can anyone tell me how to ice cup/fairy cakes so they look nice and fancy

[MarthaFarquhar]

and not like my 2 year old made them?

I have no problems baking, but can't ice for toffee. I would like to make an OK magazine WAG wedding heap of cupcakes for DH's birthday. I would like an icing recipe, plus patronising instructions on how to get them looking smart. thanks.

Well, I use equal parts butter and icing sugar, put it in a freezer bag, cut the corner so there's a hole about 1cm across and pipe the icing in a circular fashion.

You can get proper icing piping bags with fancy nozzles which look good too.

1: go to lakeland
2: Buy rosette icing nozzle and icing bag
3: Fill bag with butter cream - equal parts of butter icing and icing sugar, mixed togteher til fluffy. drop of flavouring if required eg: vanilla essence or orange juice, drop of food colouring of choice. and then ice in a sort of spiral. top with dragees or whatever you fancy.

Go to Lakeland and buy a box of disposable paper piping bags and a set of reusable nozzles.

Make cream cheese icing by beating Philadelphia cheese with an electric hand beater, adding icing sugar to taste and some grated orange peel to flavour. Pipe this mixture on top of your cupcakes. Put a sugar rose in the middle (where the join is). They will look lovely!

ooh - ta.

is a rosette nozzle one with bits cut out? no lakeland here - will sainsburys have one?

how much icing to cover a dozen little cakes?

Lakeland does mail order. Probably internet too.

if worse comes to worst, sainsbury's will sell Supercook ready made tubes of icing in tubes with changeble nozzles (one writing nozzle, one rosette. You can use the nozzle with a tough plastic food bag as an icing bag) it will be messy but is do-able.
Or just use the tube (is not butter icing though, just 'normal')

I've done the rosette nozzle thing to great effect and I'm really hamfisted with cake decorating.

IIRC 4oz butter plus the right amount of icing sugar did 8 muffin size cakes - it's a bit trial and error but the butter and sugar will keep so best to buy plenty.

Have you a cake decorating shop near you, or any sort of plastic box/household shop? You need quite a decent size star nozzle - the sort you might use for piping cream, I used a reusable icing bag.

Coloured icing looks good with contrasting mini smarties or other decorations.

Gorgeous buttercream frosting:

500g icing sugar
110g butter
60ml semi-skimmed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

Blend all the ingredients together (adding the icing sugar gradually).

There is a great website called www.craftcompany.co.uk that sells beautiful sugar flowers and things that you can use to finish them off.

oh I'm beyond shite at this even with every fancy piping nozzle known to man.

I now use a palette knife to smooth it on like these lovely reindeer cupcakes

for some reason I cannot handle supercook normal icing.
all coordination leaves me and I am transported back to getting an F in grammar school art classes.

blithe and laurie - am relieved to find out that I'm not the only one to find icing a challenge. I know that sainsbo's sells all the cute flower/dragee bits, so I just need the piping gear/palette knife.

Ooh, Just came across this webpage which might help you!

msrisotto, webpage?

I have a different method. I buy the fondant icing (from the supermarket - comes in a powder like icing sugar). You mix with a little water and a drop or two of food colouring until it is thick, but pourable. Pour onto the top of the cupcakes (make sure they haven't risen so high as you need the edge of the case to hold the icing on). While it is still wet, put on your decorations. It dries to a soft, but totally smooth and shiny surface. Very effective and no pipping bag or pallate knife needed. Fondant is tasty too.

Duh! I'm so silly! Here:
www.cakedecoratingideasfree.com/cupcake-decorating-ideas

thanks- link looks good. will watch the video now.

Also, the ready-made fondant icing in a box (not the rolly-out sort, the mix you get) is good for a v. smooth appearance - just put an elastic band around the cupcake case before 'flooding' the top of the cake as this will stop the case from coming away with the weight of the icing. Gives a flawless finish.

Then when it's almost dry, you can stick on the fancy icing flowers etc.

Lakeland do this set which is great for cupcake icing with buttercream (do use milk to loosen the mixture, if it's just icing sugar and butter it'll be too stiff to pipe properly) as the nozzles are MAHOOSIVE!

Another thing if you're not into icing that looks good is to do a swirl of something in the mixture before baking - ie a teaspoon or so of warm Jam, or Dulce de Leche/Chocolate sauce/whatever you fancy - and swirl it into the cake mix with the point of a skewer - looks really effective!

And this is an absolutely gorgeous recipe for cupcake icing - I use it on loads of stuff, not just the Cappucino Cupcakes it was intended for.

If you type cupcake decorating into videojug there are loads of videos as well.

thanks for all the advice.
I had a moment of serendipity on the way to sainsbo's. I went a different way because of the snow and found a ropey looking but very well stocked sugarcraft shop .

I was duly issued with a bag, four nozzles, a pot of edible glitter and words of advice by the shopkeeper, and am now very excited about getting started this afternoon. drinkerbell, i think I will give your recipe a go.

the lady in the shop apparently had a killer recipe involving chocolate frosting and Tia Maria for when I've practised a bit more.

it worked! thanks all. the icing was a bit too wet, but I'll sort that out next time. and does anyone have a recipe for choc cupcakes with choc butter icing please ?

choc butter icing is same recipe as butter icing but use a tablespoon of cocoa powder with the icing sugar...

choc cupcakes are same recipe as normal cupcakes but substitute 25g of flour for cocoa powder.. add some choc chips if you like. or white choc chips.. just play around,