Icing cupcakes can add flavor, texture, and an eye catching look to your beautiful baking creations.
Cupcake icing needs be thick, and stable to be able to pipe unique designs using piping tips.
Buttercream frosting or cream cheese icing are the perfect base to add a variety of flavors to create your own rich icing for cupcakes.
You can add a ton of flavor to cupcake icing using simple ingredients like freshly brewed espresso, vanilla beans, lemon zest, lime juice, etc.
Try using one of these sweet cupcake icing flavors for your next batch of cupcakes.
Cream Cheese Frosting
Cream cheese frosting is one of the favorite flavors of frosting for cupcakes.
It’s not as sweet as buttercream, and has the memorable cream cheese and vanilla flavor.
Cream cheese frosting needs to have the right consistency to be piped into shapes using a piping tip. Therefore I recommend using this recipe for cupcakes.
It’s a thick icing and it pipes well on top of cupcakes. You can also color it using gel food coloring or liquid food coloring.
Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Vanilla buttercream frosting is rich and creamy, with an aromatic flavor of vanilla.
It’s a stiff icing, therefore it pipes well on top of of cupcakes for those beautiful rose icing designs.
Vanilla buttercream is made with heavy cream instead of milk to thin it out, therefore it has more of a buttery, velvety flavor.
You can easily color vanilla buttercream frosting using gel food coloring, or liquid food coloring.
Strawberry Frosting
Strawberry frosting is one of the most fruity frostings you’ll ever eat!!
To make strawberry buttercream you have to first make strawberry puree. It smells as good as it sounds.
The puree is added to a buttercream base, and it produces a vibrant pink frosting.
Strawberry buttercream has a bit of unique look to it, it has tiny pieces of strawberry mixed throughout the icing.
I recommend using the buttercream within 1-2 days, as the flavor fades over time.
White Chocolate Buttercream
White chocolate buttercream is made by adding melted vanilla chocolate to a buttercream base.
White chocolate is a fairly sweet chocolate, but added to buttercream makes it a delicious and creamy frosting that isn’t too sweet.
White chocolate buttercream is a beautiful crisp white frosting, but you can color if desired using gel food coloring.
Coffee Icing
Coffee icing is an incredible flavored icing because it’s FULL of coffee flavor.
It tastes like you’re eating a latte.
Coffee buttercream icing is made by adding instant coffee (I recommend using freshly brewed espresso) to a buttercream icing base.
Coffee buttercream frosting has a hazel color to the frosting.
Champagne Buttercream Frosting
Champagne buttercream frosting has a lovely hint of bubbly flavor.
Champagne buttercream frosting can be made using a sweet sparkling wine infused into a vanilla buttercream frosting. You could even use a strawberry sparkling wine for a little extra fruity flavor.
Champagne buttercream frosting is perfect for a wedding shower, NYE party, or birthday party celebration.
Chai Spiced Frosting
Chai spiced frosting has the flavor of a chai latte.
Chai spiced frosting is made by infusing chai spice into a vanilla buttercream frosting.
Chai spiced frosting has a birch color to it.
It’s a unique tea flavored frosting that goes well with a vanilla cupcakes, or pumpkin cupcakes.
Cookies and Cream Frosting
Cookies and cream frosting has a hint of vanilla buttercream frosting, and tastes like you’re eating cookies in the form of icing.
Crushed cookies and cookie crumbs are added to the frosting to create this decadent and rich buttercream icing.
Cookies and cream buttercream frosting can be used for a chocolate cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes.
Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
Chocolate buttercream frosting is a chocolatey, creamy frosting.
Chocolate buttercream frosting is made by adding a little vanilla extract, and cocoa powder to a buttercream base frosting.
Chocolate buttercream is a heavy frosting.
Chocolate buttercream can be used for frosting chocolate cupcakes.
Hazelnut Icing
Hazelnut icing is a nutty and chocolatey frosting.
Hazelnut buttercream icing is made by adding cocoa powder, and hazelnut sauce to a buttercream frosting.
Hazelnut frosting is a unique frosting in that it has a nut flavored undertone with chocolate flavor.
Hazelnut frosting goes well with chocolate, vanilla, or mocha cupcakes.
Peanut butter Frosting
Peanut butter frosting is a fluffy and light buttercream.
Peanut butter icing is made by simply adding peanut butter to a buttercream base.
It’s a bit unique, in that the frosting is thinned out by adding freshly whipped whipping cream.
The whipping cream adds a creamy texture to the buttercream frosting.
Peanut butter frosting goes well on top of chocolate cupcakes.
Elderflower Buttercream
Elderflower buttercream is a floral and refreshing buttercream frosting.
Elderflower buttercream is made by adding elderflower cordial to a buttercream base.
Elderflower buttercream goes well with lemon cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes.
Mint Chocolate Icing
Mint chocolate buttercream is a minty fresh, chocolatey icing.
Mint buttercream icing is made by adding mint extract, and dark chocolate chips to Italian buttercream icing.
You can also color the icing using liquid or gel food coloring if desired.
Mint buttercream icing goes well on top of a chocolate cupcakes.
Marshmallow Vanilla Frosting
Marshmallow vanilla frosting has a hint of marshmallow and vanilla flavors.
Marshmallow vanilla frosting is made using marshmallow fluff and vanilla extract, which is infused into a buttercream base icing.
Marshmallow vanilla frosting can be piped onto chocolate cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes.
Lemon Frosting
Lemon buttercream is a citrusy frosting with a burst of lemon flavor.
Lemon buttercream is made by adding lemon extract and freshly grated lemon zest to infuse into buttercream icing.
Lemon buttercream is goes well on top of lemon cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes.
Amaretto Icing
Amaretto buttercream is a sweet, cherry flavored frosting.
Amaretto buttercream is made by infusing amaretto and vanilla extract into buttercream frosting.
Slowly add the powdered sugar into the frosting, and taste test for yourself. Only add as much sugar as you need to. It might be too sweet otherwise.
Amaretto icing can be piped onto vanilla cupcakes for a sweet cherry cupcake flavor.
Banana Buttercream Icing
Banana buttercream frosting has a creamy banana flavor to it.
Banana buttercream icing is made with banana extract to buttercream frosting. You can add a little yellow liquid food coloring as well for a pop of color.
Banana buttercream icing can be piped onto banana cupcakes or vanilla cupcakes.
Coconut Frosting
Coconut frosting has a woody-fruity flavor to it.
Coconut buttercream icing is made by adding cream of coconut and coconut emulsion to buttercream icing.
Coconut frosting goes well on top of vanilla cupcakes.
Cream Cheese Lime Frosting
Cream cheese lime frosting has a refreshing citrus lime flavor, combined with tangy cream cheese.
Cream cheese lime frosting is made by adding fresh lime juice to a vanilla cream cheese base frosting.
You can add a couple of drops of green food coloring if desired.
Cream cheese lime frosting can be paired with vanilla cupcakes.
Mocha Icing
Mocha icing has a coffee-chocolate flavor to it. It’s rich and decadent.
Mocha buttercream icing is made by adding freshly brewed coffee or espresso, and cocoa powder to a vanilla buttercream icing.
Mocha icing can be piped on top of chocolate or vanilla cupcakes.
Irish Cream Frosting
Irish Cream frosting has a creamy vanilla flavor to it with a hint of whiskey.
Irish cream buttercream is made by adding Irish cream to a buttercream frosting.
Irish cream frosting goes well on top of vanilla cupcakes.
