How to Glamorize/ Dress Up your Cupcake | How To Create Designs Without a Piping Bag

Decorating your cupcake is really up to your own creativity and imagination. You are free to put anything on top of your cupcake to decorate it and make it look stunningly attractive!

1. Find a good cupcake recipe and practice

There are so many factors that affect baking results – the ingredients, the climate, the altitude, the kind of oven you use, the size of your baking pan … …

Hence it’s a good idea to find a recipe from a trustworthy source and keep practicing it until you are happy with the results. You may alter the ingredients after every round of practice to get your perfect recipe; if your cupcakes rise too much, then use a little less baking powder next time, if they are too flat then add a bit more.

2. Prepare the frosting

There are a wide variety of frosting that you can choose from ranging from butter frosting to cream cheese frosting.

Butter Frosting

Butter frosting is the go-to frosting for cupcakes and cakes. The simple mixture of butter, powdered sugar, and milk is easy to make and is suitable for frosting and piping.

Buttercream Frosting

Buttercream frosting is a classic frosting made with sugar, butter, and eggs or egg whites. Buttercream has a silky smooth texture and it spreads easily and pipes beautifully.

Ganache

Ganache is a mixture of whipping cream and melted chocolate. Cupcakes can be dipped in warm ganache for a silky smooth glaze. Or the ganache can be cooled to a spreading consistency and used as frosting.

Powdered Sugar Icing

Powdered sugar icing is a thin mixture of powdered sugar and milk or other liquid. Cupcakes can be dipped in the icing, or you can use it as a drizzle.

Cream Cheese Frosting

Cream cheese frosting is best known as the topping for carrot and red velvet cakes, but this tangy frosting is also good with spice cakes, apple cakes, and other chocolate cakes. The soft, creamy frosting spreads easily and can be swirled into peaks. Cupcakes that are frosted with cream cheese needs to be kept in the refrigerator.

Pre-made Frosting

Canned frostings are an easy alternative to homemade frostings, and they're available in creamy and whipped varieties and in many flavors. Whipped frosting is fluffy and easy to spread and swirl. Creamy-style frosting can be warmed and used as a glaze or coating. Both kinds of frosting can be tinted and piped.

3. Adding colour/ flavour to the frosting

If you're piping a frosting that you plan to tint, you may want to divide the frosting into two or more portions so you can leave one portion untinted and tint the remaining portions with either paste or liquid food coloring. To tint frosting, use paste, gel, or liquid food colorings.

Paste/gel food coloring

Paste and gel food colorings are very concentrated, so you need only a little bit for optimal results. To use, twirl a toothpick in the coloring and then in the frosting. Mix well and see how you like the color. Add more food coloring, a little at a time, until you obtain the desired color.

Liquid food coloring

Liquid food colorings are more diluted than paste, so the frosting will be less vivid. Liquid coloring is easy to use. Stir in drops of coloring until you achieve the desired hue.

Adding Flavor

Use extracts and flavorings to add flavour to the frosting. Besides vanilla and almond extract, look for peppermint, rum, raspberry, banana, and cherry. Or add a splash of liqueur to the frosting. For citrus frostings, add finely shredded lemon, lime, or orange peel, and replace the milk with lemon, lime, or orange juice.

4. Decorate your cupcake

Decorating your cupcake is one of the most interesting part of the whole baking process as you get to let your creative juices flow. Let the cupcakes cool completely first before starting on the frosting as you do not want your frosting to melt.

Here are some ways to decorate your cupcake (NO piping tips and bags needed!)

Spike Effect

1. Smear a generous helping of icing on the cupcake using a butter knife. Don't worry about making it look nice.
2. Take your clean finger and dab down on the icing, then lift it up to create a little spike.
3. Continue to dab, dab, dab until the cupcake is covered with little points.

Swirl Effect

1. Smear a generous helping of icing on the cupcake using a butter knife. Don't worry about making it look nice.
2. Take your finger, and starting on the outside of the cupcake swirl it around in a circle towards the inside. You might need to do that step twice to get a defined swirl showing up. This creates a casual, floral look for cupcakes.
3. Add fancy sprinkles or small flower sugars to make the cupcake look nicer and to cover up any untidiness of the swirl.

Criss-Cross Effect

1. Smear a generous helping of icing on the cupcake using a butter knife. Don't worry about making it look nice.
2. Smooth the icing out a little and then use the tip of your index finger to make three or four horizontal stripes on the icing. Rotate the cupcake 90 degrees and make another three or four horizontal stripes that cross over your first set.
3. Use toothpicks to draw the lines for a more defined pattern

How to pipe using a Zip-Lock bag

Simple Circle

1. Fill the Ziploc bag with icing and close the top. Use scissors to snip off one corner of the bag, about 1 cm wide.
2. Using two hands, one near the top to push the icing downwards and one near the opening to guide the icing along, hold the opening 1/2 inch up from the cupcake so that the frosting is not squashed as it comes out. Slowly pipe out a swirl while keeping the tip lifted from the previously piped icing.
3. At the top of the frosting, lift the Ziploc bag straight up to create a little point.

5. Decorating Cupcakes

Here are some decorations you can consider using for the cupcake:

• Nonpareils are tiny crunchy balls made from sugar.Available in mixed or single colors and can be used as simple toppers or to create elaborate designs.
• Decorating sugars/ sanding sugars, are a coarser grain than granulated sugar and available in many colors. Sparkling sugar has an elongated grain and has been treated to give extra shimmer. Alternatively, you can color plain granulated or coarse sugar with liquid food coloring.
• Edible glitter adds shimmer to frosted cupcakes and is available in various colors.
• Jimmies/sprinkles, are tiny cylindrical decorations. Look for them in single or mixed colors.
• Confetti refers to the flat colorful decorations made from sugar and found in a variety of colors, sizes, and shapes.

Candy Decorations you can use:

• Tiny candies such as miniature candy-coated chocolate pieces, chocolate-covered raisins, and small jelly beans can be arranged to make borders
• Fruit rolls and fruit leathers can be cut with scissors into different kinds of shapes. They also can be cut into thin strips and tied in knots or bows or twisted into shapes.
• Thin strips of licorice can be used as borders or outlines, and they can be braided or knotted.
• Gumdrops and jellied candies come in beautiful jewel-like colors. Use them as a simple topper, or roll them flat and cut into desired shapes.
• Taffy-type candies can also be rolled flat, but they're easier to work with if softened for 1 to 3 seconds in the microwave.
• Large candies, such as peppermint sticks and other flavored stick candies or lollipops, can add height to cupcakes and serve as accent pieces or to hold up tiny messages, signs, or other decorative elements.