Creating a succulent cupcake is as fun as it is easy! Just a few simple cake decorating tips and your favorite buttercream are all you need for this delicious and beautiful cupcake design!
To make Succulent Cupcakes you will need:
Ateco Tips #3, #32, #104, #225, #352
Green, yellow & pink food color
Begin by baking cupcakes and allow to cool to room temperature.
Prepare your buttercream frosting.
Now you can tint your frosting for the succulent cupcakes. I did 3 shades of green; a light, medium, and dark tone. I prepared a dark pink (mauve) and a yellow, then left a little buttercream white. Place all frosting in pastry bags fitted with coupler sets.
Barrel Cactus Cupcake Tutorial
Tips: #352 with dark green frosting, #225 with yellow frosting, #3 with white frosting
Begin by piping out a tall center tower of frosting. (You can also place a mini cupcake or donut ball on top of the cupcake. Now hold the #352 tip flat against the tower of frosting and apply pressure as you move up. Release pressure at the top and quickly pull the bag away. Repeat.
Now grab the bag with white frosting and the #3 tip. Right on the edge of the green frosting apply a dot of frosting and quickly pull away. These white dots represent the needle on a barrel cactus. I made mine farther apart on the bottom and grouped them closer towards the top. Do this around the entire cupcake.
Finish with a yellow flower on the top of the frosting cactus.
Short Spiky Cactus Cupcake Tutorial
Tips: #32 with light green
Pipe out a small mound of frosting in the center of the cupcake. Starting at the base of the frosting, squeeze a row of tiny star shapes all the way around the cupcake. Once you have one row of spikes, continue moving up and around the cupcake until you reach the top.
Green and Pink Spiky Cactus Cupcake Tutorial
For this version, you will prepare your frosting a bit different. I added both green and pink frosting to one pastry bag. Press an empty pastry bag into a tall kitchen glass. Spread some pink frosting along one side of the bag and then fill in the bag with green frosting.
With the #32 tip, pipe out a small mound of frosting in the center of the cupcake. Starting at the base of the frosting, squeeze a row of tiny star shapes all the way around the cupcake. Once you have one row of spikes, continue moving up and around the cupcake until you reach the top.
Desert Rose Cupcake Tutorial
Tips: #104 with light green and medium green frosting
Starting at the center of the cupcake, pipe a small mound of light green frosting. Now hold your tip at the base of the mound and apply pressure, moving over the top of the frosting mound. Rotate your cupcake 1/3 way around and repeat. Rotate cupcake another 1/3 way around and repeat. It should resemble the tighter inner petals of a rose. Now, starting at the base of the frosting, apply pressure and move upward slightly over the frosting and pipe another petal. Repeat a few more times and then switch to the medium green frosting. Repeat with the petals around until you almost reach the edge of the cupcake. Now hold the tip against the cupcake and pipe around the entire flower. This is optional but can help create a cleaner edge around the base.
Once you have mastered these simple techniques you can start getting creative! Use different colors or pipe multiple techniques on one cupcake. No matter what you do, these Succulent Cupcakes are sure to impress.
