Easy Unicorn Cupcakes

Unicorn cupcakes are a simple way to bring some magical fun to your next party. An edible unicorn horn and a rainbow of swirled frosting makes for a unique sweet treat. And, whether you’re bringing these to a unicorn loving little girl’s birthday or a throwback Lisa Frank party, they will be a gorgeous hit!

Girly girl in a boys world

I was born in 1990. Being a girl of the 90’s, you can dang sure bet I was obsessed with Lisa Frank growing up.

Those psychedelic bears, bunnies, unicorns and puppies were what all of my girlish dreams were made of. ALL of my school supplies were a splash of glittery rainbow.

I. Loved. It.

Being a mom of boys’ boys, I rarely get the opportunity to let my inner Lisa Frank fly. The last time I did was with this Unicorn dip and fruit platter.

Sometimes, I decide I really do not care and I want to make something girly and pretty.

Which brings us to Unicorn cupcakes.

Unicorn Cupcakes: the perfect girly birthday treat

If you’re looking for a magical treat you can make at home without fancy ingredients, look no further. These girly treats are sparkly, sweet, and full of color.

Okay, they do take some planning to make, but don’t worry. I’ve given lots of tips below for how to make it go faster!

Looking for an easier treat? This Unicorn Dip and Rainbow Fruit Platter is just as fun!

How to make edible unicorn horns

Rather than fondant which is common, we’ll be using sugar cones to make our horns. They make mini ones, but they’re harder to find. These steps include cutting ‘regular’ ones smaller.

1. Score your cone. Do this by laying a serrated knife on your cut line and twist the cone to make a shallow cut.
2. Cut the cone. “Saw” through to make a smaller cone for your edible unicorn horn.
3. Dip the cone. Next, dip your cone into white melting chocolate to coat. If the chocolate is too thick, add a bit of shortening to thin.
4. Dip the cone. I find putting a finger in the center of the cone and then rotating it into the liquid chocolate to be easiest. Allow to cool in the freezer base down on parchment paper.

Adding sprinkles to the edible unicorn horn

Sprinkles make the cones a lot more fun, but if the next steps sound like too much work, skip and just dip the whole thing in sprinkles while the chocolate is still wet.

1. Once set, get the cones back out and drizzle white chocolate across the horns, one at a time. Only do one side at a time.
2. As soon as you drizzle the chocolate, sprinkle each liberally with sprinkles.
3. Drizzle and sprinkle ONE cone at a time to avoid the chocolate hardening before you add the sprinkles.
4. Lay back down on the parchment paper on the undecorated side. Then, return all of them to the freezer for a few minutes.
5. Repeat on the other side.
6. Finally, gently brush off any sprinkles in between the lines.

How to Make Unicorn Cupcakes

Making these easy unicorn cupcakes is actually really simple.

1. Bake your cake. I used Funfetti because sprinkles, but really anything will work.
2. Make your horns.
3. Color your frosting. Separate your frosting into 5 bowls. Start with 1 drop of color per bowl, leaving one white. Stir and decide if you need more.
4. Prepare the frosting. Next, add the frosting to the bag. Add the colored frosting to each side of your bag, then put the white in the middle. This will help create varying colors.
5. Make the ears. Snip a mini marshmallow in half diagonally before dipping the cut edge into pink sanding sugar. If necessary, pinch the top to make the ears more pointy.
6. Assemble! Pipe your frosting onto your cupcakes, making circles from the outside in. Then place on your horn in the center back of the cupcake. Finally, press the flatter side of your ears in on either side of the horn.

Unicorn Cupcakes FAQ

Tips for making easy unicorn cupcakes

I used an “open star tip” in my piping bag, but any tip, or no tip at all would work well.

I never actually use a real piping bag. Instead, I use a gallon zip top bag and snip a hole in the bottom.

When filling your bag with the frosting, sit it into a tall cup and fold the edges over the side to give you a tall, stable surface to work with.

You may need..

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I bought these gold sprinkles an embarrassing amount of time ago and never used them. Thankfully, Wilton still makes them so you can grab these to make a majestic edible unicorn horn.

Unicorn Cupcakes with Edible Unicorn Horn

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Print

Unicorn Cupcakes

Course Dessert, Desserts, Snack

Cuisine American, Baked Goods, Kid friendly, pancakes

Keyword cupcake, rainbow, unicorn

Prep Time 30 minutes

cooling time 10 minutes

Servings 12

Ingredients

• 1 dozen cupcakes
• 5 cups of frosting approximately
• Food coloring
• 12 sugar ice cream cones
• white melting chocolate
• Gold sprinkles
• mini marshmallows
• Pink sanding sugar

Instructions

To make the edible unicorn horn

1. Cut your sugar cone so it’s about 2-3 inches long. Do this by pressing a knife to the cone at the cut line and rotating to score the full circumference. Then “saw” through to make a clean cut
   
2. Melt your white chocolate and dip the cone into it to completely cover. Add a bit of shortening to your chocolate if it looks too thick. Set on parchment paper, cut side down to cool. Place int he freezer 3-5 minutes to firm up.
3. Drizzle white chocolate on one side of the cone, immediately sprinkling liberally with gold sprinkles. Set on the parchment, unsprinkled side down. Do all 12 cones, and return to the freezer to set.
4. Repeat the sprinkle process on the other side of the cone.

To make unicorn frosting

1. Divide your frosting into 5 bowls (or however many colors you wish.)
   
2. Add 1 drop of food coloring to each bowl. I used pink, purple, blue, yellow, and white. Stir and decide if you need more color.
3. Add your piping bag to a tall cup and fold over the edges. I used an open star icing tip. Gently add frosting to each side of the bag, putting the white in the middle.

To assemble the Unicorn cupcakes

1. Pipe your frosting on your cupcakes. I used sprinkle cupcakes to go with the rainbow theme.
   
2. Gently add your horn to the center back of the cupcake.
3. Cut a mini marshmallow in half on the diagonal, and dip the cut side into pink sanding sugar.
4. Finally, put your marshmallow ears into the frosting, flat side down.

Recipe Notes

• Gel coloring will make a more vibrant color. I used Wilton pink gel coloring. If you use normal red coloring, it will be a lighter pink.
• I use a normal gallon sized zip top bag as my “pastry bag”. Just snip the end and put your tip in the bag.
• You also don’t NEED a piping tip. Round would still be pretty!
• If using store bought frosting, make sure it’s room temperature and whip a bit to make sure it’s not too thick.

You may also like these homemade cake posts:

• DIY Monster Truck Cake
• Homemade Dinosaur Birthday Cake

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