The Easiest Way to Frost a Cupcake

One question that I hear from a lot of people is "how can I frost a cupcake, and make it look nice and smooth?"
Any way but with a spatula or knife is my honest answer.

You'll notice that in any of my cupcake projects, I never ice the cupcakes with a spatula. It's just a real pain, never looks smooth, and is not pretty.

So, what is the easiest way to frost a cupcake??

With the icing swirl...

Or with a fondant cut-out.

Click the link to see my tutorial on the cupcake swirl. It's really, really simple once you get the hang of it. And if you do it on a couple dozen cupcakes... you'll get the hang of it!

To cover a cupcake with a fondant cut-out... get ready for easy!

What You Need: 
Cupcakes
Fondant (I used homemade marshmallow fondant for this demonstration)
Large, Round biscuit or cookie cutter
Optional:
To fill the cupcake, use a Bismarck tip

Roll the fondant to about 1/8" thick. That is about the thickness or a quarter or a nickel.

Using the largest biscuit cutter, cut out the round of fondant. The cutter may seem too big at first, but if your cupcakes have a dome on top (like most cupcakes made with cake mix will), you need it to be significantly bigger than the cupcake itself. I wish these were actually a teeny bit bigger.

Stick it on the un-iced cupcake.You do not need to have icing on the cupcakes like you do a cake. It will stick just fine unless your cupcakes are made of sawdust. I actually think it helps the fondant to almost "melt" into the cupcake and it doesn't taste as "fondant-y" when it's on a cupcake as it does on a cake. Plus, if you don't add the icing, then you don't have way too much sweet, which I hear a lot from people who don't understand why cake has both icing and fondant.

I've found that cupping the cupcake all around in my hand in a backwards C - like you see in the photo above - helps to get the edges better stuck to the sides, and makes it look less like something cut-out stuck on top.

Then I use my fingertips to smooth the lumps out. There will still be a few lumps unless your cupcakes are perfectly smooth when they bake.

The nice, smooth top makes a great canvas for all kinds of decorating.
Another benefit to using fondant to cover cupcakes is that it will get you comfortable with fondant. I hear a lot of students say that they're just "scared" to use fondant until they do. This is a really great, easy way to get your fondant feet wet.

Click the Links Below to See:
Beach Ball Cupcakes (using the same technique - mostly)
Other Fondant Decorating Ideas and Recipes
Other Cupcake Ideas and Recipes

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