NEEDED: See the Supply List for techniques, plus items you can purchase here. You will also need:

• Your favorite cake recipe or mix (4 1/2 to 5 cups batter needed)

Icing colors to be tinted. Use Color Right base colors and QuickCount color formulas to tint icing in the following shades:

• Spring Pink: 2 cups white icing + 23 P + 1 BK
• Spring Orange: 2 cups white icing + 18 Y + 5 O + 2 C
• Spring Yellow: 2 cups white icing + 16 Y + 1 O

Bake cupcakes. Use your favorite cake recipe or mix to make 4 1/2 to 5 cups of batter, then bake and cool 24 cupcakes.

Decorate cupcakes. Prepare three decorating bags with tip 105 and fill with tinted icing. Try these decorating styles:

• Cupcake A (Orange Pull-Out Star Cupcake) – Using the pull-out star technique, hold the bag at 45° angle, squeezing hard and letting icing fan out as tip is forced upwards. Gradually relax pressure as you lower tip, at the same time pulling the bag toward you. Stop squeezing and pull tip along surface to form tail. Repeat around entire cupcake.
• Cupcake B (Pink Rope Cupcake) – Using rope technique, pipe rope down center of cupcake. Repeat on each side of center rope.
• Cupcake C (Orange C-Motion Cupcake) – Using c-motion technique, hold bag at 45° angle with tip slightly above center of cupcake. Squeeze out icing with even pressure, curing tip down and around to the right as if writing a “c”. Relax pressure at bottom of “c”, forming a tail. Stop squeezing and pull tip away. Reposition tip at same height as previous “c” and repeat to complete pattern, covering cupcake.
• Cupcake D (Yellow Rope Cupcake) – Using rope technique, pipe rope around cupcake edge.
• Cupcake E (Pink Rosette Cupcake) – Using rosette technique, pipe small rosette in center of cupcake. Pipe six small rosettes surrounding the first.
• Cupcake F (Yellow Shell Cupcake) – Using shell technique, pipe shell border down middle of cupcake. Turn cupcake 180° and pipe shell border on each side of middle border. Turn cupcake 180° one more time and pipe shell border on both ends of cupcake.
• Cupcake G (Orange Rosette Cupcake) – Using rosette technique, pipe one large rosette around entire top of cupcake.
• Cupcake H (Pink Zig-Zag Cupcake) – Using zig-zag technique, pipe small circle in center of cupcake. Pipe second zig-zag circle around the first, covering top of cupcake.