Ideas for Cupcakes

Both children and adults can bake many types of creative cupcakes.

Cupcakes are a treat that can be enjoyed anytime, especially on special occasions. While boxed cupcake mixes and icing can be purchased at any grocery store, there are also many varietal options for the creative baker. Make never-before-seen cupcakes by experimenting with baking techniques and adding different ingredients or color combinations.

Ginger Rose Petal Cupcakes

Adding ginger to a cupcake recipe introduce a spicy flavor that compliments the cupcake's sweetness. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and some ground ginger. Add a mixture of butter, sugar and eggs. This will create the spicy-sweet cupcake batter. Bake these for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees. While these can be topped with just about any kind of lightly flavored icing, they're great with a blend of confectioner's sugar, milk and a bit of rose water. Add a drop of food coloring for icing with a pink complexion. After assembling the cupcakes, top them with pre-purchased sugared rose petals.

A Proposal Cupcake

A homemade cupcake can be the end to a home-cooked meal. It can also be used to pop the big question. Instead of hiding a ring inside of a cupcake -- an idea that is more well-intentioned than it is practical -- use it as a decoration on a cupcake. Plain white cake and white icing will draw attention to the ring and also give it a nice background. Serve the cupcake and the proposal simultaneously and it will not only be an attractive dessert, but also one that will not soon be forgotten.

Animal Cupcakes

Bakers use a variety of toppings to create animal cupcakes. Serve these cupcakes at birthday parties or other celebrations for kids. For example, ice a cupcake with stripes of orange, yellow and black to start the face of a tiger on a cupcake. Frogs call for green icing, and monkeys will use dark brown and light brown icing. Use spots of white icing or small chocolate candies for eyes. Food coloring can be added to the cake mix to match the animal's skin or fur color. Creativity is key with these cupcakes.

Flower Cupcakes

The round shape of a cupcake naturally lends itself to the shape of a flower. Use a piping bag to decorate the cupcake with icing. Purchase leaf and petal tips to attach to the piping bags. These tips are shaped so that when icing is squeezed through, it comes out in a shape of a leaf or petal. Pipe yellow frosting petals around a center of chocolate frosting to create a sunflower cupcake, for example. Mimic other naturally-occurring flowers or make up your own.

References

• Martha Stewart Weddings: Rose-and-Ginger Cupcakes
• Betty Crocker: Jungle Animal Cupcakes
• Martha Stewart: Flower Cupcakes