Hosting a Fabulous Cupcake Party!

Hosting a Cupcake Party for the Kids!

OK, so not everyone loves cupcakes (what’s wrong with those people??) but everyone loves a cupcake party, especially the kids!

We see on TV all the time of adults and kids alike having lavish, over-the-top theme parties that cost a king’s ransom. Personally, I think its ridiculous, especially when we are talking about kid’s birthday parties. When I think back to my own childhood birthday parties, I remember having them at my house, with my mom blowing up balloons, hanging streamers, and setting out the party plates and hats. She would hang a pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game on the wall. We had pizza and ice cream cake and some chips and stuff. Sounds simplistic? Yeah, but I also remember a house full of screaming kids all having a great time. We didn’t need much.


Today, budgets are tight but still, people give into the notion that you have to spend spend spend to have a successful party. Forget cake and ice cream, parents are hiring magicians, celebrity look-alikes, live animals, professional entertainers and photographers etc. Seriously???

A great and very inexpensive idea for your kids next birthday party is a cupcake party! You don’t have to be a pastry chef to pull this off! Simply purchase a few boxes of cake mix which can be bought for about a buck a piece, some cans of frosting (or make your own if you are good at that sort of thing) and a whole bunch of toppings!

I like to use chocolate frosting and a bunch of white frostings that can be dyed different colors with food coloring to give the kids lots of choices in their decorating!

Depending on how many kids you’ll be having over (and don’t forget the adults in attendance) bake as many cupcakes you think you’ll need. Make sure to use some fun cupcake liners for the cupcakes!

Setting the table:
Get a paper tablecloth of whatever color you like. Set the baked (but un-frosted) cupcakes out on dishes, plates or cupcake stands if you have them.

Set out the bowls and put frosting in each one with a spoon or plastic knife for spreading .

Get a party plate with sections or you can also use bowls for the cupcake decorations. Some cool decoration ideas:
• Different color sprinkles
• Chocolate chips
• Toffee chips
• Gummy bears or worms
• Peanut butter chips
• Crushed oreo cookies
• Pretzels
• Shredded coconut
• M&Ms
• Twizzlers
• Fruit roll up pieces
• Crushed candy canes
• Hershey’s kisses

Use your imagination when thinking of cupcake decorations but keep it on the cheap! Party stores and craft stores have everything you would need for this!
Let the kids decorate their own cupcakes and the adults will be more than happy to decorate one or two themselves! Having lot of different types of toppings will get the adults in on the fun too!

There are lots of variations to this idea, so only your imagination will limit you! Bake up some minis for guilt free cupcake eating too!

Don’t forget games with a cupcake theme like “pass the cupcake” (remember “hot potato”?). Have contests like “make a monster cupcake” or “most creative cupcake”.

For menu ideas perhaps you want to make something cupcake-related but on the savory side? Check out the recipe I listed for “lasagna cupcakes” here in the discussions section!

This is also a great idea for your next girls night get together! Serve up some wine, champagne or mojitos and get to decorating!

A good, memorable, fun party does not have to cost a fortune. 

Ahhhhh.....cupcakes

OK, so The Cakery Fakery was very busy the last few weeks creating some special custom orders for a photographer and a baby showwer.  I was thrilled to be asked to create the baby shower order because the host informed me she was having a "Candyland" themed baby shower for her daughter in law.  I have always dreamed of a Candyland themed party and hopefully will be doing that for my daughters next birthday party!

Anyway, here are some pics of the candyland cupcakes!

How cute are the actual board game and game piece miniatures????

Each of them also serve as photo holders!

Come on by my Etsy shop and see all of my other creations, which are available now.   Or perhaps you want something custom??????  Just drop me a line via the Etsy site!

The Perfect Cookie & Cupcake Experience in Staten Island!

OK, I usually don't do reviews of actual bakeries since my specialty is faking, not baking.  But I had to let anyone in NYC know that the best Red Velvet Cupcake is to be had HERE in Staten Island NY on Forest Avenue.

This special spot is called The Cookie Jar.

When you enter, be prepared to be absolutely knocked over by the amazing smell of cookies in the oven.  This is NOT your ordinary bakery. At least not in Staten Island.  First of all, they have every single kind of cookie you can imagine.  Flavors, colors, shapes, textures, something for everyone, I swear!

But I was on a cupcake mission.......

They only have a few varieties of cupcakes which is fine with me, it makes the decision making process easy for me.  I chose the classic Red Velvet.   Boy as thrilled.  I only bought one and didn't eat it until after dinner that evening.  I was so sorry I didn't try it at the store because if I did, I would have bought about a dozen!

I have been disappointed by so many red velvets in my life, that I honestly was not expecting much.  This cupcake made me stop what I was doing and just stand still.  I could not believe that perfection like this could be achieved by a cupcake.

The cake......MOIST and LIGHT!!!!  I hate a heavy cake, and was just super pleased with this cake's light texture and moistness!  The best part...there was none of that weird flavor that you usually get with a poorly made red velvet cupcake.  This cake had a very natural essence.

The cream cheese frosting......If I had to choose only ONE frosting to eat for the rest of my natural life, it would be The Cookie Jar's cream cheese frosting.  Delicious is such an inappropriate word to describe it.  Not too sweet, cream cheese really comes through, melt in your mouth smooth and like the cake, had the most NATURAL flavor.

Overall....the cupcake was perfect.  It was the perfect size with the right amount of frosting.  So many cupcake shops really overdo it on the frosting, making it nothing but a stomach-ache-inducing sugar bomb.  This is NOT that cupcake.

The Girl Loves Cupcakes: Cupcakes In The News

The Girl Loves Cupcakes: Cupcakes In The News: "Today on the CBS Evening News they talked about how cupcakes have become big business with over 400 different cupcake store fronts in the Un..."