I’ll save you a little time today: These starry toppers can be made by piping melted chocolate onto a piece of parchment paper, waiting for it to set, and then peeling off the final designs. That’s it! That’s the whole recipe. Of course, the technique matters—which I’ll share if you scroll a bit further—but that’s the gist of it. Any cupcake recipe will do for the base here, and storebought works in a pinch, too. I don’t mean to go all semi-homemade on you, but honestly, Kwanzaa cake fiasco aside, Sandra Lee might have been onto something, no?
…Don’t answer that.
The question here is: Do you have to stick to the star design? Can you get all crazy with it and start writing entire words and sentences? Well, I’m not here to stop you from reaching for the stars, and you can try whatever you want. But my personal efforts to pull off just about any other design were…dismal, to say the least. Things were falling apart left and right. There was chocolate in unfortunate places.
For now, just know that the star shape is super forgiving and un-intimidating.
Star of David Cupcake Toppers
Description
Simple star-shaped cupcake toppers—perfect for Hanukkah, Shabbat, and everything in between.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 batch cupcakes, baked and cooled
Instructions
- Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside. Prepare a piping bag or place a sandwich bag into a drinking cup or mug; fold the edges of the plastic over the side of the cup to “open” the bag and make it easier to fill; set aside.
- In a small, microwave-safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave in 30-second increments, removing the bowl and giving the chips a stir before resuming the process. Be careful not to over-melt; the chocolate will “burn” and harden up. (Yes, chocolate chips can burn and be rendered unusable!)
- Spoon the melted chocolate into your prepared piping bag, then squeeze a bit to push the chocolate toward one of the bag’s tips. Snip the end off, making sure to keep the piping hole pretty tiny (remember: you can always make the hole bigger; you can’t make it smaller!).
- Pipe star-shaped designs of different sizes onto the prepared parchment-lined baking sheet. If you make a mistake, carry on; just make extras.
- Throw the baking sheet in the fridge and leave it to set for at least 30 minutes. When you’re ready to garnish your cupcakes, carefully peel the stars off the parchment, then gently press them into the outermost layer of the room temperature frosting—vertically, not horizontally. Serve and enjoy!