• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
The Cookie Writer
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipes
  • Cookies
  • Appetizers
  • Drink
  • Desserts
  • Main Course
  • Sauce
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipes
  • Cookies
  • Appetizers
  • Drink
  • Desserts
  • Main Course
  • Sauce
×
Home » Recipes » Dessert

Royal Icing Butterflies Tutorial

Last Updated: Mar 18, 2022 by Kacey · This post may contain affiliate links · 2 Comments

Sharing is caring!

179 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

During my pregnancy, both Mr. TCW and I agreed that we would not find out the gender of our baby. We didn't care whether the child was a boy or girl (though I really thought the baby was a boy!) as long as he or she was healthy. When they announced it was a girl (after all the nurses were fawning over her and realized they had not revealed her gender to me yet!) I was not too surprised as my mom was wrong when it came to her three children. We knew that even though she was a girl, we would not over-do the whole pink thing. Sure, some pink clothes here and there are fine, but it is a bit ridiculous when your girl's wardrobe is entirely pink at such a young age. I mean, I know some people who seriously had no other colors but pink... Too much for me, so we kind of strayed from the whole pink life.

Royal Icing Butterflies Tutorial 9

Then kiddo grew, and she become more vocal. And now we have a fully painted pink bedroom with the demands for a pink birthday cake with butterflies... My child is absolutely girly and I have no clue what to do! My sister is the the girly one, and she has made it no secret that she loves the path kiddo has chosen. I can't even style hair let alone match a particular pair of shoes with an outfit! Oh, how I will learn over the next many, many years.

Until then, I will do what I do best. Please her with her requests, and today I will show you how to make pretty royal icing butterflies for any dessert. My best recommendation is to start these butterflies days in advance as they really need time to harden (especially when we shape them so they look like they are flying.) They are quite fragile, so make extra to compensate for any that break.

Royal Icing Butterflies on foil on green bakckground

First off you will need a batch of royal icing. I used Wilton's royal icing recipe for these butterflies, and I wish I hadn't. Nothing wrong with Wilton's recipe, but I have grown so use to Sweetopia's royal icing recipe that I can really notice a difference between the two. If you have your preferred recipe, use it! If using Wilton's recipe, you will really need to water it down. You want a consistency that isn't too liquidity, but not too firm either. Run a spatula through your icing and if the icing joins back together within 5-10 seconds, you are good to go. Any less, it is too runny. Now, for the outlines, you may want a bit of a thicker consistency, but I find I like working with only one batch of icing (after all the coloring and bagging, I don't want to do much else!)

Tint your icing to the respectable colors. I separate the icing into different Ziploc containers, so this way if I have any extra, I can keep it at room temperature, in an airtight container, with no worries of it going bad for the next couple of days. I tend to color my icing a day in advance as the color deepens over time. All up to you!

Royal Icing Butterflies on green background

So now to the decorating. Not only are we making royal icing butterflies, but we are making butterflies that appear to be flying! I have seen this book technique on Pinterest and finally got around to trying it. It works perfectly! I found some books worked better than others, so create some test butterflies like I did to see what works best (you can see my black icing was a bit runny the following day.)

Supplies:

Batch of royal icing, tinted to desired colors

Parchment paper cut into little squares big enough to hold your butterflies

Stencil, if needed

Book to hold the butterflies

Toothpicks

Royal Icing Butterfly with book in the background

Okay, so you have your butterfly stencils picked out (I printed off various free butterfly images from Google onto regular printer paper. I will provide links at the bottom of this post.) Place a piece of parchment paper on top of the stencil. It might help to weight the parchment paper down because even the littlest breeze from your mouth or nose will move the paper. Take your piping bag full of icing and begin piping, following the outline of the stencil below the parchment paper. This is where you can get creative. You can outline the butterfly in one color, or use multiple colors. Just make sure you only outline the wings and do not include the butterfly's body. That comes later. Once the outline is made, give it some time to dry (especially if it is black because chances are the colors will bleed together,) Once ready, begin filling the insides of the butterflies. I use a toothpick to help bring the icing to the edges, as I find I have more control this way. You can also use the toothpicks to create cool hearts and swirls in your butterflies! Set the butterflies aside to fully harden on a flat surface.

Royal Icing Butterflies showing air bubble

This will probably take 24 hours. Until then, I wrap my piping bags with the tips still on, with a damp paper towel so keep the royal icing from drying up. On another note, you may hit some other obstacles. As you can see above, my favorite butterfly developed an air bubble that I missed, so when the body was drying, the bubble popped, resulting in that hole. Another reason to make extra butterflies, but I love him too much not to use him!

Royal Icing Butterflies with book in the background

Now we are going to create our "flying royal icing butterflies!" Grab your butterflies, still on the parchment paper, and pipe the body in-between the wings. I found this easier to do on a flat surface and then move to the book, but you can place it in the book first. Once piped, move the butterfly so the body rests in the seams of the book and the wings spread out on either side. Adjust accordingly on how pronounced you want the wings to be in flight mode.

Royal Icing Butterflies held by hand on foil

Allow to sit for another 24-48 hours (I found out the hard way that they will break if not completely dry.)

Royal Icing Butterflies held by hand on foil

Once dry, carefully remove the royal icing butterflies from the parchment paper and voila! You have some beautiful royal icing butterflies! Mine will be placed on a pink cake for Girlie's third birthday coming up this weekend. Be sure to check back to see the final cake design!!

Link to butterfly stencils found here.

« Cheese and Dill Beer Bread
Roasted Vegetable Pizza with Ghost Pepper Sauce »

Sharing is caring!

179 shares
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Katie

    June 22, 2016 at 10:36 pm

    Thank you for this tutorial. I don't have the money to get the pre-made ones and my daughter wanted a butterfly picnic for her 5th birthday with cupcakes!

    Reply
    • Kacey

      June 25, 2016 at 11:50 am

      So glad to help out! Homemade is more special, too 🙂

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
Kacey preparing a salad in the kitchen

Hi, I'm Kacey I've started this blog 10 years ago and developed hundreds of recipes. Check out my full bio and story below.

More about me →

Popular

  • Crispy deep fried breaded mushrooms
    Crispy Deep-Fried Breaded Mushrooms
  • Montanas antojitos in white bowl
    Montana's Antojitos Recipe
  • Fruit kabobs on white plate with almind milk cream in glass
    Fruit Kabobs with Almond Milk Whipped Cream
  • Cream of mushrrom soup potatoes in blue baking pot with spoon and on white plates
    Cream of Mushroom Soup Potatoes

Recent Recipes

  • Four delicious sweet breakfasts.
    37 Sweet Breakfast Ideas (Insanely Delicious)
  • Four scrumptious russet potato dishes.
    35 Scrumptious Russet Potato Recipes You Will Love
  • Four delicious scallops dishes.
    31 Scallops Recipes for an Unforgettable Main Course
  • Four delicious cauliflower dishes,
    27 Healthy Cauliflower Recipes You Should Do Today

Important Pages

Privacy Policy

About Me

Contact Me

Recipe Index

Kacey preparing a salad in the kitchen

Hi, I'm Kacey I've started this blog 10 years ago and developed hundreds of recipes. Check out my full bio and story below.

More about me →

Popular

  • Crispy deep fried breaded mushrooms
    Crispy Deep-Fried Breaded Mushrooms
  • Montanas antojitos in white bowl
    Montana's Antojitos Recipe
  • Fruit kabobs on white plate with almind milk cream in glass
    Fruit Kabobs with Almond Milk Whipped Cream
  • Cream of mushrrom soup potatoes in blue baking pot with spoon and on white plates
    Cream of Mushroom Soup Potatoes

Recent Recipes

  • Four delicious meals with green beans.
    37 Healthy Green Bean Recipes That Are Insanely Delicious
  • Four scrumptious sweet breads.
    29 Sweet Bread Recipes You'll Want to Make Every Day
  • Four scrumptious sweet pepper dishes.
    29 Sweet Pepper Recipes You'll Simply Love (Easy & Quick)
  • Home friens in black pan with wooden spatula, fork held by hand
    Vegetarian Home Fries (using Fingerling Potatoes!)

Important Pages

Privacy Policy

About Me

Contact Me

Recipe Index

The Cookie Writer LLC | Copyright © 2025