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Cakes are the standard fare for most occasions, but as any host will tell you, they can be quite a hassle. From the tedious prep time to the delicate task of decorating, the work involved can be overwhelming. If you’re not up to the challenge, why not do cupcakes for your next party? They’re not just for kids anymorethanks to trendsetters like Martha Stewart, they’re back in fashion as an elegant party food. Cupcakes are more personal than cakes, and with each piece individually decorated, your guests are sure to appreciate it.

You don’t have to be an expert to make decent decorated cupcakes. Even the simplest cupcake recipes can be made classier with the right designs and techniques. Ready to get started? Read on for a few tips and tricks.

Making your own cupcakes

Store-bought cupcakes will do for a small party, but if you have time, make it more special by baking them yourself. Homemade cupcakes are a lot cozier and more intimate, and they give you more room for creativity. Basic chocolate and vanilla are sure hits with younger guests. But if you’re up to it, you can experiment with flavors such as blueberry, carrot, or marble cakethey work great for formal or corporate parties.

Decorating them can be as simple as adding a nice layer of frosting to each cake. Again, you can go for store-bought or make your own, depending on your time and budget. Some of the classic designs are flowers, animals, words, and cartoon characters. Be as creative as you want with cupcake decorating ideas; the more unique they are, the better!

Weddings: Fancy floral designs

Instead of the fancy (and often overpriced) wedding cake, try arranging your cupcakes in an elaborate design. The individual servings make it easier to serve, especially if there are lots of guests. Try making two larger cupcakes for the couple as your centerpiece. Or if you want to stick to tradition, you can use a small cake as the center and arrange the cupcakes around it. You’ll need around 60 cupcakes for a typical wedding setup.

Delicate designs such as flowers, hearts, and swirls are ideal for weddings. There are ready-made flower cake toppers you can buy if you can’t make the designs yourself. Match the color to the wedding motif or use a contrasting shade for variety. Arrange them on a cake board (you can buy or rent one from most bakeries), or cut an MDF board to serve as your surface. To finish the effect, look for wedding paper cupsyou can find them in silver, gold, and fancy prints specially designed for wedding cupcakes.

Halloween: Peculiar pieces

Halloween cupcakes are a true test of your creativity. Everyone has their own techniques and ideas for making their cupcakes Halloween-themed, from pumpkin and cobweb designs to out-of-this-world ones such as giant bugs, gravestones, and eyeballs. Gooey cupcakes are always popular with children, so go ahead and make the stickiest, gummiest, and weirdest cupcake you can!

Halloween designs are usually very colorful, so plan them out carefully to keep from getting confused. Work one color at a timethis will make your work more like an assembly line. Keep colors from mixing by using different bags or washing each one thoroughly after each application.

Birthdays, showers and engagements: Find a theme

Anything goes when it comes to birthdays and engagement cakes. The safest bet is to go with your celebrant’s interests: a flower theme for girls, cars and trains for boys. Engagement parties are usually on the casual side, so cupcakes will fit right in. Again, you can make a small birthday cake and decorate it with a cupcake arrangement.

Make the designs as uniform or varied as you like. A single design makes an elegant effect and works well for formal occasions and corporate events. Varied cupcakes look more casual and whimsical, perfect for children’s parties and small casual gatherings. You can even put the guests’ names on each of the cupcakesthey’ll surely love the gesture.

Christmas: Holiday toppers

Holiday-themed cakes are in high demand during Christmas season. Often, they’re just simple cakes decorated with Christmas itemsyou can easily make your own. Look around for holiday toppers such as poinsettias, snowmen, and fir trees. These can be plastic or edible, and come in all sorts of sizes. Of course, you can also make your own if you’re feeling creative.

If you don’t have a lot of time, consider making fruitcake cupcakes. They fit right in with the holiday theme, and the best thing about them is you can make them ahead of time. While they’re getting done, you can attend to other details such as decorating your home or dressing up the kids. Fruitcakes also last a long time, so you can give them away to friendsjust add a personalized topping and you’ve got a nice and elegant gift!

Tags: cupcake decorating ideas | cupcake decorating ideas | fruitcake cupcakes | fruitcake cupcakes | engagement cakes | engagement cakes | wedding cupcakes | wedding cupcakes | cupcake recipes | cupcake recipes

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This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 15th, 2008 at 6:39 pm and is filed under Lawns. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.