That title should read… “How to Make Wedding Cupcakes when You’re Not Really a Professional Cupcake Baker!”
Since I’m always bringing treats to people, those people occasionally ask if they can hire me to make treats. Not really wishing to create a business of making and selling food, I typically decline- however, a very sweet, young teacher at my son’s school was getting married last weekend and asked if I would do the cupcakes for her wedding. (In case you’re not in on the latest, apparently cupcakes are a hip alternative to a fancy wedding cake nowadays). We met and discussed the project, and I found myself agreeing to make 96 cupcakes!
Here are the details:
The bride wanted white and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream frosting. I tested out some recipes and frosting patterns in the weeks prior to the wedding.
All Recipe Links for Cupcakes and Frosting are at the BOTTOM of this post.
The bride also wanted a combination of white, light blue and light yellow frosting. She chose two different frosting patterns and wanted some with pearls and some without.
Here are some of the pictures…
I used a 1G Tip by Bakery Crafts for this simple swirl. The chocolate cupcake recipe used was excellent. It was really easy to make and it stayed pretty flat on top, making it easier to pipe the frosting.
I used a 2D Wilton tip for this more funky pattern.
I loved the white cupcake… though I’m a little embarrassed to tell you about the recipe. It was a doctored-up cake mix recipe (gasp!!) I know that’s not very gourmet, and it’s completely atypical of how I usually bake, but I’m telling you that these cupcakes were GOOD!! And again, a really easy recipe to make- the tops stayed nice and flat & easy for frosting.
My kitchen and dining room were a sea of cupcakes for the better part of a day!
The bride requested that I make a dozen completely sugar-free cupcakes for a few guests who were not able to eat sugar.
This recipe for sugar free chocolate cupcakes with sugar free chocolate frosting uses a monk fruit alternative sweetener. They turn out pretty delicious!
The bride also asked that I make her a small cake for the top tier of her cupcake display. They wanted to be able to cut into a little wedding cake.
I made a 6-inch two layer cake. I used the same cake recipe as the cupcakes- same frosting recipe too. The tip used for the edging was the Wilton 2D. The bride placed flowers on top of the cake for additional decor.
Though it was a ton of work, it was a fun project to do. And I actually feel pretty good about how they turned out (having never, ever done fancy cupcakes before!) Now that I’m a “paid cupcake-baking professional,” I’m sure that it won’t be quite as difficult to do next time.
If you’re looking for the right supplies to make these cupcakes, here are my suggestions (these are affiliate links to Amazon):
- 12-cup muffin pan
- My suggestion for the cupcake liners is to visit a local baking supply shop where you live. They should carry a good, white liner that won’t have the cupcake turning out greasy.
- Edible sugar pearls
- large plastic disposable pastry bags for piping the frosting
- For icing the cupcakes, I recommend trying either the Wilton Open Star 1M tip or the Wilton Closed Star 2D. Both of these you can usually find at craft or baking supply stores. Or just order a whole decorator tip kit and try out different ones!
- These disposable cupcake boxes are great… because you can bake and decorate your cupcakes, then store them in the boxes and refrigerate them overnight!
Here are all of the recipes:
Chocolatey Cupcakes (not dipped in the ganache)
White Wedding Cupcakes
White Wedding Buttercream
White Wedding Cake
Sugar Free Chocolate Cupcakes
Sugar Free Chocolate Frosting
If you can have a little bit of sugar in the frosting, I prefer this chocolate frosting recipe
Here is the recipe I was given from a Wilton cake decorating class. It is non dairy and is very good.
1 cup solid shortening (Crisco)
½ cup milk or water
1 tsp. clear vanilla
1 tsp. butter flavoring (optional)
¼ to ½ tsp. almond flavoring (optional)
¾ tsp. cream of tartar
2 Tbsp. Meringue Powder
½ tsp. salt (dissolve salt in milk)
2 lbs. powdered sugar (no need to sift)
Blend all ingredients for 30 seconds. Top mixer and with spatula reach down underneath beaters to blend any dry powdered sugar with blended mixture. Beat at medium speed for 3-5 minutes until fluffy. Leftover icing can be stored in refrigerator for months or it can be frozen. Water can be used in place of milk, however it will sometimes be impossible to obtain true red, pink or purple when using water. To use this recipe to frost the cake you may need to add a small amount of milk to reach desired spreading consistency. Orange juice, coffee, maraschino cherry juice, etc. can be substituted for the milk. Yield 5-6 cups.
Thanks for sharing!
When is this video coming? I’ve got the right tools but I still don’t think my technique is quite right. Please and thank you!!
Wow. Stunningly beautiful. I want to do cupcakes with a big red frosting rose on each for the Kentucky Derby and I am loathe to use shortening. Do you think your frosting recipe will hold up to forming roses? (I’ve never done them, but they look like they require a fairly “stiff” buttercream.)
Is there such a thing as piping the roses beforehand and just plopping them on the cupcakes the day of the event?
Again…absolutely gorgeous cupcakes!
I’ve never piped roses, so I’m not sure. I wouldn’t count on it though so you’d have to test it out!
Hi, I can’t wait to try this out! My best friend is getting married in July and we want to make cupcakes for it. My question is, can you freeze the cupcakes for a week and refrigerate the icing a couple days? Also, if she wanted chocolate as well do we just substitute white cake mid for chocolate? Thanks for the great recipes!!
It would be okay to freeze the cupcakes for a week if they are properly sealed in the freezer. I’m not sure about refrigerating the icing ahead of time… I’d probably rather ice the cupcakes the day before and refrigerate the cupcakes in their cupcake boxes. https://www.recipegirl.com/2012/04/10/chocolate-wedding-cupcakes/
Hi Lori,
Thank you so much for your wonderful article! I have just been “commissioned” to do a wedding in August (for a friend) – I am always making cupcakes (birthdays, engagements, bridal showers, etc) and have perfected gluten free and dairy free adaptations, and practiced my piping to perfection. I love your ideas and am using your example as inspiration for my very first wedding cakes. 🙂
Xx Donna
Friends are having a TRON themed baby shower for a special Mom. I was asked to do 36 cupcakes for the party. After searching the net for a few hours I could almost taste how good your white wedding cake recipe would be. I wanted a cake with a little more “body” to it as I am adding Neon Food Coloring Gel to the cake and your buttercream frosting. The cupcakes will be very colorfull and psychedelic! Thanks for your help!
They look fab but go easy on the pearls…they can hurt the teeth!!!
Yes! Though the frosting does tend to soften them up a bit.
Made these cupcakes for the 2nd time, only today I used Duncan Hines French Vanilla and 3 whole eggs instead of 3 egg whites. They were alot fluffier than the previous ones. Also, most of the Duncan Hines cake mixes are 18.25 ozs. I made 1-1/2 batches of the wedding butter cream icing and used tip 2D icing all 36 cupcakes with a little icing left over.
I’m with Ashley above, I would love a video or even written instruction describing how you did the white “funky” frosting. I’ve tried it with that exact tip (Wilton 2D) and cannot for the life of me get it to look like that, which I love. I own a small home based cake business (I have a domestic kitchen license) but just can’t seem to figure this obey out, making me feel a bit silly. Did you swirl it like the others or use a different movement?
clearly, I need to do a video…!
What technique did you use to do the funky frosting pattern on the all white cupcakes? A visual demonstration would be very helpful!!
I definitely need to do a video demo!