Cupcake Decorating Ideas - Easy Buttercream or Frosting

Cupcake Decorating Ideas - Easy Buttercream or Frosting

Simple, but excellent buttercream (or "frosting" as it is elsewhere known) to use for all cupcake decorating ideas. Enough for 12 cupcakes or one singular large cake.

Equipment:

Cake Ideas

Large mixing bowl
Electric mixer (or elbow grease)
Wooden spoon

Ingredients:

1 cup (225g) of unsalted butter at room temperature
3.5 cups (450g) of sifted icing sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract 

This is so nice and simple, yet so effective. The key is to make sure the butter and icing sugar are mixed together well and whipped sufficiently.

• Add all the butter to the bowl, it literally will need to be room temperature to do the next steps easily.

• Add one third of the icing sugar and stir it in with a wooden spoon until the butter and icing sugar has combined. Repeat this step two more times until all the icing sugar is mixed into the butter.

• At this stage, pour in the teaspoon of vanilla citation and stir in.

• Take an galvanic mixer and use it on the mixture on a might speed for up to 5 minutes, you will see the mixture become lighter in colour and softer to the touch.

• It is now ready to add to your piping bag, or apply level to the cake using a knife or back of a spoon to spread it on.

See, simple.

In addition, here are a combine of tips for icing cupcakes in a uncomplicated but sufficient way:

If you are using a piping bag:

Buttercream Mountain:

Use a Wilton 1M nozzle. Pipe slowly around the outside of the top of the cupcake, spiralling inwards - letting the buttercream pile up in the centre. Discontinue the piping with a quick twist of the bag, breaking off the flow of buttercream.

Buttercream Rose:

Use a Wilton 1M nozzle. Pipe slowly from the centre of the cupcake, spiralling outwards until the whole top of the cupcake is covered. Discontinue the piping with a quick twist of the bag, while guiding the end of the buttercream into the edge of the cupcake. If you have any sweets, this join is the ideal place to stick them as it hides any messiness. 

Without a piping bag:

Place a mound of buttercream onto the centre of the cupcake and with a knife or teaspoon, press the buttercream down while pulling it out to the edges of the cupcake. Once the buttercream is outside the whole of the cupcake, tidy up the edges by running the spoon or knife at a 45 degree angle around the edge of the buttercream to level it off.

Hopefully you've already had some cupcake decorating ideas already by now, any way they look in the end, with this recipe they're sure to taste great.

Cupcake Decorating Ideas - Easy Buttercream or Frosting