I’ve been asked a few times for some tips on icing cupcakes and I have tried unsuccessfully to prepare a tutorial for you…. do you know how hard it is to pipe a cupcake and take a photo at the same time???!!!! 
In the meantime, I’ve sourced some tutorials from the web to help guide you in your quest for the ultimate cupcake swirl!
This short video shows the same method I use to achieve a standard cupcake swirl. She is using a Wilton 1M tip.
If you just want to have a small mound of icing on the cupcake, like this…
Check out this tutorial. I use this swirl when I think I’m going to run out of icing!
To achieve a rose swirl like this picture…
Check out this tutorial by the goddess of cake decorating, Bella Cupcakes. (Image by Vanessa Iti)
I generally use the Wilton 1M or Wilton 2D tips, the latter for the rose swirl, but sometimes I use a plain circle tip that is about 1 inch to achieve a look like this
I use a technique similar to this video, but I don’t do the swirl 3 levels high like the video shows.
Here is how NOT to ice a cupcake
See how the swirl is all over the place?
Here are some tips to guide you..
1. Make sure your icing is the right consistency – don’t worry if it appears too soft as you can always put your cupcakes in the fridge to harden once you’ve iced them. You are aiming for a whipped cream consistency, not a toothpaste consistency.
Twist your piping bag at the top and use one hand to hold the top and the other at the lower end to put pressure on the bag and guide your swirls.
Squeeze out your icing to get rid of any air bubbles before starting to pipe.
Let the icing come out first and land on the cupcake before starting the swirling process. If you move the icing around before it has landed on the cupcake, you’ll end up with a swirl like the above video. Using two hands on the piping bag will help with this step.
Some great tips and great helpful links.