Tutu Tutorial!

My daughter's ballet recital was yesterday.  Ever since she was 2, she has wanted to be a ballerina!  She is 4 now and was very excited for her first recital.  I'm excited to be making my first tutorial!  I hope it helps you next time you have a ballet theme.

Here she is waiting to perform The Lion King!
 

I volunteered to help out backstage, and brought along books, crayons... and CUPCAKES!  The girls loved these, and they were really easy to make. 

Since my daughter doesn't care for the taste of fondant, I chose to make my tutus out of a 50/50 fondant/chocolate clay mix.  Incorporating the chocolate clay made the dough more pliable, and I was able to work with each piece without worrying that the dough would dry out.  Best of all, she loved the taste!  (She's a tough critic!) 

STEP 1:  Create a template for the leotard.  I cut mine from a food safe paper plate.

STEP 2:  Use your template to cut out the leotard.  Use the small hole from Tip 10 to easily cut out the neckline.

STEP 3:  Set on wax paper to dry out a bit while you work on the ruffles.

STEP 4:  Using a round cookie cutter, sized a little smaller than the diameter of the cupcake, cut out pink ruffles for first layer.  Place on foam.

STEP 5:  Create ruffle effect using ball tool.  Press indentations into the dough at roughly 1/2 inch increments going all the way around the circle. 

You will begin to see a ruffle effect forming. Press 3 times into each indentation.

STEP 6:  With a knife, cut out a slit in the centers of each of your top ruffle layer.  Make sure it's wide enough for your leotard to sit in, without being too wide.  You don't want the leotard to fall right through. 

STEP 7:  After the top layer of ruffles have dried/firmed up a bit, place the leotard inside.

STEP 8:  Make your second layer of ruffles.  Follow Step 5.  You won't need a slit in this layer.  I made mine a lighter shade of pink.

STEP 9.  Pipe buttercream onto your cupcake.  Place bottom layer of ruffles onto the buttercream.

STEP 10:  Pipe thick dot of buttercream on top of the bottom layer of ruffles.  This will be the glue to stick the two layers together.

YOU'RE ALMOST DONE!

STEP 11:  Place top layer of ruffle with attached leotard onto the bottom ruffle.

See how easy this is?  And I think they look great.  Simple and cute!  There are so many ways you can continue decorating these.  Adding bows, flowers, glitter, changing the colors... the possibilities are virtually endless.  This is a great basic canvas to get you started!  Have fun creating!