With all of the time we've had during the pandemic, I'm sure we've all greatly improved our baking game. From bread to pastries to pies, we've been baking so much that maybe our families might just be getting a little tired of it.
Although we have tried new things to bake, it's always important to come back to the classic cake and cupcake. Versatile, easy, and universally popular, cakes and cupcakes are a baker's bread and butter.
But presentation-wise, they can be kind of boring, right? That's why cake and cupcake towers have been skyrocketing in popularity.
Here are six tools that will make baking the ultimate cake and cupcake tower easier than ever.
Making the Cakes and Cupcakes
The foundation of any good cake and cupcake tower is obviously the cake itself. Here are two tools to improve your cake game and make baking the easiest part of the process.
1) Pre-cut Parchment Paper
Pre-cut parchment paper really is a game-changer in the kitchen. While many people use parchment paper for easy cleanup and even baking, it can be a real hassle.
Especially with cakes, cutting your parchment paper into the perfect circle for your cake pan can be a hair-pulling experience. Enter pre-cut parchment paper. You can buy already cut into circles for whatever sized round pan you're using for your cake and never have to stress over it again.
2) Baking Apron
It's a little-known secret that the right kind of apron can make a difference in your baking experience. Cleaning up all of your pans mixing bowls and piping tips can be a hassle by itself. You don't want to have to clean up yourself as well.
When working on your cake and cupcake tower, we recommend a cotton apron. They're great for when you're working with a lot of dry ingredients. Things can sometimes get a little messy, so black is a great color so you won't stain it with things like flavorings and food coloring.
Decorating the Cakes and Cupcakes
Although the cake itself is important, you have to make sure the icing and decorations are display-worthy. These 2 tools will make it simple to create beautiful (and tasty) decorations for your cake and cupcake tower.
3) Decorating Tips
Rather than using a ziplock back with a hole cut in one corner, use decorating tips and bags to style your cupcakes however you want them.
Icing is the most versatile way to change up the look of your cakes and cupcakes. There are endless ways to design baked goods, be it something creative or just a classic swirl of vanilla icing.
But either way, the key to a good cake or cupcake icing is all in the decorating tips. Metal tips are far more durable, and precise than plastic tips (plus they're often easier to clean)
4) Cupcake Liners
Another way to jazz up a cake and cupcake display is by using paper liners of different colors and designs. The typical white liners can get kind of boring after a while.
The perfect cupcake liner can take your display from simple to elegant in one easy step. There are hundreds of designs out there for any occasion, and ones to fit any theme. If you can't find what you want, you could also make them yourself!
It's a no-fuss way to make an already great cake tower concept even better.
Building The Cake and Cupcake Tower
Once you have baked the cakes and frosted and decorated them to your heart's content, all that's left to do is build the tower! Whether you buy one or make it yourself, your cupcakes and cakes will be sure to shine.
Here are the main tools that will make it easy to create a beautiful and elaborate display.
5) Five Tier Cupcake Stand
There are a lot of different stands out there of different heights and designs. However, the five-tier stand hits a sweet spot in the cupcake display market. They are large enough to draw attention but still small enough to be accessible to all guests.
They also are just the right height to ensure they're stable--taller stands with more tiers may be less secure. It also saves space, as you can put up to 10X the number of cupcakes in your display area just by stacking them.
A classic layout has cupcakes on the bottom four tiers with a complimentary round cake on the top. However, you can easily just stick with all cupcakes. If you have a mixture of cakes and cupcakes for a particular event, a five-tier stand is your go-to.
Not to mention it just looks impressive.
6) Custom Cupcake Stand
It's easy to find lots of cake and cupcake tower ideas online. And sometimes the classic stand just doesn't cut it. If you want to build a custom stand for your cake and cupcake tower, it might be easier than you think.
Really all you need is something sturdy, low, and wide that you can use as the base (styrofoam disks work great), circular cake boards for the tiers, and something to act as the support between layers (like soup cans or styrofoam rounds). You can make one pretty inexpensively and decorate it to match your theme perfectly.
Making a cupcake stand yourself ensures that your tool is sharpened to your particular specifications, and can make a classic cake and cupcake tower even more special.
A Better Cake and Cupcake Tower
Now you have the best tools in your arsenal to build a better cake and cupcake tower. Be it a wedding cake and cupcake tower, baby cake and cupcake tower, or a tower just for fun, these are a great and versatile way to display your baked goods for any occasion. Check out our blog for a guide to creating the ultimate cupcake tower.