Mother’s Day Frosted Lemon Cupcake Soaps

Mother’s Day Cupcake Soaps

Here’s a special treat for your mum on Mother’s Day. A lemon scented cupcake soap topped with marshmallow scented frosting followed by lemon scented sprinkles. Made with all natural ingredients, it will leave their hard working hands feeling soft and relaxed and looks adorable too! This little cupcake soap goes perfectly with an at home pamper session and a glass of something bubbly.

Ingredients and equipment:

For the base (makes 12 cupcakes)

• 92 g Sodium hydroxide
• 226 g Water
• 400 g Palm Oil
• 200 g Coconut Oil
• 16 g Lemon grass fragrance
• 8 drops of yellow dye
• Large saucepan
• 12 silicone cupcake cases
• Glass mixing bowl
• Hand blender

For the frosting:

• 295 g Palm Oil
• 148 g Coconut Oil
• 37 g Olive Oil
• 71 g Sodium Hydroxide
• 159 g Water
• 9 g Marshmallow fragrance
• Glass mixing bowl
• Medium mixing bowl
• Electric whisk
• Pipping bag and tip

Method for bases (48 hours before):

1. Measure all your ingredients beforehand to make the process easy and efficient.
2. Firstly, melt your oils and butters in a saucepan on a low heat or in a microwave safe container in short bursts of 10 seconds in the microwave.
3. Add your measured sodium hydroxide to your water slowly, stirring continuously until it has dissolved. Make sure you are wearing your safety equipment as sodium hydroxide can be dangerous.
4. When both your oils/butters and lye solution have cooled to between 20-30 degrees Celsius, combine them slowly, avoiding any spills.
5. Using your hand held blender, mix the two together until it forms a light trace.
6. At this stage you can add your fragrance and colours. Be sure to pour small amounts in at a time so that if the mixture starts to seize you can combat it quickly.
7. Once everything is mixed, pour into your cupcake moulds and allow to cure for at least 48 hours.
8. Set aside a small amount of the soap base to use as sprinkles.

Preparation for frosting (24 hours before):

1. Measure all your ingredients beforehand to make the process easy and efficient.
2. Melt your oils and butters for frosting in a saucepan on a low heat or in a microwave safe container in short bursts of 10 seconds in the microwave.
3. Add your measured sodium hydroxide to your water slowly, stirring continuously until it has dissolved. Make sure you are wearing your safety equipment as sodium hydroxide can be dangerous.
4. Place your melted oils/butters and the lye solution separately in the fridge until they cool. For best results, leave overnight. The fats should be the consistency of hardened butter similar to crème frosting.
5. Using a cheese grater, grate the left over base that was set aside earlier to use as sprinkles in the final step.

Always clearly label containers containing lye, especially if leaving for extended periods in a fridge that contains food as well.

Making the frosting:

1. Once the lye solution and the oils/butter are cool enough, take your whisk and whisk up the oil/butter into a frosting like mixture.
2. Once the ‘frosting’ has been achieved, add your lye solution slowly to avoid splatters. This will make your ‘frosting’ more wet but keep whisking and it will firm up a bit over time. You want to be able to make stiff peaks with the mixture.
3. Add fragrance and any additional colours once the peaks are formed, then whisk again to incorporate them all in.
4. Now for the tricky part. You need to spoon your ‘frosting’ mixture into a piping bag. Try and make the room as cool as possible as the frosting will inevitably warm up in your hands and go gooey. I did this by opening all my windows in February. Cold!
5. Pipe the ‘frosting’ on the top of the now hard cupcake bases.
6. Spray with alcohol rub when finished and top with a little bit of the yellow base soap as sprinkles.
7. Allow to set in a cool dark place and when the day comes, surprise you mum with a wonderful homemade cupcake soap.

See this video for some help with the frosting technique.

Here is the final product ready to gift.