Easy Cupcakes

With a 1M swirl tip and star sprinkles, you can make a simple yet pretty cupcake for the Fourth of July! With this technique, it’s easy to make a lot of cupcakes quickly.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white icing (if you like this look – shorter and softer – using canned Fluffy style icing and room temperature); star sprinkles; 1M swirl metal tip and pastry bag.

How to Make It: With 1M tip, apply icing in a circular motion, working inward and upward. Sprinkle with stars.

Little paper flags instantly turn any red, white and blue cupcake into an Independence Day celebration.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting (I used “fluffy” by Pillsbury); red sugar; blue star sprinkles; paper American flag.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake generously. Sprinkle with red sugar and blue stars. Add American flag.

When you want the look of an ice cream sundae but the taste of a cupcake, try these! Put a real cherry on top, or a candy one.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; chocolate sprinkles; cherry; 1M swirl metal tip and pastry bag (no coupler needed).

How to Make It: Use 1M swirl tip to cover cupcake, making one continuous circle shape that gets progressively smaller (moving inward on the cupcake) and ends in a point at the top. Add chocolate sprinkles and cherry.

For St. Patrick’s Day or anytime you need a bit of good luck, make these easy cupcakes with Lucky Charms cereal on top. They’re magically delicious!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; green frosting; marshmallow shapes from Lucky Charms cereal.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add Lucky Charms cereal. that’s it!

Show Pops he’s tops with these #1 Dad cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; blue writing gel.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use gel to write “#1 Dad.”

Cut apart sugar-coated fruit gel or “gem” candies to make these chick cupcakes for Easter, a farm party or anytime. They also make cute baby shower cupcakes.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow or other light-colored icing; 3 yellow fruit gels or gems; 1 orange fruit gel or gem; 2 blue mini M&Ms; scissors, kitchen shears or knife.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Cut a small (approx. 1/4 inch) amount off the bottom of one yellow fruit gel for chick body and position about 1/2″ from bottom of the cupcake, cut edge facing down. Cut second yellow fruit or gel or gem in half and position to left and right of body for wings. Place third gel on top of body for head. Cut two medium triangle wedges for feet and a small wedge for beak. Adhere beak and blue M&M eyes to head using small dabs of icing.

These fun clown cupcakes are based on a design I saw a few years back in a Martha Stewart publication. The hat is a Bugle snack!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting color of choice; 1 large marshmallow; 1 small marshmallow; food-safe pens; mini jujubes in various colors; red M&M; 1 Bugle.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Use food-safe pen to add dots for eyes to marshmallow as shown. Use dab of icing to attach red M&M for nose. Place marshmallow flat side down in center of cupcake. Surround with mini jujube fruits, larger side facing outward. Use icing to attach small marshmallow to end of Bugle, or just poke it on there. Attach Bugle to top of marshmallow for hat. You could also choose to decorate the hat.