Whether they are store-bought or made from the box, cupcakes are a delightfully simple go-to dessert for any birthday party. Following are tips and ideas on how to take your cupcakes from blah to brilliant.
Share the Fun
Being the birthday girl or boy means you get to blow out the candles, but a truly generous host or hostess will let everyone join in the fun! A plate of cupcakes covered in candles is a quirky ode to the traditional birthday cake -- and lets every guest get a candle to lick clean.
Beautiful Birthday Cupcakes
By Kendra Smoot
Whether they are store-bought or made from the box, cupcakes are a delightfully simple go-to dessert for any birthday party. Following are tips and ideas on how to take your cupcakes from blah to brilliant.
Share the Fun
Being the birthday girl or boy means you get to blow out the candles, but a truly generous host or hostess will let everyone join in the fun! A plate of cupcakes covered in candles is a quirky ode to the traditional birthday cake -- and lets every guest get a candle to lick clean.
Seth and Kendra Smoot
The Cupcake Makeover
Making homemade cupcakes look like they're from a professional bakery is easy to do with the right tools. Using an extra large pastry tip like one of these makes beautiful mounds of frosting. Also,
gel food colorings come in much prettier shades and are easier to use then the traditional liquid kind that you find in the supermarket. To make your cupcakes extra special, try wrapping them in a paper bands with a colored string tied around them. Last, insert homemade signs that are taped to toothpicks.
Seth and Kendra Smoot
Not Just for Eating
Cupcake liners make sweet, festive decorations. Here they are transformed into a colorful garland when strung with twine. Stagger the layers by changing direction every few liners.
Seth and Kendra Smoot
Fake it, Don't Make It
If making perfect frosting decorations to top your cupcakes feels a little beyond your grasp, take a visit to the toy aisle or dollar store for inexpensive and cute toppers. This farm theme will delight young guests, and they can take home their animal as a favor.
Seth and Kendra Smoot
Eat Your Words
Making frosting decorations is a cinch if you use wax paper. Print out what you'd like to "say" -- whether it's letters or polka dots -- on a regular piece of paper. Then tape a piece of wax paper over the paper and place on a baking sheet. Mix up a batch of stiff royal icing and add color. Pipe the icing onto the wax paper using a thin tip for letters or a big tip for shapes. Freeze overnight and use an artist's trowel to lift and deposit shape onto the cupcake.
Seth and Kendra Smoot
Lovely Layers:
My best friend inspired this creation -- every time she gets a cupcake she twists it in half, breaking it into two pieces. She then turns the top upside down so that she's made a sandwich with the frosting in the middle -- now the frosting is evenly distributed from the top to the bottom! Here, I cut my cupcakes in half and then layered them with whipped cream and fruit. You can also just opt for frosting. I love the look of a high stack of three layers.
Seth and Kendra Smoot
