Today I've got two blog posts to share with you - a super cute (and totally delicious!) garden bug themed chocolate cupcakes recipe and this post, in which I'll show you how to make the fondant bug cupcake toppers that I used to decorate the cupcakes. These cute icing bugs are really easy to make yourself and you don't need any special cake decorating equipment for them.

I have to admit that decorating cakes has never been my strong point. I struggle with buttercream particularly, (it's taken me years to achieve a half pretty swirl!), but fondant icing is a different story - once I worked out that it's basically edible play dough I started getting on a bit better with it! I don't think I'll ever be able to create an amazing elaborate masterpiece mind you but often a simple design like these fun little icing bugs is just as effective and definitely enough to wow the kids.

These icing bugs really are easy to make and to prove it I've put together step-by-step photos to help you recreate them yourself. I used them to top our garden themed cupcakes but they'd also be perfect for decorating a big cake, cookies or other desserts. They're also a fun project to make with the kids - my 8 year old and I spent a very happy half an hour trying out different designs for our bugs! Between us we created caterpillars, worms, snails, butterflies and ladybirds and thoroughly enjoyed the process.

Fondant Icing Bugs

Ingredients & Equipment:

• 1 pack Dr. Oetker Regal-Ice Ready to Roll Coloured Icing
• Dr. Oetker Regal-Ice Ready to Roll White Icing
• mini circle cutter or cut off piece of drinking straw
• edible marker pen or black food coloring and cocktail stick
• small knife

Fondant Caterpillar

1. Roll out 6 balls of fondant icing - 3 green, 2 yellow and one red.
2. Arrange them in a line alternating colours with the red 'head' ball at the end.
3. Push the balls together until they stick then curve your caterpillar round slightly.
4. Roll out a small piece of white icing.  Using a tiny circle cutter or the end of a drinking straw, cut two tiny eyes and stick them on the caterpillar.
5. Dot the eyes with a black food marker or a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring.

Fondant Ladybird

1. Roll out two balls of fondant icing - one larger red, one smaller black.
2. Push the two balls together to form the body and head of the ladybird.
3. Using a knife, make a cut in the top of the body to split it and create the effect of two wings.
4. Add spots to the ladybird with a black food marker or a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring.
5. Roll out a small piece of white icing.  Using a tiny circle cutter or the end of a drinking straw, cut two tiny eyes and stick them on the ladybird's head.
6. Dot the eyes with a black food marker or a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring.

Fondant Snail

1. Roll out two balls of fondant icing - one larger blue, one slightly smaller yellow.
2. Roll the blue piece into a long, thin, even sausage shape then flatten slightly. Roll it up to make a swirly snail shell shape.
3. Roll the yellow piece into a fat sausage then flatten to make the snail body.
4. Place the shell on top of the body and gently press down to stick it in place, taking care not to squash the shell out of shape.
5. Roll out a small piece of white icing.  Using a tiny circle cutter or the end of a drinking straw, cut two tiny eyes and stick them onto one end of the snail's body.
6. Dot the eyes with a black food marker or a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring.

Fondant Butterfly

1. Roll a piece of yellow fondant out to around the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut a butterfly shape from the fondant sheet using a small butterfly cookie cutter or by hand.
2. Roll out a small pea sized ball of green fondant.
3. Roll the ball into an even sausage shape to the length of the butterfly's body and place in the centre of the butterfly. Press down gently to flatten it and attach it to the butterfly.
4. Pull the wings of the butterfly up from the body to give it a 3D butterfly shape. Roll out a small piece of white icing.  Using a tiny circle cutter or the end of a drinking straw, cut two tiny eyes and stick them on the butterfly's body.
5. Dot the eyes with a black food marker or a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring.
6. Press the tiny circle cutter or drinking straw into one of the wings of the butterfly to emboss a simple design. Repeat on the other side to create a mirror image pattern.

Fondant Earthworm

1. Roll out a ball of red fondant.
2. Roll the fondant into a long even sausage shape.
3. Using the back of the knife, press down to emboss lines along the whole length of the worm.
4. Bend the worm to a curved zig-zag shape.
5. Using a tiny circle cutter or the end of a drinking straw, cut two tiny eyes and stick them to one end of the worm.
6. Dot the eyes with a black food marker or a cocktail stick dipped in black food colouring.

I thoroughly enjoyed the process of making these cute fondant bugs and can't wait to try my hand at creating more fun designs!  In the meantime, be sure to check out my Garden Bug Themed Chocolate Cupcakes Recipe to see how we used the bugs to decorate them.

Have you ever made anything fun from fondant icing?

Grace

I hope you enjoyed this fun tutorial post and found it useful, do please pin it if you did!