It seems these days that cupcakes are everywhere. Those pint-sized cakes which used to be confined to kid’s parties are now THE way to serve dessert at any occasion—from weddings to baby showers to office parties. Naturally, as these small sweets have gained popularity, the ways of displaying them have evolved to be ever-more fancy and clever. There are cupcake towers, designer paper liners, and now…cupcake wrappers!
Made of sturdy cardstock which you secure around your baked and frosted cakes, cupcake wrappers are an innovative, simple way to ensure your cupcakes match the theme you’ve so carefully selected for your event. Of course, here at Big Dot we offer cupcake wrappers to coordinate with all of our themes, making your life even easier, and your party décor that much more impressive! Even if you’re not planning to serve cupcakes at your gathering, these handy little cups can still be used in all kinds of ways to decorate your tables.
By lining them with an empty paper soufflé cup (or an empty muffin paper), you can use our cupcake wrappers to hold small candies or cookies or nuts to create simple party favors. You can even go one step further and insert a toothpick with a paper flag attached (with a name written on it) into the candy to make these little cups into adorable place settings. Alternately, you could place a cupcake wrapper in the bottom of a small cellophane bag, fill the wrapper with candy, etc., pull the bag up tightly around the wrapper, and secure it at the top with ribbon to make beautiful take-home party favors.
For a slight variation on the traditional cake and ice cream at a child’s birthday party, those same paper soufflé cups can be filled with a scoop or two of ice cream, secured inside a cupcake wrapper, and then placed on a tray in the freezer for pre-portioned (and adorable!) ice cream servings.
Another use for these cute little wrappers is to set a small jar or can inside them to hold water for tiny bouquets of flowers—creating a pretty nosegay at each place setting. (If your party is on or near May Day, you could attach a strip of cardstock over the top of each flower-filled wrapper to create sweet little May Day baskets as party favors.)
If you are throwing a baby shower, these wrappers can be used to build an adorable centerpiece. Simply fill each wrapper with baby socks, onesies, or washcloths, and then arrange them on a cupcake tower or various cake pedestals to create adorable pint-sized versions of a large diaper cake—“diaper” cupcakes, if you will!
We all know, though, it’s hard to beat actual, edible cupcakes…and let’s not forget that’s what these wrappers do best! So dust off your mixers, don your aprons, and get baking…here’s one of my favorite, low-effort vanilla cake recipes to get you started. Just add your favorite frosting and a cupcake wrapper from Big Dot, and you’ve got yourself a party-worthy dessert!
Simple Vanilla Cupcakes
2 cups granulated sugar
4 eggs
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
¾ cup vegetable (or canola) oil
2 ¼ tsp baking powder
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 350º. Line a cupcake pan/muffin tin with baking papers. In a large bowl, use a hand mixer to beat the sugar and eggs together until they’re slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Add the remaining ingredients and beat for another minute, just until the batter is smooth. Don’t overbeat! Spoon the batter into the prepared cupcake papers, filling them about 2/3 full. (Place any remaining batter in the refrigerator until you’re ready to use it.) Bake 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cake comes out clean. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before removing to a rack to cool completely before frosting/decorating.
Enjoy!
Posted by Shannon, a Dot-arilla Blogger