How Long Should You Let Cupcakes Cool Before Frosting Them?

Frosting cupcakes is the last delightful step before serving and enjoying the celebratory baked goods. Excitement may get the best of you, though, and not waiting for your cupcakes to cool could leave you with melty, gloopy frosting. So, how long should you wait before decorating? The magic number is around 60 minutes.

Waiting a full hour for cupcakes to cool is your best bet before diving in with your piping bag. Even though the cake may feel cool on top, the interior might still be warm. If that's the case, the frosting will certainly melt, as the heat from the center of the cupcake will still be releasing. Letting them cool completely on a rack for at least an hour is the way to go.

Don't have that much time? You can speed up the cooling process by letting the cupcakes sit in the baking tin for 10 minutes, then pop them in the freezer for 20 minutes. They then should come out completely cooled and ready for decoration. If you'd like to frost cupcakes with a piping bag for precision, however, you've got to fill the bag up first.

Whether you're using a piping bag or a Ziploc bag as a stand-in, scooping buttercream into whatever you're using to frost your cupcakes can be quite messy if you don't know what you're doing. A handy tool to help is a large cup from your cabinet. Simply add the piping tip to the bag, then place it all in the large cup, draping the rest of the bag over the sides. You can then use a spatula to scoop up the frosting and place it in the piping bag-filled cup. The sides of the cup are great for scraping every last bit of frosting into the bag, so nothing goes to waste.

Another way to fill your piping bag is to follow all of the above instructions and use your hand in place of a cup. Once your bag is filled, flip the sides of the bag up, twist at the top, and guide the frosting down to the tip. Voilà! You're now ready to frost your cupcakes.

While there are many different techniques for frosting cupcakes, you don't need to be a professional baker to achieve beautiful-looking cakes — even if you don't have a piping bag (a butter knife or spoon will do). For no-frills decoration, add two tablespoons of frosting to your cupcake and use the back of the spoon or a butter knife to smooth the frosting to the edges. Finish it off by doing a circular swirl and removing any excess frosting from the sides. 

If you'd like to use a piping bag, start with a star tip and go for a swirl design. Frost the outside edges of the cake first and work your way around and towards the center, finishing off by gently lifting the bag up and releasing pressure. Both of these methods will leave you with neat and attractive cupcakes — just don't forget to let them cool for a full hour before decorating.