Top Tips For Cupcake Designs

Cupcakes have certainly progressed from the little tea treats that we used to bake and decorate with Mom. Today's cupcake designs are trendy and stylish, fun and humorous - just whatever takes your fancy. The secret here is to let your imagination run wild.

The following are some tips for:

Those occasions we find ourselves short of time.

• Buy ready made cupcakes from the bakery or supermarket and decorate them yourself.
• Use a ready mix packet to whip up your cupcakes.
• Use an edible writing pen for your designs instead of piping for a quick and easy solution.
• Petal paste (also known as sugar florist paste) is like ready to roll fondant and is a quick and convenient solution if time is an issue. This can be used to cut shapes.
• Pour a lot of sprinkles into a shallow dish and tip your cupcakes upside down into them.

Flavor and color for your cupcake designs.

• If you are making bright color designs and cakes make sure you always use natural food coloring as you will be using a lot of the color for brightness.
• Add a generous amount of Tia Maria or Kahlua to your frosting.
• Instant coffee or cocoa can be mixed with water to add to your icing.
• Lavender makes a pretty and unique addition to your cupcakes. The flowers can be used for decoration and are edible.
• Rose essence will add a taste of romance. Use pastel colors for the frosting.
• Use different bright colored cupcake cases in three differing sizes and place the completed cupcakes on top of each other to form a pyramid.

Cupcake gifts to take away after the party.

• Use clear circles of cellophane to wrap your cupcake and tie the top with a ribbon.
• Pack your cupcake in a small box.
• Tie a ribbon around the case of the cupcake.

There are many more ideas to use to make your cupcake designs stand out but I hope that these tips have given you food for thought. Enjoy!