Bonjour!! The new live-action Beauty and the Beast is here. The original animated film was one of my favorite movies as a kid, so I’m so excited for this remake. To celebrate I decided to create a unique treat inspired by one of the iconic images from the film – The Enchanted Rose.
Around Christmas Time I was watching a video on how to make snowglobe cupcakes using balloons coated in gelatin for the “glass”. I thought this would work perfectly for my Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Rose Cupcakes.
To make the cupcakes you will need:
- Cupcakes! Use your favorite recipe, box mix, or even store-bought!
- Buttercream frosting (unless you’ve bought store-made cupcakes)
- Yellow food coloring
- Unflavored Gelatin
- Water
- Thin pretzel sticks
- Fondant colored dark red and dark green
- Animal balloons (the long ones)
- A balloon pump
- A Styrofoam block
- Scissors
- Wax paper
- A heat-proof glass measuring cup or bowl
- A piping bag fitted with a large round tip
- Optional: Tweezers and a fondant tool with round ends
Let me show you how it’s done!
- Bake your cupcakes and let them cool completely. I baked mine in silver cupcake liners
- Color your buttercream frosting yellow (to represent Belle’s dress) or whatever color you’d like.
- Fill your piping bag with your buttercream frosting set aside for later. (you can also just frost with a knife, but I like the effect of the piping tip to mimic Belle’s dress).
- Cut about a 2″ piece of the round end of each balloon. (You’ll need one for each cupcake you’re making and I recommend making a few more for safety).
- Inflate the balloons with your balloon pump or lungs of steel. Tie a knot in the open end to seal them.
- Mix the unflavored gelatin in the heat-proof measuring jug with the water using 2 Tbls of water for each packet of gelatin. 3 packets of gelatin/6 Tbls water should be enough, but if not then use more. Stir together and let sit for 5 minutes. Then microwave for 20-30 seconds. Do not boil. Skim off any foam from the top.
- Dip the balloons in the melted gelatin making the gelatin cover about half of the balloon. Let them set a few minutes and then give them a second coat. Prop them up to dry overnight or about 12 hours. I made a drying rack out of a shoe box and a grid of scotch tape, which you can see in the video.
- Remove the dried gelatin cases from the balloons. Use the scissors to cut a hole in the balloons and let the air out. Cut off any dried drips and clean up the bottom edge. You may need to use tweezers to help get the balloon to peel away from the gelatin. Be patient; it may take some time. Don’t worry if the gelatin case crumbles a bit. Be gentle and use the fondant tool or your fingers to work it back to shape after the balloon is removed.
- Make the fondant roses. Break off 10 pea-sized pieces of red fondant and spread them out on some wax paper. Fold over the wax paper and press the fondant bits into petals with your finger (can also use that fondant tool, which is what’s it’s actually for!). Make the edges of the petals very thin. Take a pretzel stick and wrap the first petal around the center, pressing it together at the seam. Add another petal over that seam and keep layer petals, overlapping them until you’re happy with the rose’s fullness.
- Add leaves to the roses by repeating this process with green fondant, adding about 3 or 4 to the bottom of the rose. Pre-make some holes in your Styrofoam block, stick in the roses, and let them dry.
- Assemble. Pipe the buttercream in a swirl on the cupcakes. Insert a rose into the center of the cupcake, pushing it down to the bottom. Finally, add a gelatin “glass” case on top.
And there you go! Beauty and the Beast Enchanted Rose Cupcakes!
