Easy Little Pandas
I made some cute chocolate cupcakes for you today.
And they’re mini, too. It’s hard to tell in this picture I know.
But because the cupcakes were mini, I was able to use chocolate chips to dress them up as sweet little pandas.
Chocolate chip covered pandas that are super easy to make.
First frost your cupcakes. Use a decorator bag with Ateco Tip #807 and you can whiz right through this part.
Pipe a small mound of frosting on top. You don’t need to cover the cupcake completely.
Because you will be pressing it into a bowl of sanding sugar to cover all the frosting. And when you do, the frosting will spread out and cover most of the top.
Like so.
Then you can start making panda faces.
Insert a chocolate chip sideways and towards the bottom for a nose.
Then press two chips pointed side down into the frosting to start on the eyes and two more in position for the ears.
I used Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips because they are a little larger in diameter and were better for panda proportions.
And the great thing about covering them in sanding sugar first, is that you can easily reshape the face if necessary without getting frosting all over your fingers.
If you want to add mouths, try black or chocolate jimmies and press them into the frosting.
Then you just need to finish the eyes.
Use a black edible ink pen to draw on white confetti sprinkles for dotted eyes and then attach them to the chips with a tiny bit of frosting to hold them in place.
You could also just pipe frosting on for eyes if you want to skip the pin and sprinkles.
There you go. Easy little pandas.
Chocolate Cupcakes
1 1/2 cups flour
2/3 cup cocoa
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1/3 cup oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2/3 cup milk
2/3 cup hot water
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Fill mini cupcake tray with cupcake liners.
- In a large bowl, mix dry ingredients together with a wire whisk.
- Add eggs, oil, vanilla and milk and mix until combined.
- Add hot water and mix.
- Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- Cool and decorate.
To decorate, you’ll need:
- Frosting (I used the one from this post)
- Decorator bag and Ateco tip 807 (or just use a ziploc bac and cut an end off)
- White sanding sugar
- Chocolate Chips (I used Ghiradelli dark chocolate chips for their size)
- Jimmies (Chocolate or black and you could also just leave them off)
- Pastel confetti sprinkles (just the white ones)
- Black edible ink pen
Enjoy!
Those are just darling!! They just make me smile! I love how super easy they are to decorate. Thank you so much for sharing! I can’t wait to make these with my daughter, I know she will absolutely love them!!
Absolutely adorable! It’s really cool that you can customize the expression by simply using different arrangements for the sprinkles.
As always, perfection!
I’m wondering if there’s a corresponding Wilton tip to the Ateco #807? I really don’t want to have to order another tip if I don’t have to.
Thank you! I will try to make this and hopefully bring it to my daughter’s school fare next month.
those r ADORABLE !
These are just precious! You are so talented!
These are adorable and look SO easy to make.
Holly I think the Wilton 1A is pretty darn close to the Ateco #807
Sooooo cute! Love it.And mini sizes make everything better ;)
So, so cute. I can’t wait to try it myself :D
Very cute! It is nice to find another jimmie sayer-I thought it was only a Northeast thing ;)
super-cute! can’t wait to try it myself..
they’re really cute. Perfection!
They look so fluffy, it’s adorable! and the nose with side turned chocolate chip is such a good idea, it looks terrific.
These are so cute! I’m thinking of using this idea for my sisters 1st birthday, because they look really like something I could actually do!
too cute!
Adorable,
I love you Bakerella, you are so talented
perfect lil pandas! awesome idea for party!
This is AWESOME! Thank you so much! Can’t wait to try it out! :)
So adorable (and really yummy looking too!)
I loooooove these, making them soon!
So cute!!
When I saw it I remembered Kung fu-Panda…
Adorable!!
Thank you for that. how fantastic. You make it look easy as pie!
They look absolutely great! Thanks for this great post :-)
Super cute, and it looks easy enough for me!
Thanks for the step-by-step
They are too cute!!! I love them!!!
They are so cute…thanks for the detailed tutorial…really perfect
So simple and so cute too! Thanks for sharing as always :)
They are soooo cute ! Amzing how a little mouth makes them come alive . Thank you . Hope you are feeling great after all you have been through last year.
wow, they are so cute:) super!
Looks good and very cute.
Eveline.
Hi Bakerella! I am gonna try out your recipes this weekend. One question though – Do you use Celcius or Farenheit? Or if anybody can help me, please? Thanks :)
She uses Fahrenheit, 350 degrees is between 175 – 180 degrees Celsius. Hope this helps.
So nice! And it seems to be easy. Thanks
how cute.
Oh HELP – these are soooo darn CUTE! :-)
How darling-perfect for a kiddie party :D
Adorable! They’re perfect!
You always manage to thrill, Angie. Thanks for another amazing idea – I know my students at school will go ga-ga for these!
So freaking cute! Love them!
Theses are just too cute! I love the little one who looks shocked.Rx
http://sandersonsmithstory.blogspot.co.uk/
S0 stinkin cute!
Those are adorable! I’ll have to try them.
You make everything look so easy to do!
completely ridiculously adorable!
Sooo cute!
I just died of the cute! Btw, if I do not want to use sanding sugar is there an alternative? Thank you.
Awesome :-D
OMG! These lil pandas are so so adorable, and wow easy to make with your fabulous instructions! You are so amazing Lady!!!!! Thanks for sharing this super easy, yet adorable cupcake today!
so cute, love all the different faces!
Those are very cute, and so easy. Thanks for the idea!
So cute!
OMG! These little guys are SO cute! My favorite is the one with the little smirky smile!
Simply adorable!!! :)
These are so cute!
These are wonderful! I can’t wait to make them!
so cute..
thanks for sharing.
Melissa
omg love these!
These are the cutest Angie!! Hope you have a great week girl! xoxo
I just love the simplicity and sheer cuteness of these! So great.
I am cupcake challenged but these look do-able! Thanks!
they are so cute!! I think I’m in love!!
They can’t be any easier and adorable…
To Monica Lasarati – 350 degrees will be fahrenheit. That equates to about 176 degrees celsius.
Just too cute! I cannot wait to make these for my nephew! I was just at our Zoo with him on Friday. Next visit, I’ll pull these little cuties out after we come back to my house.
These are SUPER cute. I love pandas (and all things chocolate, and cake… ) Gotta try these out. You are SO creative!
So cute!!
too cute & easy, gotta love it!
Bravo- they’re adorable!
Love, love these!
LOVE!! I love how adorable they are and how easy! You have such a talent for making simple things beautiful.
It’s absolutely ridiculous how cute these are!
pan-da-dorable… thanks for sharing!
these would be great for a birthday party. my son is very into the Little Pim video panda. that would make a nice themed party – Little Pim panda and language acquisition. maybe have all the flags of the world somewhere as decoration.
These are SO cute! Love it!
These are sooo….awwww Cute!!
Going out right now to get the stuff to make these…
I was thinking yo could do a reg cupcake and use hersey kisses to.. what do you think Bakerella?
Ack!!! You do the cutest faces! Like the little girl with the unicorn stuffy in the Despicable me movie I just want to hug these guys they are too cute!!! I have pinned some panda cupcakes before but I just love the nose and eyes and fur on your guys!!!
:)
mikky
So cute! Great idea and can’t wait for an occasion to make.
OK so can you just have your own baking show already? Because EVERYTHING you do is so insanely, utterly adorable, such genious and completely inspirational that I am beside myself! If there is a better word for “YOU ROCK” then that my girl is you. :)
They are so cute!
Thank you Mema! I have that tip! :)
Ha..these are the very best ever! Their expressions bring them to life. I love these as I am a bear collector and these are just too cute to resist. I plan on making these real soon.Thanks so much Angie!
Adorable!!! You make the cutest animals. You should make a book out of them :)
So cute! I wonder what I could use to change them into koalas? My daughter’s soccer team is the Koalas and i’ve been looking for a cute Koala snack for their last game.
Super fun!
You left me speechless…….wow!!! I think I am going to try to bake them for my little nephew’s birthday…You always give us great ideas, thanks!!!
I love how such a cute little cupcake is made with the simplest ingredients. I cannot imagine not having everything except maybe the sanding sugar!
Trop mignons !
So pretty !
J’adore !
Hello from Switzerland
verO
These are the cutest!! My daughter and I think they are even too cute to eat, but we would force ourselves to anyhow.
Way too cute! Whoo-hoo! You have done it again, Bakerella!
Hey I was wondering if you could come to Bloomington, Indiana’s Barnes & Noble and do a book signing!
Thanks, Grace
Those are precious! How do you get your cupcakes so evenly rounded on top!? I love their different expressions.
They look adorable as well as super simple to do! MUST get those chocolate chips!!
I can’t decide which one is the cutest! I’d feel weird to bite one of them.. But I would.. :)
So cute:)
I think I will make these……..just because!
ahh im so in love with these pandas bakerella!
very cute!! i want to try making some
OH MY! I absolutely LOVE pandas and can’t wait to make these! Super cute and love the dark chocolate chips for more of a panda look!
Oh my gosh! These are so adorable! I can not wait to make these for my niece and nephew! It really does look so easy too. :)
these are absolutely adorable. perfect if you are doing a Kung Fu Panda theme!! Thanks for the inspiration!
I love these! I so will make em’! Thanks Bakerella
These are so cute!!!!!!