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The Easy Way to Decorate Beautiful Cupcakes! There's a video tutorial, too!
You're going to love this tutorial: The Easy Way to Decorate Beautiful Cupcakes. It's such a fun technique that produces gorgeous cupcakes with no decorating know how!
If you did a Google search for cafe sucre farine cupcakes and checked out the results, you might surmise that I enjoy making cupcakes. And if you scroll down the long list, you might be convinced that I just hang out all day making cupcakes - and that decorating them is one of my strong suits.
The first presumption is true, the second, not so much. I do enjoy making (and eating) cupcakes, but decorating can be a struggle for me. There's often weeks or months in between when I make cupcakes and I always feel a bit rusty when it comes to decorating. I have to practice, practice, practice to get it right and, when I'm finished, sometimes only two or three out of a dozen come out looking pretty.
I guess that's why I was so thrilled to discover this fun marshmallow flower technique for turning out gorgeous cupcakes. I'd seen examples on Pinterest awhile back, but didn't have the opportunity to try it till now.
When my friend Rachel from KitchenAid emailed to see if I'd like to participate in their 10,000 Cupcakes, One Great Cause campaign, I was thrilled. I wanted to come up with something fun and unique - but also something that would be easy and wouldn't require any special skills. I remembered  the marshmallow flower technique and could hardly wait to give it a try.
Wow! Was I surprised at how quickly my first attempt came together. I couldn't believe how beautiful the results were! I used my Easiest, Best Ever Chocolate Cupcake recipe for the base and frosted them with my Best Ever Vanilla Buttercream. But instead of telling you all about the simple technique, Scott and I put together a short little video to show you. After all, seeing is believing, right? And I'm certain you'll be a believer after you watch!
See what I mean? So simple with such pretty results! Check the recipe below for some tips and tricks.
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The Easy Way to Decorate Beautiful Cupcakes
Ingredients
- cupcakes
- colored sugar, s
- buttercream icing
- marshmallows, about 16-18 for each cupcake
- scissors
- cooking spray or oil
- sprinkles, non pareils,
Instructions
- Frost 1 cupcake at a time with a fairly thick layer of buttercream icing. It doesn't have to be fancy but try to keep a nice shape and cover to the edges with the icing.
- Place colored sugar in a medium size shallow bowl.
- Place a small amount of sprinkles in a small bowl.
- Spray the blades of a clean scissors with cooking spray or wipe lightly with a paper towel that's been dipped in oil. Wipe off any excess oil. (If blades of the scissors begin to get sticky at any point, just wash the scissors with hot water, dry well and repeat oil.
- Cut about 16-18 marshmallows in half, diagonally and add them to bowl with sugar. Stir to coat sticky, cut side of marshmallow halves with colored sugar.
- Cut 1 marshmallow in half crosswise and place sticky side down into sprinkles (or non pareils). Push down on marshmallow half to enlarge it to a circular "button". Remove from sprinkle bowl and set aside. Repeat with other half.
- Beginning at the outer edge of the frosted cupcake, place marshmallows all the way around the cupcake. When the outer circle is complete, move in and do the same thing again. The last circle of petals should be right around the "button". (I use 14-16 "petals" around the outer edges. 10-12 around the middle circle and 6-7 around that surrounds "the button.)
- With your hands slightly cupped, gently shape the flower so that it's circular and some outer petals aren't sticking out.
- Repeat procedure for remaining cupcakes.
- The video in the post above demonstrates all these steps.
- Enjoy!
Notes
Use any colored sugar you like or multiple sugars. It would be pretty to do the petals in different shades of the same hue for an ombre effect.
You can color your own sugar! Just fill a small jar about half full with regular granulate sugar. Add a drop of food coloring at a time and shake, shake, shake! Add more food color to achieve a darker color, drop by drop. If you used gel food color, stir the mixture with a spoon instead of shaking. Keep pushing the sugar against the walls of the glass jar as you stir, till all the gel food color has been distributed.
It's fine to make all the marshmallow "petals" before you get started with the decorating but frost each cupcake as you go. If the icing hardens with will be more difficult for the marshmallow "petals" to adhere.
If you pinch the outer tips of "the petals" as you're placing them on the cupcake you'll get a different looking flower than if you keep them rounded.
This would be a really fun project to do with kids!
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I can hardly wait to make these become sunflowers! I truly enjoy your recipes, you’ve made me a better cook. You would be shocked at my growing pile of recipe print outs. I haven’t been disappointed in a single one. Thank you for all of the useful hints, beautiful photography and videos, but most of all the most delicious food on the internet.
Thank you, Patti, for this very kind comment! I love that you've enjoyed our recipes! đź’• And I love the idea of sunflower cupcakes. I sometimes get so busy with new recipes that I forget about the older ones. Thanks for a great reminder. I may try the sunflowers too!
I LOVE your videos! Keep 'em coming! This cupcake decoration looks like something even I could do. I'm gonna try it.
Thanks Vicki - keep an eye on our site, we're going to be doing a lot more video. It just makes things so clear and takes a little of the mystery out of some really fun techniques.
These cupcakes are really beautiful Chris, love the technique, looks like even I may even be able to do this. Wonderful cause!!!
They are so simple Cheri! I think you'll really enjoy making them. They're also a great kid's project!
Chris-The cupcakes are beautiful!!
Love it!!
Thanks so much Sue. You have to try this technique, it's so... fun!
These cupcakes are absolutely gorgeous, Chris! Certainly bakery worthy! 🙂
Thanks Laura!
Chris, I struggle with cake/cupcake decorating and so I am so incredibly thankful you posted this tutorial and video - now I need some mini marshmallows!
Thanks Shashi, I wish I could take credit for inventing it, but it is pretty darn cool!
Hi Chris, what a great idea I love both cupcakes and marshmallows...yum! your video is great, I had been wondering how you got the different shade of pink in the marshmallow petals, thinking that it would be difficult, but it looks so easy now. I hope that you have a fun weekend. Hugs Rose x
Thanks Rose! It is crazy-easy; and in our busy life, easy is very important!
What an easy technique... Will definitely give it a try...
I think you'll love the results Dorothy!
So, these are mini marshmallows, right? These are beautiful and anything like a flower and not so difficult is a winner in my book!
Yes Marcy, you are correct! I'm with you on the easy part!
Very impressive! Now did you really eat a cupcake with 16-18 marshmallows?
Thanks Angie! They're just the mini marshmallows, that's not quite the same 🙂
What a great idea, beautiful, fun and quick to make!!! THanks so much and have a great weekend, Linda from Canada
Thank you Linda, I appreciate you kind words! And happy almost Canadian Thanksgiving!
Chris these are spectacular --- I'm a cupcake mom from way back, but I never made anything as gorgeous as these --- they match your mixer perfectly 🙂
I'm not so sure I would agree with you on that Sue, everything you make is gorgeous! They do make a pretty color with that gorgeous mixer!
Loved the video 🙂 They really are beautiful, Chris, and look like so much fun to make!
Thanks Susan, a video really does show how easy they are!
I have done the marshmallows..but never added the sugar..Brilliant!
Yes Monique, It's a technique that been around for a while but there are fun ways to pizzazz it up 🙂
These are so pretty and so easy! Loving your videos 🙂
Thanks Jennifer, it's fun (and also nerve-wracking) to venture into something new!
This is a wonderful idea! I can't believe how easy you make it look and the cupcakes turned out beautiful. Scott did a great job with the video too - you two are too cute!
Thanks for the encouragement Tricia! It was quite a learning curve for two days, but we really have enjoyed the results!
Thanks Tricia, we had fun doing it!