2008 St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Decorating Ideas

St. Patrick's Day is not only about drinking as much ale as you can. It's a fun holiday that children and adults in many parts of the world enjoy (not just in Ireland!). Whether you have Irish roots or just want to celebrate this holiday with your family, you should most definitely have St. Patrick's Day cupcakes, and green ones at that! This article is written with the busy parent in mind. These decorating ideas will only take a few minutes of your time once you have your batch of cupcakes whipped up. To save even more time, use a box cake mix and a container of frosting.

For these decorating ideas, you will need:

White cake mix

White frosting

Green food coloring

Green Dec A Cake Icing in a tube

Green Dec A Cake Gel in a tube

Dec A Cake decorating tips

Green sprinkles

2008 St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Decorating Ideas #1: Miniature Four Leaf Clover Cupcakes

Dye your batter and frosting green. I like using miniature cupcake tins for these. Instead of filling the batter in half way, I do it most of the way. This makes the cupcake swell up and once it's done cooking, it looks like a small mushroom, with that mushroom top that leaves you plenty of room to work with. Use a decorating tip and your Dec A Cake green icing to draw an outline of a four leaf clover (or a three leaf depending on your preference) on the top of the cupcake. After you've done that, fill in the cupcake with the icing. That's it. Quick, easy and painless.

2008 St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Decorating Ideas #2: Shamrock Cupcakes

Shamrock cupcakes are very, very simple and ideal for those that really have no time but want to make a homemade treat. Frost your cupcake with your green dyed frosting. Next use your Dec A Cake green gel to draw a shamrock shape. The green gel really stands out on top of your green frosting. If you want a little more dazzle then that, sprinkle green sprinkles only in the center of the cupcake.

2008 St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Decorating Ideas #3: Rainbow Cupcakes

For this one, you will need additional tubes of Dec A Cake icings. Get all the colors of the rainbow. Then use a decorating tip that makes the icing come up fat. After you frost your cupcake, use all the colors, making a rainbow shape.

2008 St. Patrick's Day Cupcake Decorating Ideas #4: Irish or Kiss Me I'm Irish Cupcakes

These are another easy one to make. Use your Dec A Cake Green gel OR black gel and write words on the tops of your cupcakes such as "Irish," "Kiss Me I'm Irish, "Lucky" "Shamrock," etc.