Every time you think of baking cupcakes, you keep telling yourself that you’ll get creative with decorating them.
When it’s actually time to make the cupcakes, your mind is blank. You’re thinking of either plain frosting or some good old sprinkles.
But actual decorating ideas? Those are far gone in the back of your mind next to tomorrow’s laundry tasks.
You don’t have to overthink it anymore. I have some pretty creative cupcake decorating ideas that anyone can do, even beginners.
1 – Medal Cupcakes
Since we’re in the Olympics season, it doesn’t hurt to watch the competitions while munching on themed cupcakes. Create gold, silver, and bronze medals using fondant, and use sour strips for the straps. You can put them on top of conventional white frosting or any color of your choice.
If you want to add a final touch, grab an edible ink pen and draw on each medal.
2 – Fluffy Rainbow Frosting
Whenever in doubt, opt for sprinkles—that’s the universal rule of decorating cupcakes.
However, they don’t have to be plain and boring. You can make fun cupcakes and decorate them with fluffy icing. Then, add some sprinkles on top, and you have cupcakes suitable for all occasions.
3 – Marshmallow Unicorns
Though unicorn cupcakes look professional and challenging, they’re actually quite easy to make using marshmallows.
All you have to do is stick a white marshmallow on top of each cupcake and decorate it using leftover frosting and a small piping tip. You can also get edible ink pens to draw the unicorn’s lashes and facial features.
These cupcakes would be perfect for a unicorn-themed birthday party.
4 – Cookie Monster
Here’s another idea that looks professional but is quite easy to make.
These cookie-monster-themed cupcakes are easy to create using some blue frosting and cookie crumbles. You can create the eyes using fondant or store-bought gummies, and you’ll have these tiny cookie monsters ready!
5 – Spider Cupcakes
Are you making cupcakes for Halloween?
You don’t need to carve out a pumpkin or buy expensive frosting. With some Oreos, you can make some funny spider cupcakes.
Choose a chocolate frosting and put the Oreo cookie on top of it. Then, add a pair of eyes and use darker frosting or chocolate to draw the legs.
6 – Minion Cupcakes
If your kids are fans of Despicable Me, make them some minion-themed cupcakes. They’re so easy that your kids can join in on the fun. All you need is some yellow frosting, marshmallows, and molten chocolate.
Cover each cupcake in yellow frosting, top it off with white marshmallows for the glasses, then draw the pupils and straps using milk or dark chocolate.
7 – Buttercream Rose
Do you want the easiest cupcake decoration you can find? Do rose-shaped buttercream frosting.
All you’ll need is the frosting, a piping bag, and a closed star tip. Choose frosting in the color you want and pipe it on top of the cupcake from the inside and outwards.
If you want to get creative without opting for a harder design, make your cupcakes in rainbow colors and arrange them neatly on the serving tray. You can also decorate them with edible flowers for a sophisticated look.
8 – Pom Pom Frosting
Here’s another ultra-simple idea that looks funny! Decorate your cupcakes with pom poms by piping the frosting in round shapes. To do so, you can use a round tip with a piping bag or a zip-top bag with its edge snipped off.
You can play around with the circles and make them in different shapes—you can also change their colors according to your preference. And to add a final touch, dust the pom pom shapes with some colorful sprinkles.
9 – Sprinkle-Dipped Frosting
If all else fails, you can always go for the good old sprinkle dipping trick.
Here’s what you’ll do: you’ll cover your cupcakes in frosting. You can do it using a piping bag or a spatula according to the shape you want to end up with.
If you’re aiming for a neat finish, use a spatula. If you want to create a swirl or small peaks, use a piping bag.
After that, grab each cupcake and dip it gently into a bowl full of colorful sprinkles.
Sounds easy enough?
You can spruce the cupcakes up by using different colors according to the theme of your party.
10 – Embroidered Frosting
I know easy isn’t the first word to come to mind when you read ‘embroidered,’ but I promise this one is easy. You have two ways to make the embroidered frosting for the cupcakes.
Firstly, you can use a small piping tip and white frosting. You can create whatever shapes you want, but pipe them in small dots to create the embroidery effect.
If you’re willing to go the extra mile, you can use fondant cut-outs to make embroidered shapes instead. However, I think the frosting gives a more authentic result.
11 – Blooming Frosting
For easter or spring-themed parties, make cupcakes with buttercream blooming frosting. To do so, make frosting in various shades—make sure to include a couple of green shades for the leaves.
Then, using different sizes of piping tips, pipe floral petals in various colors. Top each cupcake with a couple of green leaves for contrast, and you’ll have them ready without learning any hard decorating skills.
Sarah is the founder of Baking Kneads, LLC, a blog sharing guides, tips, and recipes for those learning how to bake. Growing up as the daughter of a baker, she spent much of her childhood learning the basics in a local bakery.