Foodie Friday: rose cupcakes

I had seen a post on Pinterest for how to make a rose cupcake...it seemed easier enough but I was still a wee bit skeptical.  I already had the star icing tip so I thought I might as well give it a try...and, boy was I impressed!

This is BY FAR the easiest way to ice a cupcake and gives the most impact...it has quite a 'wow factor'!

I decided that I was going to make cupcakes for my new co-workers...ok, so I just wanted to eat cupcakes and needed a reason to make them seeing as how I can not eat all 24 cupcakes that the batter makes.

I used the Duncan Hines Butter Recipe Chocolate cake mix.  This was the first time I had used this specific flavor of mix and I was pleasantly surprised, it was delicious and so moist!  After making the cupcakes and letting them cool and prepared my icing bag

What you need:
Icing bag, I used disposable bags that I got at Wal-Mart but you can use a Zip-loc bag and cut the corner off
Star Icing Tip, I got mine at A.C. Moore but you can find them at any craft store
Icing
Food Coloring (optional, I used peach to give a soft gradation of color)
Pearl Sprinkles (optional, I just wanted to add some pretty)

What to do:
Prepare your icing bag, the tip is so large that you won't be able to use a standard coupling...so I don't use anything but the bag.
I used a standard tub of vanilla Pillsbury Icing and put some of the food coloring in and stirred it up.  Now, I didn't stir the coloring in ALL the way.  This is what give the gradation in color.
Fill up the icing bag and get ready to ice some sweet cupcakes!

Begin with a cooled cupcake and squeeze out a small amount of icing form the bag

Begin at the center of the cupcake and make a swirl, covering the whole cupcake

There you have it...one awesome looking cupcake.

I added three pearl sprinkles to each cupcake and packaged them up for delivery.

Tomorrow I will share with you the ridiculously genius idea for transporting cupcakes and how I packaged these beauties!