Fun Flower Cupcake Ideas

Cupcakes are delightfully petite and sweet treats. Despite their relatively small size, cupcakes lend themselves well to all types of creative embellishment. You can make each one slightly different, if you desire, so that one batch contains several individual works of art. Flowers, of which there are so many varieties, are ideal motifs for cupcake decoration. Add this to my Recipe Box.

Create Flowers with Frosting

By using frosting tips, you can create a variety of petals, leaves and stems to embellish cupcakes with any types of flowers you desire. Try topping cupcakes with basic daisies fashioned with flat, ovoid, white frosting petals and round, bulbous, yellow-tinted frosting centers. A helpful, illustrated guide to frosting tips can be found at bigstep.ladycakes.com.

Bake in Flower-Shaped Pans

Bake your cupcakes in cupcake pans that are shaped like flowers. When removed from the pans, you will have charming, flower-shaped cupcakes that require little in the way of further embellishment. For a lovely effect, bake red velvet cupcakes in rose-shaped cupcake tins; when they are finished baking, you will have a bouquet of edible red roses.

Use Real, Edible Flowers

Some gourmet food markets and baking supply retailers sell packages of edible flowers, which you can use to decorate your cupcakes. Using real, edible flowers will lend a sense of organic, natural beauty to your cupcakes. Try using edible red and pink rose petals for a romantic effect, ideal for wedding or Valentine's Day cupcakes. Use bright orange nasturiums for a cheerful look suitable for a birthday party.

Embellish with Crystallized, Edible Flowers

Take basic edible flowers to the next level by lightly coating them in egg white and granulated sugar for a frosty, crystallized look. Crystallized edible flowers have a pristine, glistening effect, giving your cupcakes a fanciful, fairytale-like appearance.

Form Flowers with Nuts and Candies

You can use other edible components, such as nuts and candies, to form flowers on your cupcakes. Simply embed these edible elements in a layer of frosting. Try using slivered or halved golden almonds, russet pecans, pretty, pale green pistachios, or marshmallows to create flower petals. Use chocolate chips, colored sprinkles or gum drops to make flower centers.

Make a Cupcake Bouquet

To make a cupcake bouquet, decorate each cupcake in a batch with a different flower, so that no two are alike. Include a daisy, a rose, a violet and a lily for a varied, dynamic and colorful effect. You can create all your flowers with frosting, or make some with frosting, some with edible flowers and some with nuts and other components.

Add Charm and Humor with Bees

Some purveyors of baking supplies sell charming sugar bees, which are fitting companions for any flower-emblazoned cupcakes. Try adding a single bee to each flower cupcake for an effect that is sure to delight the senses of sight and humor as well as the taste buds.