Decorating Cupcakes for Valentine's Day
Cupcakes are a popular Valentine's Day treat for your loved ones. Bring a dozen or two to a school function or to the office. Cupcakes can be decorated in many ways to celebrate this passionate holiday. Focus on the theme of love and colors like red or pink to customize your holiday treats.
Keep the Valentine color scheme of reds and pinks by baking Red Velvet cupcakes. This is a rich, moist tasting cake with a deep red color and normally iced with white, cream cheese icing. The white icing is a perfect blank canvas for decorating. If you would prefer vanilla or chocolate cupcakes, you can add red food dye to the batter before baking or to your icing to achieve a similar look.
Depending on your artistic abilities, you can purchase multicolored gel tubes and draw pictures on top of the cupcakes. Popular icons include cupids, hearts and lips. You can also purchase edible candy treats, such as conversation hearts, to place on top of the cupcakes for decoration. Phrases commonly found on candy conversation hearts, such as "Be Mine" or "I Love You," can be written on cupcakes in icing or gel and then surrounded by multicolored sprinkles.
For a healthier decorating option, cut ripe red strawberries up and place on top of the cupcakes. Slice each strawberry in half and with a few cuts, form the shape of a heart and place on top of the cupcake in the center. These look great on top of solid chocolate icing. Roses are also synonymous with Valentine's Day, so cut fresh flowers and place on top of the iced cupcakes or create edible flowers out of thick icing.
Combine cookies and cupcakes for a double treat! After baking and frosting your cupcakes with a pretty pink frosting, take small heart or cupid shaped sugar cookies and place gently into the top so that they are popping up out of the cupcake. Cookies can be purchased at your local bakery, but it will be more fun if you create the shapes yourself!
