Frosting Cupcakes Without a Pipe

[confettine]

I tried decorating my cupcakes with a fork, with a knife, it was horrible. I've heard somewhere that you could put the frosting in a ziplock bag and cut a corner and use it as a piping bag -- tried this, but the result was less than convincing, since the hole it made was a bit weird.

How do you go around decorating cupcakes if you forgot your piping bag somewhere? I mean, mostly I just buttered them and decided I would eat them fast enough to not care. But still.

 

[Shimus]

You can do it in ziplock or glad bags but you have to cut the corner at a certain angle and then use your hand to push most of the frosting down effectively, or roll it up like a toothepaste tube and use the pressure to squeeze it out. It doesn't work well, but it can get you by. But this is what I would suggest:

 

[Trellum]

I do the same you do, just use whatever I have in hand to decorate them, but that only works when it's me who is going to eat them! If someone else is going to eat them... then it can be rather embarrassing, hehe.

 

[Zyni]

You could just use a swirl design made with a spoon, the way it's done on larger cakes. http://www.recipetips.com/kitchen-tips/t--1627/swirled-frosting-design.asp

Or, just "butter" them like you said, but then add sprinkles or colored sugar.

 

[confettine]

The problem with buttering them is that they usually are filled at two thirds or something and they don't rise above the liners (in my case, silicone form/liners) so buttering them is hard because the surface is small, "deep" and limited, so then I have frosting accumulating in the "corners" (basically on the sides)

The spoon and cake thing looks pretty amazing though! Will definitely take note of it and try it!

 

[Zyni]

I think the spoon swirls look really pretty. The best part is, your cupcakes won't look the same as the ones everybody else makes. I like to make my baked goods look different. This swirly design is easy, but it looks like you put in a lot of time and effort.

 

[Anya]

being perfectly imperfect.

 

[tangela]

I've always just used a ziplock bag. You can get those cupcake/cake decorating tips and just use the ziplock bags that you may have at home. If you're going to bake and decorate a lot of the cakes though it wouldn't hurt to invest in some permanent and good piping bags; I'm sure it makes a huge difference!

 

[confettine]

I think the spoon swirls look really pretty. The best part is, your cupcakes won't look the same as the ones everybody else makes. I like to make my baked goods look different. This swirly design is easy, but it looks like you put in a lot of time and effort.

I also think part of the fun of the nice swirly designs is how much frosting you get even on a small cupcake. (A lot!!!)