How to Make Allergy-Friendly, Bakery-Style Rosette Cupcakes

by Laura Giletti

You've made your cupcakes, you've made your frosting, but how can you make them a little prettier than simply spreading the frosting on top with a butter knife?

Rosettes are my favorite decoration right now but you will need a couple of specialty tools.

You need a star tip, and for these rosettes you want to use a very big star tip because they are easier to work with than small ones. You may be able to get away with using a zipper bag but I will caution you that when I've tried to use one I've had serious leakage at the seams. Perhaps it's because I grip the bag quite tightly, or perhaps it's bad luck, I don't know. I do know that decorating bags are not terribly expensive and I've been able to find them at places like Target, as well as at specialty cake decorating stores. I have sometimes seen simple decorating kits at the supermarket. These kits are not terribly durable but they are inexpensive and an easy way to find out if you want to spend more time and money on learning how to decorate your cakes.

To fill the bag, start by dropping the tip into the bottom of the bag. By pushing the tip to the end of the bag you can see how much bag you need to cut so that the openings of the star tip are not covered by the bag but so that the hole isn't so large that the tip comes out onto the cake. Drop the bag into a big cup, a pint glass works nicely, and cuff the open end around the top of the glass.

Spoon your frosting into the bag, pull up the ends and twist the open end shut. Wilton makes specialty purple rubber bands to hold your decorating bags shut but an ordinary rubber band will work as well. They are not necessary but can be a nice help when you are getting used to holding a decorating bag.

You are now ready to pipe. There are two types of rosettes: one goes from the inside out, and the other goes from the outside in. I think that the inside to the outside is prettier but it's a flatter design, so if you want lots of thick frosting go with the one that comes from the inside to the outside.

Hold the bag upright on the cupcake so that it’s pointing straight down.

Before you move the bag at all squeeze some frosting so it comes through the holes.

Start to make a tight circle with no space in the middle. I am left-handed so I circle clockwise; if you are right handed go counter-clockwise.

Circle around once.

And circle around again. Finish by pressing the end into the cupcake.

To make the other type of rosette start the same way, with the bag held upright so that it’s pointing straight down.

Start to make a circle around the outside edge of the cupcake.

Circle around.

Overlap the starting point and circle around slightly inside the first circle.

… and around until you are in the middle.

Pull away with an extra squeeze in the middle.

Laura has been a member of Kids With Food Allergies Foundation since 2005 and has volunteered to help us with our community and statistics for the past several years. She is a leader in our Food and Cooking support team. She is the mother of 2 young girls and is an avid cook and baker.

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