Restaurant Recipe Reviews

Cupcake decorating is fun and easy once you get familiar with the basics. One of the biggest advantages of making cupcakes versus making a whole cake is that you can have much more fun with these bite-size morsels by getting creative with your frosting ideas.

Before you do, you should know some basics about frosting and other edible cupcake toppers. The best way to learn is through experience, trial and error are the greatest teachers when it comes to baking and decorating cupcakes.

Glazes

Buttercream Frostings

Buttercream frosting is made by blending together butter, powdered sugar, liquid, and other flavoring. The powder sugar helps stabilize the mixture and easily dissolves during the beating process. It is favored because of ease in making, and because the more you beat this mixture, the creamier and fluffier your results are.

Cooked Frosting

Whipped Cream Frosting

As the name implies, whipped cream frosting is made of whipped cream instead of butter with powdered sugar and other flavorings. With this frosting, mix the mixture until the frosting separates from the beater when pulled out. To maintain consistency, this mixture should be refrigerated.

Cooked Frosting

Cooked Frosting – Basically cook flour and milk together, stir constantly until thick and then let cool. Use a double boiler for even and slow cooking. This type of frosting needs to be consumed within the first 24 hours because as they last longer, the frosting will lose its body and shape.

Whipped Cream Frosting – is made from ready made heavy cream, sugar, flour and vanilla. You can also substitute cream cheese here. Once you have combined all the ingredients, mix thoroughly and chill, then beat well until you get that fluffy and smooth consistency.

Ganache

Fondant – is again made from sugar, glucose and water. This is often being colored and being used as dough for cake/cupcake designs.

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Marzipan – is alike in texture and purpose of the fondant and gum paste but is made of sugar and ground almonds.

Now that you know the different types of frosting, remember that there are also even more to choose from. Fondant is a type of frosting that hardens when it’s cooled and offers a smooth surface cupcake or to cut decorations from. Marzipan is similar but has a texture similar to clay. Use marzipan to make delicious 3D edible designs. Gumpaste is very similar in texture to marzipan but becomes brittle when it hardens. Decide what you want your decoration to look like and then choose the type of frosting that would best suite your needs.

Veteran contributing author Anya really likes providing her useful unique recommendations regarding home baking. And her biggest top-secret is undoubtedly her location for finding cupcake decorating and christmas cupcakes.