Product Review...Cuisipro Cupcake Decorating Kit

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Product Review....Cuisipro Cupcake Decorating Kit. Recently, I had the chance to test and review a Cupcake Decorator Set from the wonderful folks at Cuisipro. I looked forward to trying it out, as I love cupcakes. The folks at Cuisipro have quite a few products... ranging from kitchen tools to cookware. On top of that, they even have a recipe section. They have a variety of recipes including appetizers, main dishes, and even desserts. For this review, I ended up testing the Cupcake Decorator Set. I also decided I would test one of their recipes...the Cuisipro's Vanilla/Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcake recipe. I was curious to see how the set would perform...

The Cupcake Decorator Set includes:

1) 2 decorating squeeze bottles.

2) 2 tips( plain and flower)

3) flexible offset spatula.

4) a booklet with decorating ideas and recipes

About the Cuisipro Decorator Set:

The Corer: The corer creates a perfect hole in the center of the cupcake. It has a guard that keeps you from cutting too deeply. So, it is perfect for kids to use. To use, simply twist the corer into the center of cupcake....twisting from right to left. You can remove the center of the cupcake with the attached plunger. All you have to do is push the plunger down and it releases the cupcake core.

The Squeeze Bottles: The squeeze bottles have a good, easy grip and a cute flower collar(or coupler). The flower collar is very sturdy and allows you to hold the bottle while filling the cupcakes with ease. It has a wide opening making the bottles quite easy to fill and will hold about a cup of frosting/filling. For thicker fillings, you can use just the coupler but without any tips.

The Tips: The round tip can be used for writing and drawing patterns. The floral tip can be used for designs and to fill the cupcakes as well. So, that is pretty nice. It is nice to have 2 sets of bottles and tips...makes it easier when decorating with different frostings.

The Offset Spatula: The set also includes an offset spatula that is flexible and just the right size. You can apply a smooth layer of frosting in the traditional way or it can also be used to smooth out mistakes.

How to clean:

The Cuisipro Decorator set is Dishwasher Safe - but only on the top shelf.

See a demonstration of the Cuisipro Cupcake Decorator set:

Click on this video link.

How I tested the Cuisipro Cupcake Decorator Set:

I made a variety of cupcakes with a different fillings... using the Vanilla/Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes from Cuisipro.

In case you would like to make the cupcakes, here is the recipe...the Cuisipro cupcakes were very good.

You will need:

¼ cup (60 ml) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup (250ml) sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp (10ml) vanilla extract

1 tsp (5 ml) baking soda

2 cups (500 ml) all purpose flour

2/3 cup (160 ml) buttermilk

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C. Line a 12 count muffin tin with paper muffin cups and set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat together butter and sugar until light. Add eggs one at a time beating to incorporate after each addition until well blended. In a large mixing bowl, combine baking soda and flour until well blended. Add 1/3 dry ingredients to the butter mixture followed by 1/3 buttermilk and beat to combine. Scrape down bowl and repeat alternating dry ingredients with buttermilk until all is added. Beat mixture until just combined, do not over mix. Divide batter equally between the 12 muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean. Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from the pan and let cool completely. Fill and decorate as desired.

Note: For Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcakes, substitute 1/3 cup (80 ml) flour for cocoa powder.

Fill with your favorite filling...cherry pie filling, fruit preserves, pastry cream, frosting, custard, lemon curd, marshmallow fluff, whipped ganache....or even sweetened whipped cream.

I had a lot of fun making a variety of cupcakes...

Making Whipped Chocolate Ganache with Raspberry cupcakes, strawberry cream-filled cupcakes and Black Forest cupcakes...

Making Boston Cream cupcakes and custard-filled cupcakes...

Filling and topping some of the cupcakes with homemade Chocolate Marshmallow Fluff....used this recipe on Recipezaar...but added some cocoa and used some honey instead of the corn syrup.

...and filling some of the cupcakes with homemade lemon curd.

Overall Impression:

I was impressed with the quality of the Cuisipro Decorator Set. The set makes it really easy to fill and decorate cupcakes. A really great tool to have on hand when making lots of cupcakes. The bottles and tips are very sturdy, and the spatula is very flexible. It is quite ideal to use the set with children as it allows them to fill and decorate cupcakes without the use of a pastry bag. The Cuisipro Decorator set is a wonderful tool that makes filling and decorating cupcakes a pleasure, especially with kids in mind.