Adorable Owl Cupcakes: A Hoot-worthy Treat for Any Occasion

Who says desserts can't be a hoot? Get ready to ruffle some feathers with these utterly adorable Owl Cupcakes! These whimsical treats combine the deliciousness of vanilla cupcakes with the artistic flair of handcrafted modeling chocolate owls.

Whether you're planning a woodland-themed party, a baby shower, or just want to bring a smile to someone's face, these Owl Cupcakes are guaranteed to be a crowd-pleaser.

So, let's spread our wings and dive into this fun and tasty project!

How to make Modeling Chocolate Owl Cupcake Toppers

• Start by making 2-ingredient modeling chocolate. You can find the recipe on my Chocolate Making tips page.

What is modeling chocolate?

• Modeling chocolate is similar to fondant only it's made using chocolate and corn syrup so it has a nicer flavor than fondant because it tastes like chocolate.
  • Modeling chocolate can be made using pure dark, milk, and white chocolate which all contain cocoa butter.
  • It can also be made using confectionery coating which is made using a vegetable oil in place of the cocoa butter. This modeling chocolate is more often called Candy Clay being it's not officially made using pure chocolate.
    • Candy Melts come in a variety of colors so you can easily make colored candy clay.
      • I used pink, turquoise, light blue, orange, and purple to make these candy clay owls. I added some white candy clay to each in order to soften the colors a bit.

Crafting Your Modeling Chocolate Owls

• Use white modeling chocolate and color it using food coloring to make your colored modeling chocolate.
• Or use colored Candy Melts to make colorful candy clay. See details on coloring modeling chocolate, here.

Where can I learn more about making modeling chocolate or candy clay?

• I wrote a book filled with detailed information about making and working with candy clay.
  • Candy Clay Creations is available on Amazon in print and Kindle formats.

Watch this video to see how to cut and craft these cute candy clay owls...

You can find the tools needed to make these Owl Cupcake Toppers on Amazon (commission earned for sales).

Ateco Plain Edge Round Cutt...Shop on Amazon4-pieces Plastic Round Cook...Shop on Amazon17 PCS Fondant Cake Cookie ...Shop on AmazonVerdental 4-pieces DIY Cake...Shop on AmazonWilton 3D Figure Modeling F...Shop on AmazonCandy Clay Creations: How t...Shop on AmazonWilton Bright Pink Candy Me...Shop on AmazonWilton Blue Candy Melts® C...Shop on AmazonWilton Lavender Candy Melts...Shop on AmazonWilton Turquoise Candy Melt...Shop on AmazonWilton Orange Candy Melts, ...Shop on AmazonWilton Black Vanilla Candy ...Shop on AmazonWilton Easy Flex Silicone 1...Shop on AmazonWilton Fondant 9 Inch Rolli...Shop on Amazon

How to cut the pieces of each candy clay owl:

• Owl Body:

  • Roll out some brightly colored candy clay to about ⅛th of an inch thickness on a non-stick silicone mat using a fondant rolling pin. (If you don't have a silicone mat, then you will need to lightly dust a cutting board with powdered sugar or corn starch so that the modeling chocolate does not stick.)
    • Cut one circle using a 1 ½-inch round cookie cutter.
    • Use the same round cutter to cut about a ¼-inch notch to create the two pointed ears.
    • Repeat creating as many owls as you need.

• Eyes:

  • Roll out white and black modeling chocolate to about 1/16th inch thickness.
    • Cut two ⅝ inch white circles and two ⅜ inch black circles using round plunger cutters.
    • Lightly brush water on one side of a black circle and press it onto a white circle. Repeat.
    • Attach two eyes to each owl's body using water.

• Beak and Feet:

  • Roll out orange candy clay to about 1/16th inch thickness.
  • Cut out tiny triangle beaks using a sharp knife. Attach to the owl's body just below the eyes.
  • Cut out small flower-shaped feet using a small flower plunger cutter.
    • Use water to attach the two feet on the back side of the owl's body opposite the eyes.

• Wings:

  • Use a small leaf-shaped plunger cutter to cut out two wings from colored candy clay.
    • Attach on either side of the owl's body using water.

• Feathers:

  • Use a fondant sculpting tool to add the look of feathers to your modeling chocolate owls.
    • The tool has a curved end so you can easily just press it into the modeling chocolate to make half-moon-shaped indentations.
    • Press it in three times in one row then two times below the first row in a second row.

NOTE: You can hand cut all of these shapes if you don't have the tools needed, but having the tools will make it much easier.

Assembling Your Owl Cupcakes

• Pipe a big swirl of frosting on top of a cupcake.
• Press the modeling chocolate owl onto the front of the frosting.

Creative Variations

Owl Cookies

You can craft these sweet owls using 2-ingredient modeling chocolate (candy clay) and use them to top cupcakes but they also look super cute on cookies too. Add a tag that says, "OWL be thinking of you!" and you turn these little desserts into fun gifts to give to friends and family.

Recipe

5 from 6 votes

Print

Owl Cupcakes with Modeling Chocolate Toppers

Prep Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr

 

Brightly colored modeling chocolate is cut and decorated to look like adorably cute owls which can be used to top cupcakes or even cookies. 

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: owl cupcake toppers, owl cupcakes

Servings: 12

Author: Beth Klosterboer

Ingredients

• 4 ounces brightly colored modeling chocolate (pink, blue, purple, turqouise, and peach)
• 1 ounce white modeling chocolate
• ½ ounce black modeling chocolate
• ½ ounce orange modeling chocolate
• 12 baked and frosted cupcakes

Instructions

1. Roll some brightly colored modeling chocolate out on a silicone mat or a cutting board that has been lightly dusted with powdered sugar to about ⅛th inch thickness.

   
   

2. Cut out twelve 1 ½ inch circles using a round cookie cutter for the owl's body.

3. Cut a small notch out of the circle using the same round cookie cutter creating the two ear tufts. 

4. Use a small leaf plunger cutter to cut out two wings from the same color modeling chocolate. 

5. Roll out some white, black, and orange modeling chocolate to about 1/16th of an inch thickness. 

6. Cut out twenty four ⅝ inch white circles and ⅜ inch black circles for the eyes. 

7. Lightly brush some water on one side of the black circles and attach them to the white circles. 

8. Attach the eyes to the owl's body using water. 

9. Cut out 12 little triangle shaped beaks and 24 little flower shaped feet from the orange modeling chocolate. 

10. Attach a beak just below the eyes.

11. Press the flower shaped feet onto the backside of the owls' body so that only 3 of the flower petals show below the owl's body from the front side. 

12. Use water to attach wings on either side of the body.

13. Use a curved fondant sculpting tool to create two rows of feathers on the owl's belly.

14. Repeat creating at total of 12 owls.

15. Press the modeling chocolate owls onto a frosted cupcake. 

Recipe Notes

You can also decorate cookies using these modeling chocolate owls. Just attach them to the cookie using  frosting, peanut butter, chocolate spread, or cookie butter. 

If you love decorating cupcakes you might also want to check out these other tutorials.

• Author
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Beth Klosterboer

Hi, I'm Beth Klosterboer, a professional chocolatier & baker, cookbook author, and event planner. I love sharing recipes for happy occasions here on Hungry Happenings. I also create easy fudge recipes to share at HowToMakeEasyFudge.com, rice krispie treat recipes at HowToMakeCerealTreats.com, and easy cookie recipes at HowToMakeEasyCookies.com

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