Bakers on social media love the holidays and are sure to come up with some great tricks to make your homemade baked goods pop at the party. As we enter the non-stop holiday season, many TikTok and Instagram users are providing guides for the best way to create themed Halloween cupcakes. One such hack has home cooks turning their freshly iced buttercream cupcakes into works of art using just a silicone mold and some ingenuity.
Many silicone molds are designed to shape candies, tempered chocolates, or even ice cubes, but in this viral hack, they double exceptionally well as frosting molds. In a series of videos, users can see how it stacks up butter frosting on the tops of their cupcakes, only then press them firmly into the silicone mold. After freezing the cupcakes upside down in the pans for about 15 minutes, the buttercream should come clean from the silicone and hold its shape for serving, allowing the baker to optionally garnish with additional edible fruit. The result is cupcakes studded with all manner of gorgeous shapes, including shells, stars, hearts and just about anything else you can imagine.
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What kind of designs work best for this baking hack?
The possibilities for this hack are endless, with silicone molds of all shapes and sizes available for purchase. For those who want to use this trend for whipping Halloween cookies, you can buy molds in the shape of pumpkins, ghosts, skeletons or bats. Those who want to give the atmosphere of winter style can look for forms in the shape of Christmas trees, snowflakes, snowmen and more. And if you have a special idea for a cupcake design, you can find customizable silicone mold kits that allow you to create any shape you desire. TikTok user @sopohiamyacupcakes demonstrates the technique with a cactus mold.
There are a few tips to consider if you want to try this hack. First, try to choose a design that is not too complicated and does not have many small or complex elements, as the cream is likely to get stuck in them. Another is to dust the pans with a light dusting of cornstarch to keep the frosting from sticking. You can also mix a little cornstarch into the frosting itself to help it hold its shape. Carefully remove the cupcake from the mold by bending the corner of the silicone. Once the cupcakes are pressed, you can add sprinkles, chocolate elements, extra bits of frosting or colored sugars. Your imagination is the limit!