Empire State of Mind

These cupcakes are a great depiction of how to decorate for a theme. Instead of trying to encapsulate everything related to the theme, simply divide and conquer. Pick a few iconic symbols (bonus points if they are easy to pipe!) and display in an area which also reflects the theme.

Here I used an American Beanie Baby as the companion to the cupcakes (a cowboy hat, tiara, stuffed animal or handbag would work equally as well for such themed parties).

I mixed different food colouring with icing in individual bowls (a lot of mess!) and the piping was time consuming, but so worth it!

I Heart NY
For this I used regular buttercream, and piped the writing and heart using Easy Writing Pens from Dr. Oetker.

N.Y.P.D.
I mixed a good amount of blue food colouring to get the right shade and then piped the logo mostly seen on hoodies and tourist paraphernalia rather than attempting the intricate official shield. The golden yellow coloured pen reflected the colour used on said shield.

5th Ave.
Truthfully, my inspiration here was Seasame St.! I mixed the green until just right, then piped the rectangle to act as a border and then the writing.

New York Yankees
This is the most intricate yet the easiest to make. I had drawn out the logo of the baseball team ahead of time so I knew I was able to get the dimensions right. Really proud of how this turned out!

Taxi
This is exactly how I wanted the cupcakes, not showy, yet you know what it represents. The yellow took some mixing, then I spread on a rectangle of buttercream, let it set and piped on TAXI.

Macy's
This was done the same as the I Heart NY cupcake. The key here is to use an asterix for an apostrophe, as seen in the Macy's logo. Also, as per the logo, use only lower case letters. 

The Statue of Liberty
This is probably the most conceptual of the images, and also the prettiest. The cupcake isn't over-complicated by text and has a wholesome, non-commercial feel. I swirled one drop of blue food colouring through unbleached buttercream icing, the essential part here is to swirl once, not mix, as it then gives a cloud-like appearance. I then piped the crown outline and filled it in using the pen. If you were to extend the range I would definitely do a Torch cupcake!

Tiffany's
I had a Tiffany's box cupcake prepared but the shade of Tiffany blue just wasn't good enough! So if anyone knows the perfect product to achieve this please let me know! The bow was straightforward, but the iconic colouring has to be just right! Mine didn't make the cut! These would be great for a Breakfast at Tiffany's party!!

Another way to personalise these cupcakes, while in keeping with the theme would be to add in some variations, for instance you could pipe "I Heart 21" for an American themed 21st Birthday, or pipe 21 in a horse shoe for a cowboy themed party, or inside a cocktail glass for a Sex and The City party, the list goes on! 

Enjoy piping, but more importantly, enjoy eating these DELICIOUS cupcakes!
The nitty gritty.....

I used the Odlum's sponge recipe, as seen here. 
The icing was a basic buttercream with no specific amounts, just mixed to taste! 

1. Sieve icing sugar into a bowl.
2. Add a knob room temperature butter.
3. Beat together.
4. Add a drop of hot water from the kettle to make the mix more spreadable.
5. Add more icing sugar to taste.
6. Beat until there are no lumps and it reaches a desired consistency.
7. Frost cupcakes using a spoon dipped into a cup of hot water.