Beautiful frosted cupcakes are Magnolia Bakery's bread and butter (it's this sweet treat
that was popularized by Sex and the City, after all). So when the
bakery extended an invitation to a cupcake decorating class focused on
flower cupcakes, I had to check it out. Keep reading to see exactly how
these pastry pros do it.
Here's what you'll need: cupcakes, buttercream frosting, a pastry bag, a coupler and Ateco's #104 petal tip, luster dust (optional), and some patience.
After filling a pastry bag with buttercream frosting
and fitting it with a #104 tip, start by squeezing out a dollop of
frosting on the center of the cupcake. Aim for a little bit less than a
tablespoon's worth of frosting. This will be the base that the petals
are built off of.
Holding the
piping bag with the thinner side of the tip facing up, pipe the bud of
the flower on top of the mound of frosting. To make the bud, pipe two
slightly oblong pieces of frosting. To enclose the bud, pipe two oblong
petals of frosting around it, as shown.
Continue
piping petals of frosting around the initial bud and petals. To keep
things symmetrical, center each petal around the pointy ends of another
petal, making an arched half-moon shape up and over the ends of the
petal. As you continue to pipe layers of petals, the strips of frosting
should become longer and less arched. Each layer of petals should have
roughly three to six half moons of frosting.
The last layer of petals should be long and almost archless, so as to tidy up the appearance of the cupcake.
As a finishing touch, decorate the cupcakes with luster dust or sprinkles.
Keep in mind that this all takes practice and patience. You may notice a remarkable improvement in your technique after decorating a few cupcakes. And, even if your first few cupcakes aren't picture perfect, they'll still be quite tasty.
Here's what you'll need: cupcakes, buttercream frosting, a pastry bag, a coupler and Ateco's #104 petal tip, luster dust (optional), and some patience.
Make Your Base
Pipe the Bud and First Petals
Pipe on More Petals
Finish Piping on Frosting
Decorate With Luster Dust or Sprinkles
Keep in mind that this all takes practice and patience. You may notice a remarkable improvement in your technique after decorating a few cupcakes. And, even if your first few cupcakes aren't picture perfect, they'll still be quite tasty.
