Cupcakes arranged into a distinctive shape, then iced together instead of individually, make a great treat for a variety of occasions. They are served by simply grasping the paper liner and lifting the cupcake up and out of the design, requiring no utensils to serve or eat. The designs shown are easy to decorate and are made with two dozen cupcakes. Position the cupcakes on a half-sheet cake board, and adhere them with a small amount of icing. If you need more servings, simply add more cupcakes to the design.
Sun: Arrange the cupcakes in a circle. Use a quick icer tip to pipe icing on the top of the cupcakes, then smooth the icing as flat as possible with a spatula or palette knife. Fit a pastry bag with a large leaf tip No. 115, stripe the bag with orange icing and fill with yellow icing. Pipe the rays of the sun around the outer edge of the cupcakes, turning the bag over to achieve an assortment of hues. Pipe an orange reverse shell border with star tip No. 22 on the inside edge of the rays. Next, use open tip No. 12 to pipe white eyes and mouth, and smooth with a palette knife. Add the remaining facial features with open tip No. 4 and black icing.
Family tree: The family tree is a sweet way to celebrate a family member's birthday or anniversary. Position the cupcakes in the shape of a tree. Use an open coupler or large open tip No. 1A to pipe red icing on a few random cupcakes at the top for apples. Pipe enough apples for each family member's name. Then, smooth with a palette knife. Use leaf tip No. 352 to ice the remaining top cupcakes green for leaves. With large star tip No. 8S and chocolate icing, ice the bottom nine cupcakes for the tree's trunk. Add some branches going up into the treetop with chocolate icing and star tip No. 22. Add the apple stems with open tip No. 12. Pipe a leaf on each of the apples below the stems with leaf tip No. 352, and add the names on the apples with writing tip No. 3. Pipe a message on edible rice paper or an acetate cake band.
Ice cream cone: Arrange the cupcakes, and ice the bottom 10 with chocolate icing using an open coupler or large open tip No. 1A. Heat some chocolate donut icing, no warmer than 110°F, and pipe the darker lines of the cone with writing tip No. 3. Ice the remaining cupcakes with pink icing using large star tip No. 8S. Add colored sprinkles.
Flowerpot: Form the pot with 12 cupcakes and two stems of flowers with another 12. Use an open coupler or large open tip No. 1A to pipe chocolate icing on the 12 cupcakes of the flowerpot. The different flowers are piped in a similar fashion, but with different tips and icing colors. For the tangerine flowers, use an open coupler or open tip No. 1A for the petals and grass tip No. 233 for the brown stamen. Pipe the pink flowers with larger star tip No. 8S, and use open tip No. 1A to add the yellow centers. For the white daisy, hold large flower tip No. 127 with the small end away from you, and use a squeeze and release motion as you pull the tip towards you. Use open tip No. 1A to pipe the yellow centers. Add green leaves to all of the flowers using leaf tip No. 352. Pipe green vines using writing tip No. 3.
