Are you ready for school lunches in T minus 10 days?! Our boys are back to school on the 3rd but it's such a funny couple of weeks with Auckland Anniversary & Waitangi Day added in there too - often we try & sneak in one more holiday so they're missing a day of school when they've barely been back a week! If you have a wee one starting school you can read our 10 tips to starting school HERE {an update on that story, Sebby did in fact start school in November & enjoyed a whole month of school with his big brother before he headed off to intermediate, he slotted in to school life just fine}!I'd rather clean the cook but I don't mind baking. New to LMB are these Kids Baking Kits by Hill St. & they've made these just the way you like it: no tricky bits, no bad-for-you bits – just downright delicious fun. The instructions are simple, the ingredients are great and the results are all kinds of marvellous. Inside this box is everything you need to bake and decorate your very own cosmic or jungle cupcakes. I propose these for a back to school baking treat & wanna share these tips on how to ice cupcakes cos I need all the tips, I've never successfully piped a cupcake in my life.
- The Ziploc Bag technique - Ziploc bags make great piping bags and work just as well too! All you need is a large glass or container to hold up the ziploc bag before scooping in the icing and some scissors to cut the tip. Once you’ve put in all of your icing into the bag, make sure to push out any trapped air before sealing. Once you’ve done that, snip the corner of the ziploc bag, keeping in mind that the size of the cut you make determines the amount of frosting that comes out, so the bigger the hole, the more icing that will come out. Finally, hover the tip over your cupcake at a perpendicular angle and apply enough pressure for the icing to flow on out.
- The Piping Bag technique - to fill the piping bag, fold the half down over your hand or a tall glass to open it up and then with a spoon, scoop the icing and place it at the bottom of the piping bag. You only want to fill the bag about ¾ of the way up. Twist the top of the piping bag and let out any air bubbles that may have gotten trapped. Get ready to pipe by floating the piping tip over your cupcake at a perpendicular angle and apply enough pressure for the icing to flow out.
- The Butterknife technique - Pile the frosting onto your cupcake and use the knife to spread the frosting from side to side so that it is relatively flat. Spread outward, smoothing the surface with the edge of the knife. Add as much icing as you desire!
I also wanna know - what are some of your favourite school baking recipes? I tend to bake the same four things over & over again {chocolate chip cookies, cinnamon rolls, banana bread & ginger loaf} so inspire me...please!