Cupcake Decorating

photo credit: www.marthastewart.com

Decorating cupcakes is just as important as baking the cupcakes. Studies prove that the way food looks effects how people perceive the taste and the entire experience all together, so decorating cupcakes should be a priority. Depending on the occasion you're baking for, your cupcakes should be decorated differently. Holidays are fun because you get to choose a them and decorate cupcakes based on that theme. For example, Halloween calls for orange and chocolate frostings, orange black and white sprinkles, and a spooky theme. Or if your cupcakes are for July 4th, you could decorate them in red, whites and blues and have a patriotic theme.

Decorating for special occasions, like a wedding or baby shower will usually call for more subtle and pretty colors and cupcake decorations. You should use white, pink, and lavender or baby blue and lots of white and pink sprinkles. The keyword here is pastels!

If your cupcakes are just for fun or a birthday, don't be afraid to go a little crazy. Use a lot of different colors of frosting, icing, sprinkles and much more. The crazier they are, the more people will love them so don't be afraid to over decorate your cupcakes.

The main tools needed for decorating cupcakes are firstly a tool for frosting your cupcakes. For this you can use either a pastry bag with assorted tips, or my personal favorite, a long, flat narrow spatula. Now for decorating cupcakes you will need sprinkles, sparkles, sugar treats, candies, etc. You could pretty much use anything your heart desires. Take a trip to your local baking supplies store and go to the decorating cupcakes aisle. You could even pick out some fun cupcake wrappers.

I'll be talking in the future about specific cupcake decorating ideas, but for now I just want you to remember that in this case, looks are important. Decorating cupcakes matters!