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Bake with Us: How to make Vintage Inspired Cupcakes!
• Lynsey Macdonald
These dreamy vintage inspired cupcakes are an unmissable addition to any Valentine's Day party or Galentine's brunch! Complete with vintage style piping, classic cherries, heart detail and a perfect pink and red colour palette, they're the ideal way to share the love. And the best part? They only require a few of our favourite products and a dash of imagination.
Inspired by Galentine's celebrations, we're taking Valentine's Day 2026 as an opportunity to show appreciation for more than just partners! Get baking up a storm and create these moreish cupcakes to gift to friends, family, work-besties and more. There's no better way to say thank you for always being there than with something sweet.
These cupcakes are a fun chance to practice your piping, creating pretty borders and cute detailing. Let's get started!
Shop our entire Valentine's Day category for all your cake supplies!
Contents:
What products do I need to make Vintage Inspired cupcakes? How to make your Vintage Inspired cupcakes Video Tutorial
We can't get into the tutorial without first saying thanks to our amazing resident baker, Holly! Don't hesitate to message us (including the words "bake with us"!) with any requests for future tutorials - Holly will add them to the list.
What products do I need to make Vintage Inspired cupcakes?
Vanilla Scientific Vanilla Extract Ingenious Edibles Icing Whitener Colour Mill Oil Blend in Candy and Red Wilton Piping Nozzles (Round Decorating Tip #1A, Round Decorating Tip #1, Leaf Decorating Tip #68, Open Star Tip #21) Super Streusel Shimmer Pearl Mix Simply Making Piping Bags Simply Making White Square Masonite Board FunCakes Pink and White Hearts Sprinkles PME Maraschino Cherries
How to make Vintage Inspired cupcakes!
Start with pre-made cupcakes! Be sure to let them fully cool before you begin decorating...
Step 1: Mix up your buttercream
Mix up a batch of buttercream and split it into two bowls - colour one pink and one red. We used the Colour Mill Oil Based colourings in Red and Candy! Leave a little white buttercream to one side - you'll need it later!
Step 2: Pipe the basic shapes onto your cupcakes
With your 1A piping tip, create a dome shape on some of your cupcakes and a heart shape on others. Turn them upside down and press down onto a piece of parchment paper to create a flat-topped effect. Then pop them in the fridge to set.
Step 3: Pipe and decorate your red cupcakes
Using your #21 (or any open star piping tip) pipe a swirl of red buttercream onto your other remaining cupcakes. Add a dash of sprinkles and a maraschino cherry et voila! Your first design is complete!
Step 4: Remove your cupcakes from the fridge
After at least half an hour, remove the pink iced cupcakes from the fridge. Peel off the baking paper and separate into the heart shaped flat top and round flat top designs.
Step 5: Decorate your round flat topped cupcakes
On the round flat top cupcakes, use your leaf tip (#68) and some white buttercream to pipe a heart border around the top. On the outer edge, use your open star tip to pipe a red border.
Step 6: Add the stitch and bow detail
Use your #1 fine line piping tip to pipe stitch detail and a little bow onto the white and you're done! Finish off with a cute white heart sprinkle in the middle.
Step 7: Repeat the last two steps on your heart shaped flat topped cupcakes
Take your heart shaped, flat top cupcakes and repeat these steps, piping a white border with your leaf tip, a red border with your open star tip, and stitch/bow detail with your #1 tip.
Video Tutorial for Vintage Inspired Cupcakes
Thanks so much for joining us for another Bake with Us tutorial! We can't wait to see your recreations of these vintage inspired cupcakes (or your own Valentine's Day cupcake designs!), so remember to get sharing! You can tag us (@the_cake_decorating_co) and use the #CakeDecFamous hashtag in your posts so we never miss a photo.
And to follow along for more inspo and baking ideas, you can find us on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube.
Looking for more inspo?
Cupid Approved Valentine's Cake Inspiration!
