Sweets for Your Sweeties: Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Are you ready for Valentine's Day?  I most definitely am not.  So when the talented Lauren from Much Ado About Somethin' offered to stop by with a little Valentine's Day tutorial for you all, I jumped at the chance to have her.  Check out these cute cupcakes!  Then stop by her blog for even more Valentine's Day goodness.  She makes it look so easy that I just might have to try my own!  
Cheers!
Elena

Hi there!  I'm Lauren from Much Ado About Somethin.  I was pretty excited to put together a few Valentine's Day inspired cupcake ideas for all of you at 'A Casarella. A few years ago I got the itch to take a cake decorating class at AC Moore.  After the first class I was completely hooked, and have loved making festive treats ever since.  After all...they say you eat with your eyes first!  

Without further ado, here are three different Valentine's Day cupcakes you can make with one icing color and one decorating tip.  No need to buy lots of tools for one day!  You'll need... baked cupcakes, icing (here's a buttercream recipe I use...or you can use store-bought!), "No Taste Red" Gel color, toothpicks, piping bag (or a Ziploc bag), Coupler Star Decorating Tip number 21, and sprinkles.  You can get all of the above tools at AC Moore or Michael's.  It's nice to speak with an associate about what to buy too, so you make sure you're getting the right thing. 

Start by mixing your pink icing.  Add the gel color little by little with a different toothpick each time (you'll gum up the color if you double dip) until you reach your desired pink! Once your icing is mixed, cut the tip off your piping bag, put the coupler on, and secure the piping tip.  (Here's a good video on how to use a disposable piping bag with a coupler and decorating tips.)  Then fill the bag half-way with your icing.

I always recommend practicing a technique before actually doing it on your cupcake.  Tape a piece of wax paper to the counter and set aside some of your icing for "practice".  That way you can reuse this icing and get the mistakes out of the way before you start on the cupcakes. The first cupcake is going to be a Bouquet of Pink Flowers.

1 - Your baked cupcake 2 - Pipe one small flower in the center of the cupcake.  Start with your tip in the very center, pointing straight down.  Begin piping with firm pressure, moving in a tight circle.  As you complete the circle, lessen pressure and "whisp" away.  Make sure to keep your tip relatively low so the flower doesn't grow tall. 3 & 4 - Pipe six more round flowers around the center one, making sure they are very close together. 5 - Put a small dot of icing anywhere you see cupcake.  You can make cute little stars to do this by holding your tip straight down and applying pressure at first, then pulling away quickly while releasing pressure.  (Again - practice this on your wax paper first!) 6 - The finished product from the top. Super cute, huh?

The second cupcake is a little funkier - a Pink Dots Cupcake. This cupcake uses the same dotting technique mentioned above.  Each should should look like a tiny meringue - wide at the bottom with a point at the top. Make the first dot in the very center of the cupcake.  Do so by holding the tip just above and perpendicular to the cupcake surface.  Apply pressure at the beginning and release pressure as you pull away from the cupcake. Now work your way out - apply 6 more dots around the center dot, trying to keep them close enough that no cupcake shows through.  Then apply 6 more dots where the previous dots meet.  Repeat this until the whole cupcake is covered!

The final cupcake is by far the easiest - and uses sprinkles! This cupcake is simply a swirl topped with sprinkles.  The trick to a good swirl is consistent pressure, a steady hand, and practice.  Start the swirl along the outside edge.  Trace the edge with heavy pressure on your piping bag.  Once you do the first round, continue around until you reach the center.  Then top with heart, lip, or colored sprinkles!

Pick your favorite design or do all three - they look great together too!

I posted another Valentine's Day cupcake blog last week on Much Ado with swirls of icing and fondant hearts - check it out for more V-day inspiration!

Thanks again to Elena for letting me crash 'A Casarella today, and I hope you all have a happy, delicious, and sweets-filled Valentine's Day!