For beautiful swirls of frosting, it’s well worth practising before piping for real. Cut the tip off a large disposable plastic piping (pastry) bag and drop your chosen piping tube (tip) into the bag. Always only half-fill the bag with the frosting so that it doesn’t leak out. Eliminate any trapped air and then twist the open end of the bag closed, apply pressure and begin to pipe the frosting onto the cupcake.
1 Working from the outside inwards, pipe one complete swirl.
2 If you end up with too much of a peak of icing in the centre, tap the cupcake down sharply on the work surface.