Learn how to make these super cute Bee Mine cupcake toppers designed by Victoria Threader who is  a freelance recipe developer from the UK, best known for designing cupcakes for SugerED Productions and as a regular contributor to goodtoknow recipes Cake Corner.  You could say she’s pretty much the connoisseur of cute cupcakes! In the spirit of romance, Victoria came up with a design for us featuring super cute little bee toppers for cupcakes, along with bee hives, hearts, and flower detailing!
Follow the simple tutorial below to learn how to make six show stopping cupcake toppers featuring a pair of loveable honey bees, two styles of honeycomb designs and a cartoon beehive. If you’ve never worked with decorating fondant, we really recommend having a go at these cupcake toppers as the simple design will give you confidence to try some of our more complex designs! Victoria guides you through the process from start to finish with helpful tips that even beginners could recreate, you can even mix and match these pretty designs any way you see fit.
Step 1.
To make these cupcake toppers start with making your hexagon templates. I’m not good at drawing them so I used the clip art setting in Publisher on my PC. You’ll need a 1 inch and a 3 inch sized hexagon. Once printed or drawn, cut them out with your scissors.
Step 2.
Roll the white modelling paste out to 3mm thick and use the 3 inch template to cut a white hexagon. I use the spacers on the rolling pin to stop me rolling the paste too thin.
Step 3.
Use the 1 inch hexagon template to cut out 7 yellow hexagons.
Step 4.
With a brush of water, stick the yellow hexagons to the white hexagon, trimming off the excess at the edges if needs be.
Step 5.
Keeping the toppers on a small sponge while you are working on them speeds up the drying process. Roll the red modelling paste out to 2mm thick and cut an 8mm heart for the centre hexagon. Stick it with a brush of water.
Step 6.
Cut a 70 x 70mm square of new and unused bubble wrap. Make sure you cut a piece with all the bubble intact or you will lose the pattern. I give the bubble wrap a light dusting of cornflour with my cornflour pouch just to stop it from sticking to the paste.
Step 7
Roll the yellow paste out to 4mm thick and lay the bubble wrap over the top.
Step 8
Using the fondant smoother, press firmly, straight down onto the paste. Don’t be tempted to rub from side to side or you will lose the pattern!
Step 9
Place the template over the yellow paste and with a sharp knife, cut around the hexagon shape.
Step 10
Roll the red paste out to 2mm thick and cut an 8mm heart and stick it into one of the holes on the honeycomb.
Step 11
Roll the blue paste out to 3mm thick and cut four 68mm circles.
Step 12
To make the bumble bees, roll the yellow paste out to 4mm thick and place the cling film over the top. Use the egg shaped cutter, cutting over the cling film to give the bee a nice rounded shape. If the edge isn’t that clean, you can smooth it with the tip of your finger.
Step 13
Roll the black fondant out to 2mm thick and cut three 5mm strips. Lay them over the bee at equal distances, leaving a larger space at the head end. If you curve the strips slightly, it gives the bee a more rounded effect. Trim the excess off at the edges.
Step 14
With a brush of water, stick the bee’s body to the blue topper. For the face, add white sugar balls for the eyes and add tiny rolls of black fondant for the pupils. I rolled a tiny sausage shape for the mouth.
Step 15
For the wings, use the 25mm heart cutter. Roll the white paste out to 2mm thick and cut two hearts. Cut the hearts in half and emboss down the centre with the small palette knife.
Step 16
Trim the wings to size and, with a brush of water, stick them to the top of the body.
Step 17
The lady bee is made in the same way, I just gave her eye lashes. Using the ball tool, add eye sockets. Using the edible black ink pen, add two eye lashes to each eye before adding the white sugar balls and pupils.
Step 18
Cut a flower for the lady bee using the small blossom cutter and stick with a brush of water to her head. I added a yellow sprinkle to the centre of the flower.
Step 19
I moulded a small bow tie for the man bee using the FPC Tiny Decorations Mould and stuck it with a brush of water under his chin.
Step 20
Using the Rose Petal dust and a tiny soft brush, add rosy cheeks. I know I blushed a bit when I was asked on a date.
Step 21
You will need the edible glue for this part. I’m not too hot at piping so I find this easier. If however you are brilliant at piping, use some black royal icing and pipe the dashes. I had some black sugar strands left over from Halloween so using the edible glue, I dot where I would like the strands to stick first, then using the tip of the brush, pick up the strands and stick them down to the glue. Once you’ve done a few, you’ll get much faster at it. You can move the strands with a cocktail stick if you need to and then press lightly to push them into the paste a bit.
Step 22
Using the alphabet cutter, cut ͞Bee Mine͟. I love these cutters but I actually don’t use the plunger part. I popped those out. I cut the letters and then push the letters out of the cutter with a soft brush. I just prefer the rounded effect it gives the letters.
Step 23
Stick the letters to the blue circle and then using the glue again, dot it in a heart shape in the centre and then out to each side, as if the bee has flown a heart shape. Stick the sugar strands in the same way as you did before.
Step 24
Cut a small daisy using the daisy cutter and add the yellow sprinkles to the centre, sticking them on with the glue. I just picked the yellow sprinkles out of some pastel coloured sprinkles I had in the cupboard.
Step 25
Stick the daisy to the centre of the sugar strand heart with a brush of water.
Step 26
To make the beehive, cut two 45mm hearts.
Step 27
Trim the bowed tops off the hearts and discard, then stick the remaining pieces together with a brush of water. Add the lines using the embossing tool. I used a pin tool to take the edges in slightly. You can also use a cocktail stick/knife edge if you have one.
Step 28
Cut a branch like shape from the chocolate fondant and emboss lines into it with the craft knife to give it a wood effect.
Step 29
With a brush of water, stick the beehive and the branch onto a blue circle, trimming the excess if necessary. Use the 8mm heart cutter to cut leaves. If you emboss down the centre of the leaves it makes them more leaf like. You’ll need the glue for the leaves to stick. Cut a red 25mm heart for the front of the hive from the red paste and stick on with a brush of water.
Step 30
Leave the hive to dry for a couple of hours and then using the Paprika petal dust, lightly dust around the edges of the hive to give it some depth. I find using the dust in the lids is enough for a light dusting.
Step 31
Leave all your toppers to dry on a drying sponge for at least six hours. This will help them set and then they won’t droop onto your iced cupcakes. Place the dried toppers on to your iced cupcakes. I used a Wilton 6B to ice these.
