Mini Cupcake Question

Follow the time on the box for mini cupcakes, it usually is a few mins less then the big cupcakes. Always use the little cupcake wrapers/inserts that makes for easy removal from pan. They have always turned out great for me.

Frosting is simple, one sweep of the knife and it is done. Maybe put a few jelly beans on top for the easter factor and you can pile the green frosting a tad bit for eggs in the grass look.

Transporting, easiest is to keep them in the pan, that way they will not tip. Otherwise maybe ask your local backery/grocery store for a few empty mini cupcake trays that you can carry them in. If there is disposable mini cupcake trays at your local grocery maybe pick those up... or put them on a tray and carry them very carefully.

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You can do this start to finish in about an hour. One box of cake mix will make 48 mini cupcakes. Use liners in the pan, cook according to the package (if it doesn't give mini cupcake time on the package then plan on 10-15 minutes and keep and eye on them. When the first batch it out, pop them out, re-line the pan, re-fill and cook the 2nd batch. They'll cool quickly because they are small. I like homemade frosting but the stuff in the can is fine (get 2-3 cans...you'll probably only need 1-2 but it doesn't hurt to have extra). If you want to fancy it up a bit you can buy a pastry bag and a tip and pipe the frosting on but you can swipe it on with a knife too. I would top each one with a few jelly beans for a festive look. Transport them in a big Tupperware container or get a couple of foil baking pans with lids at the grocery store and pack them in those.

My son recently told me at 7:30 in the morning that he could bring in cupcakes for his birthday and no joke I whipped up a batch while doing our normal routine and still got him to school by 9. This is easy-peasy...have fun!

1 mom found this helpful

I use my mini cupcake pan all the time...just remember not to over cook b/c the portions are smaller than a regular cupcake.

See if your grocery store will sell you a cake box or or container...they might even give you one for free. 48 mini cupcakes should fit nicely in that and they should be sturdy enough to transport.

Icing is easy if you put it in a ziplock, cut a big hole and squeeze it out in a pretty way. You might even get that cool peak all the professional decorators get when they use their pastry bags and fancy tips!

From the allergen standpoint, you're better off using a real recipe rather than a box. If you use cake or brownie mixes, make sure that the mixes are free of nuts, and all traces of nuts.

Brownies frosted with white frosting and colorful sprinkles sound yummy! :) (more so than cupcakes or jello, but then I'm a chocoholic).

Also, if you want to get it done by a bakery, just google "nut free bakery" and your metro area's name, and you'll probably get a couple of hits.

JB is right. Super Easy. I believe that Pillsbury cakes and frostings are safe for nut allergies. Walmart and other Big stores sell a Wilton 25 piece cake decorating set, which will have everything you need when you need to frost these mini guys in a hurry. even the grocery store might have a kit like this. throw the frosting in the bag, screw on the tip, and frosting them takes a few minutes, tops! i can't see you needing more than 2 cans of frosting though.

I also use a gallon ziploc to put the batter into the cupcake tin. cut a small hole, since batter is more runny. it's much easier than spooning it in!

I LOVE my mini muffins!!! I make banana cupcakes all the time!!

My boys love them as do their friends because they are simple and easy to handle!!

I do brownies in the mini muffin tin as well!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Mini cupcakes are a great idea. Here are some suggestions:

If you have a craft store like Michael's or Hobby Lobby you could find pretty mini cupcake paper liners. Any big grocery store (or the craft aisle at Walmart) should have them too.

Make a basic white or yellow cake batter (a mix or homemade) and bake the cupcakes in their liners.

Put a very small amount of frosting on top, enough to hold colorful sprinkles (craft stores usually have seasonal sprinkles). Using a small amount of frosting will be easier to transport.

Or, instead of sprinkles get a small Easter-themed candy (mini robin eggs or whatever the candy aisle has) and secure them with frosting or push them lightly into the top of the cupcakes as soon as they come out of the oven and are still hot.

Or instead of frosting at all, put one of those Peeps on top of every cupcake. You could do that at the school. Just bring one small tube of frosting from the baking aisle. Dab a tiny bit on the top of each unfrosted cupcake and stick a Peep on top. That will take mere seconds.

Transport them in clean used pizza boxes. They would fit in there if they're not heavily frosted, and most pizza boxes can be wiped clean and dried. Line the box with foil if there are any tomato stains.

Hope the party is fun!

Mini-cupcakes are a better idea than those monstrous cupcakes they sell in the stores. However, double check with your school that "homemade" items can be brought in. In our old school, anything that DIDN'T have a printed list of ingredients couldn't be brought in because they couldn't verify that any cross-contamination wouldn't occur in personal kitchens. For example, if you have nuts or peanut butter anywhere in your kitchen, well, that's considered "traces of nuts or same area as other items with nuts", so just watch out for that...

I love mini cupcakes and so do my kids. We make them all the time. In fact, we made them just because last week and took them to daycare (couldn't take homemade stuff to school).

I think they are great because you are right, kids don't need a whole big cupcake. They are the perfect size. Plus if you give each kid 2 then they are so excited that they got 2 cupcakes! Even though its still less than 1 regular size one. :)

I usually put them on a party platter that i have (the sides of the dish come up a little) and they travel just fine.

I don't think that you have time this time, but we have a mini cupcake kit that my mom bought at costco a couple years ago. It has a recipe book, plates, measuring cups, hot pads, bowls, pans, etc. Even comes with sticks that you can put the cupcakes on to make a mini cupcake bouquet.

I like the mini cupcake idea. My daughter's school did not allow cupcakes however so to "dress up" brownies I put vanilla icing on top of each one. (cut them in the pan first) then I use my decorative icing dispenser from pampered chef and sprinkle sprinkles on them in whatever color is appropriate for the holiday. I find that kids tend to like brownies more than cupcakes but they still get the icing and these are much less time consuming to decorate tthan 48 mini cupcakes.

For my daughter's last two birthdays at school, I bought iced cookies in the bakery dept at Walmart, (they always have prepackaged ones decorated seasonally) and individual ice cream cups @ Walmart also. Each kid had a cookie and a cup if ice-cream and they LOVED it. They aren't terribly expensive, but out of curiosity, why so many? Aren't most classes 18 - 20 kids?

Updated

For my daughter's last two birthdays at school, I bought iced cookies in the bakery dept at Walmart, (they always have prepackaged ones decorated seasonally) and individual ice cream cups @ Walmart also. Each kid had a cookie and a cup if ice-cream and they LOVED it. They aren't terribly expensive, but out of curiosity, why so many? Aren't most classes 18 - 20 kids?

These are always a big hit anytime we've had them. Just be sure to get the cupcake liners and put them in an empty box to transport them to her school. I hope your daughter has a great b-day! Good luck!

One thing you might want to check is whether the school allows homemade treats. The schools that I have worked in only allow store-bought goodies that were made in a commercial kitchen. Ridiculous, I know. But you may want to be sure you can bring homemade treats.

BTW- I love the cake pops idea. If you can bring homemade goodies, those sound like something the kids would love!

Mini cupcakes are super easy and a perfect size! Just watch them a little more closely while in the oven. Also, once iced, place them in a cake pan for transportation.

I love mini cupcakes.
Instead of frosting them the old fashion way, get the wilton cupcake decorating set. It comes with a few tips and bags.
Go to you tube and type in cupcake swirl and it will show you how to do a classic swirl. With mini cupcakes you really don't even have to "swirl them" you can use the tip to dab out frosting, because the cake is so small.
It's not hard, I promise, you just need a few practices then usualy you have it.
I also second the idea of cake pops. Those are super easy (just as easy as cupcakes) and easy to store/travel with. Right now at all the craft stores they have the pastel colored candy melts too. To store them I get a cake box (party city, michales etc has them) and a styrofoam block.
Good luck!