I was asked to create Beatles cupcakes for a sweet sixteen birthday party and the results were fantastic! I have yet to refine my fondant skills, so I made stencils with wax paper and painted the cupcakes with chocolate ganache.

This Instructable will show you how to decorate already baked and frosted cupcakes with... The Beatles! It's easiest to start with cupcakes that have white frosting on them. I'll tell you how to incorporate some color in the next few steps, so don't worry about them being bland!

I will warn you that this is a bit time consuming, but the results are amazing and people will think you're pretty much a genius. Trust me :)

Step 1: Make Your Stencils

Trace the circles of an empty muffin tin on wax paper to use as a sizing reference.

Then, trace the chosen Beatles hair onto wax paper to cut out and use as stencils. Make sure the image fits within the circles you have drawn. You can use the chart attached to this step and choose their hair by year (1964 is my favorite) and then trace them onto wax paper.

Used an exacto knife to cut out the hair outlines. GO very slowly when doing this, especially if your chosen hair design has a lot of edges or points.

Step 2: Mix Your "Paint" and Have at It!

Make your chocolate ganache and get ready to paint!

You can use regular chocolate, but if you want some funky colors, you can make a white chocolate ganache and color it with food dye.

The ganache works great for holding the stencil in place. So all you have to do is lightly place the stencil on the cupcake as to not mess up the frosting underneath it, the ganache will do the rest of the work!

Paint the stencil with the ganache, then let the ganache set for a minute or so and then peeled off the stencil. There are baking specific brushes that are sold at craft store which work great for this (think children’s paint by numbers kind of brush, but they don’t shed). Repeat the process for all four Beatles members.

Let the cupcakes sit for about an hour and a half to let the ganache fully set.

For a bit of color, mix in the beatles cupcakes with some others that are brightly frosted!

Step 3: Tips for Easy Decorating

1. When you make your cupcakes, make sure the tops of them are level. Don't be afraid to shave a little off the top so you don't have a mountain and uneven stenciling surface. Trust me, this will make stenciling MUCH easier.

2. After you make the ganache, let it cool for about 10 minutes. You don't want to use it right away because it will be so hot it'll melt your frosting. If you find the ganache starts to harden, just re-microwave it for a few seconds.

3. Go slow. This is a tedious process, but the end results will be amazing.

4. Don't try to make the ganache super smooth when you are stenciling. If you leave the brush stroke, it gives the stencil more depth.

5. For a bit of color, mix in the beatles cupcakes with some others that are brightly frosted!