Hello, friends! I thought that I would share with you all a quick and easy way to customize your cupcakes for any occasion. By using just a few items you probably already have around the house, a box of mix and a container of frosting, your cupcakes can appear to have been well thought out and planned confections. Make your box cupcakes look custom for any occasion!
Today I had to bake cupcakes for my son’s Christmas concert for his music school. I immediately went to my “go-to”, no-fail solution for being an alternative to just another plate of cupcakes from another mom amidst a sea of store bought baked goods in flimsy plastic containers. There is nothing wrong with that. I have had to do that before because of busy schedules but I prefer to bake something for the events we attend if I can.
I like to keep a few boxes of cake mix and a container or two of frosting in my pantry all the time. (I haven’t found an amazing recipe for homemade frosting that I love yet but I would love to make my own frosting. If you have a favorite and would like to share it in the comments below that would be great!! I would love to try it!!) Anyway, I told the school I would bring cupcakes and knew that I could easily make them something special with just a little effort. Within an hour and a half, from beginning to end, I had a platter of custom cupcakes that were a hit!
What you will need:
- A box of cake mix or recipe from scratch
- Frosting of your choice
- Glue gun or glue stick
- Scissors or punches
- Toothpicks (flat work best)
- Piping Bag
I always start by baking cupcakes just as the box says. While the cupcakes are baking, I like to find some kind of art that goes along with the theme of the event that we are attending. For this event, the music school is called Sing Love School of Worship. I went online and found some art from a CD that the touring band from the school, called Sing Love, put out. I copied it to a “new page”, sized it and duplicated it 20 times….one per cupcake. I then took some colored cardstock and cut out squares just large enough to create a border behind the art. I used a square punch, but you can easily do this without one.
While printing off the art and cutting the background border, I get out the toothpicks and let the glue gun heat up. By then the cupcakes are ready to come out. While the cupcakes are cooling off, I make my custom cupcake additions. I add a little glue to the top of the toothpick all the way around. If you don’t have a glue gun available, just use a glue stick. I add one square of art on one side and one background square to the other side so that the toothpick is sandwiched in between. Flat toothpicks work best for this but any toothpick will work.
When I am done with making the customized picks, I then frost the cupcakes. I like to pipe the frosting on versus just frost them with a knife. It looks professional and the way the cupcake shop does it. **TIP** To make your store bought frosting more fluffy, place the frosting in a bowl and add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar. Mix with an electric mixer to change the consistency.** Add that to a piping bag with no special tip. If you don’t have a piping bag, you can use a thick gallon baggie. Fill the baggie with frosting and then cut a tiny piece of a corner off. (You can always cut more but be reserved to start with.) Pipe frosting onto cupcake. Starting in a little from the edges, move in a swirling pattern while slightly pressing down three times towards the center.
Add the customized toothpicks to the cupcakes and the beautifully piped frosting.
In just a little time and with just a little effort, you can create a custom look to your cupcakes that adds that special touch to your event. You can do this for bake sales, birthday parties, classroom parties, holiday get-togethers…really the possibilities are endless. You can also make them way in advance and simply add them to the cupcakes before the big event.
Happy Sunday!! Have a great week!!! Don’t forget to leave your favorite frosting recipe if you have one!!
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