I know I said that after making 5 different birthday cakes last month I would not to be doing any baking for a while, but surely cupcakes don’t count?
I am a terrible cook and while I enjoy making yummy treats they usually don’t look very impressive. Of course the kids don’t care about looks but the eye wants something too, so when I spotted the Cupcake Creation Station by Chicago Metallic I figured that was exactly what I needed to take my next batch of cupcakes from boring to beautiful.
The Cupcake Creation Station ($34.95) is a handy kit filled with special tools that will help you turn your cupcakes into something magazine worthy. Inside the box you’ll find a cute cupcake shaped container, 4 decorating tips, 50 icing bags and a clever retractable spatula. I baked my chocolate cupcakes like I always do and let them cool while I made the icing but instead of fidling around holding a messy piping bag in one hand and trying to fill it with the other I set up the Cupcake Creation Station.
To start you simply open one of the icing bags, place it in the bottom half of the cupcake container and fold over the edges. You can then easily spoon the icing in the bag by using the retractable spatula, that way you get even the last bit of icing off the spatula without having to use a knife (or your fingers!). Once the icing is in the bag you lift it out and screw on the decorating tip of your choice followed by the fun part (that I need to practise a little more), decorating the cupcakes!
The top half of the cupcake container provides a raised ‘stand’ fitting a standard cupcake so you have more room for your hands to move around and the slightly raised edges stop the cupcake from sliding around when you ice it. You can also turn the top upside down and place the cupcake in it so that excess sprinkles stay neatly contained. When the Cupcake Creation Station is not in use you can store the decorating tips and icing bags in the cupcake container, all ready for your next baking adventure.
Obviously I still have to work a bit on my icing technique and the icing recipe but once I have perfected those I can already see this will be really easy and the result is lovely. Afterwards I let the kids have a try with the Cupcake Creation Station and they had the best time!
To find out more about Chicago Metallic, to take a closer look at the Cupcake Creation Station and to browse the rest of the range visit www.chicagometallicbakeware.com.