Cupcake Decorating Tips and Ideas

We love a spot of making but quite often our creations just don't look as beautiful as we're sure they taste. We've come up with some easy designs to make them look as scrummy as the pictures in the recipe books.

Will you try zebra-striped cupcakes? Or buttercream roses and ruffles? Look no further - follow our tips for five simple cupcake designs, to celebrate National Cupcake Week.

Zebra Print Cupcakes

These trendy cupcakes look professional but they’re quick and really simple to make. White ready-to-roll icing is available in supermarkets, but you might have to track down your local cake decorating supplier for some black icing.
 
Method:
First, dust a surface with a little icing sugar and roll out your white ready to roll icing to about 3mm thick. Spread a little jam over the top of your cooled cupcake. Next, cut rounds from the white icing using a cookie cutter and lay these over your cakes, smoothing them in place.

Next, knead the black icing for a minute or so in your hands until softened, and roll out to about 2mm thick. Using a sharp knife, cut thin, pointed strips from the icing. Lay these over the iced cake, forming zebra stripes, and cut the ends to fit. The black icing will probably stick in place on its own, but you can moisten it very slightly with a little water if you need to. Repeat for the remaining cupcakes.

Buttercream Roses

For this timeless, elegant look, all you need is a large ‘closed star’ piping nozzle, some buttercream and a piping bag. Easier to make than they look, buttercream roses look great piped onto cupcakes or used to cover a larger cake.

Method:
Prepare your buttercream icing, making sure the mixture is not too stiff. If your cupcakes have a domed top, level them out slightly with a sharp knife before you start, so you’re piping onto a flat surface.

Fill your piping bag (with a large ‘closed star’ piping nozzle attached - ours is a Wilton 2D), and start at the centre of each cupcake, piping a swirl from the centre to the outside of the cake. Once you get to the outside edge of the cake, stop squeezing the bag and lift the nozzle away in one swift movement. Repeat for the rest of your cakes.

[Try our unusual cupcake recipes]
[Mary Berry's lemon cupcakes]

Shiny Chocolate Glaze

Sometimes, you just want a simple, glossy chocolate glaze to drizzle over your cakes. Here’s how.

Method:
Gently heat 100ml single cream in a saucepan, but don’t let it boil. Roughly chop 80g dark chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. Once the cream is hot, pour onto the chocolate - it will begin to melt into the cream. Add a quarter of a teaspoon of vanilla extract and stir - the mixture will turn glossy. Leave to stand for a few minutes to cool and also thicken slightly.

Drizzle over your cupcakes using a teaspoon - don’t worry about it dribbling down the sides of the cake, honestly, no one’s going to mind.

Buttercream Ruffles

This technique uses the same nozzle as the buttercream roses, but gives a completely different effect.

Method:
Prepare your buttercream - again, as for the roses, make sure the icing isn’t too stiff and will pipe smoothly. Level off the top of your cupcakes if you need to, so you’re piping onto a flat cake. Next, fit a large ‘closed star’ nozzle (we’ve used a Wilton 2D) onto your piping bag and fill with buttercream. To decorate, start at the outside edges of your cupcake and swirl the icing inwards as you go towards the centre. When you reach the centre of your cupcake, stop squeezing the bag and lift off the nozzle in one confident, upwards movement to create a peaked top. You can then decorate with cupcake bling - we’ve used edible gold-coloured sprinkles.

The ‘Ice Cream Cone’ Swirl

A classic cupcake swirl - you’ll need a large ‘open star’ decorating nozzle for this one - we’ve used a Wilton 1M.

Method:
Fit a large ‘open star’ decorating nozzle onto your piping bag and fill with your chosen buttercream. Hold the bag so the nozzle is directly above and at a 90-degree angle to the surface of your cake, and pipe a circle around the outside, continuing to swirl into another circle towards the centre.

Once you get to the centre of your cake, give it a gentle squeeze, lift up the nozzle and release the pressure on the piping bag. Lift it away confidently and smoothly to create a little peak.

National Cupcake Week runs from 16th-22nd September 2013. For more information visit the National Cupcake Week website. Will you be baking any cupcakes this week?