Birthday Panda Bear Cupcakes with Russian Buttercream. As you know I’m always looking for fun new cake ideas. Especially when you have your youngest daughter’s birthday to prepare for. She was in charge of picking the design so Panda cupcakes it was. There are a couple of caveats. Although I was a full-time chef for near thirty years, I don’t have nearly enough of the professional cake decorating equipment I would like. Secondly, I want my kids to be able to make them with me. They may not look internet perfect, but they are definitely made with love. They are family friendly and fun.
What you will need are cupcakes, small chocolate cookies, buttercream or frosting, grated white chocolate, chocolate buttons and icing. I have posted lots of cupcake ideas and we used my favourite cupcake recipe. We made our own chocolate cookies, but you can buy them. We also made the buttercream and today’s posted recipe is for Russian Buttercream a rich easily spreadable frosting.
What is Russian Buttercream?
The most common buttercream is made by whipping soft butter, icing sugar and vanilla essence together. A little milk can be added to loosen the texture and food colouring if required. Meringue base buttercream is made by beating butter with Swiss or Italian meringue. The finished product is more stable at higher temperatures. Russian Buttercream disposes of sugar altogether. It is made by beating softened butter with sweetened condensed milk and vanilla.
How to create your Panda Bear Cupcakes
Because we decorate the cupcakes together, I find it best to assemble bowls of the cookies, buttons and grated white chocolate. The icing and frosting are in suitable piping bags. I put all of these onto a tray and we each have a plate to assemble the cupcakes on. First step is to evenly spread the buttercream on to the cupcakes and level with the back of a knife.
You next dip the frosted cupcakes into the grated white chocolate. Then add cookie halves to make the ears. Smaller cookies make the base of the eyes topped with a small blob of frosting and a chocolate button. Use another button to make the nose and icing to form the mouth. You can then be as creative as you want giving each panda a unique expression. My daughters really loved making these.
Russian Buttercream
Ingredients
- 200 gr Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 120 gr unsalted Jersey Butter
- 2 teaspoons quality Vanilla Essence
Instructions
- Place the butter into a large bowl and whisk until soft and pale.
- Add in the condensed milk by the spoonful beating the mixture until smooth before adding the next.
- When all of the condensed milk is incorporated beat in the vanilla until light and fluffy.
Notes
