Cupcake Swirls

I had some leftover batter from the mini cupcakes  so I made 6 standard ones to practice piping on later. Specifically, I wanted to try swirls with an extra large star tip. I LOVE the results from a large tip. So exaggerated and pretty.

I just got some new tips from Amazon, as well as some disposable pastry bags which I HIGHLY recommend.

I didn't even need a coupler to attach the tip since I wasn't planning on switching it out for another one later.  I just snipped off about two inches of the pastry bag, dropped the tip inside and slid it down into the end nice and snug. (I'll share more on this in a future post.)

Large closed star tip

It is really quite easy to pipe a swirl. My aunt Joanna had filled me in on some tips, no pun intended, and I thought I would show you the results. I used a closed star tip (shown above) this time around.

The first is your typical swirl design. Remember those curly Q doodles you used to draw as a kid? It's basically the same thing. 

To start, place your tip at the edge of the cupcake. 

Squeeze the bag and swirl around until you get to the center. 

Stop applying pressure and lift your piping bag straight up in the air to get that small decorative star of icing.

 

Starting from the outside and working in.

The second one is a rose type of swirl. It's done in a reverse fashion. 

This time, start right in the middle and swirl  around until you reach the outer edge. 

So simple with such pretty results!

Starting from the inside and working out.

With just the right tip, a disposable bag and some icing, you can turn out some very pretty cupcakes with little effort!