Easy Fall Leaf Cupcake Toppers

Hi, I'm Mike and I have an addiction to Pinterest. ("Hi Mike.") On a typical night, I like to unwind in the evenings surfing Pinterest for a little while. Well, "a little while" usually turns into three hours, it's past midnight, and I can't sleep because I'm thinking of all the newly formed ideas I just pinned on my Pinterest boards. Don't worry, I'm working on getting help.

On a recent Pinterest mine for inspiration, I came across this beautiful handmade card. Clicking on the link lead me to the talented work by Sue, of Heart Prints. Sue's website gallery is full of incredibly decorated cards, all made by hand and embellished exquisitely. However, it was this card that really caught my eye. I just loved the embossed background, the color palette, and especially the circles of cutout leaves overlaid on top. I asked Sue if I could use her card as inspiration for a fall treat idea and she graciously said yes. Thanks, Sue!

Taking inspiration from Sue, I wanted to create a super quick and easy treat to dress up the dessert table on Thanksgiving day. Preparing for the big feast is a lot of work, so one less thing to fuss over is always a nice option to have. These fall leaf cupcake toppers are easy to make and can be made days in advance.

How to Make Easy Fall Leaf Cupcake Toppers

You will need:

• Brown piping and flood consistency royal icing (I used Americolor Warm Brown food gel.)
• Colored fondant (I used Wilton pure white rolled fondant that I colored with food gel.)
• Scalloped or Round cookie cutter (I used the 68 mm scalloped cutter from this Fox Run set.)‍
• Downloaded Fall Leaf PDF Template‍
• Sheet protectors or wax paper

Step 1

Print out one or two copies of the Fall Leaf PDF Template and place them in sheet protectors (a genius tip I learned from Jennifer at Not Your Momma's Cookie). If you don't have sheet protectors, taping a sheet of wax paper over the template will work just as well. (Lisa at The Bearfoot Baker shows the perfect setup for using wax paper.)

Step 2

Outline over the template lines using piping consistency royal icing. Then flood the background section with flood icing. Use a toothpick or scribe tool to get into all the nooks and crannies of the leaf designs. Put these sheets aside on a flat surface to dry completely.

Step 3

Roll out the colored fondant into a sheet that is ⅛ inch thick. Then cut out scalloped circles using the 68mm cookie cutter.

Step 4

This step is optional, however it does make your cupcakes toppers look a bit more fancy. And who doesn't like fancy on Thanksgiving? :) I learned this technique from one of the tutorials by Louise of Cake Journal. Take a #2 icing tip and just poke a small hole in each scallop along the edge. Leave these circles on a flat surface to dry and harden.  

Step 5

After the royal icing transfers are completely dry, gently peel them off the sheet protector. Apply a small amount of royal icing to the back of the leaf design and place them in the center of the fondant circles.  

The final fall leaf cupcake toppers should look like the finished ones below.

After attaching both pieces, these cupcake toppers are ready to use immediately, or can be made days in advance and stored away. I made boxed Pillsbury cupcakes with canned frosting to place under these toppers. However, if you are in a crutch for time, you could easily buy a dozen plain cupcakes in your grocer's bakery and throw on these little guys for a customized touch. Easy, right?

I have one more day of work before I head off to Florida to spend Thanksgiving with my family. I hope each and every one of you have a wonderful holiday. If you're brave enough to tackle the Black Friday crowds, have a safe time. Happy Thanksgiving!