DIY Cupcake Decorating: A Sweet Tutorial

Helloooooo, Lovelies!

 

Tuesday night was my first class in Wilton's Cake Decorating Course - Building Buttercream Skills!  We learned the proper techniques to use when piping stars and rosettes and by the end of the class we were able to decorate our own cupcakes!

 

In today's tutorial I will be teaching you, step-by-simple-step, how to decorate cupcakes like a professional! It could not be easier and the results are so lovely everyone will be asking you what bakery you ordered them from!

 

To decorate your cupcakes you will need:

 

Cupcakes

 

1 tub Wilton Decorator Icing

 

Icing Color Gel (any color your pretty little heart desires)

 

1 standard coupler

 

1 piping bag

 

1 #18 decorating tip

 

parchment paper

 

Scissors

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

~ TO MAKE A STAR ~

 

 

 

Step 1: Mix your Decorator icing and coloring gel until you reach your desired color.

 

Step 2: Twist the ring portion off of the coupler

 

Step 3: Cut the first 1/2 inch off of the tip of your piping bag and place the tube portion of your coupler into the piping bag (making sure it fits snuggly through the cut opening)

 

Step 4: Place your #18 decorating tip onto the tip of the coupler and secure it with the coupler ring

 

Step 4: Fill your piping bag with decorator icing

 

Step 5: Twist the top of the piping bag and slowly squeeze the icing into the tip

 

Step 6: Place the twisted portion of your piping bag between your thumb and your hand and wrap the rest your hand around the bag (holding firmly, but not squeezing)

 

Step 7: Place your piping bag directly in front of you at a 90 degree angle with the tip of the piping bag held slightly above your parchment

 

Step 8: Squeeze the bag firmly and gently until the icing comes out of the tip forming the star shape

 

Step 9: Stop squeezing and pull the piping bag straight up off of the star 

 

Step 10: Repeat until desired design is reached

 

 

~ TO MAKE A ROSETTE ~

 

 

 

 

Step 1: Make a star as directed above. However, instead of pulling the tip of the piping bag off of the star, continue squeezing bag while making a circle around all points of the star.

 

Step 2: Once a full circle has been made, stop squeezing and pull the tip of the bag off to the side of the rosette (not straight up) to finish.

 

When you are ready to take your new found cake decorating prowess from the practice parchment to the real deal... You can try this:

 

 

 

 

And the finished product will look like this...

 

 

So lovely, right?!
 

Now, you do not have to use a #18 star tip. You can use a larger tip to create one large rosette on the top of your cupcakes for a more traditional bakery icing look. It totally depends on what you prefer. Whatever tip you choose, HAVE FUN!

 

And there you have it, Darlings! Simple technique with a big impact. Try it out today!

 

 

XO,

 

~ Cristina ~