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Swirly Blue and Purple Mermaid Cupcakes

If you’d like to add instant whimsy to any party, make some mermaid cupcakes. 

Whether you are hosting an underwater birthday party or having a fierce girls’ night in, these swirly ocean mermaid cupcakes are not as hard to make as you may think.

Let’s face it; we’re never too old for mermaids.

Important note: The Wilton mermaid tails you see pictured are not easy to deal with. The majority of them either broke while removing them from the paper or ended up breaking while handling.

Although they are super pretty, we recommend choosing another fin option.

Mermaid cupcake sitting on a board with more cupcakes in the background.

Mermaid Cupcakes for Magical Treats

This recipe uses a box of cake mix to make these mermaid cupcakes a tad easier to create.

Since we are A Magical Mess, we like to throw in shortcuts most of the time.

We are likely to prepare baked goods at the very last minute that they are needed. Anything to shave some time off of the recipe is welcome.

Mermaid cupcakes on a serving board.

If the swirled icing intimidates you, don’t let it. It’s a lot easier to create the frosting swirl when you break it down into steps.

Colors used here are Wilton teal, royal blue, and violet. The sprinkles are from Party City, and they are Tylina Sweet Shop Mermaid Sprinkle Mix.

However, if you’d rather order them, there’s a link to another option in the recipe card.

Again, we caution you against the mermaid tails we used. We will be on the hunt for a better option.

Personally, I think making mermaid tails with chocolate in a mold sounds a lot tastier than the hard sugary one.

If you want to add cookies to your underwater party, give these mini mermaid shortbread cookies a try.

Blue and purple cupcake with a bite taken out.

Magical Desserts to Make:

Collage of steps to make mermaid cupcakes. Includes swirled cake mix in purple, blue, and white.
Yield: 12 cupcakes

Mermaid Cupcakes

Mermaid cupcakes on a serving board

Colorful mermaid cupcakes to make for your next magical celebration. 

Prep Time 30 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Cool time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 5 minutes

Ingredients

  • 9 oz Jiffy cake mix, 1 small box
  • 1 tub white frosting
  • Supplies
  • Violet coloring
  • Royal blue coloring
  • Teal coloring
  • Mermaid Sprinkles
  • Mermaid Tails
  • Wilton 1M tip
  • Plastic wrap
  • Piping bag

Instructions

  1. Prepare cupcake batter as directed on box. Divide batter into thirds and color one batter teal, one blue, and one violet. Mix well.
  2. Use a 1 tablespoon portion scoop to scoop 1 scoop of each color batter into cupcake liners. Bake cupcakes as directed on package. Let cool completely.
  3. Divide 1 tub of white frosting into three bowls. Color one bowl teal and one bowl violet. Lay a piece of plastic wrap onto a flat surface. Spread each color next to each other on the plastic wrap, making about a 10-12″ strip. Fold the plastic wrap tightly and twist ends.
  4. Snip the tip of the plastic wrap and place into a plastic piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pipe icing onto cupcakes and top with sprinkles. Add icing decoration.

Notes

Nutrition facts are an estimate and do not include toppings. 

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1 cupcake

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 108Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 187mgCarbohydrates: 22gFiber: 0gSugar: 10gProtein: 1g

Nutrition facts are an estimate only.

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Blue, purple and teal cupcake on a white plate.

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Mermaid cupcakes with a sugary fin topping.

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Who do you know who would love mermaid cupcakes? 

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