cupcake liners

Wilton makes the cups.

try

I freeze cupcakes all the time. There's only 2 of us, so a batch can last a long time, and a whole cake would be stale before we finished it off. I make the cupcakes and just toss them in the freezer in a bag and take a couple at a time out when we want something sweet. And we're not eating them for days on end, that way, too. I've found that frosting them frozen works well. They're nice and firm, so you aren't squishing them if the frosting is a little stiff.

Try it with a batch for yourself and see if you like the results. Personally, I like them when they're thawed, but just a bit chilly. Weird, I know....

Before you order them online, try your local party supply store or cake decorating stores...maybe Michael's craft store or bulk food store.... hth....Sharon

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and links.

It didn't even occur to me to check with my local bakery wholesaler, although I've purchased cake decorating items there before. I'll check with them, and forward the links to the bride for her input.

Thanks again! Michelle

Michelle-

Maybe this is off topic... but I caught the boardroom part of Martha's Apprentice recently and the project had been wedding cakes. There was something said about cupcakes. The team commented about needing liners and Martha and her daughter both burst out "You don't need liners!!" I can see where trying to remove the liners would actually be a hassel and serving without would be neater all the way around. It wouldn't have occurred to me, which is why I couldn't be an Apprentice.

I don't have any of her books to look at but they're readily available for brousing at the library or most bookstores to see what she does with cupcakes for formal events. I assume they'd be baked in Silicone pans, which give perfect definition, but are expensive. I see Target has a really good buy for standard muffin pans in Silicone. That's almost half of what I've see that size for elsewhere.

Enjoy!

-Marylouise

Normal, old-fashioned uncoated pans can give fine results without liners, and non-stick ones are even more wonderful. Silicone is fine, but not necessary.

Pastorio

You don't need liners for cupcakes, nor do you need fancy silicone cupcake tins. Grease and flour the cupcake tins the same way you'd grease and flour a cake tin. Presto! cakelets. (if you've got non-stick cupcake tins, you may be able to skip the grease-and-flour stage.)

Note: I have found that you really _do_ need paper liners for muffins.

-- Jenn Ridley : snipped-for-privacy@chartermi.net

Do you NEED liners? NO. That said, I think it makes a better presentation. Also, cupcakes are sold in liners at bakeries. Therefore, people will expect them to be in liners. Are they more of a mess or hassle in liners? I don't know. Is it more of a mess than a slice of cake on a plate? I don't think so, at least not for the person eating the cupcake. One could argue that it is more neat. In any case, I think it is splitting hairs. Personally, I think that serving cupcakes at a wedding that are not in liners will make it seem more like a child's birthday party. I'm a bit surprised about Martha's reaction. This is the woman who spends more time and money on gift wrap than the value of the gift. In Martha's world, it is presentation, presentation, presentation. I think that the liner is part of the presentation. Considering that circumstances that the comment arose from, it might have been more a point of theatrics rather than a conveyance of fact. It provides more tension to blurt out "You don't need liners (you idiot, fool, dolt, etc.) rather than say, "Yes dear, I agree."

Since it is a matter of opinion, I would leave the decision up to the customer. It is the bride's opinion that really matters here, not mine or Martha's.

I've never heard of cupcake wedding cakes. At first I pictured building some kind of multi-layer thing with rings and rings of individual cupcakes! But I assume that is not it :) . Does anyone have links with pictures? Are they iced and decorated, individually, just on the top -- and hence the desire for nice-looking papers to cover the sides? Or, if no paper liners, then do you ice and decorate the sides as well? That sounds awfully labor-intensive to me.

Don't be surprised. Martha sells non-stick cupcake tins. Maybe she doesn't sell paper liners. -aem

Here's one illustration:

To follow up on wedding cakes and practicality, frugality and efficiency --- . One wedding at which I officiated, the reception was in the church dining room. Over 250 guests. No dinner, no bar; cake and punch, coffee, nuts and candies, etc. The main wedding cake was a very elegant three tier, from a bakery. This used for the ceremonial cutting (I forbade them to do the tacky "mash in your face" thing.) They saved the top tier to take home, and the rest was cut and served on plates.. . But, already set up on the serving table, relays of sheet cakes had been previously baked and (simply) decorated by the ladies of the church. They were already cut in squares and on small plates, along with coffee and punch. Standing guests could pick up their cake plate and coffee or punch, Other already seated at tables were served from rolling carts. The two organizers were retired flight attendants, and very organized and efficient! :) . I never before or since saw any reception work so well.

I think what you did was very smart. So many people get in over their heads with weddings, turning what might have been a wonderful day into a nightmare. The weeks leading up to the wedding are stressful and the whole thing is way too expensive unless the families are of considerable means.

That price is just for the kit. Someone still needs to bake the cupcakes. The paper collars are a substitute for the ordinary cupcake liners. Anything anyone cares to put on the cupcakes would work.

Personally I find cupcake wedding cakes just a touch downmarket despite what Martha Stewart may think. But hey, they are certainly trendy right now. Have been to weddings with extremely large receptions. There weren't any problems about serving the cake. Bride and Groom got the top layer; rest was cut up and distributed very efficiently.

Well, not as downmarket as a KrispyKream wedding cake.

I actually saw a wedding cake with cupcakes many years ago and it was lovely.

It was for a garden wedding down south. The main cake was in the shape of a big brimmed hat, something that echoed the bride & her bridesmaids. There were flowers all over it and trails of "ribbons" off the brim and every 6 or 8 inches on each of these ribbons was a cupcake, made up to look like a small nosegay. I am not sure if the description can make it sound nearly as unusual and charming it was.

Boron