Lemon Cold Process Soap Cupcakes DIY

Make the Lemon Embeds

ONE: Disperse 1/2 teaspoon of Yellow Lip Safe Mica into 1/2 Tablespoon 99% isopropyl alcohol. Mix to combine. Cut 2 oz. of LCP Clear Melt and Pour Base in small chunks and melt in a heat-safe container on 5 second bursts. Melting on short bursts ensures the soap doesn’t burn. Read more about burnt melt and pour here. Add all the dispersed Yellow Lip Safe Mica colorant, and stir to combine.

TWO: Carefully pour the soap into the cavities, filling only until the citrus design is covered. Spritz with 99% isopropyl alcohol to disperse any bubbles, and allow to fully cool and harden. This will take about 1-2 hours. Once hardened, pop out each embed and set aside until later.

Make the Base

If you’ve never made Cold Process soap before, stop here! I highly recommend checking out our FREE four part SoapQueen.tv series on Cold Process Soapmaking, especially the episode on lye safety. And if you’d rather do some reading, Bramble Berry carries a wide range of books on the topic, including my newest book, Pure Soapmaking. You can also checkout the digital downloads for that instant gratification factor.

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 1 teaspoon Yellow Lip Safe Mica into 1 tablespoon of light liquid oil.

ONE: Slowly and carefully add the lye to the water and gently stir until the lye has fully dissolved and the liquid is clear. Set aside to cool.

TWO: Combine the sweet almond oil, coconut oil, olive oil, palm oil and shea butter (remember to fully melt then mix your entire container of palm oil before portioning). Once the lye water and the oils have cooled to 130 degrees or below (and are ideally within 10 degrees of each other), add the lye water to the oils and stick blend until you reach a light trace. If you’d like a harder bar of soap that releases faster from the mold, you can add sodium lactate to the cooled lye water. Use 1 teaspoon of sodium lactate per pound of oils in the recipe. For this recipe, you’d add about 1 tsp. sodium lactate.

THREE: Add 1 tbs. of the dispersed Yellow Mica and 0.2 ounces of the Lemon Verbena Yankee Type Fragrance Oil. Use a whisk to stir both ingredients in thoroughly.

FOUR: If your soap is still extremely thin, pulse the mixture with the stick blender for several seconds to thicken slightly. Pour the batter into each cavity. Tap the mold on the counter to help even out the soap and get rid of any bubbles.

Make the Frosting

SAFETY FIRST: Suit up for safe handling practices! That means goggles, gloves and long sleeves. Make sure kids, pets, and other distractions and tripping hazards are out of the house or don’t have access to your soaping space. Always soap in a well-ventilated area.

LYE & OIL PREP: In order to get soapy frosting to actually look like frosting, the lye and oils must be very cold. We recommend making the lye water a full day ahead of time, clearly labeling it (*poison* *danger* *do not drink!*) and keeping it in a refrigerator not used for food. Alternately, you can use frozen water (eh hem: ice) to add your lye flakes to but the lye will still need to cool down. The lye should be around 60 degrees F before adding it to the oils. Additionally, you want your oils to be around 70 degrees F. You can even refrigerate them for several hours too! They should be semi-solid at this temperature. If your oils become completely solid, don’t worry. Soap frosting can be created with solid oils as well.

COLOR PREP: Disperse 2 teaspoons of Yellow Lip Safe Mica into 2 tablespoons of light liquid oil.

ONE: Whip the oils into a soft consistency. Slowly pour a small amount of the lye into the whipped oils, and use a spoon to incorporate. Be super careful not to splash any lye at this point before the lye water is fully incorporated into the hardened, slushy, cool oils. Continue to add a small amounts of the lye water to the oils, and slowly and carefully mix it in. Take your time with this process!

TWO: Once the lye has been incorporated into the oils (this can take a few minutes), turn the hand mixer or stand mixer on low. Whip oils until a fluffy, frosting texture is achieved. Scrape any batter that has splattered on the side of the container and then turn the mixer to a medium setting. Continue to whip for several minutes.

THREE: Once the lye and oils are completely combined, add 0.3 ounces of the Lemon Verbena Yankee Type Fragrance Oil. Incorporate the fragrance oil with a spoon or spatula first until mixed, then turn on the mixer on low and whip the ingredients together until completely combined.

FOUR: Split the frosting in half, and add all of the dispersed Yellow Lip Safe Mica. Use a spatula or whisk to fully mix in the colorant.

FIVE: Cut off about a half inch from the tip of the frosting bag and push the tip through. Scoop two frosting colors into opposite sides of the bag until full. You will have some frosting left over, and will need to fill the bag again during the frosting process.

SIX: Squeeze out some of the frosting until both colors come out of the bag. Squeeze a dollop of frosting in the center of each cupcake.

SEVEN: Pipe the frosting up and around the center of each cupcake until you form a peak.

EIGHT: Place a lemon embed into the top of each cupcake. Immediately place the cupcakes into the fridge or freezer. This helps the frosting stay firm and prevents it from melting. Remove the cupcakes from the fridge or freezer after several hours or overnight. Allow the cupcakes to stay in the mold for 2-3 days. Carefully remove each soap from the mold, and allow to cure for 4-6 weeks. Enjoy!