Birdcage cupcakes Creativity Competition 2011

Zahira Motala from Westville, Durban made these adorable birdcage cupcakes. Read her blog on www.cupcakedlights.blogspot.com

You will need

• pre-prepared vanilla cupcakes
• ready-made plastic icing
• food colouring

To make

1 Colour ready-made plastic icing with a few drops of sky blue food colouring. Knead it in to make pale blue icing. Shape a ball to resemble a birdcage; you can have fun and create different shapes. (Look for gorgeous birdcage pictures to give you ideas.)

2 Roll out some white plastic icing. Use a cookie cutter that has a scalloped edge to cut out a piece of white ‘beading’ to create a base on your birdcage.

3 Roll out thin lines of white plastic icing for the bars of the birdcage and stick them with water or edible glue onto your birdcage. Remember to stick the pieces all the way to the top of the birdcage.

4 Create the birdcage hood out of a few small balls of icing. Flatten with your finger or a ball tool and create a loop out of a thin strip of white plastic icing to resemble the hook.

5 To create the cage door, roll thin strips of white icing and make fancy spiral edges. Stick onto the base where the door goes. Add extra bars on the door.

6 Add pretty mini flowers and leaves in the colours of your choice. You can also add a little bird or butterflies to complete the effect, if you prefer.

7 Cover the cupcakes with plastic icing and then top them with the birdcages.