Fun Cupcake Ideas

Cupcakes are small cakes baked in paper cups. You can make these plain cakes more attractive by decorating them. The decorations can be done according to the theme of the party or the occasion.Cupcakes can be decorated with a wide range of materials like icing, cookies, fresh flowers, fruits, candies, chocolate chips, etc. Decorations must be in sync with the theme of the occasion you are celebrating. Decorating cupcakes is very easy and a little creativity on your part can make your party more interesting and fun-filled.

The advantage of cupcakes is that they are inexpensive and they offer an option of enjoying different flavors. You can give a personal touch to cupcakes by decorating them by yourself. Here are some simple ways of decorating cupcakes.

• For kids' birthdays, you can add frostings of various colors and then keep different-shaped candies on top.
• Another idea is to make happy faces over the cupcakes, already covered with fondant. You can also design faces of animals or cartoon characters.
• Cake toppings can be made out of stiff royal icing and stored well in advance. You can make and store different shapes of colored and rolled fondant. Cupcake decoration can also be done with bows made from ribbons of icing.
• For Halloween cupcakes, use black, orange, purple and white colored decoration materials. Cut the fondants in circles and stick two to three random pieces on the cupcakes, after drying.
• Another design is that of an eyeball, made out of rolled white fondant. Make circles of blue fondant with a black spot in the center. Stick this to the white ball and place it on top of the cupcake covered with light green fondant. Cut thin strips of red fondant in the shape of veins and stick to the eyeball.
• For Valentine Day, cover the cupcakes with red or pink fondant and design them with heart-shaped chocolates.
• Another way to decorate Valentine day cupcakes is by writing the loved one's name or the initials with fondant.
• Baby shower cupcakes can be covered with light pink, blue or cream colored frosting, adding tiny nappy-shaped toppings made of rolled fondant. The topping can be made in the shape of baby feet, bib, bow, butterfly or flower.
• Wedding cupcakes should be decorated, and perfectly placed in a cake stand. The popular decorations for this occasion are natural or fondant flowers. You can replace flowers with heart-shaped candies or chocolates. You can simply top the cakes with swirls of butter cream icing (same color as of the bride's wedding dress) or add the initials of the bride and the groom.

There is no hard and fast rule regarding the decoration designs for various occasions. You can always mix and match various designs, but the result should appear sensible. You cannot serve a cupcake decorated with shapes of witches during a baby shower party, whereas a cupcake with floral decoration will fit into almost every occasion. You can even use molds with various designs, which are very easily available in the market. In that case, the only extra effort needed is to color the cake as per the design.

Making cupcakes is a simple and easy task, which needs some time, patience and a pinch of common sense. As far as decorating a cupcake is concerned, how far you stretch your imagination is the limit!