Owl cupcakes are soft, fluffy chocolate cupcakes topped with vanilla buttercream piped to resemble adorable, wide-eyed owls. They’re perfect for birthdays, parties, or any casual get-together — and they’re simpler to make than they look.
This post focuses on decorating more than the baking itself. I’m not a professional cake decorator, but I enjoy learning simple, elegant techniques that anyone can try. Owls make a fun place to start — if I can do it, you can too.
I’ve loved owls ever since I first heard one near my home in high school. That experience sparked a lasting fondness — I spotted owl-themed items everywhere and even got “owl” in a school personality test. Their big eyes and head-turning ways are oddly charming.
If you’d love to have one as a pet, you’re not alone — they’re fascinating creatures, equal parts eerie and amazing.
Ingredients you will need
- A batch of chocolate cupcakes (see recipe below)
- Vanilla buttercream
- Red or other food colouring gel (I like pink owls)
- 24 white chocolate buttons
- 24 chocolate chips
- 12 M&Ms (brown or orange for a natural look)
The full ingredient list and step-by-step instructions for both the cupcakes and buttercream are provided below.
Decorating overview
Below is a concise guide to decorating the owl cupcakes. For more detail, watch the embedded video in the recipe section.
- Dye the vanilla buttercream with a drop or two of red food colouring gel to achieve a light pink (or colour of your choice). Use gel colouring, not liquid, for brighter, truer colours.
- Spoon about two teaspoons of buttercream onto each cupcake and spread into a thin base layer.
- Transfer remaining buttercream into a piping bag fitted with a closed star tip.
- Starting from roughly the midpoint on the left side, pipe small star dots around the top edge of the cupcake in an M shape to create feathered edges. Depending on cupcake size you may need two concentric rows.
- Place a white chocolate button into each hollow of the M shape for the whites of the eyes.
- Put a tiny dot of buttercream on the back of a chocolate chip and press it off-centre onto each white button to form pupils.
- Stand an M&M vertically at the centre tip of the M shape for the beak.
- Use the piping bag to swipe a small line of buttercream upward from each eye toward the outer edge to form eyebrows.
And that’s it — you’ll have a batch of charming owl cupcakes!
If you enjoy this tutorial, leave a comment and I’ll share more cupcake decorating ideas. I’d love to see your versions — tag your photos on Instagram with #lightscamerabake so I can check them out. You can also subscribe to the channel in the video section for more decorating demos.
Owl Cupcakes
Ingredients
Chocolate Cupcakes
- ½ Cup Butter, softened (110g)
- 1 Cup Caster sugar (200g)
- 2 Large Eggs
- ½ tsp Vanilla extract
- ½ Cup Cocoa powder (50g)
- 1 Cup Boiling water
- 1⅓ Cups All-purpose flour (190g)
- ½ tsp Baking soda
- ½ tsp Baking powder
Vanilla Buttercream
- ⅓ Cup Butter, softened (75g)
- 3 Cups Icing sugar (360g)
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
- 2 tbsp – ¼ Cup Milk
- 1 Drop Red food colouring gel
Decorating
- 24 white chocolate buttons
- 24 chocolate chips
- 12 M&Ms
Instructions
Make the Chocolate Cupcakes
- Preheat oven to 180°C (350°F) and line a 12-cup muffin tray.
- Mix cocoa and boiling water until dissolved. Chill to cool.
- Cream butter and sugar together.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition.
- Whisk flour, baking soda and baking powder together.
- With the mixer on, add one-third of the flour mixture, then one-third of the cooled cocoa mixture, alternating and finishing with flour. Stir in vanilla.
- Divide batter evenly among cases and bake for 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean and cupcakes are springy to the touch. Cool completely on a tray.
Vanilla Buttercream
- Beat softened butter until smooth.
- Add vanilla and one cup of icing sugar and beat.
- Beat in remaining icing sugar and two tablespoons of milk.
- If the icing is too stiff add more milk so it holds shape but is still pipeable.
- Add a drop of red gel and beat until you reach the desired pink (or pick any colour you prefer).
Decorating
- When cupcakes are cool and icing is coloured, spread about two teaspoons of buttercream on each cupcake as a thin base.
- Fill a piping bag fitted with a closed star tip with the remaining buttercream.
- Pipe small star dots in an M shape from the left midpoint around to the right midpoint to form feathered edges. Add a second row if needed.
- Place a white chocolate button in each hollow to create the eye whites.
- Glue a chocolate chip off-centre onto each white button with a dot of buttercream for pupils.
- Press an M&M vertically at the tip of the M for the beak.
- Pipe short swipes of buttercream from each eye outward and upward to form subtle ‘eyebrows.’
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Calories: 375 kcal
