What Is Buttercream & Why Does It ROCK?
Posted June 5th, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Cupcake Decorations,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , —

If you’re new to the baking community or just starting out with basic culinary classes you’ll quickly discover there are many different recipes for buttercream. You can top a cake with frosting made from almost any combination of sugar, cream and butter. Here is a quick guide to buttercream and why it really is a versatile frosting. Once you master the art of buttercream you’ll be quickly on your way to making any type of cupcake you want!

{Cupcake Supplies: Cupcake Boxes, Cupcake Domes, Cupcake Toppers, Cupcake Bags}

  1. What is buttercream? There are many different definitions of buttercream, depending on your country and origin. Buttercream is a type of icing used to decorate cakes, cupcakes and desserts. Popular for inside cakes and layered desserts, butter cream is versatile and can be made to any consistency. There are four different types of buttercream: American, Italian Meringue, Swiss Meringue, and French Meringue.
  2. How do you make buttercream? The basic ingredients in most buttercream are butter, sugar, salt, and eggs. Different recipes call for slightly different ingredients, the American version of buttercream does not include eggs. This is a popular version for vegan recipes. Not only is it sold premade in stores but it also has a long shelf life for bakeries and cupcake shops. Most bakeries use meringue buttercream because of the taste. Once you’ve mastered the recipes you’ll be able to tell the difference in taste and consistency.
  3. What is flavored buttercream? When a cupcake shop or bakery features a flavored buttercream it refers to an added ingredient. The recipe structure stays the same but an added flavor or fruit can be added. Chocolate cocoa powder, honey, fruit and fruit juices are all popular additions to a plain buttercream recipe.
  4. What can you do with buttercream? The sky is the limit with buttercream. You can cover a cupcake with a tower of delicious buttercream for weddings, parties and special occasions. Depending on your recipe, you can create a vegan buttercream frosting that can go perfectly with any vegan cupcake recipe.

Last week we went over cupcake decorating tips and how to create different frosting techniques. Buttercream frosting is the perfect way to practice with cupcake frosting techniques because it’s affordable. You can make any consistency that you need to create different swirls and ‘puff’ styles.

Once you’ve mastered buttercream and have the perfect cupcake recipe then you can plan a cupcake party! Show off your new baking skills by throwing a cupcake party. Invite all your friends over to have a few drinks on the summer patio and decorate cupcakes. Set up a decorating station with different flavors of cupcakes, cupcake frosting and cupcake toppings. Then let guests choose their favorite cupcake wrapper to use. At the end of the party, send home leftovers in cute cupcake boxes!

Bali Wedding Cupcakes: Curry, Saffron & Cardamom
Posted June 4th, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Trends,Religious Cupcakes,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , —

We recently attended the most amazing Indian wedding, complete with elephant wedding favors and beautiful Bali-inspired cupcakes. Don’t get us wrong, wedding cupcakes in general send our excitement to new highs but there is something about an Indian wedding that is one of a kind. The bright colorful fabrics and heavily cultural wedding ceremony traditions—they’re truly exceptional events. If you’re lucky enough to be part of an Indian wedding, you’ll see what we’re talking about.

{Indian Inspired Cupcakes: Moroccan Dawn Cupcake Wrappers, Moroccan Evening Cupcake Wrappers, Moroccan Sunrise Cupcake Wrappers, Moroccan Dusk Cupcake Wrappers, Moroccan Breeze Cupcake Wrappers}

Anyways, onto the topic at hand: these Bali-inspired cupcakes were above and beyond our expectations. They had a full dessert bar of Indian favorites and specialty cupcake flavors. Not only were the flavors and spices over the top, they were all wrapped in some of our beautiful Moroccan cupcake wrappers. The bakery had managed to match cupcake frostings and flavors with a different pattern cupcake wrapper. It’s just a pity we didn’t get to take photos for you, but we did take notes. Here are our tips on how to create your own Bali-inspired wedding cupcakes complete with our Moroccan cupcake wrappers.

  1. Saffron Cupcakes: You can create vegan Saffron cupcakes to please any of your vegan friends. Saffron has a wide variety of uses from teas and cooking to bath spices and fabric dyes. This spice is used in cooking for flavor and coloring. The red threads can be seeped for bold flavor and then incorporated into the cupcake batter. These cupcakes are perfect for a bold Moroccan Dawn cupcake wrapper. Top each cupcake with a few strands of saffron for an accent.
  2. Cardamom Frosting: Any of your vegan cupcakes can use a cardamom frosting. Our favorite cardamom frosting uses cream cheese but you can easily adapt it to be vegan friendly. Once you’ve mixed your frosting, add a few drops of food coloring to help blend your cupcakes with a colorful topping.
  3. Cashew and Carrot Cupcakes: For a bold alternative to carrot cake cupcakes, bake a few cashew and carrot cupcakes. These nutty cupcakes pair salty cashew nuts with fresh moist carrots. Then when you pile cream cheese frosting on top they’re delicious. With a small amount of curry these cupcakes would be the ultimate savory treat. These were served in Moroccan Sunrise cupcake wrappers because of their medium color and bold taste.
  4. Curry Cupcakes: Speaking of curry, the spice is quickly becoming a must have for kitchen fanatics. Cupcake Wars contest winners are even baking contest winning cupcakes with it! The bold spice is a tangy way to turn up the heat on any cupcake recipe. You can pair it with a subtle fruit or vegetable to create another great cupcake combination. We chickened out on trying these snacks but rumor has it they certainly make great after dinner treats. These curry cupcakes are beautiful paired with Moroccan Twilight cupcake wrappers.

Any of your favorite bold Indian cupcake recipes can really turn of the heat at a wedding or special event. We were blown away with the creativity of the cupcake flavors and cupcake decorations. Nevermind the beautiful cupcake wrappers, even the cupcake toppers were amazing. A few round fondant Bali-inspired flowers and bright bold frosting colors can really transform your dessert table. What do you think; how bold are you willing to go with your wedding desserts? Would you put curry in your cupcake recipe?

Cupcake Champions: Ultimate Cupcake Wars
Posted May 30th, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Cupcake Decorations,Cupcake Wars & Cupcake Wars Recipes,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , —

Apparently, Cupcake Wars wasn’t enough! The ultimate battle for “cupcake supremacy” is on the Food Network Sunday nights. Cupcake Wars winners are being put in the ring to fight for the title of Cupcake Champion. The winner of the competition goes home with $50,000. That’s a huge stack of cash for some cupcakes. Those better be some outrageously delicious cupcakes! Here are our top favorites from past Cupcake Wars winners. Stick with any of these and you’ll be walking away a grand prize winner. (No guarantees, hey- we’re not the judges!)

{Cupcake Wrappers: Moroccan Sunrise Cupcake Wrappers, Lavender Filigree Cupcake Wrappers, Red Stripes Cupcake Wrappers, Green Trellis Cupcake Wrappers,  Ivory Spanish Tile Cupcake Wrappers}

  1. Brown Sugar Caramel Creme Brulee Cupcakes: These delicious cupcakes are definitely one of a kind. Who doesn’t love a good crème brulee cupcake? These would be beautiful when paired with our ivory cupcake wrappers.
  2. Sweet Tea Cupcakes with Lemon Sweet Tea Frosting: If you’re looking for a basic recipe that can be altered to include any of the surprising Cupcake Wars ‘special ingreidents’ our vote is on this basic sweet tea cupcake. You can add fruit or spices to it and still create a delicious cupcake, beats using vanilla! Bring a variety of cupcake liners and cupcake wrappers to match your flavor colors. For sweet tea, we like pink cupcake wrappers or green cupcake wrappers.
  3. Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Brown Sugar Cream Cheese Frosting: Here at Dress My Cupcake we love incorporating new tastes and vegetables into our cupcakes. Mind you we’re not nearly as good as the professional bakers on Cupcake Wars but we do love trying. These sweet potato cupcakes are one of our favorites. The sweet potatoes are soft and chewy and actually a lot sweeter than you’d think for a vegetable! These would be perfect with any of our brown Moroccan cupcake wrappers.
  4. Peach Berry Shortcake Cupcakes: You can’t go wrong with a flavorful fruit cupcake. These shortcake cupcakes can be made with peaches or berries. Any type of fresh fruit they offer you will do the trick. We really like the peach berry shortcake recipe but it can be mixed with any other flavors too. For berry cupcakes, we definitely recommend a soft pink or purple cupcake wrapper.
  5. Apple-Spice Cupcakes with Blue Cheese: Get their mouths watering with these unique cupcakes. They’re definitely outside the box. The apple spice cupcake recipe topped with blue cheese and walnuts is definitely enough flair to get their attention. Especially with a red cupcake wrapper!

Any of these cupcake recipes will make your cupcake a top contender. The season started May 13th and we’re excited to see what cupcakes make it to the finale. Who are you rooting for?

 

Color Wheel Cupcakes: Rainbow Party Ideas
Posted May 29th, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,2012 Cupcake Trends,Special Event Cupcakes,Summer Cupcakes & Summer Cupcake Decorating Ideas,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , —

Rainbow parties are all the rage right now. The bright festive colors are just in time for summer pool parties and last day of school picnics. These palette inspired cupcakes feature different colored frosting and plenty of bright colored cupcake liners. Mix and match your favorite cupcake liners to create a color palette you love. This is also a great way to incorporate the huge design trend that is spreading like wildfire: ombre! These two color inspired frosting techniques can be easy to create yourself.

{Pink Ombre Cupcake Wrappers: Baby Pink Diamond Cupcake Wrappers, Pink Polka Dot Cupcake Wrappers, Emma Blush Pink Cupcake Wrappers, Hollywood Pink Cupcake Wrappers, Platinum Glitter Fuchsia Cupcake Wrappers}

Ombre Frosting: What is ombre? Ombre features graduated layers of colors. The design trend is on everything from wedding invitations to hairstyles! For frosting or cakes, this means starting with dark pink and ending with light pink.  Some bakers are incorporating the ombre into the batter for a surprise once you cut the cake: each layer is a shade darker than the last. This is super cute when combined with ombre frosting.

For an ombre frosting display, choose which color palette you would like to feature. For a wedding cake or wedding cupcakes, stick to one shade. Rich deep tones such as purple, blue or green are perfect. Separate the frosting into four different dishes. One dish should have slightly more than the others for layering over the top of the cake. Four color tones should give you a good amount of coverage without going too far overboard. Using food safe coloring gel, add color to each bowl. Start with one drop each and then add more as you go along. If you’re making ombre cupcakes, decorate with a variety of cupcake wrappers in fun shades.

{Ombre Cupcake Supplies: Yellow Cupcake Wrappers, Orange Cupcake Wrappers, Red Cupcake Wrappers, Pink Cupcake Wrappers, Purple Cupcake Wrappers, Blue Cupcake Wrappers, Tiffany Blue Cupcake Wrappers, Green Cupcake Wrappers}

Rainbow Frosting: The trick to making rainbow frosting is instead of using the same shade and adding more drops, separate frosting into five different colors. When we made rainbow cupcakes we separated the batter into five different colors: red, orange, yellow, green and blue. Each received five to ten drops of food coloring dye. Frosting is the same procedure: separate and dye. Then carefully scoop into a piping bag.

Cupcake Frosting Techniques: One popular way to decorate a cupcake is to use a cupcake frosting tip in round circular motions. With colored frosting this creates a wave of rose flowers. Start at the bottom with your darkest color and then move towards the top. When you frost in circles you’ll have spaces in between each rose. Pipe small swirls to fill these gaps. An easier way to frost your cake with ombre or rainbow is to frost in layers. Starting with the darkest color at the bottom, scoop frosting onto a spatula or frosting knife and “smear” the frosting along the bottom. Add colors as you go.

{Green Ombre Cupcake Wrappers: Kiwi Green Polka Dot Cupcake Wrappers, Kiwi Green Cupcake Wrappers, Kelly Green Spanish Tile Cupcake Wrappers, Platinum Glitter Emerald Green Cupcake Wrappers, Green Chalkboard Cupcake Wrappers}

Rainbow Cupcakes: You can create individual rainbow cupcakes by separating the dyed batter into bowls. Add a teaspoon of each color into your cupcake liners. Once your cupcakes are baked (per your standard instructions) frost cupcakes with rainbow frosting. Each cupcake has a slightly different color by separating the frostings and dying them individually as you go. This process takes longer but it yields pretty awesome cupcakes. To make it easier, use color coded bowls and cupcake liners so you don’t get confused.

Rainbow Cupcake Wrappers: Not up for individually decorating each cupcake? Use colorful cupcake liners and a wide variety of cupcake wrappers to create a rainbow display instead. Each cupcake tier on your cupcake stand can feature an ombre of cupcake wrappers. We’ve showcased this look for many of our cupcake displays. Starting on the bottom tier use blue cupcake wrappers with our green cupcake wrappers; then branch to purple and red, orange and yellow and top off your tiers with white! You’ll have the same bright fun rainbow cupcake display without the fancy baking tricks.

Any of these fun festive cupcake ideas are perfect for your next cupcake party. If you’re having a rainbow themed wedding or a colorful pride party, these are the perfect cupcakes for you!

Bakerella Spotlight: Snowcone Cupcakes
Posted May 23rd, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Red Cupcakes,Summer Cupcakes & Summer Cupcake Decorating Ideas,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , —

We have our favorite bake shops, cupcake blogs and party sites. Bakerella is definitely at the top of our list for cupcake websites. We recently stumbled upon a great tutorial for how to make patriotic snow cone cupcakes. They’re so cute and these snow cone cupcakes are perfect for Memorial Day. Here are the basic steps:

  1. Red, White and Blue Batter: Start with vanilla cupcake batter and then separate the batch into three parts. With food coloring, create a red and blue batch. Patriotic cupcakes are great for Memorial Day, Fourth of July and any special military inspired wedding. You can use the same technique for rainbow cupcakes as well. For each color, separate a bowl of vanilla cupcake batter and dye accordingly.
  2. Separate the Batter: Put each batter into a separate piping bag. Pipe them into cupcake liners at the same time to create three stripes. If you’re feeling extra creative, use the bags to pipe circles or ombre colored batter.
  3. Frosting Stripes: After frosting the cupcakes, add sparkling sugar crystals in stripes. Bakerella shows how to frost different colored icing. To create different colored frosting, separate frosting into bowls similar to the batter. Then pipe frosting in rows and cover with sparkling sugar crystals for each section.

For better instructions, head over to Bakerella. They have tons of great recipes. Her tutorial for how to make snow cone cupcakes is perfect and easy to follow. These cupcakes are absolutely perfect for having a Memorial Day cupcake party. You can create patriotic cupcakes with our Fourth of July cupcake wrapper collection. The best part of these cupcakes? They don’t melt!

How to Have Cupcake Party for Kids
Posted May 22nd, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , —

Whether you’re hosting a birthday party or planning a school fundraiser, we proudly recommend cupcakes for the dessert table. Kids love to decorate cupcakes—almost as much as eating them! For your next birthday party why not have a fun cooking theme and let them decorate their own? Hosting a cupcake party for kids is a great way to encourage cooking and learning. You can make math and addition fun by teaching them how to measure and bake. Then afterwards, they can enjoy decorating cupcakes!

{Super Hero Cupcake Wrappers, Robot Cupcake Wrappers, Dinosaur Cupcake Wrappers}

You’ll need to stock up on plenty of cupcake supplies:

Cupcake mix: Don’t feel bad if you want to use a box, but mixing the ingredients yourself is a great learning tool.

Measuring Cups: For a cute party favor, stock up on bright colored measuring cup sets. Personalize them with guests’ names so kid can have their own to take home.

Ingredients: Be creative with your ingredients. Vanilla cupcakes are great with food coloring but a strawberry or chocolate cupcake can be extra delicious. Be aware of allergies if you plan to use milk, nuts or any dairy products. Check with parents before baking and serving to avoid any complications or allergic reactions.

Frosting: Pre made frosting can make your job a lot easier but it might have added sugars you want to avoid. Stick with a simple butter cream frosting recipe. Separate into different bowls and add food coloring for kids to choose their favorite colored frosting.

Cupcake Decorations: Cupcake wrappers and colorful cupcake liners are the perfect way to stand out. Offer a variety of different colors and styles for kids to choose their own favorite. A few of our personal favorite: robot head cupcake wrappers, super hero cupcake wrappers and any of our girlie cupcake wrappers from our girl’s birthday party collection.

Cupcake Piping Tools: Piping bags, frosting tools and pre-made icing bags can really come in handy if you want to create monster cupcakes, flower cupcakes or different frosting lettering.

Cupcake Toppers: Fun cupcake toppers such as fondant toppers, paper toppers or old fashion sprinkles can take your cupcake to the next level. Nothing beats the look on a kid’s face when they’ve made a really creative fun looking cupcake.

Bulk Candy: Set out bowls of different types of candy for kids to decorate with. Licorice, M&M’s and gumdrops are all great options. Anything that helps turn a humdrum cupcake into a frightening monster or a dangerous super villain!

It’s not a bad idea to draw up some designs for kid’s to look at. When they have inspiration and idea for what to create they’ll be inspired to decorate their cupcakes any way they want. Having a cupcake party is a fun way to inspire kids to bake. If you’re planning a bake sale, having kids decorate cupcakes can involve them in the process. They’ll be happy to help when they know someone might want to buy their creations. Plus, you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing they’re learning and having fun!

Memorial Day Cupcakes: Proud, True, Red White & Blue
Posted May 21st, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Holiday Cupcakes & Holiday Cupcake Decorating Ideas,Red Cupcakes,Themed Cupcakes,White Cupcakes & White Cupcake Decorating Ideas Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , —

Last week we featured our red, white and blue cupcake wrappers for a beautiful Armed Forced Day party. Well, next week is another special holiday for the red, white and blue. Memorial Day is Monday, May 28, 2012 this year. The holiday is celebrated to honor all of our fallen soldiers and veterans. Originally the holiday was celebrated to honor the Civil War soldiers but it has come to represent much more over the years. Many soldiers fight for our country and we couldn’t be more proud. To honor them we raise a cupcake in their honor.

{Red Cupcake Wrappers, White Cupcake Wrappers, Blue Cupcake Wrappers}

Since the family has a long extended vacation, plan a special outing. Spending time together outdoors is a great way to honor those soldiers who gave their life for our country. Red, white and blue party decorations will set the tone for a beautiful Memorial Day party. With a cookout, root beer floats and some delicious red white and blue cupcakes you can create a special family day. Show your children facts about the war and share with them the importance of such a meaningful holiday. Memorial Day is the last holiday before schools out and the celebration of summer can begin! Celebrate with your family with a beautiful dessert spread of cupcakes, cookies and a good old fashioned apple pie. Decorate your pie with stars and stripe crust and your cupcakes with any of our patriotic cupcake wrappers. We want to wish all of our friends and a family a safe and happy Memorial Day!

Morning Muffins: Cupcakes for Brunch
Posted May 8th, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Cupcake Decorations,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , —

A muffin is just a cupcake that skipped the frosting treatment. You’ve probably heard all the jokes about cupcakes versus muffins. Well, we’re here to say that we love both equally. Blueberry muffins in the morning wake us up like no other breakfast snack can; especially when they’re wrapped in a cute blue cupcake wrapper. If you’re hosting a brunch or just sending your beautiful children off to school with a healthy muffin, there are plenty of ways to dress up your muffin. There’s no need to exclude muffins from the beautiful selection of cupcake wrappers.

{Photo Source: Striped Cupcake Liners, All-Bran, Cupcake Wrappers, See Brooke Cook, Martha Stewart}

A few favorite muffin recipes we love to share with our families: blueberry, chocolate chip and strawberry. All-bran is a popular healthy cupcake recipe but fruit and chocolate are among our favorites. A great way to make your muffin recipe healthier is to make substitutions. Strawberry cupcakes are great to add applesauce to plus you’ll increase the nutritional value. Pop a few strawberry cupcakes into a red cupcake liner or red cupcake wrapper, and you have the perfect brunch snack. Blueberry muffins are perfect for any of our blue cupcake wrappers. If you pair a cupcake liner with a matching cupcake wrapper you’ll have a beautiful display for any breakfast party!

Pomp & Circumstance: 2012 Graduation Cupcakes
Posted May 7th, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Cupcake Decorations,Graduation Cupcakes & Graduation Cupcake Decorating Ideas,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , —

Once a year, students throw up their hats and cheer as they kiss goodbye to textbooks and tests. Graduation is a time for celebrating accomplishments and planning what comes next. Whether you’re celebrating a college graduation or a freedom from fifth grade, graduation cupcakes are perfect for a grad party. After a long year of studying and hitting the books, grad night with a few graduation cupcakes will really make it a sweet occasion.

{Photo Source: Graduation Hat Cupcakes, Kaela’s Kakes, Bakerella, 2012 Graduation Cupcakes, Domestic Charm, Anna and Blue}

These cupcakes can be made with a few Reese’s peanut butter cupcakes and chocolate squares. With a little icing and the right piece of licorice, you can create a tassel to go with any school colors. Stick with simple flavors and thick frosting to leave the focus on the cupcake toppers. And have you seen these adorable graduation cake pops from Bakerella? These amazing little graduation pops are so cute and definitely call for a party! This spring decorate your grad party with any of these cute themed graduation cupcakes with our graduation cupcake wrappers. Our new 2012 graduation cupcake wrappers are perfect for your dessert table. Who needs a grad cake when you can have graduation cupcakes? Be sure to follow us on Pinterest for more graduation cupcake ideas, including our custom happy graduation cupcake wrappers!

Cinco De Mayo Cupcakes & Spanish Tile Cupcake Wrappers
Posted May 3rd, 2012 by Claire — Filed under: 2012 Cupcake Ideas,Holiday Cupcakes & Holiday Cupcake Decorating Ideas,Special Event Cupcakes,Themed Cupcakes Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , —

Did you know that the tradition of Cinco de Mayo is more popular in the United States than it is in Mexico? Most people believe it is the Mexican day of Independence but it’s actually not! The holiday was created to commemorate the Battle of Pueblo, Mexico and is celebrated with traditional Mexico food and heritage. The good news is it’s still a fun day to invite your friends over and celebrate with some Cinco de Mayo cupcakes and traditional Mexican food.

{Photo Source: bakingdom.com, Red Cupcake Wrappers, Cannella Vita, Green Cupcake Wrappers, Brown Eyed Baker}

We’ve been stockpiling cupcake recipes for the holiday and so far margarita cupcakes and churro cupcakes are definitely our favorites. These festive cupcakes will go great with our Spanish tile cupcake wrappers in bright colors. Red, orange and yellow are always popular. Pair with Mexican paper decorations, tissue paper pom poms and plenty of metal lanterns. We would be curious to see if salted caramel cupcakes would be popular for the holiday. Do you have any special plans for the holiday? We’d love to hear about your ideas for Cinco de Mayo. Tell us on our Facebook page and start stocking up on your ingredients for some killer Cinco de Mayo cupcakes!

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