Once you have taken the time to make cupcakes, why not make them extra special and beautiful by decorating them? Learning how to decorate cupcakes is easy and the only limit is your imagination.

To begin, ensure your cupcakes are completely cool. Chill your frosting for about 15 minutes. Once it has chilled, remove it from the refrigerator and with your spatula, stir it around the bowl- working out any air, making the frosting smooth. Take a large dollop of frosting and place in the middle of the cupcake then from an angle, press and pull the frosting towards you working your way around the cupcake until it is covered in frosting. There should be a peak remaining in the center of the cupcake. Take your spatula and pat down the frosting in the center of the cupcake and again work your way around it. Once you have made your way around the cupcake, with a circular motion and a flick of the wrist, give your spatula a twirl. This gives the top of the cupcake a little swirl.

You now have a bare canvas to apply anything you want. You could color flaked coconut and sprinkle that on the frosted cupcakes or you could add color to the icing before you frost the cupcakes. The color you use could be based on the season. Pastel colors for Easter (a few Jordan almonds on top of a cupcake iced in white butter cream frosting will be irresistible at Easter), red and green for Christmas, orange and black for Halloween, red, white and blue for the Forth of July, Labor Day or Memorial Day. For a baby shower you could use pink and blue frosting with a diaper pin as a topper.

Other suggestions would be to crush candy canes and sprinkle the crushed candy to the tops of the cupcakes at Christmas. Sprinkle cinnamon to the tops of the cupcakes in the fall. For Halloween, you could frost the cupcakes and then top with a wrapped piece of candy, candy corn or bubble gum giving the recipient two treats instead of one. I recently found a new product called “color mist”. Spray it on your frosted cupcakes to give them a shimmer of color. An easy way to dress up your cupcakes. You can also use different colored decorating gel to add pizzazz while decorating cupcakes. Use an edible colored marker to write a message on your cupcakes.

A light sprinkle of powdered sugar on chocolate frosting gives and extra special touch. Something as simple as M and M’s or chocolate chips can make the cupcakes special. Inserting a themed topper with colored sprinkles is another way to make cupcakes quickly and easily. Specialty baking cups can make your cupcakes stand out while using a cupcake stand can make your cupcakes a centerpiece and the talk of the party!

If you have pastry bags and tips, you can use different tips to add different designs to the cupcakes. Having pastry bags and tips give you even more flexibility when decorating cupcakes.

Once you have your cupcakes decorated, you can put them in individual cupcake boxes and give away as party favors. I don’t think anyone would turn down a cupcake to go.

Go to a cake decorating store or a craft store for more ideas and products to use in decorating your cupcakes. They carry seasonal plastic cupcake toppers with the seasons greetings such as Happy New Year, Happy St. Patrick’s Day, Happy Easter, Happy Halloween, Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah, Happy Thanksgiving, Congratulations for the graduate, etc. Silver and gold dragees are another option to add a festive finish to a delicious cupcake. All the things I have mentioned can be found in cake decorating stores or you can shop for them online.

Once you master the basics of cupcake decorating, you may want to try your hand at creating sugar paste flowers to decorate your cupcakes with. There are classes you can take online allowing you to see up close how these small blobs of sugar paste are transformed into beautiful flowers. It is truly amazing!

Now you know the basics of how to decorate cupcakes. Impress your friends and family with your cupcake decorating skills. Who knows, your cupcake decorating skills may lead you into a new career. Making other people happy with your cupcake decorating talent is a wonderful thing!