 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.
June 2010
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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”)
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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)
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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
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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.
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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.
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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)
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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
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A flute cookie can be used as abstract decor; or stand it upright to create a “straw.” Photo courtesy TeeAndCakes.com in Boulder, Colorado. |
Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. Images are the copyright of their individual owners.
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