The Ultimate Guide for Decorating Cupcakes

This week it is all about cupcakes. When it comes to cupcakes, I love decorating them as much as eating them. They are so much easier than a cake. But, believe it or not, I avoided making them for a while. I am still not really sure why. However, a few years ago I wanted to take something with me for a birthday party and didn’t want to commit to making an entire cake. So I made a few cupcakes. Then the light bulbs went off, why wasn’t I making these again? Ever since I have been making them more often. You can find a few of them here including my pull apart unicorn cupcake cake.

I know I used the word ‘easy’ and they are but they can go wrong very fast. I have learned some tip and tricks while decorating cupcakes and I am going to share them with you.

Usually, when you see a cupcake the first thing you see is the frosting or the beautiful buttercream ‘swirl.’ The swirl makes it look like you spent hours decorating them or even better they are from a bakery. There are many ways to decorate a cupcake. In this ultimate guide for decorating cupcakes; learn how to decorate a cupcake like a pro. Plus, I will walk you through how to fill a piping bag, add piping tips and decorate cupcakes using three of the most popular piping tips for decorating cupcakes. Like icing on a cake (see what I did there?) As a bonus, I am going to show you how to get a two-tone effect with your frosting.

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The Ultimate Guide for Decorating Cupcakes

Materials:

Buttercream (there are multiple buttercream recipes in the ultimate buttercream guide)
Piping tips (1M, 2D, and 2A) or the Wilton cupcake decorating set
Russian piping tip (optional)
Piping bags
Spatula (offset and regular)

How to add a piping tip to a piping bag

Before we get into how to add a piping tip, let’s talk about some of the tools that are used.

Piping Bags:

There are two types of piping bags: disposable and reusable also called featherweight. Disposable bags are made out of plastic, they are more convenient and come in a variety of sizes. On the other hand, reusable piping bags are made out of cloth and can be washed and reused. The piping bag of choice is based on preference, but I prefer disposable bags for obvious reasons #nowashing.

If you are a beginner, I suggest using a smaller piping bag to get used to the feel and pressure. I use the 18-inch bags from Ateco that comes in a 100 pack.

Piping Tips/Coupler:

Piping tips come in a variety of sizes. The smaller sizes can be used with a coupler. A coupler has two parts and allows you to change piping tips without changing the bag. It has a base and a ring.

Larger tips do not use a coupler. It is important to note that the most popular piping tips used to decorate cupcakes are large tips and does not use a coupler.

Steps for adding large piping tips

Insert the piping tip inside the piping bag.
Then use a scissor to mark halfway from the bottom where the tip will sit. Then pull up the piping tip and cut off the end.
Twist the bag at the bottom at the top of the piping tip to prevent the frosting from coming out when you add the frosting.
Fill bag using a spatula using a tall glass or use your hand (see below).

How to fill the piping bag with frosting

Use a tall glass, insert the piping bag and wrap on the outside of the glass.
Then add the frosting using a spatula. To use multiple colors add frosting the side of the bag then fill the bag with the main color.
Remove the bag from the glass and shake the frosting a bit to move down. Then use your hand to pull the rest of the frosting down.
Finally, test the frosting by squeezing to get out any air pockets.

How to decorate the cupcake with a swirl

To get the popular ‘swirl’ the most popular tip used is Wilton 1M. Tip 1M is an open star tip that is used to make zigzags, shells, rosettes and the swirl. Please excuse the poor lighting on the photos.

Hold the piping bag straight up, with the tip above the surface of your cupcake. Make sure the piping tip is not touching the cupcake.
Then begin squeezing the piping bag to form the center. Use your left hand to help keep the piping bag straight. Without releasing pressure, raise the tip up then pipe using a circular motion until it connects to the starting point.
After the first section is complete keep the pressure and move the tip towards the middle and repeat the circular motion.
When you get to the desired height stop squeezing and pull the tip away. Remember to keep your hand straight at all times.

How to decorate the cupcake with a rosette

To pipe a rosette I like to use Wilton 2D tip.

Hold the piping straight up a little bit above the top of the cupcake.
Then begin squeezing to form the center. Very similar to the swirl you are going to make a C.
Without releasing pressure continue all around until you get to the edge of the cupcake.
Finish by releasing pressure.

How to pipe a swirl using Wilton Tip 1A

After adding the frosting hold the tip above the top of the cupcake and begin the center.
Then in a C motion begin piping.
Lift up the piping tip and pipe another row until you are comfortable with the height.
Then release pressure.

How to get a two-tone effect/three tone

There are a few ways to get a two-tone/three-tone effect: (1) use two piping bags with different colors (2) striping the bag see above (add frosting or gel color to the side of the bag, (3) use the Wilton color swirl 3 color coupler and (4) using the method below with cling wrap and adding frosting to the piping bag.

Add frosting to a piece of cling wrap
Then add the second color to in the center.
Roll the cling wrap very tight, twist the ends and cut off one end. Add to the piping bag all the way to the bottom and begin piping. I used this for the Russian piping tip.
Final result Russian piping tip.
Two-tone effect using Tip 2D