Easy Cupcakes

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.

Cupcake pick snowman

Don’t take this cupcake design literally; it’s just one example of how you can use the 1M swirl technique and plastic picks to create cute cupcake figures. You can buy plastic picks for all occasions!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; pastry bag and IM metal tip; snowman pick; 3 red mini M&Ms.

How to Make It: Follow technique linked above to make IM swirl in white. Stick pick in top. Add M&M buttons. That’s it!

Chocolate teddy bear cupcake

These teddy bears will taste as good as they look, thanks to generous amounts of chocolate. They’d be great for a holiday party, baby shower or any time!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; chocolate frosting; 3 black M&Ms (or other candy); black writing icing; pastry bag and round metal tip #5 (or snip corner off of a plastic sandwich bag).

How to Make It: Squeeze bag with chocolate frosting to make a large dollop for bear nose and two smaller dollops for ears. Use black writing icing to “draw” mouth. Add M&Ms for eyes and nose.

Tall snowman cupcake

This snowman gets his two-tiered appearance thanks to a fruit roll scarf and his texture from shredded coconut!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white icing; pastry bag and 1M swirl metal tip; 2 stick pretzels; red fruit roll; black candy berry or gumdrop; 2 blue mini M&Ms; 2 brown mini M&Ms; shredded coconut; knife or scissors.

How to Make It: Use pastry bag to make 1M swirl. (Instructions are on a Valentine cupcakes post.) Sprinkle with coconut. Cut thin strip of fruit roll and fold about 1/3 of the way down to create scarf for snowman’s neck. Add eyes, buttons and hat. Stick pretzel on either side of snowman’s body for arms.

Tie dye Christmas cupcake

This cupcake is a holiday variation of a technique in which a toothpick is dragged through gel icing to create a pretty, swirly appearance.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; red and green gel writing icing; red cherry or sour ball; toothpicks.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Place red candy in center of cupcake. Use tube icing to “draw” a small red circle around the cupcake. Then draw a green circle around that and then another red one. Hold toothpick near innermost circle and steadily pull toward edge of cupcake. Repeat, using clean toothpick, about 7 times around cupcake.