Cupcake Cakes 101

Over the the years I’ve made quite a few cupcake cakes. I’m sharing a few pointers with you today… welcome class to Cupcake Cakes 101! 😉

Cupcake cakes are actually a lot of fun to make, they’re relatively easy, and great for serving because they are already portioned out for you. No cutting necessary, this is especially a bonus for kid’s birthday parties.

The first cupcake cake I ever made was a cross for my nephew’s baptism. Totally simple, everything made it to my mom’s house for the festivities a-OK. My second cupcake cake however will forever be burned in my memory as one of my biggest baking fails… EVER! Let’s just say that I nearly killed Elsa! All this because I failed to use the one magical thing that would’ve saved the day and my stress level… BUTTERCREAM.

If there is just one thing that you remember from reading this post it is that cupcake cakes need “glue” and that “glue” is buttercream. Seriously, I can’t stress this enough… don’t forget to stick the cupcakes to the board with buttercream! Oh, my… please excuse my brief panic attack as I relive that awful day.

Alrighty, let’s get to the meat and potatoes…

Cupcake Cakes 101

Tools/supplies needed:

• approximately 20 – 30 cupcakes depending on design
• enough buttercream to cover the cupcakes plus a little extra
• food coloring
• cake board(s)
• offset spatula
• sprinkles & such for decoration if desired

Creating and assembling your cupcake cake:

1. Research your idea– I always look at Pinterest first to get ideas for setting up my cupcake cakes. You just need to achieve the basic shape of whatever it is that your making, the buttercream and decorating will bring it to life.
2. Set up your shape on a cake board– this is kind of like rehearsal for your finished cupcake cake. The cupcakes should be UN-frosted at this time.
3. “Glue” the cupcakes to the board– once you’re satisfied with the layout use your offset spatula to put a little buttercream on the bottom of every cupcake and stick it to the cake board. Place each cupcake on the board as tightly/close together as possible as this will make decorating easier.
4. Frost all the cupcakes– tint your buttercream if needed to your desired color(s) and frost away. The easiest way to decorate if you’ve never done a cupcake cake before would be to use simple rosettes, but the sky’s the limit. Use your imagination and go for it! The worst thing that can happen is that you’re scraping buttercream off and starting again. (Yes, I have done that before.) Once you’ve piped buttercream over each cupcake, fill in any gaps with smaller rosettes, swirls, etc.
5. Sass it up– add your fairy dust, sprinkles, crushed graham crackers/cookies, melted chocolate, or any other decorations to make your cupcake cake party ready.

Hopefully these tips inspire you to tackle your first cupcake cake! For a step by step photo tutorial click the picture below to read my post on How to Make a Frozen Cupcake Cake over at Sweet Tea & Saving Grace.

Happy baking!

xox Roxana