There’s nothing to fear from these invading aliens – they look very friendly, and kids will love their three goggly eyes and spaceships studded with colourful candy-coated chocolate sweets.
1 Cover the cupcakes with the space background (see blast off).
2 For the spaceship, roll out the white sugarpaste to 3mm (1⁄8in) thick using spacers. Use the largest cutter from the circle cutter set to cut a circle. Use the same cutter to cut about 1.5cm (5⁄8in) inside the outer edge for the outer part of the spaceship, then trim the ends. For the bubble part where the alien sits, use the no. 4 circle cutter to cut a circle, then use the largest cutter to trim off the bottom third of the circle. Position the two parts together on the cake.
3 For the alien, roll an 8g (1⁄4oz) ball of the lime green paste into an oval shape and flatten slightly with your fingers into place to make a head. Roll another smaller ball to form the top part of the body and smooth into place, trimming if required. Roll a teardrop shape, then use your fingers to smooth into a trumpet-shaped horn (or why not create lots!) and insert the handle of a paintbrush into the end. Attach to the head.
4 For the smile, use the open end of the piping tube to indent a curve and then a cocktail stick (toothpick) at either end to give it definition.
5 Stick the sweets and edible eyes in place, then sprinkle the cakes with edible shimmering flakes.
