Big Bird: Sesame Street Characters Cupcake Tutorial - finale!

Yes, I saved the best for last.  Or rather, the worst.  By far the worst.  You have no idea.  Well, you will if you try this.  Big Bird was almost the death of me.  Actually, scrap that.  I almost killed Big Bird.

Hey, nobody said this was a kid-friendly post.

Either way, yes, this is the finale to my Sesame Street Character Cupcake Tutorial.  So far we've done Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar the Grouch.  All three of these characters were fairly simple and followed the same basic steps - star piped icing and awesome candy facial features.  But with Big Bird, we're moving into different territory.  Don't say I didn't warn you.  Big Bird took me longer than Elmo, Cookie Monster and Oscar put together.

That being said - here goes!

For Big Bird you will need....
cupcakes (see subtle hint recipe here)
one large marshmallow per cupcake
red fruit roll up
icing coloured with Wilton's no taste yellow food colouring
two white chocolate wafers (aka candy melts) per cupcake
light blue icing (small amount)
light pink icing (small amount)
chocolate icing (small amount)
leaf tip

Now, technically you could just pipe yellow icing on top of the cupcake like we did with the other characters, but not if you're wanting realistic looking feathers!

So, first start by taking a large marshmallow and cutting a triangle off one end to make the beak shape.  I also ended up trimming the bottom off slightly because it looked too tall.  This also had the added benefit of exposing the sticky inside of the marshmallow, helping it to stick to the cupcake.  You could also make it stick by applying icing in between the marshmallow and the cupcake, but I found that this was sufficient. Make sure to place the beak near the bottom of the cupcake to leave room for the eyes and for the proportions to look right.

Next, take some red fruit roll up (Fruit by the Foot) and put it on the inside of the marshmallow beak, trimming it to the right shape.  I found I had to take the marshmallow off to do this well, but you  might be able to do it with it on.

Next, slather some yellow icing on the outside of the beak and smooth it out as best you can with a knife dipped in warm water.

Using a leaf tip, pipe yellow icing on the cupcake in layers, starting with the outside and working your way in.

Totally looks like feathers!!

Place the white chocolate wafers (aka candy melts) on top of the beak and have them slightly separated.  Then, using a round tip, pipe light blue icing as the lower eyelid, light pink icing as the upper eyelid (both directly on top of the white chocolate wafer) and chocolate as the pupils, near the bottom of the eye and very slightly cross eyed.

After about 3 1/2 hrs of work, don't they look fantastic?!

And here are all four characters displayed together at the party (my brother made the tiered cupcake holder).

 Aren't they adorable?!

And, other than Big Bird, they're actually surprisingly easy to make!