Easy Cupcakes

Baby christening cupcake

Pastel icing colors and cute plastic babies are the perfect recipe for a christening, baptism, baby blessing or baby shower.  These cupcakes would be just right for a girl baby shower, or use blues for a boy version.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; pink icing in pastry bag with star tip, or use premade icing in a tube; plastic praying baby figurine.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Pipe stars all around the edge of the cupcake (if you don’t stop squeezing the pastry bag or tube when you pull up, you’ll get a pointier effect). Place baby figure in center of cupcake.

Football cupcake

EasyCupcakes.com has featured several football cupcakes suitable for Super Bowl parties and other events. But if your treats to come together as quickly as possible (in other words, you’re punting), try these easy Super Bowl cupcakes. There’s no piping at all, just sprinkle and party on!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green icing (pretinted, or use food coloring); green sugar or sprinkles; foil-wrapped football chocolate candy.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Sprinkle with green sugar for grass. Add football candy.

Baby shower boy

Make baby shower cupcakes quick by using commercially made plastic toppers. These sleeping babies can be found at arts and crafts and specialty shops and come in both boy and girl versions. You could write the baby’s name, if known, on the cupcakes, or just “boy” or “girl,” or maybe some of each if you want to turn your cupcakes into a fun guessing game activity!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; frosting tinted blue; pastry bag and round metal tip #3 or similar (or use premade icing in a tube.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Pipe word in blue icing near front of cupcake, leaving room for plastic baby. Add the baby!

Inauguration cupcake

If you’re planning an Inauguration Day party for Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009, many of EasyCupcakes.com’s patriotic cupcakes would be appropriate. But if you really want to get specific, here’s a design honoring the actual inauguration date of President Barack Obama. You can make this; yes you can!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; frosting tinted blue; star-shaped sprinkles; pastry bag and round metal tip (or use icing in a tube).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Pipe the date, 1-20-09, in blue, being sure to start at the far left so you don’t run out of room. Accent with star sprinkles.

Obama cupcake

Jan. 20, 2009 is Inauguration Day, when Barack Obama will officially become the 44th president of the United States. These cupcakes feature the logo of Obama’s candidacy.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; frosting tinted blue; frosting tinted red (I used Royal Blue and No Taste Red paste food coloring by Wilton); pastry bag and coupler; 2 slanty (rose-style) metal tips (I used #104 and #44, but as long as you have two different sizes you should be fine.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Fit one pastry bag with larger tip and load with red icing. The second bag is for the smaller tip and blue icing. Holding at an angle, squeeze flat stripe of blue arched along the top of the cupcake. Then, with red, make three progressively smaller arches going upward from the bottom left. Squeeze more gently and angle the metal tip a bit as you end each red arch.

Wise owl cupcake

Here’s another cute cupcake from EasyCupcakes.com reader Emily K., who previously shared her fishbowl cupcakes. These owls would be great for a school party, graduation or anytime. (With white frosting, it could be a snowy owl for Harry Potter.)

What You Need: 1cupcake; tan frosting (tint white with chocolate, or chocolate with white); large twist pretzel; 2 green Runts candies or M&Ms; almond slices; candy corn.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Break off part of pretzel as shown and place near top edge of cupcake. Place green candies inside pretzel “glasses” for eyes. Add candy corn nose. Arrange almond slices near bottom edge for feathers.

Chocolate cat cupcake

These cat cupcakes remind me of Hello Kitty’s friend Chococat. I saw a similar design online, I think made by a dad with his kids, but can’t find it now, so if you see it please let me know so I can give credit.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; round chocolate-covered mints; stiff black licorice; black M&Ms.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut mint like a pie and add two triangle shapes to top of cupcake for cat ears. Stick two 2″ pieces of licorice on either side of face for whiskers. Add two black eyes.