Packaging, my weakness!

I love packaging. It's my american upbringing. In fact I would say really good packaging costs about as much as your product. But its' that clever packaging that gets me to buy their product and not the cheapskates. So naturally when I create something I want some nice packaging. This picture below has AMAZING colors. Just love it!

Here's what I've found for cupcakes.

DIFFERENT SIZES:
Cheapest is PlasticContainerCity.com. I like this website because you can buy individually and not just by the cases of like 5000. They carry all you need that's plastic. Jumbo, regular and mini cupcakes. Instead of the standard size cupcake, make mini ones. A recipe for 12 regular cupcakes will bake 24 mini. They're super cute and easier to eat.
For a fundraiser in our youth ministry we'll be making Mini Tasting Packs that will feature 6 different flavors. People love that.

WHERE IT DOESN'T BELONG:
Putting something where it doesn't belong is always a plus. Like I've placed cupcakes in chinese food boxes (Smart N Final about 25 cents a piece) or my new one is a Berry Box.
This will feature my Strawberry Skys cupcake for my friend Sarah's business.

BUT CARDBOARD IS THE BEST:
My favorite packaging for cupcakes is brown cardboard from BRPboxshop.com.


PERSONAL TOUCH:
Put a homemade sticker on the package and make it yours. Wrap a ribbon around it, glue a button. Whatever but just don't leave it alone.
CLASSY:

Whatever you place them in, make sure it's classy and clean. Sparkles Cupcakes in Sydney, Australia just look expensive because of the mirror inside the black box.

Chocolate Pretzel Cupcake

I'm prepping a fundraiser for our Youth Ministry. Every year we sell roses on Mother's Day. The kids assemble the roses, put water caps on the them and wrap them in a beautiful cellophane packages. This year we've added...cupcakes! So I'm going to be testing some recipes in the next few days before we bake. First one is "Chocolate Pretzel."

Vanilla and Chocolate are great flavors but my favorite are the unusual flavors. People love to try things they wouldn't usually make at home. Mmmm, chocolate covered pretzels are the best so why not make them a cupcake? I'm taking a Wilton cake decorating class a Micheal's and for my last cake I did trial one of the recipe. Check out that pretzel crust! Mmmmm salty.

Althought the salty and sweet combo was delish, it needed more chocoalte and the crust, well, needed to be more crusty.

I got the idea from Cupcake Project and decided to use the recipes she used and they worked.

THE PRETZEL CRUST - from allrecipes.com

• 3/4 cup margarine, softened
• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 1/2 cups crushed pretzels

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium bowl, mix together margarine, sugar and pretzels. Press the mixture into a 9x13 inch baking pan. Bake in oven for 10 minutes; fill with desired pie filling.

Press the crust on the bottom of the cupcake liner. I added some chocolate morsels to add more chocolate flavor and somewhat deal the crunchiness before the batter hits it.

ONE BOWL CHOCOLATE CAKE - marthastewart.com

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt (kosher)
2 large eggs (room temperature!)
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

And top with a CHOCOLATE GANACHE - allrecipes.com

• 9 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 
  
  

Directions

1. Place the chocolate into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil, watching very carefully because if it boils for a few seconds, it will boil out of the pot. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate, and whisk until smooth.
2. Allow the ganache to cool slightly before pouring over a cake. Start at the center of the cake and work outward. For a fluffy frosting or chocolate filling, allow it to cool until thick, then whip with a whisk until light and fluffy.

Vintage Toy Baby Shower and Creamsicle Cupcakes

This is my first post. I've never actually blogged before. So let me introduce myself...I have a love for amateur baking and since I own an oven, as most people do, this leads to lots of "experiments." I have a larger family than most, 5 sisters, mom, dad, 2 kids under the age of 2 and the sweetest husband. This leads to a party almost every month. We actually tend to adopt almost everyone and celebrate anything, so that leads to a party almost twice a month. These parties lead to lots of "tastings of the experiments." My husband and I are also youth pastors for a church of over 20,000 with 9 services a week, so that leads to lots of "events to experiment with!"

I also love to celebrate. Whether with family or at church there is always a party. Parties must taste and look good. Not only that, there needs to be some sort of surprise, or something for the guest to say "Hmmm, clever and tasty."

Since I mentioned my kids earlier, I'll post one of my favorite parties, my baby shower for my son Carter Steven. The theme was "Vintage Toys."

Orange Cupcakes (fresh oranges from my parents backyard) with a Creamsicle Frosting. Putting the popsicle stick in them just topped it off. I used a paper cup holder for candy or nuts to make it feel a little more nostalgic. Use your favorite Vanilla Recipe (cake batter and icing) and add some orange zest and juice to the batter. I served mini cupcakes because there just easier to eat! When piping the icing combine in the same bag orange and vanilla frosting to give it the ultimate Creamsicle look.

Dr. Suess Thing 1 Thing 2 are simply red party cups with blue cotton candy sticking up. I had some round labels and printed the graphic. You could draw them if you need to. Make sure to not set these up too early or the cotton candy will wilt.
Take a simple dessert like Rice Krispies and make it colorful by dipping the sides in white chocolate and sprinkles. The tray below are those are brownies but I added peanut butter to the chocolate frosting for something different.You've heard of the Diaper Cake (been there done that) but my good friend Sarah made me a Diaper Wreath. So cute! She added her custom onsies she makes as owner of Strawberry Skies.

Dr. Suess Green Eggs and Ham tribute by making Deviled Green Eggs. Just add green food coloring dye to your favorite recipe.

As a gift we gave out Carter Jacks (not Cracker Jacks, look closely). My sister is a photoshop whiz and we printed them on shipping labels. Everyone just loved them.

Add magnets to you metal drink bucket for color and vintage feel and serve bottled drinks. We also had a Rootbeer Float and Creamsicle punch. Just put the soda in a punch bowl and add ice cream to the bowl. It's tasty and looks beautiful too.

This is my friend Sarah posing with onesies.

If you already have a child this baby shower is perfect for your second because you probably already own most of these toys!

Usually I'm not a fan of balloons, but they went perfect with the theme and added so much color! We tied Dr. Suess flashcards to the strings to add a little flare.