CHOCOLATE HO HO'S!! Start with a chocolate cupcake and core out the center with a cupcake corer (or just scoop out part of the middle of the cupcake with a spoon or knife). Fill with white buttercream to the top of the cupcake like this:
EASY ROSES!!! Use a star tip--number 2D works best for this one. Colored or white icing both look great for this design. Start piping in the middle and work your way around the cupcake until it is completely covered.
ACORNS!!! Use a Hershey's kiss for this one and "glue" a mini vanilla wafer cookie to bottom of the Hershey's kiss with frosting. You can either pipe a little "stem/top" or use a bit of frosting to stick a mini chocolate chip to the cap of the acorn.
APPLES (or PUMPKINS)!!! Mound red icing up using a tip or just a spatula. Make a little indentation in the middle of the mound for where the stem would come out. You can also cut a mini doughnut in half (or use a whole mini doughnut) and put that on top of the cupcake and then ice the cupcake with red frosting. Dip the icing "apples" into red sugar. Cut leaves out of fondant or green fruit roll-ups and create a stem with a tootsie roll or pretzel rod. You can make a pumpkin variation by changing the icing color from red to orange.
CANDY!! Use candy to make your life simpler. Cute pumpkins can top an otherwise "plain" cupcake and really dress them up. You can also use M and M's, gumdrops, candy corn, seasonal peeps (classic chicks, bunnies, or even the other seasonal ones like gingerbread men or trees), or any other little candy piece that you find exciting. The candy and cookie aisle in the grocery store offers many great ideas. Be creative and have fun!!
SUNFLOWERS!!! Using a leaf tip (Tip number 452 is the easiest) make petals using yellow or golden yellow frosting all the way around the outside of the cupcake. Place a sandwich cookie in the middle of your cupcake. Pipe more petals around the edge until you have the look you want. You can alternate the size of the petals, doing a row of longer petals first all the way around and then going over those petals with another shorter row.
How about some other ideas to get your ideas rolling.....
Have fun with your cupcake flavors:
Cookies and Cream—chocolate cupcake, vanilla frosting, cookie crumbs and a mini oreo
Raspberry—vanilla cake filled with raspberry pie filling and topped with raspberry flavored buttercream or raspberry flavored cool whip
Turtle—Chocolate cupcake, caramel flavored buttercream (mix some caramel sauce into your buttercream), drizzle with warmed chocolate icing and top with pecans
Snickers—Chocolate cupcake, caramel flavored buttercream (mix some caramel sauce into your buttercream), drizzle with warmed chocolate icing and top with a fun size or mini snickers candy bar. You can also add chopped peanuts and chocolate shavings--make sure to top the frosting right away with these though as the frosting will "set" slightly and they won't stick as well if you don't sprinkle them on right away.
Rocky Road—Chocolate cupcake, vanilla buttercream, drizzle with warmed chocolate frosting and top with mini marshmallows, mini chocolate chips, and chopped peanuts
Peanut Butter—Chocolate cupcake, peanut butter buttercream (mix creamy peanut butter into your buttercream to taste), drizzle with warmed chocolate frosting and top with a mini reeses peanut butter cup
Strawberry—use a strawberry cupcake or a vanilla cupcake and fill with strawberry pie filling, strawberry pudding, or strawberry buttercream. Frost with vanilla or strawberry buttercream (can flavor the buttercream using strawberry preserves or jam/jelly), and top with a fresh strawberry. The picture below uses a plastic strawberry "pick" but that works too. This one has little white edible "pearls" around the base of the frosting.
Boston Crème—Vanilla cupcake filled with Bavarian cream (purchase pre-made or make your own using a jello pudding mix), dip in warmed chocolate frosting
Sprinkles!!!—Confetti cupcake frosted with your choice of any color buttercream icing and topped with sprinkles—FUN!!! The picture below was iced using a round tip and the sides are rolled in the sprinkles. You can also top with a "happy birthday" pick or another fun creation...gumballs are fun here too.
Triple chocolate—chocolate cupcake filled with chocolate pudding and topped with chocolate buttercream and drizzled with warmed chocolate icing. Another variation would be to just use chocolate buttercream and roll the sides in chocolate shavings. Top with a larger chocolate shaving, malted milk ball, Hershey's kiss, or any other fun chocolate item you can find. You can also roll the sides in mini chocolate chips--these are usually more readily available and cheaper too. Be creative--anything chocolate is delicious!!
Other flavors to experiment with: Banana, carrot, black forest, red velvet, lemon, coconut....the possibilities are almost endless!
Pick your favorite candy and make a combination from that.
General piping tip information:
For frosting cupcakes you can use a large round tip such as 2A. You might not be able to find this in general stores such as Michael's or JoAnn's. They usually only stock up to tip number 12 for the round tips. If you don't want to purchase a round tip, just put your icing in a pastry bag (or a ziplock bag) and cut the end off the bottom as large as you want your "tip" to be. This might not be the prettiest option but it will definitely work and get the job done!
Another option for frosting cupcakes is to use a star tip. Tips such as 2D, 1M, and 4B would be good options here. These are all available at stores such as Hobby Lobby, Michael's, or JoAnn's.
Classic Wilton Buttercream Icing
Ingredients:
1/2 cup solid vegetable shortening
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups sifted confectioners' sugar (approximately 1 lb.)
2 tablespoons milk
Instructions:
In large bowl, cream shortening and butter with electric mixer. Add vanilla. Gradually add sugar, one cup at a time, beating well on medium speed. Scrape sides and bottom of bowl often. When all sugar has been mixed in, icing will appear dry. Add milk and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy. Keep bowl covered with a damp cloth until ready to use.
For best results, keep icing bowl in refrigerator when not in use. Refrigerated in an airtight container, this icing can be stored 2 weeks. Rewhip before using. Can add more milk or powdered sugar to get desired consistency. Can also add 2 tablespoons corn syrup to make it spread easier. Makes about 3 cups icing.
For a chocolate variation add 3/4 cup cocoa OR three 1 oz. unsweetened chocolate squares, melted after creaming the shortening and butter. Increase the milk to 4 tablespoons.
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