Baking Tips and Tricks: Frosting!

     I am coming to you today so that I can give you a couple tips and tricks for frosting. Things that I myself do. So here we go!
     ~Add salt.
You are probably thinking one of two things. "Dur! I already know that!" or something more like, "Salt?! That'll make it salty!!!" For those of you thinking the later/those of you who don't know, salt takes out the bitter stuff and makes it a bit sweeter. For example, if you use unsweetened cocoa powder for chocolate cupcakes, the salt will make it sweet. But salt can also balance it out, so if you have a really sweet cupcake you absolutely do not want super sweet frosting. Trust me, I know from experience as I bake stuff for church events. So. Add salt. Just a pinch. Not too much or it will get salty.
     ~Make yourself a little recipe.
"Huh?" you may be asking. Well, let me tell you. When I'm frosting my cupcakes I always run out of frosting. And what do you do when you need more frosting? Make more. But the problem always is, I have no idea how much food coloring and extract I dumped in that frosting. So. Make yourself a recipe. Write it down somewhere. Or you could just make a ton of frosting and put it in the freezer until you plan on using it. I haven't tried the later, but I assume that you could do that. Don't quote me on that.
     ~Use a cup.
"For what?" I can here you asking. For filling up your piping bag. I personally use a piping bag because I like them better, but I guess you could use this tip for just plastic bags too. Anyway. You need to get yourself a nice tall cup, one that is as long as your piping bag/Ziploc bag and a bit longer. Kay? And then you are going to stick your empty piping bag ((just read "piping" as "Ziploc" if that's what you plan on using)) in the cup and fold the top over, over the edge of the cup. You could use tape if you want it nice and secure. Then you just take your frosting and dump it in there. And voila! You piping bag is full, without frosting coating the outside.
     ~Make the frosting while your cupcakes are baking.
This one is pretty self explanatory. I'm pretty sure everyone does this. And when you finish baking your frosting, clean up and get the frosting ready to go. I will admit, this makes it harder to wait for the cupcakes to cool. At least, for me it is. Mainly because I am thinking, "But everything is all ready! Why can't I just frost them now?!" And my logical side answers, "Because then the frosting will melt and you'll have to scrap it off and wait longer." So yeah.
     That's pretty much all I can think of for now. Maybe I'll come back and you can learn a few more tips and tricks from me.
     ~Marie