Fake Cupcakes!

No, you can't eat them. No, they do not contain anything edible. Why then?, you ask...let me explain
I had a dream that cupcakes were hanging from my ceiling (I know, I have very strange dreams) and decided I wanted to make it come true. The problem was...real cupcakes wouldn't last long and would be very gross and heavy. So I decided to make lightweight, fake ones.
Looking on the Internet for instructions was a pain in the butt because everyone had their "secret recipe" they weren't willing to share.
After a long and diligent search, I finally gleaned enough info to start...
so I am going to share all the instructions FOR FREE and to anyone who wants to see them!
You may republish this, you may sell fake cupcakes to your hearts desire, but I do not suggest eating them...
And what else can they be used for? They make great card holders! Just put a card with something along the lines of "Happy Birthday to one SWEET girl" or something cheesy like that. They make wonderful ornaments too, since they are incredibly lightweight. They can hold photos or business cards too...if you own a bakery or know someone who does, they can also be used in window displays. These do NOT contain any food ingredients, so they wont attract pests or animals, mold, rot, or deteriorate. They will last virtually forever.
Now isn't it refreshing to see artistic directions with no strings attached? I'd love too see your pics and hear your ideas too!

Step 1: Supplies

You will need:

a small can of expansion foam (ask for it at your hardware store)
cupcake papers
newspaper
rubber gloves (you WILL want these!)
old clothes (I doubt they will look the same at the end if you're anything like me...)
muffin tin
mini muffin tin and papers (optional)
plastic bags
acrylic paint
sculpey or other polymer clay (optional)
fine glitter (optional)
a container of LIGHTWEIGHT spackle (a little goes a long ways..)
an electric mixer
a spoon
a bowl
pastry bag with star tip (big star tip!)
water-based varnish (optional)
paintbrushes
wire (at least 22 gauge...20 would be about perfect)

Now that you've gone to the hardware store...you're ready to start!

Comments

[milleyboo07]

i made cupcakes! yay. hope you guys enjoy. the sprinkles i just used beads from Joannes crafts. let me know what you think! :)

[goatgirly]

those look awesom from a distance. In the last shot you can tell they are beads but, stil FAABULOUS!

[MzPanda]

looks so yumi! the beads look real. how did u make the frosting?

[princeza1]

these look amazing! where did you get the cupcake papers big enough to fit the cupcake??

[shortone]

so how big did they turn out? They look great! :)

[SlengTeoh]

hello.. are you selling these faux cupcakes??

[dhbaldwin]

I am teaching about stage props in a creative dramatics class and wondered about the approximate cost per cupcake.

[Renee!]

Those are sooo cute! What a cool idea.

[poofrabbit]

I've wanted to do this too!!! I'm so excited you posted all the instruction, thanks so much!

[Wynd]

I love these! I will be trying to make them super small to make into charms for earrings, necklaces, etc =D Thank you for sharing!

[shortone]

You might try polymer clay for that, you can get a lot more detail on a small scale. :)

[malibini]

How would you do that? can you make a tutorial for that, because polymer clay dosnt rise....
:P

[malibini]

OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO COOL! Mad Hatter made a compact mirror with fake cupcakes but then took it down. Now I pretty much know how with this tutorial! Thanks! Do you have any tips for putting it on something, like a compact mirror??? :P

[kellythrills]

Awesome awesome, wicked steps to follow!! To make a giant cupcake I just used the expansion foam in an angel food cake tin. Then fan folded the paper to attach to the tin afterward.

[lakenbrooks]

These are great instructions, and my cupcakes turned out beautifully! I thought I would tell you the story of my trip to the hardware store in order to get supplies for the cupcakes:
myself-"Sir, would you tell me where the expansion foam and drywall spackle are?"
employee-(looking a little impressed) "they are on this aisle..so, what kind of expansion foam do you need?"
myself-"Um, well, I'm not quite sure.."
employee-"Well, what are you doing to be doing with it?"
myself'-"Oh, I'm making fake cupcakes!"
employee-(impressed look fades and is replaced by a look of slight horror)

[Beatlegirl]

I had almost the same look but I didn't tell them fake cupcakes...

[shortone]

This happens just about every time I go to the hardware store haha. You'd think they would get used to the strange requests, being so close to an art college...

[HMice]

I know! Even in an art shop I got strange looks:

Me: (hands the saleswoman coloured felt) These please.
Woman: Good choice. What are you making?
Me: Donuts :D
Woman: Oh. (frowns)

[gtoal]

You can make a really convincing icing by mixing Type I silicone caulk with corn starch (search Instructables for the "Oogoo" post) died with acrylic paint. You can make it shiny by rubbing a little soft soap on your hands then polishing the mixture between your palms once it gets past the gooey stage.

Looks like icing but feels like rubber.

[Beatlegirl]

I made cupcakes like this several years ago for a visual display in a retail environment. I used royal icing for the icing and I can say that 4 yrs later the icing is still going strong. It does get very hard and will crack and break off if mishandled but a retail setting is a pretty good place to try somethings abillity to withstand abuse. People are not considerate of things that don't belong to them. Oh also, I did spray a light coat of shellac on them to make them shiny.

[katiebugz13]

I started making these over a year ago and here are a couple of hints: try using silicone caulk with an icing tip taped to the tube and apply like you would on a cupcake. Do not i repeat do not try to use real sprinkles on the caulk...the dye runs and makes a huge mess and wastes your time and effort. I learned this the hard way. And finally for the sinking in at the bottom. This is caused from to much humidity there is no way to correct it you need to make the cake parts when you know the humidity is going to be low for at least 3 days. Eeven if the cupcake looks and feels dry the humidity can still get to it and ruin your project. also a good weight for the bottom is buck shot if you have any. It is very heavy and not much is needed to hold the whole thing down.

[TunaFishTuna]

i really like the idea but it seems hard to make...... ;(

[laurasnowling]

Thank you so much for sharing this - it's amazing and so pleased with the results!!

[cherbear62]

Oh My Gosh!!! I can't Thank You enough for this Info!! I'm Sooo excited to have
found this info. Before I found this info I wanted to see what these cupcakes looked like so I did Order One from Etsy which cost me $10.00 Yikes lol lol It
will take a Few weeks ( are you kidding) to receive this cupcake from the seller.
Anyways I went to our local Home Depot and got all the things needed. I Love
Love Love this Foam!! Went to a cake shop and picked up the Large Jumbo Papers for cupcakes and a few cute small one's. DON'T be afraid of the Large
Foam Can!! ONE can made me 35 ( Yikes) cupcakes. So be set to make alot of
them. I made only 4 little ones. Went in the garage put the papers in a cut-off cardboard box and Stood-UP while pressing down the foam can's spout. It works like a charm after the first cupcake I got the hang of how to make a circle motion in the paper cup. I DID NOT USE ANY TIN to hold the papers. I did put a few coins in the bottom of a few papers just because lol lol These are Super Super light weight like she said :-)) A little goes a long ways. So
they sat in the garage overnight and this morning they puffed up large and now are rounder in looks. I'm NOT going to paint OR put spackle yet as I want
them to really dry out for a few days!! I did NOT have any ( on bottom of the paper ) problems with the paper wrinkles like some people had photo's of.
I'm just going to let them dry dry awhile. All the cupcakes now look Round in
shape in the papers. So I took one and just took a knife and cut the round part off to make it a flat service ready to paint around the edges and put the colored
spackle on them :-))) The foam is sticky but it really not messy like I thought it would be. Just remember when you Fill The Papers mover the Foam in a circle motion and fill. Also watch it as it DOES puff-up Alot so less is better.
Hope this long note helps everyone. I plan to go get some Wire today as I
want to make some cupcakes to hold a photo / graphic etc. These were so
much fun to make and I can't Thank You enough for your Post!!!!!!!!!!!!
Will post some photo's when I get done with these cuties.
Have Fun Cupcake Lovers :-)))

[gostlady6]

Thank you soooooo much. I tried your cupcakes today. I wish I had taken pictures they were so funny. I thought they had grown all they would but I was wrong. I have huge cupcakes. I did though put plaster in the bottom of the cups for weight (worked really well) It just takes a little. Now I need to frost them. Again thanks for your help.
Linda

[tinker234]

wow got a friend who would love these

[kamoopsipooh]

Every Christmas, I do crafts with my kids and make sure one of those crafts are at least ornaments. This one was quite a process as we made the majority of the decorations for the cupcakes. After trial and error (regarding humidity here) with the expansion foams, my daughter and I were finally able to make some cupcakes to put on the tree. I just can't thank you enough for sharing your "secret." MUCH MAHALOS! Thought I'd share with you how they turned out.

[TheMrs]

I have looked high and low for instructions to make these!! I can't thank you enough! Each year, my kids and I make the ornaments for our Christmas tree. After New Year's, I allow them to each keep one and we toss the rest (yes, I am a lazy Mom hehe). This year, however I think we may decide to keep them all! Again, thank you!! We are making these as I type!

[shortone]

That's why I posted this-instructions for this technique are quite elusive ;) I'm glad you like it so much, and Merry Christmas!

[portwood1]

Ok, so I am making my first "batch"....everything went great until it came time to ice the cupcakes! I mixed the ACRYLIC paint with the spackle and it became really really runny! =( What am I doing wrong? Is it because the paint is "water based?" Do they make "Non-water based" acrylic paint? Thank you! Angie

[shortone]

No, you should have used acrylic just like you did. It's strange that the spackle got very runny...how long did you mix it for? If you mixed it for a long time that may have been the problem, I suppose?

[anaturals]

You need to use either artist paints in a tube or go to the hardware with your own container and get the tints which are super concentrated since they are used to time paints.

[elewicki cacciola]

HI there! I have made 2 batches of these using the exact expansion foam shown in the pics. I didnt paint and frost yet, but after 3 days of just the cakes sitting, the bottoms look like air has been sucked right out of them and they are shaped differently. Do you think paining right away somehow seals the cupcakes so they dont do that? I wanted to make these for a crafts fair in November, but I dont know how to solve this problem. Any help would be wonderful. I am attaching a picture. I did do them in tins and left the in the tins overnight. The first day they were great. By day 3, they looked like this.

[shortone]

The bottoms of mine looked like that at first, but as soon as I started weighing them down with enough washers they worked just fine. Try using more weight in the bottom and leave them in the cupcake tins until they are COMPLETELY dry-it may take up to 5 days or so!

[anaturals]

Using a cheap white wrapper and when the foam has finished doing its thing (according to a plumber friend up to 48 hours depending on humidity) then put on the final one. I suggest you use a spray mounting glue and do a quick dusting only into the inside of the liner then place ck squarely in the middle and then carefully press the liner onto the first white one.

[zpm1]

Had same problem here, anyone has any recommendations??

[kamoopsipooh]

Mine deflated, pretty much sucked in with Great Stuff, looked much worse than your picture here. The only other expansion foam available in my area (boo to Great Stuff) is the Hilti brand. It's not a one-time use can and the shape holds. The downside is it cost over $7 in my area, but it works, and you still get a lot out of it and you don't have to use it all at once. Also, so the cups don't float up as it expands and cures, rather than weighing them down with a washer or penny, I used Rubber Cement. Twist or gently pull off. You can always rub off the rubber cement residue. You can probably find cheaper expansion foam that works just as well. Just thought I'd let you know.

[hguenther]

I had the same problem! And my cupcakes kept popping themselves out of the tins and expanding so much that they looked like steamed pork buns instead of cupcakes. Have you heard anything regarding a solution to this??

[anaturals]

get some museum wax from the hardware and use a pan just for fakes. coat the bottom of the pan with the was and press in the liner. You have to leave them in the pan for at least 12 hours is you want to keep a good cupcake shape. I got lots of CC pans at the $.99 store and use them only for fakes.

[MzPanda]

These are so awsome! I had one question and am a lil confused... When ur using the great stuff (foam) when your making the frosting, do u brake open the can? or do u squeeze it out from the can tube onto the bowl then mix paint into it? also how long does it take to dry and do u make the cupcakes the same time as the frosting? ^_^ hope to here from u.

I want to make big ones!