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In this house, we love sugar, spice and glitter – but also all things Disney! Ella has been begging me to try my hand at edible cupcake toppers, and while these are definitely “beginner status” icing characters, I wanted to share these cute Finding Dory Lemon Cupcakes with you!

(And if you make them, share them with me on social media- I want to see how others handle the challenge!)

These cupcakes were surprisingly easy – I had my friend come over to walk me through the process and the tip for using the wax or parchment paper overtop of a printed or sketched image of Dory (or any character) made these super easy.

I didn’t actually take any pictures of the process this time because I wasn’t sure how they would turn out, but my friend was lovely enough to send me some pictures of her outlining a Dory topper so you could see a bit of what the process looks like.

The lemon cupcakes are reminiscent of old-fashioned lemon birthday cupcakes. They have a heavier crumb so that they can hold up the frosting and Dory cupcake topper – if the cake was too soft, it would just collapse!

These toppers would also look cute on a cake, Rice Krispie squares, or on square sugar cookies.

How to Make Finding Dory Cupcakes

First, the lemon cupcake recipe:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup soft stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tin with tropical or beach-themed cupcake liners.

Add flour and salt to a small bowl, set aside.

Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest one at a time, beating well with each addition.

Add half of the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, mix well, and then alternate adding half of the milk and lemon juice with the remaining half of the dry mixture.

Scoop batter into prepared liners to 3/4 of the way full.

Bake for 18-22 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. (You’re cooling in the pan to prevent breakage, and moving to the cooling rack to allow them to cool as the pan will trap the heat.)

Next, some lemon buttercream:

• 1 cup soft unsalted butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
• Blue gel food coloring

Cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add in whipping cream slowly to help process (and additional icing sugar as needed).

Add in lemon extract to taste.

Remove half of the frosting to a separate bowl and add the blue gel food colouring until you reach your desired shade.

Lay down a piece of saran wrap and place a generous portion of white frosting alongside an equal portion of the blue. Roll the saran wrap into a log crossing the two colours, and then pull that saran wrapped frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pull the tip of the saran wrap through and cut so that both colors of frosting touch the piping tip.

Frost the cupcakes as desired.

How to Make an Edible Dory Cupcake Topper

Whip together:

• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups powder sugar plus 1 more cup set aside
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

Whip for 4+ minutes until stiff peaks form, adding in more powdered sugar if needed.

Divide frosting into 4 equal portions, leaving one portion white and adding blue, yellow and black gel colouring to separate bowls.

Spoon the frosting into separate piping bags with just a small tip cut off the ends.

Grab a picture of Dory from Google and print or sketch it out. Place the picture under wax or parchment paper.

Go over the black portions of Dory’s body first and allow to set for a few minutes.

Next, fill in with blue frosting, leaving circles for where her eyes will be. Then, fill in the yellow parts of her tail.

Finally, add the white of her eyes and a single black dot of frosting for the pupils. (I chose to add the white extra dot about 2 hours after the black had set a bit, but it should be okay if you add immediately.)

Let dry overnight before placing on cupcakes.

Here is your free printable recipe for my Finding Dory Lemon Cupcake Recipe:

Finding Dory Lemon Cupcakes

Print

Ingredients

For the lemon cupcakes:

• 1 1/2 cup flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup soft stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs (room temperature)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3/4 Tablespoon fresh squeezed lemon juice
• 1 Tablespoon fresh lemon zest

For the lemon buttercream:

• 1 cup soft unsalted butter
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 4 Tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• 2 teaspoons lemon extract
• Blue, black, yellow gel food coloring

For the Edible Dory Cupcake Toppers:

• 2 egg whites
• 2 cups powder sugar plus 1 more cup set aside
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tarter

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F and line cupcake tin with tropical or beach-themed cupcake liners.
3. Add flour and salt to a small bowl, set aside.
5. Cream the butter and sugar at medium speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes. Add in eggs, vanilla, and lemon zest one at a time, beating well with each addition.
7. Add half of the dry mixture into the wet ingredients, mix well, and then alternate adding half of the milk and lemon juice with the remaining half of the dry mixture.
9. Scoop batter into prepared liners to 3/4 of the way full.
11. Bake for 18-22 minutes until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing to a cooling rack. (You're cooling in the pan to prevent breakage, and moving to the cooling rack to allow them to cool as the pan will trap the heat.)
13. For the Lemon Frosting:
14. Cream the butter and powdered sugar until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add in whipping cream slowly to help process (and additional icing sugar as needed).
16. Add in lemon extract to taste.
18. Remove half of the frosting to a separate bowl and add the blue gel food colouring until you reach your desired shade.
20. Lay down a piece of saran wrap and place a generous portion of white frosting alongside an equal portion of the blue. Roll the saran wrap into a log crossing the two colours, and then pull that saran wrapped frosting into a piping bag fitted with a star tip. Pull the tip of the saran wrap through and cut so that both colors of frosting touch the piping tip.
22. Frost the cupcakes as desired.
24. For the Dory Cupcake Toppers:
25. Whip for 4+ minutes until stiff peaks form, adding in more powdered sugar if needed.
27. Divide frosting into 4 equal portions, leaving one portion white and adding blue, yellow and black gel colouring to separate bowls.
29. Spoon the frosting into separate piping bags with just a small tip cut off the ends.
31. Grab a picture of Dory from Google and print or sketch it out. Place the picture under wax or parchment paper.
33. Go over the black portions of Dory's body first and allow to set for a few minutes.
35. Next, fill in with blue frosting, leaving circles for where her eyes will be. Then, fill in the yellow parts of her tail.
37. Finally, add the white of her eyes and a single black dot of frosting for the pupils. (I chose to add the white extra dot about 2 hours after the black had set a bit, but it should be okay if you add immediately.)
39. Let dry overnight before placing on cupcakes.

Are you a Disney fan too? Be sure to check out my recent Belle cupcakes on Moms & Crafters, and my Alice Through the Looking Glass Capsule Wardrobe.