Cup cake gurus i need your help please....

[nobodysfool]

Hello,
I want to make some really pretty cup cakes- the kind with big swirls of frosting on top and edible glitter etc.
What do i make the topping out of and what kind of piping bag is best?
Any advice is great.
Thank you

I use soft butter cream icing for mine and use a piping bag with a double stitched seam and a fat zigzag nozzle (plain round nozzles make chocolate icing look like a dog poo! )The double stitched seam piping bags cost a bit more but are worth the extra as cheaper one split and ooze from the seams very wasily. I bought my bag and nozzles seperately fom a local cake decorating shop.

Or if you want to cheat, the Betty Thing Creamy Frosting you can buy in Tesco is very good - my ungrateful children like it better than my particularly delicious butter cream!

Chocolate icing, a single Minstrel and gold glitter looks fab.

Sorry if I am teaching my grandmother to etc etc - please ignore me, but it it very easy to make rosebuds out of ready made fondant icing. A little press thing to make leaves is a brilliant investment - I'll do a link if you don't know what I mean.

3 leaves, one rosebud and glitter.

And chocolate icing, a jelly worm and red glitter is good for a laugh!

cream cheese frosting is delicious, at work atm so don't have recipe book to give you recipe. But google will bring up loads of recipes.

Would recommend the Hummingbird bakery cook book, 'tis awesome, and very simple. The Red Velvet cupcakes are fab.

oopsandbabycoconut - will have a look for a double stitched one and will take your advice on the dog poo attachment, not a great look with choc topping

Seeker - I love the Betty C frosting but i really wanted to do it from scratch....though it prob would taste better.
Love the ideas....making my mouth water.I'm the queen of baking muffins but and a ccomplete novice at cup cake toppings so your advice is great.If you get time could you show me the leaf press gadget and how would i make a rose bud?Circles of icing pressed with thumb to make the petal shape then joined together?

Have had a look at the hummingbird book, looks great many thanks .

Best Frosting recipe that is my never fail is:

100g unsalted butter
200g cream cheese
600g icing sugar

Simply beat and add food colouring if you like. Or some nutela/cocoa powder for choc flavoured. Does taste better than Betty Crocker promise!

Ooh and forgot to add lemon zest/juice or curd for lemon frosting, vanilla essence for plain, or orange zest/juice (tablespoon) for orange, strawberry jam for strawberry etc. The above should make only about 8 cupcakes as the big swirly look uses loads of frosting!

You could also put melted chocolate into frosting, or a grated lemon zest and juice or the same for an orange or a lime. You could put some coconut in the lime one.

To do a rosebud, all you need is a few small circles of fondant icing. Get your first one and sort of curl it around itself, get the next one and put the middle of that against the seam of the first one and curl it round and then just carry on until you have the desired effect, sort of fanning the edges out a little as you go along. I would just nip the end off at the bottom with a knife to make it look neat and then stick it into the butter cream/frosting.

x-posts grovebuster!

www.marthastewart.com/recipe/swiss-meringue-buttercream-frosting Best Frosting

www.marthastewart.com/photogallery/fancy-cupcakes

For inspiration

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WOW- thank you all these look great!!!!
Can't wait to try making these.