It is amazing how realistic these terrarium cupcakes look in person. And you don’t have to have any special skills to make them either. The white mushrooms look as though they just sprouted and the red mushrooms, well, they are just a whimsical touch.
These cupcakes are best made over a few days. At least two days before you want to use them, make the greenery and mushrooms out of fondant. Leave them out to dry, otherwise, they will be too soft to handle.
Use Oreo crumbles to add some “dirt” to the sprouts.
Use small cookie cutters to cut out leaves from fondant.
Other greenery can be made with a fondant mold.
It is also easy to mold things with your hands. Always work the fondant by squeezing it and folding it over to get it pliable and ready to use.
Keep any unused fondant sealed when not using it or it will dry out. Do not store it in the refrigerator, but instead, keep it at room temperature.
| Prep Time | 1.5 hours |
| Cook Time | 17 minutes |
| Passive Time | 2 days |
| Servings |
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- 2/3 cup sour cream
- 3/4 cup buttermilk, room temperature
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 large eggs plus 1 egg white, room temperature
- 1 box dark chocolate cake mix (15.25 ounces), sifted
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder, sifted
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 24 cupcake liners, dark brown
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 cup butter, softened
- Pinch of salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa, sifted
- 6-7 cups powdered sugar, sifted
- 1 box white fondant (24-ounce box Wilton Decorator Fondant used)
- Wilton Fern Designs Fondant and Gum Paste Mold Mold
- Green gel food coloring
- Red gel food coloring
- 6-8 Oreos, filling removed and crushed (or similar dark chocolate cookie)
- Plastic or latex gloves
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Frosting
Cupcake Decorations
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- Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Place cupcake liners in a cupcake pan.
- In a large mixing bowl, add the sour cream, buttermilk, oil, vanilla, and eggs. Whisk until well combined. Sift in the cake mix and cocoa. Add the chocolate chips and stir until combined. Do not overmix.
- Divide evenly between 24 cupcake liners. Bake for 15-17 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean or with crumbs. Cool on a wire rack.
- In a microwave-safe bowl, place the chocolate chips and cream and heat on high for 30 seconds. Stir. Heat for an additional 30 seconds and stir again until melted. Set aside.
- In a mixing bowl, add the butter and beat until fluffy, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Add the melted chocolate mixture, salt, vanilla, and cocoa powder. Beat until well mixed.
- Add the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, and beat until smooth. Continue beating until the frosting is smooth and creamy.
- Spread or pipe the frosting onto the cupcakes. Sprinkle cookie crumbs onto the cupcakes.
- Wearing gloves, pull off a large piece of fondant, and add a small amount of green gel coloring. Fold and work the fondant until the color is consistent throughout. Divide the green fondant in half and place half in plastic wrap. Add more green gel to the other half and work the fondant until the color is well mixed. This gives you two green shades to mold.
- Using the fondant mold, firmly press the darker-green-colored fondant into the desired mold shapes. Then take a metal spatula and scrape off all the excess fondant from the top of the mold shapes. To release the shaped fondant, pull on the mold and then turn the mold upside down and tap until shape releases. Continue making shapes with the two green colors until you have made enough for 24 cupcakes.
- Pull off a small piece of fondant. Add red gel coloring and work the fondant until the color is well mixed.
- Roll the red fondant into small balls and flatten them to make a top for the red mushrooms. Using the white fondant roll tiny balls, flatten, and scatter them onto the mushroom tops. Make mushroom bottoms out of the white fondant. Roll a small piece into a ball and then roll it into a Β½-inch bar. Flatten one end so it stands. Place the mushroom cap on top of the bar and press the top down, so it curves down like a mushroom cap. Repeat to make several red mushrooms.
- Use white fondant to make small white mushrooms. Use the same technique as used for the red mushrooms, minus the dots on top. Create other shapes out of the fondant using your imagination.
- Let the shapes dry and harden for 2 days. Then decorate the cupcakes.
Fondant
The fondant decorations will take at least an hour to make and will need to harden for 48 hours.Β The time to make them can vary based on the complexity of your designs and if you customize pieces rather than use a fondant mold.Β I suggest making the decorations 2 days in advance of the cupcake making.Β Also, look at the photos to see how many pieces I used so you can estimate the number of fondant pieces to make.Β These cupcakes are also great without the decorations.
Yield
This recipe makes about 24 cupcakes.