers and turn them over. They are likely to be a little soft still but turning them over will allow them to continue drying and make affixing them into the fondant cat easier.
- Start to decorate the cupcakes. Do this once the ganache has firmed up so that it is spreadable and the cupcakes are completely cool. Place a teaspoon amount of the chocolate ganache on top of the cupcake and spread it out either with a knife or the back of the teaspoon. There’s no need to take the ganache all the way to the edge of the cupcakes.
- Start to decorate the cupcakes. Do this once the ganache has firmed up so that it is spreadable and the cupcakes are completely cool. Place a teaspoon amount of the chocolate ganache on top of the cupcake and spread it out either with a knife or the back of the teaspoon. There’s no need to take the ganache all the way to the edge of the cupcakes.
- Roll out the light grey fondant. Knead the fondant a little until it is pliable. Roll it out using a little cornflour on the work surface to prevent it from sticking (you may find it easier just to roll part of the fondant rather than all of it at once). Regularly give the fondant a quarter turn though avoid flipping it over. You’re aiming for it to be 2-3mm thick. Cut out discs of the fondant using the plain round cookie cutter. Place one of the discs onto the cupcake. Use the plump area at the base of your thumb to gently press and neaten the edges of the disc into the cupcake.
- Make the round nose / muzzle area of the cat’s face. Roll out some of the dark grey fondant, using a little corn flour as before, though keep it slightly thicker.. Cut out circles of the fondant (about 1.5cm diameter). Use your fingers to neaten the edge if necessary. Place them on the work surface and use tour fingers to gently flatten them slightly to make them a little larger. Use a non-serrated knife to cut away a small quantity of the fondant to leave a flat edge. Place two of the circles onto the cupcake where the cat’s ‘muzzle’ will be, butting up the flat edges of the circles. Affix them in place with a little boiled water which has been allowed to cool.
- Create the black nose. Use a small amount of black fondant to create the cat’s nose. It’ll need to be about the same thickness as the dark grey muzzles so you may find it helpful to roll it a little with the pin. Shape the black fondant into an oval shape pinching one of the longer edges so that it fits neatly into the dip between the two ‘muzzles’. Check it for size before affixing into place with a little water.
- Shape the cat’s eyes. Roll a small piece of black fondant in your hand to create a ball. Flatten it gently with your fingers to create a neat disc. Create another of the same size. Check them for size, adjusting them as necessary. Repeat with the blue fondant, though this time it needs to be very slightly smaller so that when the blue s placed on top of the black a little of the black can be seen around the eye. Affix a blue disc onto a black disc with a little water. Secure two of the eyes onto the cupcake with a little water. Roll a tiny amount of white fondant into a ball, affix this onto the edge of the cat’s eye with a little water. Repeat with the second eye.
- Shape the cat’s ears. Roll out a piece of the dark grey fondant into an oblong. Use a knife to create a neat oblong. Cut triangles from the oblong. Set these aside. Use the pink fondant to create a neat oblong and cut smaller triangles from it. Use a little water to affix the pink onto the grey triangles. Use the end of you food safe brush to create an indent in the base of the triangle. Slightly nip the triangle to create a more stable base for the ‘ear’ to stand up. Use a little water to secure them to the cupcake.
- Shape a tongue. Take a small piece of pink fondant. Roll it into a ball in your hand. Gently squash it into a disc. Nip the edge to create a small petal shape. Secure the nipped edge with water into mouth area just beneath the muzzle.
- Create whisker holes. Use a cocktail stick (or a thin cake skewer) to make small indents into the cat’s ‘muzzle’. Use the cocktail stick to make three more indents in the edge of the fondant ‘muzzle’. Carefully pick up a piped whisker and place it into one of the indents. Repeat until you have two or three on each side of the cat’s face. (see note f below)
- Enjoy!
Notes
Equipment
- 6 Muffin sized cupcake cases & muffin tin
- 78mm Round Cookie Cutters (see note b below)
- Small round cutter (about 1.5 – 2cm diameter) or use the wide end from a piping nozzle
- Rolling pin (ideally a plastic one suitable for fondant work)
- Small brush used for food preparation only
Cook's Tips
a) Consider warming your lightly beaten eggs over a bain marie especially if they feel particularly cold. Warm them until they feel lukewarm. This should help prevent the batter from curdling and produce a better cupcake sponge.b) These fondant cat cupcakes would work as fairy cakes too. Use a cutter which is very slightly larger than your cake.c) When purchasing the fondant check to ensure it is suitable for vegetarians if baking for those following a meat free diet.d) Ball up off-cuts of fondant and cover it over.e) Use a dry brush to wipe away any cornflour from the finished cupcake.f) Positioning the royal icing whiskers in place is fiddly. You may prefer to pipe the whiskers directly onto the cat’s face. g) The grey fondants were kneaded with shop bought white & black fondant. The pale grey containing just 3% black fondant, and the darker grey 15%. Tried this recipe?I would love to know how you got on – Tag me on Instagram @OnlyCrumbsRemain or leave me a comment and rate the recipe below.
This post has been shared with:
Cook Once Eat Twice hosted by Corina at Searching for Spice
Kate Glutenfreealchemist
You are so clever Angela. These really are the cutest! x
Anca
These cupcakes are amazing, they look so nice. Well done for supporting them with this lovely recipe. You cat looks so cute.
I don't have a cat, but last month we had a guest: http://ancaslifestyle.co.uk/blog/2018/03/meet-schrodinger-guest/ 🙂
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thankyou so much Anca, your visitor looks really at home curled up in the conservatory 🙂
Angela x
Kat BakingExplorer
They are so adorable!! You're so talented!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Kat, but honestly they're not so difficult 🙂
Angela x
Nickki
How cute are these cat cupcakes? They are brilliant! And I’m in love with your cat – he is so gorgeous!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou so much Nickki 🙂 I'll pass on your comment to him, he's curled up right at my side at them moment xx
Cat Curly's Cooking
You always amaze me with your wonderful cupcakes. These are so cute x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou so much Cat 😀
Angela x
Eb Gargano
Too cute! I can't believe you haven't made cat cupcakes before. And what a beautiful cupcake version of your lovely cat. What did he think of his cupcakes? Thanks for linking them up to #CookBlogShare. Eb x
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thankyou Eb 🙂 I know, how on earth have I baked for so long and yet never made cat cupcakes before – it's puzzling me too – though to be honest it's only in the past 18 month or so that I've realised that decorating with fondant doesn't have to be dainting and difficult. Hahaha, yup I did show him the cupcakes, he didn't say much 😉
Angela x
Corina Blum
Your cat is gorgeous Angela! I always had cats when I was a child and although we don't have one now I am definitely a cat person. I'm not surprised you had so much fun making these – they seem a perfect bake for you and they are so so cute! Thanks for sharing them with #CookOnceEatTwice!
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Aw thankyou Corina, we think he's beautiful too – he's got a gorgeous personality too 🙂 I love having cat(s) around the house Corina – when we had to let our last cat go (a ginger tom) the house felt so very empty.
Angela x
Johanna GGG
aw your cat is so cute – funnily enough we have a neighbour ragdoll cat and friends have just got ragdoll kittens – and it is only a year or so ago I hear of ragdoll cats for the first time and now they are everywhere I look. Love your cupcakes and that you are fundraising for cats – it is so sad when people can't look after their cats for lots of different reasons.
Angela - Only Crumbs Remain
Thankyou Johanna, he's sat at my side right now so I'll let him know you said so 😀 It's funny how that always happens – seeing/hearing of something a lot that you only came across a short time ago – hubby always used to say that he wanted to see a longtail tit on our walks because we'd never seen one – and now we more or less see them all of the time! Thankyou Johanna, it was great fun making them, you're right there are lots of reasons why cats might need our help.
Angela x