flag cupcake decorations
(Image credit: Future)

How clever are these flag cupcake decorations made by our cupcake queen Victoria Threader? They're the perfect way to celebrate the World Cup. You can make England, Brazil and other country flags with this step-by-step recipe.

When making this cupcake recipe remember to keep all the cut offs of fondant and paste until the very end. You might need to use some of the white modelling paste to complete other flags. Make sure you keep them covered when making the other cakes so they don't dry up. This recipe make 12 flag cupcakes - you can use the methods for stripes, circles and stars demonstrated below to make the rest of the flag decorations on your own.

Ingredients

  • 150g white modelling paste
  • 15g green modelling paste
  • 10g blue modelling paste
  • 10g yellow fondant
  • 2g black fondant
  • Sugar Pearls and white nonpareils

Step 1

Make a batch of 12 cupcakes using our basic cupcake recipe.

Step 2

Using the modelling paste, cut 10 x white 58mm discs, 1 x green modelling paste disc and 1 blue modelling paste disc, then leave them to dry on a drying sponge.


For the England flag, cut 15mm strips of red fondant and stick a cross onto the white disc. Use a ribbon cutter if you have one, as this ensures really even stripes.

Step 3

For the Italian flag, roll and cut green, white and red strips at 2cm wide and place them next to each other. Using the same 58mm cutter you used for the white discs, cut a circle from the stripes and using the water brush, stick the stripes on to the white disc. Don’t forget to wipe the cutter clean each time you use it or you will get the bits of coloured fondant in the other toppers.

Step 4

For the American flag, roll the blue fondant out to 1mm and cut a 58mm circle. Cut a quarter from this circle and stick it with a brush of water on to the white disc. Roll and cut 5mm strips from the red fondant and stick stripes on to the rest of the circle, trimming the edges with a craft or sharp knife. Use white nonpareil for the stars by dotting water where you want them to be and then pushing them into the fondant.

Step 5

For the Japanese flab, cut a red circle from the red fondant with the 20mm circle cutter and stick it into the centre of the white disc.

Step 6

For the Chilean flag, cut a semi circle of red fondant and a semi circle of white, place them together and then cut 1/3 of the white away, replacing it with rolled blue fondant. Add a white star using the 1cm star cutter and then stick them all to the white disc with a brush of water.

Step 7

For the Australian flag, cut a semi circle of white modelling paste and leave it to dry for 15 minutes. When it’s dry to the touch, draw a Union Jack onto it with the red and blue edible pens. Stick this to the blue disc and then use sugar pearls and a star, sticking them on with a dot of water.

Step 8

For the Cameroon flag, roll and cut green, red and yellow 2cm stripes, sticking a yellow star in the centre of the red stripe, then stick the stripes onto the white disc with a brush of water.

Step 9

For the Brazilian flag, roll the yellow fondant out to 2mm thick and cut out a diamond shape. Stick this to the centre of the green modelling paste disc with a brush of water. Using the 20mm circle cutter, cut a blue circle from the blue modelling paste and stick to the centre of the yellow diamond. The create the white centre, brush the water brush across the centre of the blue circle in a curved line, then add white nonpareil.

Step 10

flag cupcake decorations

(Image credit: Future)

Once you're happy with your flag decorations, it's time to ice your cupcakes using our reduced-sugar buttercream recipe. Pipe a swirl onto the cakes or spread with a palette knife. Place the flag toppers onto your finished cupcakes.

You might also like…

Chocolate cupcake recipe

Vanilla cupcakes recipe

Lemon cupcakes

Victoria Threader
Recipes Writer

Victoria Threader is 'the queen of cupcakes' and a contributing Recipe Writer at GoodTo. Not only can she bake delicious cupcakes, she can decorate them too - with each of Victoria’s cupcakes topped with handmade edible toppers. Some of her most popular cupcakes include: rainbow cupcakes, hidden shape cupcakes and even giant cupcakes.