Our Top NYE Cake and Cupcake Decorating Ideas That are Memorable and Exciting

New Year’s Eve is approaching, and we want you to enjoy your party to the fullest. So, we’ve got a creative list of ideas to decorate your desserts in the best way possible.

So you're throwing a NYE bash? That’s amazing. Before your big party comes by, it's time to spark your creativity with your desserts. It's definitely a good idea to have a cake for the party. But regular and mini cupcakes are also a good idea to add to the party. Cupcakes are fun, bite-sized cakes, and you know people are going to enjoy them. So here are some creative ways of decorating your baked goodies so your guests get into the NYE spirit.

Note: These ideas work for the cake and the cupcakes both. So make sure you decide what goes where.

Clock Decoration

Create a clock with icing on top of your cake. Or make a thin white circular fondant disk and add clock numbers with icing on top. On either dessert, once you've put in the numbers from 1 to 12, add the hands. Place the hour hand on 12 and the second hand just one second before 12. It will remind people of the excitement of the coming midnight decoration and add a sense of humor to the party. If you're interested, instead of making the clock numbers in black, write them out in different colors to make it look more fun.

Celebration Decoration

Recreate the moment of NYE on your cake or cupcake. Use icing lines to trace how a bursting cracker would look. Then sprinkle edible glitter on top, which should stick to the icing. Recreate the famed fireworks that practically the whole world celebrates with. Use different color glitter like red, green, blue and more, mimicking the many colors that fireworks burst in. By reminding people of that exact moment, you're building the excitement around midnight throughout your party.

Confetti Decoration

You know how there are those boxes where you pull a string and a burst of confetti comes through? Recreate that with your cake or cupcake. Essentially, you need to create a small hollow in the middle of your baked goods. Make some random swirls of icing around the hollow. Inside the hollow and all over the lines, generously add rainbow sparkles. The result is a colorful dish that looks like a confetti can that has exploded on it. But it's entirely edible, of course, making it a fun to eat and textured dessert.

Resolutions Decoration

Create a cake or cupcake with, you guessed it, a list of resolutions on top. Make it like a formal to do list or make little speech bubbles with different resolutions inside them. Whatever style you choose, remember the spirit of the dessert is more important than the actual look of the dessert. To make it more fun and interactive, place a tray besides the dish with ready to use piping bags on top. Let guests add their desired goal or resolution, and then gobble up the piece of cake or that cupcake!

Balloon Decorations

Make small balloons in different colors with fondant. Place them on the cake or cupcake surface, and then add strings to the balloons with icing lines below each balloon. If you're doing this on the cake and have a larger surface area to work with, consider making a bouquet of balloons and ensure they’re all different colors. It would be doubly special if your actual party also featured balloons. Tie a bunch next to the tray with the dessert and see how it impresses your guests.

Personalized Decorations

If you're having a more intimate party, you can decorate your cake or cupcake in line with the guests you're going to have. Put each name on the cake in different colors and challenge them to cut the cake in such a way that everyone can eat their own name. Or put the initials of each person on individual cupcakes. Another option is to add inside jokes or personalized messages on the desserts, if everyone is on the joke and will understand the message. Be careful though, you don't want anyone feeling left out.

Notes for decorating your cake or cupcakes:

• Think about the color scheme and theme of your party. Accordingly, add icing and fondant of those colors to the dessert. Make sure your confections are in line with the rest of your party. Classic color options include black and gold, blue and silver glitter, or red and black.
• Make sure that whatever you're using on your desserts is edible. That makes the whole experience more fun. So consider fondant and marzipan, edible markers and paint, edible glitter and shimmer, and colorful icing and frostings. No matter how elaborate your decorations, trust us, there’s an edible way of making it happen.
• A fun, exciting idea is topping your cake or cupcakes with sparklers. Light them at midnight and enjoy the beauty of these subtle firecrackers. Remember, if you're doing this, be careful. Also, keep an eye on any younger guests or pets at the party.