Hello everyone,

I will be making my first cupcake cake this weekend, and I am unsure on how to go about doing it.

What is the best way to ice them? Is there a certain type of icing that is better for this than others?

Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!

Once you arrange the cupcakes how you want them then put a dot of icing under each one to help it stay in place while you ice the tops. A medium consistancy will work good. Too thin and it will squish between the cupcakes and too thick will push and pull the cupcakes out of place.

Thank you!

This is for my brothers 16th birthday, and he isn't a fan of the buttercreme icing I use (wilton class recipe). I was wondering if anyone could recommend an alternate recipe for icing?

Also, I am making this a basketball theme cake. I am wondering if I put a half a round cake to make a basketball ball on top of the cupcakes if it would hold up?

I am never attempted layers before, so this would be a first for me, but I am more than happy to just draw a basketball too. I was just curious if I would need to dowel or anything like that? Or just lay it on top and cover it in icing.

THANKS AGAIN!!

I don't think cupcakes can hold that kind of wieght. They are tappered at the bottom and that makes them weak. You should think about flavors for that buttercream. With the right flavoring I made a buttercream lover out of my no icing Mom...LOL You just have to know what he likes. Some like almond and some don't some like this and that yada yada... You can flavor buttercream to the gills and it transforms. I use sugarshack's recipie and do half butter and half shornting(I do use high ratio) and when making the hot liquid I start with tablespoons(not teaspoons of flavoring and then add creamer to make the right measurment the recipie calls for. I use a combo of vanilla, butter and cream bouquet for a dreamy vanilla buttercream. I also love mixing vanilla and citrus like key lime. I also add 1/8 a teaspoon of salt to the hot liquid mix and stir to dissolve beofre adding it into the creamed mix in the bowl and this adds depth to the flavor while cutting the sweet slightly. I have also made spackle that everyone goes gaga over just by crumbling choc and vanilla cake crumbs into my buttercream -it tatses just like cookies-n-cream ice cream. I wouldn't use that for decoraing though, just a filling.

IndyDebi's buttercream icing is really good. It holds up to the heat really good as well.

I also love Buttercream Dream. (Both recipes can be found in the recipe section here on CC).

As for the cupcakes and the basketball. To be honest with you - I would put the half of the basketball in the center (like it's a bulls eye) and then surround the basketball with the cupcakes. It will make a great presentation, and you won't have to worry about doweling or if the cupcakes can support the cake.

If you want to have cupcakes that form a perfect circle and be easier to ice, instead of baking them in a muffin pan, fill a round cake pan with liners and fill them 3/4ths of the way. The cupcakes themselves will not be perfectly round, but it will be more like a pull apart 'puzzle' cake. Also, there will be no gaps between the cupcakes so it will be easier to ice. The way you get them out of the pan is you let it cool for about 20 minutes, then flip them out using a cooling rack the same you would do for a normal cake.

I did this for a Power Rangers mask cupcake cake a while back and it worked great! Best part about this trick is because there's no huge gaps between cupcakes, you don't need to use a ton of thick icing in order to keep the shape and you don't have to worry about awkward borders ruining the look.