Shortly before the school ended for the year, I took birthday treats in for our son’s summer birthday celebration. I really wanted to make cupcakes. But I didn’t want just any cupcakes. I wanted something special like Liz makes. I debated doing it on my own, wishing the whole time that I had Liz there to guide me every step of the way. In the end, I chickened out and opted for dirt cups instead.
Thankfully, Liz agreed to share some of her top cupcake making tips with all of us. These just might give me the courage I need to go for it next time!
Hello, Cooking During Stolen Moments fans! I’m Liz, the Hoosier Momma from Hoosier Homemade. I’m a SAHM of 3 teenage boys, that keep me running with their sports and school activities. I’ve been blogging a little over a year, I share lots of baked goods, Budget Friendly Meals, and decorating tips and tricks, all to help you “Make Your House a Home.” You can also find me on Twitter and Facebook.
Kate has asked me to share with you some of my tips for baking and decorating cupcakes. While I have been baking for a very, VERY long time, it’s just been the last year or so that I’ve been baking and decorating lots and lots of cupcakes.
First…Baking:
When I use a box mix, I simply change the ingredients a little to make it taste more like homemade.
- Box Cake Mix
- 1 cup of Buttermilk (you can use 1 tablespoon vinegar in a 1 cup measuring cup and fill the rest of the way with milk, set aside for a few minutes)
- 1/3 cup Oil (or amount shown on box)
- 4 large eggs
Mix and bake as usual
I also bake from scratch quite often and have several recipes on my Cupcake Heaven page. In fact, I have Kate’s White Cake on it, along with over 70 cupcake creations.
Now for the decorating:
I think using the right tools makes all the difference in the world. You can easily just use a ziploc baggie with the corner snipped off, but if you want your cupcakes to look really nice, spend a little (it’s not really very much, less than $10) and buy the right tools.
- 90% of the time I use Buttercream Frosting and this Cupcake Decorating set that was a Christmas gift
- Tips from the Decorating tip make these designs
- Using a Wilton Disposable bag, I insert the plastic cupler and make a mark on the bag at the first thread, and cut the tip off to that mark
- Add the Decorating tip and the ring, fill the bag with frosting and you are ready to decorate
Now, if you want to get a little fancier and decorate your cupcakes with designs or a theme. I have lots to choose from. I have several videos on Hoosier Homemade as well, that show you step by step how to decorate cupcakes. I also host Cupcake Tuesday every week, where you can link up your cupcake creations and get inspired by others too.
The most popular cupcakes during the month of May were my Memorial Day Cupcakes…they were so much fun to make! I think they would even be great for Fourth of July or any summertime picnic.
And in June, the favorite seems to be my Snow Cone Cupcakes…
I also bake a lot for the Holidays, my most recent holiday favorite, are the Easter Chicks. Very easy, with just a little added frosting.
One of my readers favorites, were the Nuggets and Fries that I created for my son’s birthday…he’s a HUGE McDonald’s fan!
I also enjoy creating many different cupcakes with special flavors and toppings, the Black Forest, are my favorite.
Come join in our cupcake conversation in my Hoosier Homemade BlogFrog Community!
Thanks so much Kate for having me!
Do you have any tip or tricks for cupcake decorating you would like to share? I’d love to hear them!
