Decorate cupcakes like a professional

August 14, 2009 Written by:

Thanks to trendy New York bakeries like Magnolia's, cupcakes have become popular over the past year. Tasty and undeniably cute, these treats are excellent for birthdays, celebrations or as a sweet surprise.

If you've wanted to learn just how to decorate cupcakes like a professional, these tips may help you get some ideas on how to transform a mere cake into a work of art.

First of all, check out cookbooks and sites for the right kind of icing blend. The canned frosting isn't right for this project, so it may be best to make your own. Also, grab some food coloring to craft different shades for the designs.

Professional chefs enjoy icing bags with different shaped piping tips but these can be pricey. For the casual decorator, it may be a better idea to cut the tips off sandwich bags for different-sized piped icing. You can also fashion tools from stiffer parchment paper.

Base your design around the recipients’ apostrophe preferences or the season, and don't be afraid to be creative! Flowers need not be one-dimensional, if you create a thicker frosting and applying a bit of shimmery dust with a small paintbrush can add depth.

It's easy to create faces, animals and objects on a cupcake if you cut out pieces from other cakes and build structures to conceal with frosting.