• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Cake Journal

  • Cake Lounge
    • Easy Embossed Cookies Recipe
    • How to Make Heart-Shaped Cake with Buttercream Roses
  • Desserts
    • Best 3 Cookie Scoop Sizes and How to Use Them?
    • Babycakes Cake Pop Maker Review and Tutorial
  • Recipes
    • Traditional Castella Cake Recipe
    • Stabilized Whipped Cream Frosting (Easy Recipe)
    • Best Frozen-Themed Cake Ideas with Images
  • Tips & tools
    • What to Do With Cake Scraps? (8 Easy Recipes)
    • Luster Dust: If You Don’t Know About It, You Need To!
    • How To Use Edible Glue and How to Make It
    • How to Use Russian Piping Tips and Tutorial
    • What Is Wafer Paper and How to Use It? (Video Tutorials)
  • Tutorials
    • How To Make Royal Icing (Easy Recipe)
    • How to Flood Cookies with Royal Icing?
    • How To Use Candy Molds Properly
    • How to Make Cake Pops: Easy Step-by-Step Tutorial
    • Fondant On Cookies: Easy Way To Decorate
  • About Us
  • Contact

How To Make Modern Feather Cupcakes

November 19, 2014 by Louise 1 Comment

_MG_4068

Feathers are the new design inspiration and here is a chance to turn them into cake inspiration. Perfect for a bridal shower or modern birthday party, metallic gold and coral luster dust elevate these textural fondant feather to an elegant presentation.

Making the feathers by hand gives you a chance to give them your own twist by drying them with more flourish or leaving them simple. Let your creativity be your guide with these modern nature inspired cupcakes.

YOU WILL NEED:

Piped cupcakes

White Fondant

Feather Cutter Set

Veining Tool

Bubble Wrap or Tissue

Sheet Tray

Paintbrushes

Gold Luster Dust

Coral Luster Dust

Clear Alcohol or Extract

TWO OR THREE DAYS AHEAD, MAKE FONDANT FEATHERS: 

On a surface covered lightly with powdered sugar, roll out the white fondant. It should be on the thin side, about 1/8″ thick (this will make sure that the feathers are not too heavy for the top of the cupcakes). Cut out feather shapes using the small and medium cutters. Just in case, make a few extras for breakage.

_MG_3850

Next, use the veining tool to create a vein down the center of the feather. Do this gently so that you just make an indentation and don’t end up cutting the feather in half. Then, create textured lines in an upward motion, also being as gentle as possible. Don’t worry about these being perfectly parallel, they will look more realistic if they are irregular.

_MG_3870

On the edge of each feather, use your veining tool to make small splits, cutting through the fondant here and there. Then, use your fingers to separate and thin the edges to make them look more natural.

_MG_3882

Cover your sheet tray with bubble wrap or crumpled tissue or whatever you are using to give the feathers shape. Sprinkle the surface with powdered sugar to avoid any sticking and arrange the feathers so that they will look animated when dry.

Let them dry overnight or longer until firm and then remove the bubble wrap and flip the feathers, letting them dry completely on the tray for another day or until they have no flexibility.

_MG_3907

To decorate the feathers, place 1/2 of a 2g container of gold luster dust in a bowl and add about 1/2 tsp. of clear alcohol or extract. Stir them together until there are no lumps. The consistency should be similar to heavy cream and not too watery. Add a little extra powder or liquid to adjust as necessary. Do the same with the coral luster dust in a separate bowl.

_MG_3949

Gently hold the feather in your hand to support it and paint various stripes. Lay the feathers on the tray to dry a bit. (Note:The luster dust mixture will start to evaporate and get a bit thicker as you paint, add a touch more liquid as necessary)

_MG_3956

Place the feathers on the piped cupcakes just before serving. (Do not refrigerate the fondant feathers because they may go a little limp if the fridge is too damp).

_MG_4185-1

_MG_4068

Happy Caking!

Previous Post: « How To Make Pine Cone Shaped Cake Bites
Next Post: How To Make Peppermint Candy Cupcakes »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. K

    November 24, 2014 at 4:39 PM

    If a picture is worth a thousand words – then this is amazing. Thanks for the recipe – will most certainly be making!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Search Recipes on Cake Journal:

About Us

Kristen is the author of Cake Journal and a graduate of the Professional Baking program at Renton Technical College. She has worked as a pastry chef at a top Seattle restaurant and loves sharing her passion for baking amazing cakes on this site.

Contact Me

Privacy Policy

As Seen On:

Follow Us on Pinterest

Follow Us on Facebook

Copyright © 2023 · Cake Journal