Bend and Snap, I mean dip and swirl

The best way to do the dip and swirl method is to freeze your cupcakes beforehand. Heat your canned frosting in the microwave for 10 seconds, if it is still not runny enough, heat it in 5 second increments. It should be runny, but not so hot it is bubbling. Stir with a butter knife or chopstick. Holding the cupcake by its base, dip it in the melted frosting head first and swirl. Let the excess drip off while slowly turning similar to winding a knob. Voila, frosting so smooth you'd think it came out of a factory. These blue and yellow cupcakes I made for scouts were decorated using the dip and swirl method. To really cover the entire top of the yellow ones with sprinkles I dipped the cupcake, already frosted, into the tub of sprinkles. The big star sprinkles are made by Wilton and were purchased at Wal-mart.