There's nothing special about these cupcakes, other than the way they were decorated. I made these for my niece's birthday party a few months ago. (I know...I'm really behind on my "flogging"!) The frosting recipe I used is a basic American Buttercream Frosting recipe that I got from Glorious Treats. The recipe is a great guideline for basic frosting, and can be modified using various flavor extracts, or by adding cream cheese. I simply used the basic, unflavored (well, vanilla) version for decorating these cupcakes. I plan to try this recipe with other flavors at some point in the future.
American Buttercream Frosting
In electric mixing bowl, with whisk attachment, beat butter on medium speed until completely smooth. (This step is important for buttercream! Make sure there are no lumps and it is not too warm and melty. Put it back in the fridge for a little while if you need to.) Add salt (if needed).
American Buttercream Frosting
Ingredients
- 1 C (2 sticks) butter (salted or unsalted), room temperature
- 1/4 tsp salt (if using unsalted butter)
- 4 C powdered sugar (sift if needed to break up clumps)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2-3 T heavy cream, half-and-half, or milk
In electric mixing bowl, with whisk attachment, beat butter on medium speed until completely smooth. (This step is important for buttercream! Make sure there are no lumps and it is not too warm and melty. Put it back in the fridge for a little while if you need to.) Add salt (if needed).
Add 2 cups powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating after each addition.
Add vanilla and beat to combine.
Add about 1 tablespoon of cream, and continue beating.
Add the remaining 2 cups of powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time
Add another 1-2 tablespoons of cream until desired consistency is reached, and beat/whip for another minute or so.
Monster Cupcakes
Ingredients
- Cupcakes
- Frosting (see above, or use your own recipe)
- Food coloring (preferably gel type)
- Edible eyes (available in the cake decorating aisle, or make your own)
- Other candy decorations you might want
Instructions
Separate frosting into bowls (1 for each color). Use mixer to mix food coloring into frosting until thoroughly blended, one color at a time. Consistency may need to be adjusted by adding more powdered sugar, especially is using liquid food coloring.
Scoop into piping bag(s) fitted with a Wilton #233 or #234 tip. It looks like this:
Hold tip against cupcake top and gently squeeze, while gently pulling away. Stop squeezing and lift away a little more. Place tip right next to where you just frosted, and repeat until the top of the cupcake is covered in "fur" and there is no cake visible. It will take some time and experimentation to figure it out and get the hang of it. You might want to test on some parchment paper or something until you figure out how to get the length of the frosting "fur" the way you want it. Then find a rhythm/pattern and go with it. This part will take a while.
Separate frosting into bowls (1 for each color). Use mixer to mix food coloring into frosting until thoroughly blended, one color at a time. Consistency may need to be adjusted by adding more powdered sugar, especially is using liquid food coloring.
Scoop into piping bag(s) fitted with a Wilton #233 or #234 tip. It looks like this:
After frosting, decorate with eyes. Make it fun! Not all monsters have 2 eyes like people do! Some might have eyes that stick up (try using toothpicks, pretzel sticks, or something else to hold up candy eyes). Eyes can be marshmallows, life savers, M&Ms, gumdrops, etc. Maybe some have bushy candy eyebrows. Maybe some have different types of fur (use different decorating tips). Maybe some have spots or stripes (alternate colors when frosting). Maybe some have fangs or horns! Use your imagination and have some fun with it!
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| My finished Monster Cupcakes! |
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| Not my pictures. Just some examples from the interwebs. |
The Verdict
The kids loved them, and the adults thought they were cute, too!
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