That's one purrty stripe you're wearing cupcake!

Here's a quick tutorial on how to make the stripe in the buttercream swirl. It's actually easier then it might appear and I think it looks fabulous. I first used it around Christmas time a few years ago. I named it the "candy cane cuppy" because it both looked and tasted like its name. If I recall correctly, it was a dark chocolate cake, filled with white chocolate ganache that had chopped candy canes folded in and it was topped with peppermint buttercream. If I knew how to post a pic, i'd insert it right here:


Sadly, im not that smart with doing cool things with my blog, so i'll have to stick with the basics as well as a promise to post a pic another time. OK?OK.

Aside from the actual cupcake, this is really all you need:

- scissors

- circle tip of your choice, I used Ateco #807

- piping bag, I use mine sans coupler

- gel color of your choice, I used Wilton Sky blue

- paint brush strictly dedicated to baking/decorating

- spoon

- frosting of your choice

First, measure how much to cut, using the tip pressed againt the end of the piping bag. Always cut a little less then necessary because you can always cut a little more off, if you cut too much, you'll waste the bag. Or have to be very creative and find another use for it.

Drop the tip in the bag & make sure it fits properly. The fold the bag over your hand. ( if this is a little difficult, a great trick is to put the bad in a large glass and fold the sides over the top, this way you have both hands free!)

OK, somehow I just deleted a pic. Wow, I really do suck at this!! It was the pic that showed using the brush to 'draw' the first stripe in the bag. Oh well, I guess you can understand by looking into the bag.

Thats really all there is to it. Draw/paint as many or as few stripes as you want. I have found that 3 works the best for my taste. Take the brush, dip it in the color and liberally paint from the tip to where you folded the bag over. You will probably have to repeat a few times to get the 'right' amount before you add the frosting.

Next, using the spoon you're going to "plop" ( and yes, thats the technical term) the frosting into the piping bag. The reason is you're less likely to disturb the stripes on the side of the bag when you plop.

I wanted to show you what it looked like piped in a straight line.

If you have any questions, please feel free to ask. I will do my best to answer as clearly as I can. I'd also love to see pics. I'd love, love, LOVE to post them here on my blog too!! Hopefully by then, ill figure out how!! LOL

FYI- This striping technique also works well using a star tip. Ill frost a few that way and get the pics up for you.

I hope you found this tutorial helpful, thanks for stopping by!!