Hello! Although I have browsed through this ever so useful website for some time....I have not posted in a very long time, and am hoping to glean some wisdom from you all!

I am wanting to do a bubble guppies cake (and possibly cupcakes as well) but I have zero experience in fondant which is what most of the cakes I have seen online use. I will have to use buttercream to frost and am trying to decide which is the best for decorations.

I did some RI toppers last week for a bunch of princess cupcakes....and since it was my first time, I messed up a bunch of them before I got the hang of it. I think I finally got the idea of how it works.

I have never done chocolate (candy melts) before, but I have read that they may actually hold up better (less breakage??)

As for FBCT, I have also never done this, but have watched a few tutorials and it looks like it may be fun....but for cupcakes, probably not so great?

Anyway, any input for you wiser and more experienced "cakers" would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

You could certainly do FBCT on cupcakes. I would just do one character on each cupcake. You could make a circle template that will fit on top of your cupcake and pipe the character inside that circle. Fill in the blank spaces with white or whatever color frosting you want to use. Light blue would be like the water. 

Or you could take that method and use royal icing to make the toppers. Once they're dry, peel them off and stick them on top of the frosted cupcake! 

AThank you for responding! So, would you consider either method easier than the other? My worst fear regarding RI is breakage, but with the FBCT I fear it would smudge and end up looking like a big blur!

I think you'll be fine with the royal icing. It will be thick enough after you make your topper. I would just do the same thing with that...maybe make a small circle, put on the character just as you would the FBCT method. Then fill in the back with a solid color so it will have a background. It will be thick enough where it shouldn't break. Just be sure to use a nonstick paper or those clear sheet protectors. If you use those, it will take a little longer to dry. 

A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3126659/width/200/height/400[/IMG] This is one of the princess RI toppers I made last weekend........ I probably made at least 20 but was only able to use about 6!! :( lots of breakage! I read that possibly adding glycerin to the mix will make it a bit less "brittle"? Is this true?

AI have no clue about the glycerin. I know glycerin attracts moisture so it helps things to not dry out as fast. You can add it to buttercream and fondant.

Anyone out there with advice?