Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Cupcake Raleigh Style For Ease In Entertaining

By Marissa Velazquez


Carolina hosts can join the rest of America in the trend of entertaining with small individual cakes. The internet is packed with ideas, recipes, accessories for decorating, and photos of great effects that cupcake Raleigh style can improve with regional excellence.

No matter what the occasion, cupcakes can enhance a theme while making preparation, transport, and clean-up a breeze. You can find all sorts of ideas you may never have thought of and surprising accessories to raise the bar on casual or formal entertaining. In fact, there is almost no place where cake is appropriate that the smaller versions don't work as well, if not better.

Cupcakes are a personal touch that guests appreciate. Individual boxes, designed to hold a single cake, make a great party favor or take-out container. Boxes come with windows so a decorated treat can be seen and in many colors and patterns to fit all sorts of party themes.

Cupcakes are baked in special pans which come in many sizes, and the batter is poured into liners, or 'wrappers'. These paper or foil liners make removing the cakes fool-proof and also make clean-up a breeze. Wrappers come in fun designs like dinosaur cartoons for kid's parties, in special occasion colors and patterns for baby showers or birthday parties, and in very formal, laser-cut, lacy openwork in white, gold, black, or other colors for more formal settings.

Just looking at the accessories triggers many great ideas of ways to personalize the dessert which is often a focal point of a celebration. Polka dots liners might suggest a jaunty theme, while butterflies might make you think of that special granddaughter whose birthday or graduation is coming up. Red roses, graceful vines, pink hearts, or dinosaurs are other options for wrappers or toothpick decorations.

There are kits for making identical cakes for a theme party. They make entertaining easy but also show how decorative this art has become. It's easy to get great ideas that can jump start your own creative ideas. All the techniques that make large cakes works of art can be used for small ones, too. Use your piping tips and icing flower making flair. There are many how-to videos online that teach these skills, and what better way to practice than by making a few dozen cupcakes and working toward perfection.

There are great ways to display cupcakes. 'Maypole' towers, which are tiers mounted on a center pole support, come in white or clear acrylic that fit any theme. However, rustic ones made of barn wood can enhance a square dance gathering or rustic celebration, illustrating how creativity can come into play when thinking up party decorations.

The cupcake Raleigh scene can come alive with ideas from all over the world, since the decade-old craze has spread from America to the Old World. Whether you decide to find the perfect decorator kit or make your own unique contribution to the art, this is a fun, easy, and memorable way to spark up your entertaining.




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