With the peak wedding season winding down after the summer, lots of you cake decorators will have more time to try out new decorating ideas. For commercial cake decorators, cupcake bouquets have the potential to bring in an excellent additional revenue stream if marketed well. They make a great alternative to flowers as gifts for birthdays, baby showers, bridal showers and as gifts in the workplace. Instead of saying it with flowers, say it with cupcakes!
A flyer drop to local workplaces with a well-shot photograph of one of your cupcake bouquets is often all it takes to get your first orders in. And with floral bouquets retailing at STG£40-50, this allows for a good margin on a cupcake bouquet, which a lot of people would prefer instead of flowers.
The key of course to creating high quality cupcake bouquets is in the presentation. Check out your local florist supplies wholesaler for pretty containers/vases/silk foliage or green tissue paper and ribbon. While you are there, you’ll need to get to get some round Oasis balls/pomanders (Styrofoam is fine also) that fit neatly into your containers. A roll of clear cellophane will also come in handy to wrap the finished product.
To inspire you to design your own range of cupcake bouquets, we have some beautiful examples by Sheryl Bito of Buns In The Oven Cupcakery (above left), Cake Central contributor MotoWifey (above right), Nat Young of Natventures (below left) and Cupcakes by Leeann (below right).
We have an excellent tutorial from Nat Young of Natventures which shows you how to assemble a cupcake bouquet. There is also an alternative method here using plastic cups.
There are all sorts of flowers you can pipe for your bouquet:
- how to pipe rose swirls on cupcakes
- how to pipe full roses on cupcakes
- how to pipe two tone roses/variegated roses
- how to pipe petals/an open flower (no longer available)
- how to pipe chrysanthemums
- how to pipe carnations
- how to pipe begonias, sunflowers, pansies and gerberas
- how to pipe daffodils on cupcakes
- how top pipe ruffle roses on cupcakes
- piped hydrangea flower tutorial
(The two luxurious cupcake bouquets below are from Little Cakes1 on Flickr and Pinterest).
You can be as creative as you like with your selection of containers – cupcake baskets look great too, or a giant mug filled with mini cupcakes, like our examples below left from The Raise Bakery in Brighton and below right from Tiny Hands Online.
For fans of vintage style cakes, check out Carey Madden’s exquisite vintage floral buttercream cake tutorial here.
Readers might also be interested in our features on:
- Buttercream Flowers & Floral Wreath Cakes
- More on Buttercream Flowers
- Vintage Floral Buttercream Cake Tutorial
- How to Pipe Buttercream Roses
- How to Pipe Buttercream Ruffles & Frills
- How to Pipe a Buttercream Petal Cake
- Crochet Lace Cake Tutorial with Queen of Hearts Couture Cakes
- Sewing, Knitting & Crafting Cakes
- Pretty Birthday Cakes
For more on cupcakes, see our features on:
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Coming up on Next: Our Halloween Cakes Special!
