Bananas Fosters Cupcakes

Ever since I did these cupcakes for my hubby's birthday they've been very popular with customers. It's a banana cupcake base topped with a rum (yes rum)/brown sugar/butter glaze. And then they are topped with a double vanilla buttercream. They are delicious! 

 Anyway... I had an order due today and I thought I'd share a basic secret: It's all about the tools. You do need to have some skills, but in order to get beautiful cupcakes you also need the right tools. If you use canned frosting and are trying to make a cupcake look pretty by using a butter knife- that is hard! And if you can achieve beauty from canned frosting and a butter knife... then you have skills!! It really helps to have your frosting be the right consistancy. I make mine from scratch and I also pipe when it is at room temperature. If it's too cold it won't pipe properly. If you don't have a piping bag (you should get one if you bake frequently) you can use a ziplock bag. Fill the bag and cut off a little bit of the corner. But it is essential to purchase the proper piping tips. Feel free to e-mail me questions because I could go on forever :) Anyway- with proper tools your cupcakes can look identical to these.