Comments on: A little DIY cupcake advice

By: Stephy Garmola

Stephy Garmola — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 05:45:31 +0000

Hey!. I think you could also make more of it through a bigger exposure about \”Manolo for the Brides\”. Perhaps you can have some chocolate fudge cupcakes.

By: Toni

Toni — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 19:15:15 +0000

You can buy boxes at crafts stores (I get mine from Jo-Ann’s) that will hold large quantities of cupcakes. You’ll still want to be careful with them during transportation, but it should do the trick. I might suggest cutting a piece of cardboard and placing that in the bottom first to help make them a tad more sturdy.

Like cake, buttercream icing stores wonderfully well. Just thaw and defrost before re-whipping before use. Like others have suggested, (pre-bought) sugar flowers are a super easy way to make incredibly lovely cupcakes, and that way you don’t have to worry about any sort of fancy frosting techniques. Another option is to cut pieces of fondant out with cookie cutters to top the cupcakes on top of the buttercream for a polished finish.

By: Pencils

Pencils — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 18:22:23 +0000

This isn’t terribly inexpensive, but a lovely way to decorate your cupcakes is to use the laser-cut cupcake wrappers now available. http://www.paperorchidstationery.com/modules/cart/navigate.php/nav_id/775
They come in many patterns and colors–I used the “Baby” ones for my baby shower this past weekend and got a million compliments. (Yes, I love to bake so I made the desserts for my own shower.) I even found the little duckies to put on top. They really make the cupcakes look special and are easy to use. I got mine on eBay for a lot cheaper than retail. You can also get cardboard cupcake towers on eBay for a reasonable price. And another word of advice–if you can swing it, have more than one flavor of cupcake. Everyone likes different kinds. At my wedding last year, we had vanilla, chocolate, and carrotcake cupcakes. (Professionally baked, though.) I thought the chocolate would be most popular but the carrotcake ones went first.

By: Laura

Laura — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 17:39:25 +0000

I’ve already printed Never teh Bride’s lovely email response to my question and put it in the Great Big Wedding Binder – now I’m going to do the same with the comment thread. Thanks again!

By: pokeyjones

pokeyjones — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 11:33:17 +0000

When I did cupcakes for a friend’s wedding, it became a problem of logistics…how do you get 200 cupcakes to the reception site? I used some plastic sundae cups and lids on the decorated ones, but actually, that was too much handling, and, messing around. I found the easiest way was to buy storage containers that would fit in my freezer (freshly defrosted and cleaned) to store frozen cupcakes in layers with cake cardboards separating layers. I took the cupcakes to the reception site, bagged my frosting with tips, and took extra containers filled with frosting. With a couple of friends, we plated the cupcakes, frosted and added decorations (royal icing flowers I made before). That was easy!

By: Twistie

Twistie — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 13:57:41 +0000

Oh Laura, there’s always an excuse to buy a new cookbook if you just look in your heart!

Best of luck with the cupcakes. Be sure to let us know how it works out for you.

By: Laura

Laura — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 15:36:35 +0000

All of you, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!!! for the input. I may end up doing a half and half DIY/bought on this one. I have a bad habit of starting projects with lots of organization and planning, getting distracted by something else, then coming back the night before it’s due to finish up. I really don’t want to stay up all night before the wedding, frosting stuff – or show up all covered in cake batter and delirious!

Y’all have given me some great info (and an excuse to buy a new cookbook!) Thanks again!

By: Never teh Bride

Never teh Bride — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 14:16:04 +0000

Linda: That’s true — there’s no shame in handing off some or all of the work if you happen to have a friend who loves to bake!

(bride.): I agree! I have a vegan cake recipe I make (mostly because I don’t feel like dealing with eggs) that uses oil to keep things moist, and I can leave it sitting out or uncovered in the fridge, and the texture remains soft and yummy.

By: (bride.)

(bride.) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 18:49:22 +0000

In my experience, recipes that incorporate oil last much longer (even *not* in the freezer!). My grandpa has a recipe for chocolate beet (!) cake that we’re using for wedding cupcakes, and they’re equally moist on the third day before they’ve even hit the freezer. As far as decorating, there are lots of cute edible and non-edible toppers that can brighten up a simple icing/frosting and cover up little mistakes.

By: Linda

Linda — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 16:37:43 +0000

You might want to consider going to a grocery store and checking their prices. Depending on what else you are DIY’ing you might not want be frosting cupcakes the night before the wedding. Or if you have lots of baker friends, I would consider bringing them in on the fun.