Celebratory Pumpkin Cupcakes: The Decoration

So part two of Pumpkin Cupcakes features my up and coming decoration skills!  Decorating cupcakes is something new I am trying.  In that past I would just slap on some store bought icing and look longingly at those super fancy cupcakes in bakeries wishing I could do that.  Well, I actually can't do that (not yet!) but I'm trying and I even surprised myself with my handiwork. 


Supplies

Sprinkles, I got a fancy fall kind with Pumpkins

Food Coloring, red, yellow, green

Pastry Bags and Tips


Ingredients

(Note this icing recipe is for 12 cupcakes, I only made 6 so I cut the recipe in half)

Butter, 3/4 cup, softened.

[Pro-tip: To soften butter leave it out for an hour before.  In a hurry?  Use the stove to help along the process]

Confectioner's Sugar, 2 cups.  (I actually didn't scrimp on the sugar because there was none in the cupcakes and also I am new at this icing stuff so I got to get a handle on it before I cut stuff out!)

Milk, 1 Tablespoons.

Vanilla Extract, 1 teaspoon.


Step 1:  Cream together butter and sugar with a wooden spoon.

Step 2:  Add milk and vanilla and mix

Step 3:  Get cooled cupcakes and ice a few with a pallet knife (or regular knife, or this fancy little serving knife thing I used, whatever works for you).  To ice take a large scoop of icing (mine came out a little because I used 2 tablespoons of milk for some reason) and spread it back and forth over the cupcake.

Step 4:  If you want to decorate some with sprinkles add right away.

Step 5: Pick ones you want to add an icing design too and put in the fridge to the icing hardens.

Step 6:  Take a few scoops of icing and put in a smaller bowl.  Add a drop of red and two drops of yellow food dye to the smaller bowl of icing.  Ice a few more cupcakes and add sprinkles.  Save a bit of white icing for later. 

(Note:  Icing will keep for a week in the fridge, but take it out an hour before using)

Step 7:  After a few hours in the fridge remove the other cupcakes.  As I mentioned yesterday this was my first time using an icing decorating kit.  I just followed the instructions.  I cut off the tip of the bag and dropped the metal tip into the bag so that it stuck out of the hole a little.  I used a spoon to put orange icing in the bag (it was not full because I only iced 2 cupcakes this way). 

 

Step 8:  Sqeeze out the icing onto the cupcake.  I made a large pumpkin shaped circle on the cupcakes.  I did this by making a dot and then sqeezing more icing to make a larger dot.  Then I took a bit of the left over white icing and added a drop of green.  I used a spoon to take a tiny bit of icing to make the stem of the Pumpkin.

And that's it.  Icing for beginners!  I loved it!  Maybe by next year I'll be make elaborate giant pumpkin cupcakes!  I hope you had fun.