Hello all!
I'm preparing to do 100 cupcakes for a friend's wedding next month and I've been going over some ideas. I was wondering if anyone might be able to tell me how to get my icing to have that flat smooth (kind of glossy) look? Does anyone have any tips/recipes?

Also, does anyone have a really good cupcake icing recipe that wins everyone over?

Anything would help. Thank you so much!!

I just did some for a wedding. I used a size 12 tip and iced the (cookies or) cupcakes. Then I used a damp brush to smooth them out. It did leave a glossy appearance. I had to leave them out over night before I bagged them.
I have also used a smoothing method where you dry ice the cupcakes and use a viva towel to leave that perfectly smooth appearance. That doesn't leave a glossy look.
For icing I purchase mine thru Sam's club.

I use rolled buttercream. quite tasty too. You roll it out like fondant or cookie dough. You use cookie cutter/wine glass/shape size of cupcake & cup out your shapes & they easily fit in top of cupcake.

Attached is a pic of cookies with the rolled buttercream

The rolled buttercream is also covering my thumbnail pic.

Rolled Buttercream
1 cup shortening
1 cup light shortening (karo syrup)
½ tspn flavoring
1 tspn clear vanilla
extract
2#confectioners sugar
½ tspn popcorn salt
I mix it in a kitchenaid with my bread hook

here is a how to on this technique and she has more tuts on icing cupcakes. You can also just melt your buttercream, ganache or fondant in the microwave and then dip the cupcakes.
http://www.cakejournal.com/archives/cupcake-decorating-part-2
hth

You could also dip them in petit four icing (poured fondant). VERY fast technique.

P.S. They are shiny because I sprayed them with pearl spray.