Many people are looking for new and exciting ways of decorating cakes. This is why they are turning to baking and decorating cupcakes for those special occasions such as Christmas parties, a child’s birthday party, wedding showers and baby showers. Since there are so many opportunities out there, cupcake decorating has quickly grown very popular.

One reason for their popularity stems from them being convenient and easy to bake. Other reasons for their popularity includes the ability to easily transport them in a vehicle, to display them where all can see and admire and being easy to serve separately to guests. Each cupcake decoration can vary in color, flavor and shape.

If you plan to make some cupcakes for your next “big bash”, utilize the five cupcake decorating tips below to ensure that your cupcakes are tasty treats that will be the talk of the party.

When you want to flavor the icing and filling for your cupcake, you have all kinds of possibilities. Your only limitation is your imagination; put it to work for you. Come up with some interesting and tasty icing for your cake and cupcakes. Here are some interesting ideas to use:

• Banana with chocolate icing
• Almond with buttercream vanilla icing
• Carrot cake with cream frosting
• Lemon with lemon frosting

Give your fillings a scrumptious surprise for your guests. There is so much you can fill inside your cupcake. Consider stuffing it with chocolate mousse, peanut butter, strawberry jam, etc. When you do this, you’ll need decorating bag #230. A quick cake decorating tip to keep in mind: do your filling first before you ice the cupcake and stick the tip into the top of the cupcake and squeeze a desired amount of filling inside.

Another cake decorating tip to use is to add some shape variety. Purchase some cupcake baking pans with non-traditional cup shapes, such as star or heart shaped. You will find a large assortment of silicone baking cups with different colors and shapes.

The frostings you see in the store can be used not only for cakes but also for cupcakes. You could decorate your cupcakes with just one color, with color streaks or a marble effect. The method you choose can be simple and quick, or more elaborate, whichever suits you. Here are five more cake decorating tips to assist you in making those plain cupcakes into a dessert worth talking about.

• Place a layer of thin frosting on a plate and dip the cupcakes into it headfirst, making sure to swirl it so that it covers the top entirely.
• Use a spatula to spread buttercream on the top of every cupcake.
• Top the cupcakes with either ganache or poured fondant; be sure you pick the kind of effect you want. Do you want it to be completely covered or just partially glazed?
• Cover every cupcake in fondant so that your decorating surface is smooth. Keep in mind that fondant is much more reliable than buttercream in high temperatures.
• Swirl some buttercream on the top of every cupcake to make a peak. (You’ll need the decorating bag that’s got a 1M star tip.)

When you’re ready to decorate your cupcakes, you have a variety of ways you can do this. You can make them to look simple and elegant or they can be designed to look flamboyant. Here are a few more cupcake topping tips.

• Use sprinkles, nuts, chocolate, sweetened coconut, or candy for toppings.
• Consider using cherries and tiny marshmallows.
• Top the cupcakes with plastic figures that will match the event’s theme.
• Do some experimentation with multi-colored items from the local candy store.
• Design animal faces on the cupcakes.

If you need further guidance, use cupcake decorating books, the Internet or magazines for more helpful suggestions. You can also join a cupcake decorating class to give you more ideas.

Take the time to plan the arrangement of you cupcakes, or theme them. You can decorate each cupcake as a flower and arrange them in complimentary bunches or as a garden. You may want to try a pond theme with your cupcakes decorated as fish, place them on slightly rumpled blue satin to give the effect of water. For the effect of a tiered cake you can buy a cupcake tree, and create a cascade of individual or all matching cupcakes.

Tip 5 – Getting Started With Cupcake Decorating

Cupcakes are a great introduction to cake decorating – for adults and children alike. Plain cupcakes can be easily bought ready-made and with a bit of buttercream and some candy decorations you have a great family activity for everyone. Alternatively you can start from scratch and hone or experiment with your cake decorating ideas and skills.

Image source: Flickr users 'bakingproject', 'phillip', 'sugarbloomcupcakes', 'fadedmilkyway' and 'roboscope'