Hi, i am baking mini cupcakes for my nephews graduation party. That part is easy, the only thing i really know how to do.

I was going to buy pillsbury whipped frosting from the store, but my question is... can i color it?? I bought the wilton icing colors in red and golden yellow (the school colors are red and gold). So I dont know if I can do this with store bought frosting, or do I have to make it at home to use the Wilton colors?? And besides that, I want to pipe it on the cupcakes a day before... is that ok or will the colors run??

BTW, does anyone have an idea to how much frosting I will need to cover about 75 mini cupcakes...like small swirls piped not with just smoothed over with frosting.

I never did this before but I want to make the cupcakes really stand out. And I am pretty sure something similar to this might be posted on here already, but this forum is VERY overwhelming for a novice...its going to take time to read everything. Thanks to anyone who can help me.

Vee

Why not just make frosting?

Very easy:

8 oz. cream cheese at room temp
8 oz butter at room temp
2 lbs powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond(optional)

Beat the cream cheese and butter til mixed. Add the powdered sugar in cupsful. Mixin the extracts and you are done.

It will be great. It will taste better than a can. It will color well. Everyone will love it. It will cover all 75 minis with one batch.

I'm not sure about store bought icing....I would think coloring it would be OK. If you can, for the sake of taste...make your own....color it and yes you can do them the day before. I would think you would be using about a 1/4 cup maybe a little less for each cuppie. Another thing you could do if you don't want to color the icing is use red and yellow sprinkles.

Hope this helps.

Yes, you can color store bought frosting with Wilton colors. You will probably need about 2 or 3 cans of frosting to cover 75 mini size cupcakes. It really depends how much you pipe onto each one.

I've tried to use store bought icing before but I've always found that it's too soft to use after it has been colored. I agree with matthewkyrankelly why not just make it. It's not hard to make.

oh hey, thanks all for the reply. Well I just wanted to use store bought since its easier and I didnt want to mess it up. I know it seems easy, but I just feel like I will mess it up somehow since this is my first time and these cupcakes are for an occasion.

So you think if I make the frosting and color it then make the cupcakes the night before it will be ok? I just dont want to have pastel colors the next day.

If you color the canned frosting, add a couple of tablespoons of corn starch and mix in well. Stiffens if right up and doesn't affect the taste. Works in homemade frosting as well...

Make your own frosting. It tastes SO much better, and it's easier to control the texture, and seriously? You can't mess up a simple American buttercream. Really. It's very forgiving.

My basic recipe is 1 1/2 cups butter, 2 lbs powdered sugar, about a tablespoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup of milk, plus more milk a tablespoon or two at a time until I get the consistency I want. You can substitute other flavorings and/or liquids if you want something other than vanilla. If it seems too soft, add more sugar; if it seems too stiff, add more milk/liquid. If it's too bland, add more flavoring.

Yes, you can replace about half the butter with cream cheese if you want, and the frosting will not slide right off. But it will be a bit softer than otherwise, and it won't hold up well if the cupcakes are going to be served outdoors in hot weather. If that's the case you might want instead to replace some or even all of the butter with shortening (Crisco). Shortening doesn't taste as good, of course, but it does stand up to heat better, so half and half can be a good compromise.

Any of these variations can be colored with the Wilton stuff. If you are used to liquid food colorings from the grocery store, the Wilton gel colors will amaze you. They are much bolder, and they will not run or turn pastel. Some colors tend to fade in the sun, but if you keep the colored frosting out of direct sunlight it will actually tend to get darker/deeper over time, not more pastel!

Yes, make the frosting the night before (if not earlier), and don't refrigerate the cupcakes -- that will tend to dry them out. If you are making the cupcakes ahead, freeze them instead. Take them out of the freezer early enough the day before that they will be thawed but still cool when you frost them. The frosted cupcakes can sit at room temp overnight just fine, and in fact if you are worried about the frosting being too soft, don't put them in an airtight container. Use a cardboard box to carry them to the party. The surface of the frosting will "crust" (it doesn't get hard like a bread crust, but it firms up) and stay in place nicely.

Good luck and have fun!
Holly

langranny never knew this tip, you learn something new every day on this site.

Colour the icing pink or orange first to get a good red or else you will have a peachy red color...good luck

Holly... wow, you answered all my questions....
you just saved me from what could have been a disaster!! <<hugs>>

Langranny.... totally gonna use that!!
Monkess... good idea... i will definitely pre-color just to be sure

you girls are the best.... so glad i came here!!!!! thanks yall