At a different end of the spectrum from the other day’s Nerdy Nummies Do-It-Yourself cupcaking, we have Craftsy’s understated but valuable tips to achieve professional cake decorating effects through simple means. With their Project Cupcake videos, in less than two minutes you can learn how to turn gelatin and food coloring into edible sequins to decorate a cupcake (turns out it just requires a textured acetate sheet and a hole puncher). Or learn how to create a gorgeous ruffly fondant flower to sit atop delicious icing (it only takes a few cookie cutters, a shaping tool, and some piping gel).

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There are many different kinds of cupcake toppers out there to choose from if you don’t want more than just icing to entice. Some are like little toys that can easily be stuck into delicately piped mounds of frosting (or they can be used to cover up the sloppier last minute jobs before a bake sale you forgot about). Others are personalized for birthdays, anniversaries, retirements, weddings, etc. and allow you to slap dozens of copies of a loved one’s face onto treats that allow you to, literally, bite their head off. Then there are cupcake toppers like those produced by blogger Tikkido who has posted a number of cupcake topper tutorials. Read the rest of this entry »

For some people, cupcakes and cake are just a vehicle for sugary frosting. For others, the frosting is the paint and the cake or cupcake serves as the canvas. Some of us cook or bake as a kind of therapy, a way to handle stress, to blow off steam (beating eggs and sugar lead to a much tastier mess than beating the feathers out of your pillow). Whatever the reason for pulling out the decorating tips and pastry bags, each cupcake is an opportunity for creative expression. As Penny Alexander of A Residence, blogger and mother of two, who had little regard for cupcakes discovered, the right materials and the right attitude can turn anyone into a cupcake fan. Read the rest of this entry »

The craft and baking blogger known to many as Big Bear’s Wife has a few how-to posts for baking and decorating your cupcakes in a Disney (and Pixar) fashion. To accompany the recent release of Monsters University, there is a cupcake decorated to resemble the big, blue, and furry Sully. With a little advice from one of Disney’s own cupcake decorators, Big Bear’s Wife shares many of the tips and shortcuts she used in recreating the kid-friendly confections. Read the rest of this entry »

The time has come to raid Grandma’s kitchen for a pair of shoes that won’t hurt your feet. The cakes and cupcakes decorated by Amanda Amundson at Grandma’s Bakery in Cashton WI are frequently posted to the bakery’s Facebook page. While many of them are orders, Amundson doesn’t forget to have fun and try new things every once in a while. This past July, a photo of some fashionable high heel cupcakes that was posted to Facebook earned the bakery a lot of attention when the picture unexpectedly went viral. Read the rest of this entry »

Merry Christmas Everyone! I woke up this morning to see it spitting snow outside and all I could say was, “Yay!”. I am not a huge fan of snow, but, I always like to have some on Christmas, it really make it feels like Christmas when it snows and there is snow on the ground.

In honor of the spitting snow in New Hampshire, where I grew up and am spending Christmas with my parents, brother and lovely dog, I have found these amazing snowflake cupcakes. The fact that they are pink makes it a million times better.

Pink Snowflake Cupcakes from Glorious Treats

Good Morning ATC Community! and welcome to the official start of crunch time.  These are the days that we second-guess whether we did enough of everything and end up doing too much!

If you’re like me, you’ve baked a fair amount of holiday treasures.

But holiday week is a bit like a marathon and, in the home stretch, who isn’t looking for fresh ideas to keep inspired?  The challenge I set to myself is whether I can come up with a week of images, recipes, and instructions to keep us all – myself included – at 350F from now through next Saturday.

These Baked Ideas images are cookies, but so fresh and original they will inspire your cupcake decorating ideas. Here’s a smorgasbord of cookie decorating ideas from “Baked Ideas” by Patti Paige, along with the Baked Ideas’ Facebook page  and the video on the Baked Ideas mini gingerbread houses.  3,000 each season!

If you’re still looking for last minute gifts, Baked Ideas even sells yoga cookie cutters.  How did she do that?  Here’s her video on piping royal icing onto each one of the yoga posed gingerbread men and here’s the Baked Ideas gingerbread recipe.

Ah-ha!  My Muse gripped that one!

Today, I’m going to springboard those Baked Ideas into spice cupcakes with yoga shapes drawn on the top, including some Sandskrit symbols, such as “Namaste.”  And I know just who is on my list for these yoga cupcakes…

Now that’s what I mean about taking inspiration and giving yourself permission to be creative at the holidays!  What’s your idea?

Countdown:  6 days.

Glitter, glitter, and more glitter!  I just want these holidays to shine so that I can sing “Silver & Gold” along with Burl Ives when spinning the Rudolph soundtrack.

What’s more perfect to go with those silver and gold ornaments than cupcakes decorated as ornaments?

These ornament cupcakes come from Hoosier country, Indiana!  “Hoosier Homemade” had several holiday cupcake decorating ideas from a multi-week cupcake challenge.

Find other inspiration in actual vintage Christmas ornaments.  The 1950s ornaments were the very essence of elegance in design and can still be found at antique co-ops and flea markets and also on etsy and e-bay.

A massive happy new year to you all!  Have a fantastic time, and catch you in 2011 for more cupcakes!

These wonderful new years cupcakes are some of the best that I have seen, I love all the bright colors that Anita Jamal has used!

After all my Christmas baking I’m giving cupcakes a miss over New Years, instead I am happy to let someone else do the cooking and just kick my heels up!

I rcently tried the Cricut (pronounced cricket) Personal Cutting machine and I found it so amazing.  They can cut beautiful paper designs at the touch of a few buttons.  Well, here is the newest Cricut machine: The Cricut Cake.  I have yet to try this one but it looks like it may revolutionize the cake/cupcake decorating process.  I’ve seen it on sale this week for $349 at AC Moore and Michael’s.    Here’s the description from Michael’s:

The Cricut Cake™ Personal Electronic Cutter is specifically designed for decorating cakes, cupcakes, cookies and confections in no time at all.  Just choose a shape, a size, and press “cut.”  The Cricut Cake machine also works with all Cricut Scrapbooking cartridges, with Gypsy™ and Cricut DesignStudio, giving you more variety in your designs!

Roller and cutting blade are constructed from stainless steel. FDA approved for cutting food and specifically designed for gum paste, frosting sheets and more. Decorating like a professional has never been faster or easier. Bon Appetit!

The Cricut Cake machine includes:

• 12×12-inch food-safe mat
• Power Adaptor
• Cricut Cake Basics Cartridge with up to 600 images
• Silicone Keypad Cover

Cricut’s website had a lots of useful info, videos and photos of completed projects.

This kit would be great for a theme party – there are 24 toppers and wrappers and they’re cute as all get out.  They’re available at Williams-Sonoma for $24.

Here are a bunch of pictures from my Saturday adventure at Cupcake Camp Seattle: 5,000 cupcakes, 70 bakers, mobs and mobs of cupcake fans. I met some great bakers and ate a lot of delicious cupcakes – more on both those topics in the next few days.

If you have furnishings that are of a higher quality than a college dorm room, you want to keep them in good shape. What better way to protect your tables and countertops from the perils of water damage than adorable cupcake coasters? Two birds with one stone – cute and functional!

The coaster sets come in pink or black, and can be found at iamladycupcake’s Etsy store, along with her lines of non-cupcake related furniture furnishings.

While browsing flickr, I discovered tons of beautifully decorated Easter Cupcakes. Here are some great ideas!

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