Recipe for 100 vanilla cupcakes (+ 10 tips)
Excitement was the first emotion that struck when I got the email. An old friend from school was getting married and she wanted me, ME, to make her wedding cupcakes. What an honor.
The next thought was a little bit of panic and some reassuring myself that I could do it and indeed was up for the challenge of baking wedding cupcakes (eek!). Should you ever be in the position of having to make and decorate 100 cupcakes, there are a few things that you should know.
Tip number one: estimate the amount of time you think it will take you, then double it. These things always take longer than you think and you definitely don't want to rush it when you're baking wedding cupcakes. Well I certainly didn't want to.
Tip number two: make sure you have a suitable plan for cupcake transportation. Unless you're making them and serving them straight away in the same place, they're going to have to take a trip in a car. Cupcakes + car movement = squished mess = stressed bride = disaster. I bought a set of disposable boxes with holes in them so the cakes are held in place.
I still told Will to drive like he was bringing his first born home from the hospital and panicked at every jolted movement but we made it. I got mine on eBay for a pretty good price including delivery.
Tip number three: do your calculations and make sure you have all the ingredients the day before. You don't want to be racing out for a slab of butter or bag of flour half-way through.
Tip number four: measure everything in bulk so you don't have to keep starting from scratch. I think I made about 8 batches of cupcakes all up so it was much easier to have two measuring sessions rather than 8.
Tip number five: practice first. I know my oven doesn't cook evenly so I could only cook one tray at a time. That's probably one of the reasons they took so long but it's better than having some under-cooked or burnt.
Tip number six: make at least ten percent extra just in case. I had the odd one that bust its case or just looked all wrong so it was good to have backups. It's also pretty hard to look at cupcakes all day without eating them so make a couple extra for yourself.
Tip number seven: have a practice run to work out your design.
I made a trial run for the bridal shower so we could work out which colours and decorations looked best. Sometimes what you picture in your head doesn't look quite as pretty in cupcake form.
Tip number eight: use plastic wrap. I think I saw this tip first on Pinterest (figures) but I adapted it a little myself. Because I was working with three different colours and two different icing tips I didn't want to have to wash out the bag a million times.
Enter glad wrap. You lay out a sheet of it and plop on the icing. Roll it up then twist the ends. Tie one end in a knot and then snip off the other twisted end and stick it into the bag.
Only the icing tip gets dirty so it's nice and easy to switch between colours and you don't waste and icing because you can squeeze it back out again. The other bonus is it doesn't squeeze out the open end of the bag.
Tip number nine: don't lay them all out on the bench individually. Divide them between trays so it's easy to move them around.
Tip number ten: stand back and admire your work when you're done and wonder how you turned bags of flour, sugar and icing sugar, a few kgs of butter, some vanilla, colouring and orange juice into 100 beautiful cupcakes.
What about you? Have you ever had to make a large number of something? Do you have any other tips?
Martine @ Chompchomp says
Far out that is SOME accomplishment! And they all look so perfect and gorgeous. What a lucky bride!
Claire says
Thanks Martine! It was quite the mission!
Jennifer (Delicieux) says
Wow Claire, what an amazing job! Those cupcakes look gorgeous! I love the cupcake boxes. I need to get myself some of those.
Claire says
Thanks Jen! The boxes definitely come in handy.
Ali says
That's no mean feat! Congratulations, all those cakes look great!
Claire says
Thanks Ali!
Hotly Spiced says
These are so beautiful Claire and you should be so proud of yourself. They're just gorgeous and I love the pearly colours. Thanks for letting me know of these boxes and that glad-wrap tip is a good one. Maureen actually told me about it on the weekend! xx
Claire says
Thanks Charlie! It's such a great tip I can't believe I didn't discover it sooner. x
Katy Potaty says
Oh my gosh, they look incredible Claire! Well done!
I love all your bulk baking tips, these will definitely come in handy. Thanks so much, sweetie!
Claire says
You're very welcome Katy!
Maureen | Orgasmic Chef says
I saw a video of the cling film idea and it's absolutely brilliant. I will never use any other method for filling a piping bag.
Your cupcakes look amazing! I've only done one wedding reception and it was for a dear friend and I was so exhausted I nearly slept through the wedding.
Claire says
It's a tiny bit wasteful but sooo much easier! I can't imagine going to the wedding. I was so exhausted that night I couldn't move from the couch. We had take-away Thai!
Lorraine @ Not Quite Nigella says
How fabulous! And baking 100 of them is not an easy task at all. You did a spectacular job Claire!! :D
Claire says
Thanks Lorraine! No it wasn't an easy task but lots of fun!
Nic@diningwithastud says
Fab job Claire :D they look great! I like your tip about cooking a couple extra to nibble on lol
Claire says
Thanks Nic! Yes well I couldn't make 100 and then not get to eat any!
Marica says
What a super clever idea using Glad Wrap to save time moving / cleaning between frostings. I might just use this with thick royal icing for cookies. I've committed to 100 Christmas cookies for my son's kinder - am I mad? haha
Claire says
You might go mad making them :-) No you'll be fine! Would love to see a photo when you finish!
Marica says
O.K. - might just do that, although I am a complete novice. I love reading baking blogs and yours is always genuine and full of great ideas.
Claire says
Aww thanks Marica! Good luck with the biscuits and don't forget to share them with me, I'd love to see them!
Stephanie @ henry happened says
wow! i cannot even imagine the pressure of making these! so smart of you to think about transportation. Great tips!
Claire says
There was a bit of pressure Stephanie I will admit but it was so much fun making them!
Melissa Loh says
I love that Gladwrap trick! I've never done icing on my cupcakes, because the icing always gets so messy and gets EVERYWHERE, but now I'm definitely keen to try it.
Claire says
It's so good Melissa. Makes clean up so much easier!
Kristin says
Yummm.... I can still remember how delicious they were! They look so pretty in their boxes x
Claire says
Thanks! Me too :-) I may have eaten a few too many but I didn't want to 'waste' the leftovers!
Nicky says
I like your tip that we should double our estimate on time to make things. I love baking, but I am very time poor and always try and squeeze in a bout of baking during a hectic schedule. I always regret it as I then become stressed about the very thing I love! Well done you on those cupcakes. They look beautiful!
Claire says
I know exactly what you mean Nicky! Usually I decide at the last minute that taking baked goodies to someone's house would be a good idea. It never is!
Swah says
These look gorgeous! I have baked for a few engagement parties and transporting the cupcakes is always a stressful nightmare. I'll definitely buy some of those boxes online in future. What cupcake liners did you use? The ones I get from Coles are terrible and often bunch up into the tray and result in deformed cupcakes :(
Claire says
I was soo worried I was going to trip walking them to the car. That's no good about the cases. I got mine on eBay. Here's the store http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2000x-White-Medium-7cm-Cupcake-Liner-Baking-Cup-Patty-Pans-/180997706248?pt=AU_Cookware_Bakeware&hash=item2a244dd208
Thelio says
Hi Claire, have you ever used [filigree] wedding cupcake wrappers along with those transport boxes?And do the cupcakes still fit the holes? I need to do about 100 for son's wedding.
Claire says
Hi Thelio. I haven't but a friend has and I am sure they fitted in the box. They wrap pretty tightly around the actual wrapper so it should be fine. Good luck! How wonderful to be able to make the cakes for your son's wedding!
The Life of Clare says
These are fantastic! I've never made anything in such large numbers! But we did buy cupcakes for out wedding, 20 of 10 different flavours. They were delicious!
thelifeofclare.com.au
Claire says
Ooh 10 different flavours! I would have been stuck trying to choose which one to eat.