Beautiful Buttercream Rose Cupcakes

This buttercream roses tutorial is by our contributor Shayna…I know how much Cheryl loves buttercream so I thought I would do another simple, yet, lovely, buttercream decorating post. I know it’s still very wintery at the moment but I’m hopeful that spring will eventually show up. These rose topped cupcakes are perfect for a spring gathering (think Mother’s Day) but they are also easy enough to make that you can whip them up just because.

Buttercream Roses – What You’ll Need:

• A batch of your favorite cupcakes
• Buttercream tinted to whatever color you like
• A piping bag fitted with a petal tip

Buttercream Roses Tutorial:

For this technique you want to make sure your buttercream is not too stiff or cold. You want it to hold some shape but if it’s too stiff your hands will be so sore from squeezing the icing out that you won’t be able to do more than a couple! Start with a “medium” consistency and just try it out, adjusting to find the consistency that works for you. The lovely thing about decorating cupcakes is you can just scrape the icing off and try again if things don’t exactly work out!

Start in the center of your cupcake. Hold your tip so the wide end is at the bottom. Begin by piping a tight center – just like the center of a rose. I usually hold the cupcake in my hand when I do the center for better control.

Now put the cupcake down on the counter. Start piping around the center you just made. Pipe with one hand and slowly turn the cupcake clockwise with your other hand. You are basically doing one continuous ribbon but if your “ribbon” has a break in it (ie you need to take a break) that’s just fine. Just start piping where you left off.

Experiment a little with the angle you hold your piping bag. You can hold it straight up for a cleaner look or angle it out a bit to give your rose petals a little more of a ruffled look. If you feel like it, grab a leaf tip and some green icing and pipe a couple of leaves on the cupcake edges to finish it off.

We’d like to send a big thank you to Shayna of Mommy Outside The Box for sharing this beautiful tutorial with us. You can find Shayna over at her blog sharing more delicious recipes like this sweet Peeps Sunflower Cake (pin this for Easter!) or over on her social media channels – Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest.