DIY Fun: Make Your Own Adorable Ghost Cupcake Topper!

#dessert #cupcakes #decorations #bakers #beginners #cupcaketopper #ghost #halloween

As Halloween creeps closer, we’ve got a fun and festive cupcake topper design to share with you. Charm every skeleton, vampire, and ghoul at your Halloween party with these irresistibly cute ghost cupcake toppers!

Here is how you can get started...

Supplies

Fondant
Food Colouring
Edible Markers
Gloves
Toothpick or Small Cutting Knife
Wax Paper
Fondant Roller

Prepare your Workspace

Make sure your work surface is clean and dry, with plenty of space to roll out your fondant sheet comfortably.
Lightly dust your surface with cornstarch or powdered sugar to keep the fondant from sticking, or use a sheet of wax paper for an easy, mess-free working area.

Colour Your Fondant

Fondant can be bought in the colour you need for your topper design but if you want to have flexibility on the colour intensity or be budget-friendly, you can buy a white fondant and colour it at home by doing the following:

Cut out the amount of fondant you need to colour.
Select the food colouring colour you want.
Spread your fondant out to create a small pocket in the center.
Add 1-2 drops of food colouring.
Slowly fold the fondant edges inward to seal the food colouring inside. Next, knead and stretch the fondant until the colour has been evenly combined.
Continue this process until your desired colour has been achieved.
Repeat this process for each colour you need to make.

Remember to wear food-safe gloves if you're handling darker colours to prevent staining your hands.

Process

Building the Ghost Body

Let’s bring your ghost topper to life! Start by grabbing a golf ball-sized piece of white fondant. To get a smooth, even surface, roll it out into a 1/4-inch thick sheet using a roller. As you work, make sure your fondant sheet is around 7-10 cm wide, enough to give you room to carve out the ghost’s shape.

Now comes the fun part—creating your ghost! Take a toothpick or any pointed tool and begin by tracing the outline. Start with an upside-down uppercase 'U' to form the head. To give your ghost some character, flare the ends of the 'U' slightly outward, which will make the bottom wider, like a traditional ghostly figure. Once the head is done, close off the body by drawing a playful wavy line from one end of the 'U' to the other. This wavy line creates the flowing, spooky bottom of the ghost.

Don’t stress if the first attempt doesn’t come out as you envisioned—it’s all part of the creative process. If you're not quite satisfied, simply roll the fondant out again and retrace the ghost until you’re happy with the shape.

When you're pleased with your design, use a small, sharp knife to carefully cut along the outline. Once the excess fondant is removed, gently run your finger along the edges of the ghost to smooth them out, making sure it looks clean and polished.

With your ghost figure complete, set it aside, and get ready to move on to the next step of your spooky cupcake topper!

Tip: Keep in a warm place to make sure your fondant layer does not dry out before you have fully completed the next steps.

Building the Ghost's Legs

Now that you’ve got your ghost body prepped, it’s time to add some extra details! Grab a smaller amount of white fondant, similar to what you used for the ghost body. Just like before, roll it out using your roller, but this time aim for a thinner sheet—about 1/8 inch thick.

Once rolled out, make sure the sheet is around 7-10 cm wide, you will want to be able to cut legs long enough to be consistent with your ghost’s size. Using a small knife, carefully cut two even strips from the fondant. Remove the excess fondant and place the strips neatly in the center of your workspace.

Next, use your knife to trim the ends evenly on both sides, ensuring they are nice and clean. Finally, smooth out any rough edges by gently running your finger along each side of the strips to soften them.

When you've smoothed out the edges, set the fondant strips aside and get ready for the next step!

Tip: Keep in a warm place to make sure your fondant layer does not dry out before you have fully completed the next steps.

Building the Ghost's Shoes

Time to give your ghost some playful charm, starting with a cute pair of shoes! For this, you’ll need brown fondant. You can either pick up some premade fondant from the store or, if you're feeling crafty, use the 'Color Your Fondant' guide to create your own.

Once you have your brown fondant ready, grab a small piece and place it on your workspace. Roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick—this will give the shoes a sturdy shape without making them too bulky.

Now, let’s trace the shoes! Using a toothpick or a sharp tool, carefully outline a shoe shape that’s proportional to your ghost’s legs. You want the shoes to fit your ghost perfectly!

To draw a shoe, follow these simple steps:

Outline the shape: Start by drawing an oval on its side for the top of the shoe.
Add the sole: Draw a curved line along the bottom of the oval to form the shoe’s sole. Make it slightly thicker to give the shoe some structure.
Draw the sides and heel: Add a straight or slightly curved line from the back of the shoe's oval down to the sole for the side and heel. Do the same on the other side, curving it toward the toe area.
Create the shoe opening: At the top near the heel, trace a small upside-down semi-circle to create the shoe opening.

Once you’re happy with the shape, use a small knife to cut it out, and smooth the edges with your finger to remove any rough spots.

With one shoe done, let’s make its pair! Repeat the process, and here’s a fun trick: after cutting out the second shoe, flip it over to create a mirror image of the first one. This way, you'll have a left and a right shoe. Just like before, smooth the edges.

Now you’ve got a perfect pair of shoes! Your ghost is really coming to life. Set the shoes aside, and get ready for the next step!

Building the Ghost's Top Hat

For the next playful finish touch to your ghost - a dapper rounded top hat! Take a small piece of fondant and place it in the center of your workspace. Roll it out with your roller, aiming for a sheet that’s about 1/8 inch thick.

Get your toothpick or sharp-ended tool for tracing! To draw a simple rounded tophat, read the following steps:

Prepare the Surface: If using fondant, roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick.
Draw the Rounded Top: Using a toothpick or sharp tool, trace a half-circle or upside-down 'U' shape. This will be the rounded top of the hat. Adjust the size depending on how big you want the top hat to be.
Add the Sides: From the ends of the 'U' shape, draw two short, slightly curved lines going downward. This gives the top hat its classic rounded structure.
Draw the Brim: At the base of the curved sides, trace a long, slightly curved oval or rectangle, extending a little wider than the top. This will form the brim of the top hat.
Refine the Shape: Go over your lines to make sure everything looks proportional. If using fondant, carefully cut out the traced shape with a small knife.
Smooth the Edges: If working with fondant, gently smooth the edges with your fingers to clean up the shape.

Assembling your Ghost

Now that you’ve got all your pieces ready, it’s time to assemble your ghost!

Start with the legs. Place the two long fondant strips for the legs in the center of your workspace, leaving about a pinky finger's width of space between them. Then, spread the bottom ends outward to form a narrow triangle shape, with the top ends close together and the bottom ends slightly apart.

Next, take the ghost body and lay it over the fondant strips. Overlap the top ends of the strips so it looks like the legs are coming out from underneath the ghost's sheet. Gently press it into place.

Tip: If you're having trouble sticking the pieces together, just add a little icing or lukewarm water to the area. Don’t soak it—just make it tacky enough to hold!

Now, it's time to give your ghost some style, starting with its cute brown shoes! Using the same technique (either icing or water), attach the shoes to the bottom edges of each leg strip.

And finally, the pièce de résistance—the top hat! You can place it anywhere you like, but for a quirky touch, try setting it at a slight angle, like the 1 o'clock position.

Final 'Ghostly' Touches

The final step is personalizing your ghost topper to give it that playful, "hand-drawn" character look. Since this topper is meant to look like a drawn character, edible markers are your best friend! They come in all sorts of colors, making the decoration process super fun and limitless.

To achieve that drawn look, start by outlining each shape with a black edible marker. Don’t worry about making the lines perfect—those little imperfections will give it charm!

Next, it’s time to give your ghost some eyes! Grab your black edible marker and draw a pair of eyes on the ghost’s body. Get creative with the shape and expression—make them big, small, silly, or spooky. Whatever fits your ghost’s personality!

Now, let’s add some dimension to the ghost’s legs. Since the ghost’s body is pale, a fun way to separate the body from the legs is by giving it patterned socks. Striped socks are a Halloween classic and will give your ghost topper an extra dose of personality.

Finally, use an orange or pink edible marker to add some blush. Draw a small sideways oval on each side of the ghost’s eyes to give it cute, flushed cheeks.

And that’s it—your ghost topper is complete and ready to bring some fun to your cupcakes!

Summary

Decorating a topper doesn’t need to be perfect or precise to make it cute and quirky. In fact it’s often the little imperfections that make your cupcake topper stand out even more! With these ghost toppers, you’re sure to impress any vampire, werewolf, astronaut, or princess that comes trick-or-treating to your door!

Video Tutorial

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