Rapunzel's Braid Cupcakes

I think every girl between the ages of about 2 and 8 (and maybe their moms) wish they had Rapunzel's golden magic hair. The braid is beautiful. The movie is great, and I admit, has some pretty catchy tunes in it!
It is one movie that I don't mind watching 3 times daily with my daughter and other daycare girls.
People are starting to request Rapunzel cupcakes and cakes for their little girl's parties. WOO HOO! I was excited to make some! So now I have 2, yes TWO fun Rapunzel cupcakes that I've made and want to share the "how-to" on how I did them so everyone can make them! Exciting, I know...but contain yourself! It's time to get piping!

For these cupcakes I used my favorite, and my standard, buttercream frosting.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup butter (I like to use salted, because a little salt with sweet is always good)

2 lbs powdered sugar

1/2 cup milk

1 tsp clear vanilla (makes it good for coloring or whitening)

Beat butter in a mixer until it starts to get a little fluffy. 

About 2-4 minutes.

Add in the powdered sugar, continue mixing another minute or so.

Pour in the milk and add the vanilla.

Continue mixing until everything is well combined and frosting starts to form and fluffs up, scrap edges of bowl as necessary.

Add coloring during this process for a big batch of one color, or separate out into smaller bowls and mix in colors as desired.

For this cupcake I used pink, yellow and purple. 

Now onto the frosting of Rapunzel's beautiful braid!!

Tips needed:  1M, 3, 4 & 32 or other drop flower or star tip

Create a large swirl covering the top of cupcake with the 1M tip.

Now using the tip 4, with yellow frosting start at what will be the top of the braid and create a chain making a V shape, overlapping the previous V, and never breaking it. 

When you get the bottom of the braid, pull out to the left, go back over it, straight down the middle, back over it and out to the right and back over it and stop. 

This will create the hair ends.

Using a smaller round tip, 3 with purple frosting, make the bow which will separate the braid from the ends and cover up the messiness there.

Make a small triangle on the right side leading into the creation of the triangle for the left side. 

Finish with a small dot of frosting between the two to create the knot in the bow.

It looked great with just the braid, but I wanted some flowers, so I randomly chose a 32 tip and placed to drop flowers onto one side of the braid. I rotating sides of the braid to make it look good for packaging.

Then just go back with the yellow tip 4 to make the center of each flower.

Viola! Rapunzel's Braid Cupcakes!