Frosting Cupcakes

1. Stir the prepared cupcake frosting well to incorporate air into the frosting. Stirring the frosting helps it extrude from the plastic piping bag more easily and gives it a softer texture on the cupcake.

2. Fold the top of the plastic piping bag inside out onto itself, working downward until the bag is a short point turned right side, with a large inside-out collar around it. This creates a wide mouth for placing the frosting in the bag easily. If you're using an optional decorative tip, place it narrow-side down in the point of the bag at this time.

3. Spoon the frosting into the plastic piping bag using a rubber scraper, keeping the decorative tip, if using one, in place. Fill the plastic piping bag about two-thirds full with frosting, guiding the collar you created from the inside-out bag up while you're filling until the whole bag is right-side-out again.

4. Snip the pointy end of the plastic piping bag with the scissors about one inch from the bottom of the bag. Guide the narrow part of the decorative tip down into the hole.

5. Squeeze the plastic piping bag gently, starting at the open top end to push the frosting together and move it down towards the small opening. Use your non-dominant hand at the top of the frosting in the bag to continue squeezing it down the tube. Place your dominant hand near the tip to steer the frosting output. Squeeze a little bit of frosting out to start the stream that you will discard.

6. Maintain continuous pressure while squeezing the frosting on the cupcakes. Start on the outer edge and frost in concentric circles moving in toward the center of the cupcake. Twist the piping bag at the top of the frosting and release the pressure on the bag to stop the frosting stream and create a peak. Repeat for each cupcake.