Cupcake Decorating Ideas
Gone are the days of boring cupcakes! Here are some cupcake decorating ideas for beginners that are easy to do and use materials you might already have laying around your kitchen. Become your own Cake Boss and elevate your cupcake decorating beyond the typical boring swirl of frosting with these eight cupcake decorating ideas.
1. Get Creative With Melting Chocolate
Melting chocolate is a versatile cupcake topper that can add whimsy to any cupcake! Order your favorite shaped molds online, such as mermaid tails, animals, or shapes, or get creative and use different items around your house as molds to see what fun shapes you can come up with. Whether you are decorating cupcakes for a birthday party, holiday get-together, or just because, topping your cupcake with melting chocolate is always a creative and delicious idea!
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2. Top Your Cupcake with Candy
A great cupcake decorating idea for kids is to top your cupcake with candy! There are endless options and you are sure to find a candy that fits any theme. Top summer cupcakes with fruit wedges, a chocolate-lovers cupcake with chocolate squares, or add some color to the top of a funfetti cupcake with your favorite flavor of gummy bear. If you are feeling adventurous, you can even mix crushed candy into your buttercream, such as crushed Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups or candy canes!
3. Think Outside of the Box
Decorating cupcakes does not have to be difficult and if you think outside of the box, there are most-likely items currently in your pantry or fridge that you can use to decorate cupcakes in a pinch. An adorable example of this is using pretzel sticks and a marshmallow to build a campfire cupcake. Chocolate-covered raisins and nuts are great for adding a sweet and salty flavor to your cupcake. A fun summer cupcake decorating idea is using fresh fruit, like strawberries, banana slices, or berries. The possibilities are endless, so get creative with what you have at home!
4. Have Fun With Fondant
Fondant is a great cupcake decorating idea because you can essentially make anything out of it. You can add small fondant details to your cupcakes, such as these Disney cupcakes, or you can sculpt larger shapes out of fondant, such as your child’s favorite animal, character, or food. Mold it with your hands or use a fondant tool. Use pre-colored fondant or get creative and create your own color with white fondant and food coloring gels. Let your imagination run wild and you will never have to wonder what to decorate cupcakes with again!
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5. Top Your Cupcake With a Cookie
The only thing better than a cupcake is a cupcake topped with a cookie! This is one of the simplest and tastiest cupcake topper ideas. We love adding colorful chocolate-covered animal crackers with sprinkles to the top of our funfetti cupcakes and Oreo cupcakes are always a hit! Just like with candy, you can also mix crushed cookies into your frosting to make a fun flavored buttercream or add a sprinkle of crushed cookies to top off your cupcake.
6. Add a Dash of Sprinkles
An easy cupcake decorating idea is to add a basic frosting swirl and top it with a dash of sprinkles. Sprinkles are also a fun and easy way to get kids involved in the decorating process! Get creative and make your own sprinkle mixes by combining a variety of shapes and colors. Try out jimmies, nonpareils, sanding sugar, and quins! There are endless possibilities and sprinkles add a pop of color that will elevate any boring white cupcake. |
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7. Make Flowers Out of Frosting
Creating buttercream flowers might seem daunting for beginner cupcake decorators, however, with a little practice, this technique can be one of the most fun and rewarding cupcake decorating ideas. There are various piping techniques to create roses, sunflowers, cacti, and other types of flowers. If you are looking for a place to start, Sweetology is offering a Cakes N’ Cocktails class on September 16th or September 18th where you will learn how to create Fall Flower Cupcakes. |
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8. Add Sugar Decons
Sugar decons are a great decorating idea for kids because they can participate in choosing the decons as well as placing them on the cupcakes themselves. Whether you are creating a scene on top of your cupcake that incorporates the sugar decon or you are just topping a basic frosting swirl, decons are a fun, easy, and cost-effective solution for elevating basic cupcakes. Sugar decons are included in all Sweetology cupcake and cookie decorating kits with options such as unicorns, dinosaurs, sports, animals, and aliens just to name a few, and they can also be bought individually at our store.
If you are interested in decorating cupcakes without the mess, visit Sweetology for daily in-store decorating or join us for one of our kids’ decorating classes or decorating classes for adults to learn specific cupcake decorating techniques. You can also purchase a do-it-yourself cupcake decorating kit to practice your cupcake decorating skills or play Cupcake Wars at home. If you are searching for a fun activity for friends, family, or colleagues, book a birthday party, team-bonding event, or Nailed It! party to decorate cupcakes together and receive cupcake decorating tips and tricks from our expert Sweetologists.
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