Easy Cupcakes

So simple, yet they still make a statement. Turn the mouth up more for a more-traditional smiley, or even include sad faces if you’re so inclined.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; yellow frosting; black M&Ms; black licorice strings (or black writing icing).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Add eyes and mouth. That’s it!

If you’re planning an Inauguration Day party for Inauguration Day, Jan. 20, 2009, many of EasyCupcakes.com’s patriotic cupcakes would be appropriate. But if you really want to get specific, here’s a design honoring the actual inauguration date of President Barack Obama. You can make this; yes you can!

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; frosting tinted blue; star-shaped sprinkles; pastry bag and round metal tip (or use icing in a tube).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Pipe the date, 1-20-09, in blue, being sure to start at the far left so you don’t run out of room. Accent with star sprinkles.

Jan. 20, 2009 is Inauguration Day, when Barack Obama will officially become the 44th president of the United States. These cupcakes feature the logo of Obama’s candidacy.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white or off-white frosting; frosting tinted blue; frosting tinted red (I used Royal Blue and No Taste Red paste food coloring by Wilton); pastry bag and coupler; 2 slanty (rose-style) metal tips (I used #104 and #44, but as long as you have two different sizes you should be fine.)

How to Make It: Frost cupcake white. Fit one pastry bag with larger tip and load with red icing. The second bag is for the smaller tip and blue icing. Holding at an angle, squeeze flat stripe of blue arched along the top of the cupcake. Then, with red, make three progressively smaller arches going upward from the bottom left. Squeeze more gently and angle the metal tip a bit as you end each red arch.

For Election Day, Fourth of July or any patriotic occasion, these red, white and blue flower cupcakes add prettiness to the party.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; white frosting; blue candy-covered sunflower seeds; red hot candies (cinnamon imperials).

How to Make It: Frost cupcake. Arrange blue sunflower seeds, point facing inward, around red hots.

Planning an election night party? Or, perhaps you’re reading this post after the Nov. 4, 2008 presidential election and want to decorate cupcakes for the Fourth of July or another patriotic event. This flag cupcakes fit the bill! Whether you’re for Obama, McCain or even Nadar, there’s one thing we can all agree on: Cupcakes are yummy.

What You Need: 1 cupcake; frosting tinted red (use no-taste red paste food coloring if you can); icing in aerosol can such as Betty Crocker‘s (or use pastry bag and ribbon tip); large blue confetti stars.

How to Make It: Frost cupcake red. Attach ribbon tip to icing can and draw stripes across the cupcake, leaving a square at the top left area for the stars. Add blue stars.

Whether you’re in a state voting on Super Tuesday, or if you’re reading this post on the 4th of July, or even in the November general election, these patriotic star-themed cupcake are just the ticket. Now your toughest decision will be chocolate or vanilla, or perhaps a third-party cupcake candidate such as lemon or devil’s food.
What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white frosting; candy stars; 1M metal icing tip; pastry bag.
How to Make It: Fit 1M metal tip to disposable pastry bag (the 1M tip is larger than standard size; a disposable bag means you won’t have to cut so far into a cloth bag). Fill pastry bag halfway with white icing (we used canned icing, but homemade may make for more appealing, stiffer swirls). While squeezing out icing, move arm in a circular motion and cover the top of the cupcake with a swirl of icing. Then, starting a little bit in from the edge this time, make a second swirl on top of the first one. Immediately add candy stars (we used Wilton brand). If the 1M swirl sounds confusing, stay tuned, as Easycupcakes.com will have more detailed instructions soon.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, and for the local scrapbooking “Crop for a Cure” event, easycupcakes.com made a batch of these pink ribbon cupcakes. We even found pink ribbon cupcake liners, made by Fox Run. Don’t worry if you don’t get the ribbon “just right.” It’s all for charity!

What You Need: 1 cupcake (baked and cooled); white frosting; red paste or liquid food coloring; pastry bag and coupler; icing tip #104.
Make That Cupcake!: Frost cupcakes using white icing. Tint reserved white icing pink. Using coupler, attach tip #104 to pastry bag. Fill bag halfway with pink icing, squeeze out air and twist top closed. With the narrow end of the tip facing you, hold the bag at a 90- or 45-degree angle (depending on the “look” you want) and, in one motion, “draw” ribbon shape. Stop squeezing before you lift the tip up, and be sure to wipe the tip off between cupcakes.