How to Make Daisy Girl Scout Cupcake Toppers

I’m wrapping up my first year as a Girl Scout Daisy leader, which has been a very rewarding experience! In planning our year-end party, I decided to replicate the Girl Scout daisy as a cupcake topper. The ten colorful petals represent the ten elements of the Girl Scout Law. The promise center stands for the Girl Scout promise.

This is what I used:
Work surface
Rolling pin
Corn starch
Wilton Food Writers (primary color set and neon color set)
Fondant in white and blue
Wilton Daisy cut-outs (largest cutter)
Wilton flower impression mat
Vodka and Q-tips (not pictured)

Step 1:

Dust the work surface with cornstarch and roll out the white fondant to 1/8 inch thickness.

Step 2:

Use the largest cutter from the Wilton set to cut out the daisy shapes. I was making a set of six.

Tip: Press quite firmly to cut cleanly through the fondant and wiggle the cutter around on the work surface.

Scrape any excess fondant from the back of the shape while it is still in the cutter. Rap it on the counter sharply to easily release it. Don’t handle the daisy shapes a lot. They are fragile at this stage.

Step 3:

I often use the Wilton flower impression mat to make the centers of flower. Here I held the cutter up to find which size flower center would work best.

Step 4:

Roll a small ball of blue fondant and dust the outside of it with cornstarch. Keep your hands dusted as well. Press the ball into the impression space and flatten it. Remove any excess until it fits in the impression smoothly. Flip it out and you have the flower center.

Step 5:

Here I was just checking the size of the centers to see how they would look on the finished daisies.

Step 6:

Place the flower centers to the side and allow all pieces to dry for at least 3 hours to overnight.

Step 7:

After the daisy cut-outs have hardened, it is time to start coloring them in. I have a visual guide as well as the Wilton food writer sets in primary colors and neon colors. I also have a small container of vodka and Q-tips for lightening any colors that are pastel on the daisy.

Step 8:

Gently color in one petal at a time. Work with the cut-out lying on a flat surface. Do not pick it up since the shape is fragile.

Step 9:

I colored the set as an assembly line doing one color at a time for each of the six flowers.

Step 10:

For the last three petals of the daisy, I needed pastel versions of dark colors I had. The top daisy in this picture has the pastel pink petal already complete. The bottom daisy does not.

Step 11:
To make a pastel version of a color, very lightly use that food writer to color in the petal.

Step 12:

Brush over the color with a Q-tip that is dipped in vodka to lighten and even out the pastel color. (The vodka evaporates so no alcohol remains. However, you could use clear lemon extract if you are doing this project with children.)

Step 13:

These are the fully colored daisies including the final three pastel colors. Allow them to dry for ten minutes.

Step 14:

Dampen the back of each blue center with water and gently press it in place on each flower. Do this while they remain on your work surface.

Allow the toppers to dry on a parchment-lined cookie sheet for at least three days to a week. Place them on your cupcakes shortly before party time and enjoy.

Happy Caking!
Renée