Caramel corn and kettle corn make cupcake cake decorating easy. Look for colored dragées to add even more visual excitement—or mix with mini-marshmallows. Photo by Zac Williams from The Pink Princess Cupcake Book.
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June 2010

Product Reviews / Main Nibbles / Cookies, Cakes & Pastry

Cup Cake Decorating

Page 2: Candy & Cookie Cupcake Decorations

 

This is Page 2 of a three-page article, with more than 50 cupcake decorating ideas. Click on the black links below to visit other pages.

 

CANDY

Top cupcakes with your favorite candies—from a mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup to seasonal candies like Santas, turkeys and Valentine hearts.

  • Candied violets or other flowers
  • Candy-coated coffee beans
  • Cotton candy
  • Chocolate or white chocolate: stars, seashells, etc.
  • Dots (hard candy dots for polka dot icing or Jujubes)
  • Hershey’s Kisses (chocolate, white chocolate and holiday colors)
  • Jelly beans (nice in combination with floral lollipops or on dyed green coconut “grass”)
 
The simplest cupcake decorating involves
placing a piece of candy atop a frosted
cupcake. Photo courtesy
GeorgetownCupcake.com.
  • Jellies (Chuckles or the more sophisticated pâte de fruits—whole, sliced or chopped)
  • Licorice (cut into 3" pieces for "sun rays")
  • Lollipops (look for special shapes, like flowers or stars)
  • Marshmallows (look for gourmet marshmallows with great colors and flavors)
  • Marzipan (shaped fruits, animals and more—see photo below)
  Marzipan animals, fruits or flowers add visual beauty and a separate candy treat. Photo courtesy BakedNYC.com.
  • Mini marshmallows
  • Peppermint, crushed or whole (top a white-iced chocolate cupcake with crushed peppermint and place a whole peppermint on top) or candy canes
  • Popcorn—especially caramel corn or kettle corn
  • Popular favorites—M&Ms, miniatures (chocolate bars, peanut butter cups, peppermint patties, etc.)
  • Seasonal candies: hearts, turkeys, pumpkins, Santas, etc.
  • Toffee chips


A cotton candy topping is as ethereal to look
at as it is fun to eat. Photo by Zac Williams
from The Pink Princess Cupcake Book.



The simplest decoration—here, peanut M&Ms
or jelly beans—can turn a plain cupcake into
a star. Use confetti candy or candy dots for
a layered effect. Photo by Rose Vita | Morguefile.


COOKIES

Cookies can be dipped in chocolate for that “something extra.” Just melt chocolate chips or a chopped chocolate bar in the microwave; dip cookies and let dry on wax paper. Re-dip to coat the other side.

  • Animal crackers/Teddy Grahams
  • Homemade cookies in a special shape appropriate to the event—stars, Cinderella’s slipper, animals, etc. Use a cookie cutter size in proportion to the cupcake size, so that it can stand on top like a statue on a base.
  • Fortune cookies (we save up the cookies from Chinese take-out and dip them in chocolate, then add sprinkles)
 
This cupcake was sprinkled with yellow dragées to match the eyes of the cat. Photo by Elton Lin | THE NIBBLE.
  • Flute cookies can be used as abstract decor, or could stand up with a slight tilt to create a “straw.”
  • Oreo cookies—one of America’s favorites, make great decor. Cover the top of the cupcake with crushed oreos (or chocolate wafer crumbs) and stand a whole cookie in the center.

 

Continue To Page 3: Fruit & More Cupcake Decorations

Go To The Article Index Above

 

A flute cookie can be used as abstract decor; or stand it upright to create a “straw.” Photo courtesy TeeAndCakes.com in Boulder, Colorado.

 

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