Mermaid Cupcakes

Note: You will also need silicone molds for the tails and seashells.

For the mermaid tails and seashells:
Lightly powder your hands with cornstarch and work the fondant until it becomes soft. Using a food safe paint brush, coat silicone molds with corn starch.

Tear off a tablespoon of fondant and place into the tail mold. Let sit for 5–10 minutes before flipping over the mold and carefully pushing out tails. Spray with silver cake spray. Allow to dry for 1 hour.

Repeat steps for the seashells.

For the cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 350ºF and line cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a medium bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, butter and milk, and mix until combined. Using a medium ice cream scoop, scoop the batter into the cupcake liners until about 3/4 full. Bakefor about 21 minutes. Cool completely.

For the buttercream frosting and decorations:
In a large bowl, cream butter and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add powdered sugar a little at a time. Add heavy cream as needed to reach your desired consistency.

Reserve 1 cup of frosting and add a few drops of teal food coloring. Place teal frosting into a piping bag fitted with the star tip.

Scoop some of the white frosting onto the cupcake and smooth out using an angled spatula. Dip the cupcake into the brown sugar to make a sand effect. Pipe a dollop of the teal frosting onto the center of the sand. Place the tail into the teal frosting. Place seashells around tail. Randomly place the nonpareils around the tail and seashells.