My Life as a Pastry Chef: "Dress My Cupcake"

We all know how I feel about cupcakes: They better taste good, and they better look smashing. Now that is appears cupcakes are no longer a trend but a bakery staple, I think we will be seeing more and more trends in styles of cupcakes, flavors, etc. (I'm waiting for the $1,000 cupcake that comes encrusted with diamonds.) One trend I am totally on board with is cupcake wrappers. Unlike the baking cups cupcakes are baked in, these are fancier, bottomless "cups" the cakes sit in. They come in all varieties of colors and prints for any occasion you can imagine.

Dress My Cupcake is the leading manufacturer of cupcake liners in the world, and even better, they are made right here in the US of A! When I found out they were offering samples to local bakers, I jumped at the chance to get my hands on just of few of their designs. Dress My Cupcake wrappers are available through retailers, but you can easily view their collection of over 1000 designs and order through their website.

It's hard not to be inspired by the changing seasons in rapidly approaching holidays, which is exactly where my head went when I received my dazzling assortment of wrappers. I started by grouping them into coordinating color schemes.

Halloween palate using the "Emma" and "Halloween Scream" designs.

Each are sold in packs of 12 for $9.99. Decorations are all fondant, made by me!

Cupcakes roasting by an open fire....Fall palate using the "Emma" design again. Fondant leaves and acorns by me.

Winter palate. I could easily see these at a black and white wedding, a la Kim Kardashian (I can't believe I just said that). Styles used here are the "Classic Black Damask" and "Platinum Glitter" in silver and black ($23.99/12). I really like these because they are grease-proof. And the silver dragees set them off perfectly.

Christmas is coming...palate. I really love changing up the expected Christmas green by swapping it for turquoise. The look is fresh and chic. These ruffled cupcakes in their "Platinum Glitter" wrappers would be lovely for a sophisticated holiday gathering. Make your own ruffles by cutting circles of fondant, folding them in half, and then folding in half again.

P.S. I love Christmas.

Spring brings a palate of girly pinks and purples, flowers and butterflies. I think girls of all ages would appreciate these at a birthday party or spring tea. This first photo finally caught a fraction of how much these things sparkle. I made the decorations using colored white chocolate.