sweet foundations. And practice, practice, practice.
As a budding baking adventurer, you’ll want to become proficient in a variety of skills that will aid you on your journey. Your charisma stat may be through the roof, but if your dexterity is lacking, you’ll end up with more frosting on your tabard then on your cake. Today your training in the foundational skills required for the recipes outlined in this book begins. The trials ahead may be dark and full of terrors, but you’ll be ready – let’s get started.
How to Portion Out Buttercream
When portioning out how much buttercream you’ll need to frost your cupcakes, it’s a good idea to use an ice cream scoop or disher, with one scoop per cupcake (Figure 1). If you only need 5 cupcakes with green mint frosting, put 5 scoops of your prepared buttercream in a separate bowl, then tint and flavor it before putting it in the piping bag. Then if you have any leftover buttercream, you can save it for later in the fridge, wrapped in a square of plastic wrap.
How to Fill a Piping Bag
Drop a piping tip (or a coupler, if you’re using a
small tip) into the bag. Using scissors, cut off the tip of the bag, removing only as much as it takes for the coupler / tip to just stick out of the bag (Figure 2). If you cut it too wide, the opening will stretch under the pressure of piping and launch your piping tip across the room, along with a gob of buttercream frosting. Slide your large tip out until taut, or attach the small tip and outer ring of your coupler.
Hold the piping bag in your left hand around the middle, and fold the edge over your hand. Using your right hand, fill the bag with frosting using a spatula (Figure 3). You can use the edge of your left hand to wipe the frosting off the spatula. Do not overfill! Fill the bag just over halfway and no more, or you won’t be able to twist it shut without it oozing out of the back of the bag.
Twist the bag closed until all of the air is pushed out of the bag and the frosting comes peeking out of the tip. You’re ready to go!
How to Frost a Cupcake
Now that you’ve got your piping bag full of buttercream frosting ready to go, let’s get to piping! Different tips have different effects, depending on the type of frosted cupcake you’re looking to make, but almost all of them require the same motion – rotating at the wrists.
A common error I see when people are learning to frost a cupcake is that they move their upper arms and hands in small circles over the cupcake, like they’re stirring a pot. Instead, make sure you are rotating only your wrists, and in circles that, with each rotation, grow smaller. Usually it takes about two and a half rotations to get there. When you reach the center of the cupcake, release pressure and pull up quickly for a pointed tip. This gives you much more control over your movements and keeps you centered over the cupcake. Watch someone making ice cream cones from a soft-serve machine – it’s the same movement, just upside down!
It may help (or hinder!) to pick up your cupcake in your other hand while you pipe, as opposed to keeping it on a flat surface. Give both methods a try and see which you prefer.
Pictured are some of the different frosting effects that can be achieved and the tips used to create them:
Classic Rosette:
This technique is common for a reason – it’s super easy! The ridges fall however they feel like falling and hide any imperfections, air bubbles, or required restarts.
Starting at the outside edge of the cupcake and rotating at the wrist, make two and a half rotations, making each one smaller to create a dome. Release pressure and pull up once you reach the center of the cupcake.
Tip: Ateco 845 or Wilton 1M
Flat Rosette:
This is your classic “I’m going to jam a bunch of stuff on top of this cupcake so it can’t be super tall” frosting technique. It also looks very pretty on its own!
Starting at the center of the cupcake and rotating at the wrist, make two and a half rotations, making each one larger until you reach the edge. Release pressure and wipe the last bit of frosting around the outside edge so it blends in.
Tip: Ateco 845 or Wilton 1M
Princess Rosette:
This ruffle-icious technique uses a star tip with more prongs to create a shape much like a bridesmaids’ dress from the 80’s. I won’t lie, adventurer – getting the hang of this one takes some practice, so test it out on some waxed paper first, then scoop the testers back into your frosting bowl once you’ve got it down.
Make one rotation around the edge of the cupcake, then make a bunch of tighter circles, quickly and closer to the center, letting the ruffles fall as they may.
Tip: Ateco 849
Flat Top:
This is like a Classic Rosette, but with less height and a large round tip. Great for cupcakes where you will be dipping the tops in sprinkles, graham cracker crumbs, or melted chocolate.
Starting at the outside edge of the cupcake and rotating at the wrist, make two and a half rotations, making each one smaller to create a dome. Press down harder and do not lift up as much as you would with a classic rosette. Once you almost-but-not-quite reach the center of the cupcake, release pressure, and instead of pulling up, continue rotating and blend the tip of the frosting with the rest so it sits flat.
Tip: Ateco 809
Tall Coil:
This uses the same technique as the Classic Rosette, but with a smaller round tip. It’s not recommended you use this style for chocolate frosting, lest the coil resemble… well… poop (unless that’s the effect you’re going for, like with our Poopcakes on page 120!) It also uses a smaller round tip than the Flat Top, as it would otherwise be an overwhelming amount of frosting. And that’s coming from someone who’s DTF: Down to Frost.
Starting at the outside edge of the cupcake and rotating at the wrist, make two and a half rotations, making each one smaller to create a dome. Release pressure and pull up once you reach the center of
the cupcake.
