To our newsletter subscribers: New Jersey Family incorrectly reported a story about a free cupcake giveaway that was under embargo. We regret the error and have redirected the article to the below story about how to make a DIY cupcake board.
The kids go crazy over this decorate-your-own cupcake board. It’s so fun watching their excitement as they approach the board in anticipation of what their cupcake is going to look and taste like. It’s such a great way to entertain them and serve dessert at the same time.
Serves 12+ people
Use a 29 x 15-in. (74 x 38 cm.) board and a mini cake stand
Ingredients
- 20 regular-size cupcakes (vanilla, chocolate, and/or strawberry)
- 15 mini cupcakes (vanilla, chocolate, and/or strawberry)
- 8 silicone cupcakes liners, to hold toppings
- ½ cup (14 g) Froot Loops cereal
- ½ cup (82 g) colorful mini chocolate chips
- ½ cup (80 g) mini peanut butter cups
- ½ cup (80 g) jelly bean
- s½ cup (80 g) M&M’S Minis
- ½ cup (20 g) mini marshmallows
- ½ cup (75 g) heart-shaped sprinkles
- ½ cup (50 g) mini gummy bears
- 12 assorted mini sprinkles shakers (1 ounces, or 28 g, each)
- 14 Oreo Mini cookies
- 12 flower-shaped icing decorations
- 1 bag (16 ounces, or 454 g) vanilla frosting
- 1 bag (16 ounces, or 454 g) chocolate frosting
- 1 bag (16 ounces, or 454 g) strawberry frosting
Steps to Make a Decorate-Your-Own Cupcake Board
- Bake your favorite cupcake recipe(s) from scratch or use a box mix, making both regular-size and mini ones, and using your desired cupcake liners. Let the cupcakes cool completely before setting them on the board to decorate. Cupcakes can be baked days or weeks in advance and stored, tightly covered, in the freezer. To defrost the cupcakes, set them out, loosely covered, at room temperature. Once completely defrosted, they can be decorated.
- Place the mini cake stand in the center of the board. Top the cake stand with 12 to 14 mini cupcakes and place the remaining mini cupcakes next to it.
- Arrange the regular-size cupcakes on the board above and below the cake stand.
- Use the 8 silicone cupcake liners to hold the following cupcake toppings: cereal, mini chocolate chips, mini peanut butter cups, jelly beans, M&M’S, mini marshmallows, heart-shaped sprinkles, and mini gummy bears. Place 4 topping-filled cupcake liners on the left side of the cake stand and 4 topping-filled cupcake liners on the right side of the cake stand.
- Place 6 of the mini sprinkles shakers on the left side of the board and 6 on the right side of the board.
- Arrange the Oreo cookies on one side of the board and the flower-shaped icing decorations on the other side.
- Place the frosting-filled pastry bags fitted with star tips in separate locations on the board along with mini spatulas for spreading frosting onto the cupcakes, if desired.
- Give each person a 5-inch (12.5 cm) pie pan or plate with a rim to set under their cupcakes as they decorate them, so it can collect any toppings or decorations that might fall off.
Excerpted from Beautiful Boards: 50 Amazing Snack Boards for Any Occasion. To be published on September 24, 2019 by Rock Point, an imprint of The Quarto Group. Text ©2019 by Maegan Brown. Photography by Jerrelle Guy.