Cupcake decorating

Here are some TOP TIPS to help with your cupcake decorating!

First the icing.  You can buy royal icing ready made in a tub, but it can be expensive, here are three ways to make your own:

  

Icing sugar with lemon or orange juice

You could just use icing sugar with a few drops of lemon or orange juice.   Put about 150 grams of icing sugar into a bowl,  and add just a few drops of juice.    Stir the mixture hard with a wooden spoon.   The mixture needs to be smooth,  but still quite thick – a bit like thick yoghurt.

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Instant royal icing in a packet

Use half a packet for your twelve cakes.  Follow the instructions on the side of the pack to make your icing.   Royal icing is great for decorating cakes as it is nice and thick and sets quite hard.    It looks really good on your cake.

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Butter icing 

(This is similar to the topping used on the ‘Chocolate Easter Cakes‘.)

150 grams of soft butter

250 grams of seived icing sugar (it is seived to get out the lumps)

1 teaspoon of vanilla extract (if you have it)

a little milk

1.  Cream the butter and sugar together.  Add the vanilla extract,  if you are using it.

2.  The mixture needs to be like thick cream or yoghurt.  If it is too thick,  add a little milk.   If it is too thin,  as some more seived sugar.

You can add a little food colouring to your icing,  if you want to experiment.   But white always looks good.

Decorating ideas

This is the bit where you can go wild with your cupcakes!

White icing with a cherry on top is an absolute classic!

Dolly Mixtures look fantastic,  and you can really create some wonderful designs with the different shapes.   Dolly mixtures also look great,  when the icing is coloured pale pink or blue.

If you want to make ‘I Love You’ cupcakes, like Jazzy and Lucy in Cupcakes-R-Us,  slice the pointy top off your cake before you ice it.  This gives you a nice flat surface to work on.   Then spread a thick layer of icing onto the cake.    Make a heart shape using small chopped up pieces of bright red glace cherries.

Writing on your cupcake can be tricky because they are so small.  The best way is to let the icing set hard on your cake,  then use an icing writing kit from the supermarket (they are in the baking ingredients section and cost about £2.)

Good luck and let us know how you do!

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Cupcakes

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Cupcakes-R-Us!