Cake/baking question

ArcticFox

I know there are some bakers on here, so I thought I'd ask here

My DD has a severe peanut allergy, so I am fairly certain we'll be doing homemade cupcakes (stabbing her in the leg with an epi pen at her bday party is the last thing I want!).

I'm doing a Dora theme party, and I'll just use Dora cupcake wrappers and toppers (on picks).  My question is about the icing.  I usually just get the tubs of premade frosting (Betty Crocker etc) or even like the Pillsbury easy frost.  But it doesn't look that pretty and a tub doesn't go that far.

How do I get the really big layer of frosting?  I am thinking I need the bag with tips to get that nice striation to it... and I guess I'd have to make my own frosting if I was going to use copious amounts?  Plus I was thinking something like pink and maybe light orange (alternating on diff cupcakes).

Any tips would be really appreciated... I don't want to stress over all this stuff when I have so much else to deal with!  Thanks!

SeptemberBride'08

Pre-made frosting is REALLY hard to decorate with. I would suggest making your own butter creme frosting and letting it get really whipped in the mixer for ease of use and lighter texture. That way you can add any colors you want

goosh24

For J's big cupcake, I used the pre-made frosting in my frosting dispenser (can't find a link online.  It's like a bag, but a hard tube with tips.  Anyway, I did lots of the little star tips and it looked good and the pre-made frosting worked well.  I think you said you wanted pink and orange, which I'm sure is available now because of Halloween, but it would be easy to tint homemade frosting too. 

preggersin2011

an easy way to make a lot of frosting is cream cheese frosting, super easy and makes a ton. i usually do a block of cream cheese, a stick of butter, a bag of powdered sugar, and a splash of vanilla. if you are going to dye it use the gels a little goes a long way and it doesnt stain the mouth as much as the liquid. (use a tooth pick to add a little until you have the color you want) michaels or ac moore has the plastic throw away bags & a tip for dirt cheap. you can use a ziplock bag too but it isn't a durable. 

wendyj

Go to the Wilton website. It gives you tips on how to make buttercreme and how to decorate cupcakes. They actually make a cupcake decorating tip and bag set that you can get in Michaels, AC Moore, or Joann's. Cupcakes are actually really easy. If you need any help with them, let me know.

June4bride2be

I made this frosting for R's cupcakes...it was super yummy!

 https://www.ourbestbites.com/2008/09/perfect-cupcake-frosting-and-filling/

 

I used Wilton gel colors and a piping bag to get this look.

NikCole

Yeah, definitely make your own frosting. The can stuff is hard to decorate with, plus it tastes nasty!

This recipe is my go-to simple buttercream. And definitely use gel color to tint (the Wilton gels are sold at JoAnns, Michaels etc, but if you can find Americolor it is much better/more vibrant, I buy it at a specialty local gourmet food store but I think Hobby Lobby carries it)... if you use regular food coloring it will water down the frosting and make it runny.  

You can also buy the pastry bags and tips at the craft stores. Just make sure to get the large size. For most of my cupcakes I frost w/ a Wilton 1M sized tip, it's a closed star tip.

Search on YouTube for cupcake decorating and you'll find some good tutorials too.