Easiest Cupcake Decorations Ever!

Although this Betty Crocker tutorial has just got to be the quickest and easiest decorating technique ever, the finished cupcakes are soooo sweet, either with or without the candles! And you need no special equipment, only a pair of scissors.

And while we're on the subject of easy decorating techniques, marshmallows and scissors here's another easy peasy way to make fabulous cupcakes, this time courtesy of a luvtodeco tutorial...

With tutorials as easy as these there's simply no excuse not to have a go yourself, so go and have fun!

Marshmallow Fondant

After discovering this exciting, easy-to-follow tutorial from Clockwork Lemon another thing to add to by ever-growing list of things to do is to make marshmallow fondant.  One of the comments on Clockwork Lemon says, 'I love how marshmallow fondant is so smooth and yummy, it really makes baking of all kinds look sophisticated!'.  Hmmm, enough said... sold to the girl who loves cupcakes!

Fondant Cupcake (and Cookie!) Toppers

As you know, I'm always on the lookout for new ideas and cupcakey inspiration, so you can imagine how much my eyes lit up when I saw these cupcake pretties!  At first I couldn't figure out whether they'd been piped, or moulded, but then, ooooh the excitement of it... I found a tutorial that shows exactly how it's done. So, thank you, thank you, thank you  Bakerella  for sharing this amazingly simple but stunningly effective technique!

You can use the same technique to decorate cookies too, just like the heart-breakingly beautiful ones below!

Vintage Ruffle Cupcake Tutorial

It's Friday again, and if like me you're thinking of trying out a new decorating technique over the weekend, this  Jessicakes tutorial is just perfect! Not only do you learn the secret of how to make these beautiful vintage ruffle cupcakes but there are also links to show you how to make your own modelling chocolate so that the ruffles are extra yummy... at first I thought that they were made from sugar paste and was delighted to find that they're actually chocolate!  In my opinion a girl can never have too many cupcakes, or too much chocolate!

Mini Ruffle Cake Tutorial

I've always wondered how they make those yummy-looking mini cakes.  And, I've been curious about tall cupcakes too.  And while I'm on the subject I've also been wondering about buttercream ruffles.  And now, thanks to this fabulous The Happy Home tutorial, I know about all of them.  How cool is that??  

The next challenge is to try my hand at making my own mini ruffle cake, although I can't promise it'll be as pretty as this one!

Swiss Meringue Buttercream Demystefied

I don't know about you, but the only buttercream I've made myself is the standard mix of icing sugar and butter, and I'm not even very adventurous with that... I use the recipe on the back of the icing sugar box! And goodness me, the mess that it makes... clouds of icing sugary dust everwhere!  I've heard about Swiss Meringue Buttercream (I think I saw it on the Great British Bake Off) but it sounded a bit complicated....so, you can imagine how delighted I was when I came across this amazing Sweetapolita tutorial!  Now  I'm really, REALLY tempted to try it for myself as it sounds (and looks!) delicious!

Even if you're not tempted to try the Swiss Meringue Buttercream you should still check out Sweetpolita's blog, it's absolutely full to the brim with recipes, hints & tips... and LOTS of sweet inspiration!

Another cupcakey secret revealed!

If you like the cupcakey secrets you're sure to like this!   In her simple and helpful video Plushcup reveals just how easy it is to do the lovely ruffly buttercreamy cupcakey frostingy thing.  But be warned, it is quite time-consuming... it's going to take you all of 36 seconds!  But with a bit of practise you might be able to make cupcakes as lovely as the ones below, as made by the amazing Cupcakes under Cover.  

So, what you need to do is... bake some cupcakes, whizz up a batch of yummy butercream, get your Wilton 2D ready to rock, follow Plushcup's tutorial and prepare to be amazed! 

Ribbon Rose Tutorial

When you first see these beautiful ribbon roses you can't help but think 'how do they do that??'  Well, thanks to this fabulous tutorial put together and shared by the hugely talented Isabelle from The Designer Cake Company we now know.  So, a big thank you to Isabelle for sharing her amazing skills and showing us in easy-peasy steps how we can make these lovely ribbon roses for ourselves.  And now to get practising!

Video 'How to' - 4 buttercream icing techniques

It's easy to see why Xanthe Milton's excellent You Tube tutorial has had over 1.2 million views!  In under 7 minutes Xanthe will show you 4 different buttercream icing techniques to make your cupcakes ultra-fabulous.  Although she mentions the importance of the nozzle for the 'rose' cupcake Xanthe doesn't spell out which nozzle it is that she uses - either a 2D or a 1M (both from Wilton) would do the job. And for the '60's swimming hat' you could try a Wilton 6D!

If you like Xanthe's style you might like to check out her book, 'Eat Me: The Stupendous Self-Raising World of Cupcakes and Bakes According to Cookie Girl', available from Amazon for £9.90 including delivery. Everything about the book is beautiful, from the shocking pink cover to the photos inside. Divided into Seasons and Finishes (it also has a Parties section!) Eat Me is filled with original ideas and creations including French Toast cupcakes, Jack Daniels cupcakes and 99 Cones with Flakes.  It gets 4.5 starts out of 5 from 41 reviews - and rightly so!

A helping hand

When you're just starting out on your cupcake decorating adventures the terminology, not to mention the choices available, all seem a bit overwhelming. Open star, closed star, petal tube, open circular. What does it all mean??  So you can imagine how pleased we were when we found the Cake Craft World Guide to Piping Cupcakes.  In pdf format it's easy to understand and has lots of great easy to follow diagrams... I suggest you print off a copy and keep it close at hand when you're looking for a helping hand!

Ssshhh, it's a secret!

You know the cupcakes that are iced with buttercream so that they look like a rose?  Yes, the ones that look as though they must be incredibly difficult to do!  Well, ssshhhh, don't tell anyone that you know this, but... they're really easy peasy.  You don't believe it?  Well, just click on the picture below and in just 20 seconds you'll know exactly how it's done.  

When you come to try it for yourself you'll need buttercream, an icing bag (a disposable one is fine) and a Wilton 2D nozzle (available from Amazon, Ebay and just about any cake decorating supplier, you'll find lots just by Googling 'Wilton 2D').  And then all you need is a little bit of practice!  And if you can resist telling everyone just how easy it is they'll be seriously impressed!