Art is an important part school! Creativity in the school is where kids can really flourish and grow. I’m showing my artsy side with this back to school recipe: this is my Back to School Artist Cupcakes! For another art inspired recipe check out my gravity defying Artist Paint Cake.

For this recipe, you’ll need cupcakes to frost. You can find my delicious chocolate cupcake recipe here. You’ll also want to top the cupcakes with a rich chocolate ganache. You can find that recipe here. To make those beautiful colors on the paint palette, you’ll need lots of fondant. You can find that recipe here. This is a recipe that requires a lot of attention to fine detail, and working with very small pieces. The outcome, though, is so worth it!

Instructions:

1. Sprinkle corn flour onto your bench. Use a fondant roller to roll out your fondant so that it’s about 2 mm thick. Then, use a large circle cutter to cut out a large circle from your fondant.
2. Use a smaller circle cutter to cut a deep crescent moon shape from the side of your circle.
   
   
   
   
3. Roll out the first of your colored fondants as thin as you can get it. Then, use an open piping tip to cut out a small circle from the color.
   
   
4. Repeat this with the rest of the colored fondant.
5. Use your smallest piping tip and cut a small “thumb hole,” next to the crescent moon on the pallet.
6. Use a small paintbrush to paint water onto the back of each color fondant circle. Place them on the color pallet.
   
   
7. Choose a color (I chose red) and use that super fine piping tip to make a hole through the color. Your Pocky paintbrush will go right through this color and this will be the color of your paintbrush, as well.
8. Roll a pea sized piece of fondant into the shape of a teardrop. Then, use a sharp knife to make grooves on it to resemble a paint brush.TO MAKE A STANDING PAINTBRUSH:
9. Use a Pocky and drive a hole through the paintbrush wider part of the paintbrush tip. Push the Pocky through so that it leaves about an inch and a half on the Pocky. Brush some water on the bottom of the fondant to glue it into place.
10. Roll out your gray fondant so that it’s super thin. Wrap a thin layer of gray around the edge the bottom inch and a half of fondant.Brush some water over the gray fondant, and paint silver Luster Dust.
    
    
    TO MAKE A FLAT PAINTBRUSH:
11. Break off a piece of Pocky so that it’s the size you want your paintbrush stick to be on top of your cupcake.
12. Dip a piece of the Pocky in water, and push it through the bottom of the fondant tear drop.
13. Roll out your gray fondant so that it’s super thin. Wrap a thin layer of gray around the edge the bottom inch and a half of fondant.Brush some water over the gray fondant, and paint silver Luster Dust.
    
    
14. Use a knife to put chocolate ganache over the top of your cupcake. Use the back of the knife to make a flat top (learn how to make a flat top here)
15. Wrap your cupcake wrapper around the base of the cupcake, and use tape to secure it into place.
16. Place the fondant paint pallet directly over the frosting.
17. For the standing illusion, place your pocky directly through the hole on the pallet. For the flat paintbrush,  add water to the tip and the end of the paint brush, and lay the paint brush tip over the coordinating color on the pallet.
    
    

This fondant paint palette is going to bring a lot of flavor to your palate 🎨 👅

-For the printable recipe click here: http://bit.ly/2h5uOks

What You’ll Need:  

• Silver lustre dust or shimmer powder
• Cupcakes to frost
• Fondant or modeling chocolate -( I used white, red, blue, green, yellow, purple, orange and a little grey)
• Chocolate ganache or alternate frosting
• Pocky
• Tap water
• Cornflour in a shaker
  
  
• Sticky Tape
• Knife
• Fondant roller
• Sharp knife
• Paintbrush
• 2 x circle cutters
• 2 x piping tips
• Printable cupcake wrappers

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