Elmo Cupcake

Ingredients

• 24 Cupcakes (any kind will do, we used vanilla)
• 12 Oreos (have more on hand to be on the safe side)
• Sharp Knife
• Red Buttercream (recipe below)
• Piping Bag
• Grass Tip
• White Fondant
• Orange Fondant

Directions

• Split the Oreos carefully and scrape off the icing with a sharp knife. Cut the Oreos into halves so they look like smiley faces.
• Apply a small blob of buttercream underneath the Oreo mouth and attach it to the cupcake near the bottom.
• Half fill a piping bag fitted with the grass tip with the red buttercream.
• Squeeze icing onto cupcake, once it is a attached gently ease the pressure while pulling up and away from the cupcake, stop squeezing and lift off the cupcake to form "fur" that sticks out, it takes some getting used to but keep at it and you'll be a pro in no time! Try piping on different angles to get messy looking fur.
• Roll white fondant to make Elmo's eye balls and orange fondant to make his nose.
• Place the eye balls and nose on the iced cupcake.
• Pipe black icing onto Elmo's eye balls, you can be creative here and make him cross eyed, looking up or in opposite directions which helps bring character to each cupcake!

Red Buttercream:

220g Butter (softened)
2 t Vanilla Essence 
3 C Icing Sugar 
Approx 4T Milk
Pink & Red Red Gel Colours

• Beat butter until light and fluffy.
• Add vanilla and beat until incorporated.
• Sift icing sugar into a separate bowl then gradually add to butter mixture one cup at a time.
• When icing becomes to lumpy and dry add milk one tablespoon at a time until the consistency is soft and easy to pipe.
• Add pink gel colouring to icing to make it bright hot pink.
• Add red red gel colouring to icing to make it red.

Decorating Variations:

Fur:
Roughly icing cupcake with red icing.
Place coconut in a zip lock bag with red food colouring and shake until colour is even and bright red all over.
Place coconut in a bowl and dip cupcakes to cover the entire surface.
Eyes:
Either marshmallows or white chocolate buttons.
Melt dark chocolate in a zip lock bag, snip the corner and pipe dots on the eyes.
Nose: 
Orange peanut M&Ms.
Mouth:
Liquorice.

http://www.lydiabakes.com/2012/07/elmo-cupcakes-tutorial.html