I'm a huge fan of the Twilight series by Stephanie Meyer! My sister is an Edward fan while I'm on Team Jacob; whenever we get together we always get into a joking debate over who is truly the best. I decided we should make some Twilight-inspired Cupcakes for our next showdown. These cupcakes are super-simple to make and would be perfect for any Twilight-inspired party you might have.

Don't let the fondant scare you. If you buy pre-made fondant all you have to do is roll it out and cut it. You can even buy fondant pre colored if you don't want to color it yourself. Just make sure to make the fondant badges a day or two before you bake up and serve your cupcakes.

Ingredients

• fondant
• red food coloring
• black food coloring
• cupcakes made from your favorite mix or recipe
• black food marker
• small paint brush (new or used ONLY for food)
• vanilla extract

• white cake decorating icing
• small heart fondant or cookie cutter
• large circle (about 2 inched in diameter)fondant or cookie cutter
• medium circle (about 1½ inches in diameter) fondant or cookie cutter
• fondant roller
• mat to roll out fondant
• vegetable shortening (just enough to keep the fondant from sticking)

Instructions

1. Make and assemble the team badges from the fondant a day or two before you make the cupcakes. Here are some tips for working with fondant:

   1. Fondant dries out quickly when it’s in the open air. When you’re not working with the fondant keep it in an airtight container or bag.
   2. A little vegetable shortening will help soften fondant if it starts to dry out. Just use a tiny bit of shortening and mix it into the fondant by kneading it with your hands until the fondant softens and becomes easier to work with.
   3. Fondant comes pre-colored in the cake decorating aisle of your local craft store. You can also buy white fondant and color it with food color (like I've done in this recipe). Just place a little food color on the fondant, and knead it with your hands until the color is worked in evenly. Fondant color darkens as it dries, so always keep this in mind.
   4. Fondant will become softer and easier to work with the more you knead and handle it.

2. Divide your fondant into three sections. One of these will be colored red, one section will be colored black, and one section will remain white.

3. 

   Color your fondant. Select one section and add a couple of drops of red food coloring to it; knead the fondant until the color is worked through and the fondant is evenly colored. Remember that the fondant's color will darken as it dries.

4. Color another section of the fondant black using the black food coloring.

5. Before you roll out the fondant, spread a thin layer of shortening on the mat to keep the fondant from sticking to it.

6. Roll out each section of the fondant onto the mat using your fondant roller, and keeping each section separated Here are some tips to rolling out fondant:

   1. Roll the fondant to about 1/16th of an inch.
   2. Most fondant rollers have guides on them to help you roll the fondant smoothly to a certain thickness.
   3. If the fondant starts to stick, just use a little shortening on the roller, or the mat.

7. 

   Use the fondant cutters, or cookie cutters to cut out the fondant. For every Team Edward Cupcake you plan to make, you will need 1 large (approx. 2-inch) red circle, 1 medium (approx. 1½-inch) white circle, and 1 small red heart (using the small heart-shaped cutter). For every Team Jacob Cupcake you plan to make, you will need 1 large (approx. 2-inch) black circle, 1 medium (approx. 1½-inch) white circle, and 1 small red heart (using the small heart-shaped cutter).

8. 

   Once you've cut the pieces, let them sit on the mat, or on parchment paper—do not assemble them! Leave each piece separated to dry. Let your fondant dry for several hours before you assemble the buttons.

9. Once the pieces have dried, you can assemble them to make the team buttons. Start by using the food paint brush to paint a tiny bit of vanilla in the center of the large buttons; the vanilla will act as your glue. Then lay the white button over top of the vanilla, so the medium white circle is centered over the larger colored circle.

10. 

    Put a little vanilla on the back of each heart, then stick the hearts to the upper right side of the white circles (see photo).

11. Let the assembled fondant buttons dry for a couple more hours.

12. Once your button are dry, use a food safe marker (found in the cake decorating section of the craft store), write a capital "I" to the left of the heart on the white circle.

13. 

    On the black buttons, write "Jacob" below the heart in the white circle (see photos), and write "Edward" below the heart in the white circle on the red buttons.

14. Bake your cupcakes according to the package or recipe directions.

15. Once the cupcakes have baked and cooled, decorate them with your favorite white decorator icing. You can smooth the icing on with a knife, or use a pastry bag and your favorite star shaped tip to swirl the icing. Once you've added the icing to the decorator bag, just swirl in a circular motion from the outside of the cupcake to the center.

16. Place your buttons on top of the cupcakes; push the bottom edge of the button into the icing to hold it in place (see photos).

Tips

• If you're a Bella fan you can also make some cupcakes that feature, I "heart" Bella on the buttons.
• If you don't want to make your heart from fondant, or you don't have a small heart shaped fondant cutter, you can use a red food marker to draw your heart on the button.