Tools of the (Cupcake) Trade

I find baking cups and indispensable tools for baking cupcakes.  If not just for the actual baking, at least for the serving.  I wouldn’t like for people eating my cupcakes to not have a clean surface to hold on to when they select one to eat.

I also think cupcake wrappers can add personality to otherwise bland or monochromatic cupcakes.  And, when needed they can hide out in the background to allow for a cupcakes splendor to rise up.

For that type of situation, I love the white wrappers I found at Dollar Tree.  They are super thin and waxy, and I usually need to double up, but I love how they almost become invisible.

Then, for looks or a special occasion, I like to find wrappers that are more festive or share a message such as the Class of 2012 ones I used for celebratory cupcakes during graduation season. The mini blue ones with the lighter blue circles seemed so perfect for blueberry cupcakes.

When I make mini cupcakes, I usually bake them in straight in the pan and then put them in the wrappers for serving.  This is mostly because my mini cupcake pan in wider and more shallow than the standard wrappers.

I find foil wrappers useful too when I need something really sturdy, and sometimes I’ll double my luck with them and use the white inside paper for one batch and bake cupcakes in the foil leftovers.  I don’t find the paper a necessary component when baking in them.  After all they are on the pricey side, so why not stretch the buck a little.  For a while, I was using them by request because one of my students had an issue with eating the paper wrappers!

I don’t tend to spend on the really fancy and intricately designed baking cups found in the craft stores because that just seems like a waste of money to me.  I mean, if an occasion really called for something extra special, I might splurge, but not on a regular basis.

My favorite place to buy cupcake wrappers is from the dollar bins from Michael’s.  They are cheap and cheerful.  When I run into a time when I have a few odds and ends left around, I’ll just make a batch of cupcakes using up all my leftover wrappers.  I’ll be creating a cupcake tasting for a bride and groom soon, so I can use up my extra baking cups to distinguish flavors, etc.

I received the set of red silicone baking cups as a gift, but found that they are extremely hard to clean so I don’t use them much for baking.  However, they are perfect for putting smaller items in a lunch box when you don’t want things to mix.

For storing, I’ve seen cute ideas where cupcakes cups are stored in mason jars, etc.  I find it just as easy to stack them on top of each other and sometimes I’ll reuse the Reynold’s cups they cup in for additional storage.  That’s what I did with the white cups from Dollar Tree.