AI have the opportunity to get an order for 200-400 cupcakes for the end of June. I would love to take it, but not 100% sure I am prepared for an order so large.
There are things i know i can do to prepare: *arrange child care *make frostings ahead of time and freeze
What else can I do to prepare?
Thanks!
You can do this! I do all the time. Cupcakes last for 3 to 5 days after their baked, when sealed well! You could work on this project for 2 days full time and easily get it done with-out any sacrifice in quality. Frostings also hold when well wrapped at room temp. for days.
The main thing is don't let them sit out on racks or in cardboard boxes being exposed to air, it's drying. If you must box them to store them as you go....place the boxes into garbage bags and close them tight squeezing out the excess air (using the garbage bag as a baggie around your box). Or place your unfrosted cupcakes on sheet pans and wrap them tight in plastic wrap. Only open the seals when your ready to box , frost and deliver them.
Hello, Debj812 and Stitches. I too am a cupcake finatic.
If any of you have watched the show Cupcake Wars, get this: the last two of four contestants have to bake a thousand cupcakes in 3 hours!
Debj812, just be glad you don't have do anything like that.
I specialize in cupcake weddings and do about 2-3 of those size orders each weekend during the summer. Last weekend I had an order for 85 dozen cupcakes, in addition to several smaller orders. That was 1020 cupcakes just for the 1 order. It's do-able. For my Saturday orders I usually do all the baking on Thursday. Then I store the cupcakes in the plastic clam shell containers (like you see at the grocery stores) overnight. Those are the containers I deliver the cupcakes in as well. Then Friday, I make the frosting and frost all the cupcakes right in the containers. For the 85 dozen order, I baked about half on Wednesday and the other half on Thursday and frosted all of them on Friday. The event was Saturday evening and everyone loved them. They were still plenty fresh and moist. No complaints about dryness at all. Hope that helps!
I should also add that I usually work by myself, however my mom helped out with the order for 85 dozen. I have a commercial kitchen and I bake 6 dozen cupcakes at a time in my oven. I also have a 20 Qt Hobart mixer that I can multiply my batches of cake batter by 7 or 8 times if needed. That helps a lot!
Holy mackerel! Lexi 55033, a 20 Qt Hobart mixer must be big enough to occupy a whole kitchen table!
I specialize in cupcake weddings and do about 2-3 of those size orders each weekend during the summer. Last weekend I had an order for 85 dozen cupcakes, in addition to several smaller orders. That was 1020 cupcakes just for the 1 order. It's do-able. For my Saturday orders I usually do all the baking on Thursday. Then I store the cupcakes in the plastic clam shell containers (like you see at the grocery stores) overnight. Those are the containers I deliver the cupcakes in as well. Then Friday, I make the frosting and frost all the cupcakes right in the containers. For the 85 dozen order, I baked about half on Wednesday and the other half on Thursday and frosted all of them on Friday. The event was Saturday evening and everyone loved them. They were still plenty fresh and moist. No complaints about dryness at all. Hope that helps!
I should also add that I usually work by myself, however my mom helped out with the order for 85 dozen. I have a commercial kitchen and I bake 6 dozen cupcakes at a time in my oven. I also have a 20 Qt Hobart mixer that I can multiply my batches of cake batter by 7 or 8 times if needed. That helps a lot!
That's pretty much how I work my schedule also. I don't have plastic clam shells but I do have large Tupperware like storage containers that I use. SO I do have an extra step of shuffling my cupcakes from one container to another. The way Lexi does it in clam shells is ideal.
Save piping on the frosting till the end, don't pipe until everything is in the package your selling them in. You can make your frostings first on Mon. & Tues. they hold just fine until the weekend.
AI am curious about the clam shell conteiners to?
AI believe these are the clamshell containers mentioned.......same containers used by grocery stores for their cupcakes. http://www.wesellcoffee.com/cgi-wesellcoffee/sb/productsearch.cgi?search_field=Cupcake&storeid=*24aae6aaa4daa2f656d14950e8ab7d02914a9443
AThi[quote name="lexi55033" url="/t/757789/large-orders#post_7389406"]I specialize in cupcake weddings and do about 2-3 of those size orders each weekend during the summer. Last weekend I had an order for 85 dozen cupcakes, in addition to several smaller orders. That was 1020 cupcakes just for the 1 order. It's do-able. For my Saturday orders I usually do all the baking on Thursday. Then I store the cupcakes in the plastic clam shell containers (like you see at the grocery stores) overnight. Those are the containers I deliver the cupcakes in as well. Then Friday, I make the frosting and frost all the cupcakes right in the containers. For the 85 dozen order, I baked about half on Wednesday and the other half on Thursday and frosted all of them on Friday. The event was Saturday evening and everyone loved them. They were still plenty fresh and moist. No complaints about dryness at all. Hope that helps!
I should also add that I usually work by myself, however my mom helped out with the order for 85 dozen. I have a commercial kitchen and I bake 6 dozen cupcakes at a time in my oven. I also have a 20 Qt Hobart mixer that I can multiply my batches of cake batter by 7 or 8 times if needed. That helps a lot!
This helps a lot I will be doing 25dz for the first time thank u very much for the insight
The last time I made a huge amount of cupcakes, I used an underbed storage tote. I lined it with non-skid liner, placed the cupcakes in it, and frosted them while they were in the tote. They transported just fine and I didn't have to move around a bunch of small boxes. I think this is a good option if you're taking the cupcakes out of their boxes when you're delivering them (such as setting them up for a wedding reception). The totes seal well, too, so freshness isn't a problem.
My totes are about 4ft. long and hold cake pans when not in use for cupcakes. Double duty. :)
I just did a large order of 300 cupcakes earlier this week (Monday). Here's what I did:
Sat: I baked all 150-200 cupcakes in 2 flavours, and froze them. I froze them using several large containers (I don't even know if they were airtight haha). I put one layer of unfrosted cupcakes, then covered them with a clean and new sheet of plastic wrap, then put a second layer and another layer of plastic wrap and repeated until the top. Of course, my cupcakes were not large ones so I had slightly more than 50 in one container. I did a few of these.
Sun morning: I baked the remaining cupcakes
Sun afternoon: Made frosting and frosted them all by 8pm that night.
It was sent Monday morning, and note that I wasn't baking every minute!
So it's doable! And I did everything on my own. :)
Do you have one other person who could help you? My friend and I did 500 in four hours. We had two mixers and 8 cupcake pans going. It was actually very fast and easy. We made all the buttercream and froze it, and it took hardly any time at all to ice all of them.
ANo I only have a normal freezer. Also I used normal square containers, the freezer type which you will normally use to store meats. I don't have a picture now but if you could wait i am planning to do it again this weekend for another order. I'll take a picture then :)
A[IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/2999293/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
Here's the picture as promised. I hope in make sense? Haha anyway here I managed to squeeze in half of my order :) hth!
These are the clamshell containers that I use. I found this website to have the best prices of any I've found. You can also order them in any quantity from 1 - 1000. http://www.wesellcoffee.com/cgi-wesellcoffee/sb/productsearch.cgi?search_field=COPL2217&storeid=*1eda1924aa0df99a6420448714dea5a925
I have several Tupperware containers that I put cooled cupcakes in to store before I frost. They are easy to stack and store and keep the cupcake fresh and moist. I ice them as I remove to put in the delivery boxes. Can anyone tell me if the plastic clamshells keep their shape when they are stacked? I am concerned about them not holding up if you stack them three or four high into a large box.
I just did a bunch a few days ago and used the foil baking pans with the plastic lids. The cupcakes stayed very moist and I was able to stack them just fine.
I have several Tupperware containers that I put cooled cupcakes in to store before I frost. They are easy to stack and store and keep the cupcake fresh and moist. I ice them as I remove to put in the delivery boxes. Can anyone tell me if the plastic clamshells keep their shape when they are stacked? I am concerned about them not holding up if you stack them three or four high into a large box.
Yes, you can stack them. I use the plastic milk crates that you can find at Target or Walmart and stack 3 plastic clamshell containers in each milk crate. Then I can stack the milk crates 2 high in my car for delivery.
AFingers crossed! The committee is meeting today to choose vendors. I sent them a few samples. [IMG]http://cakecentral.com/content/type/61/id/3003144/width/200/height/400[/IMG]
I purchase mine from Cuptainers ( http://www.cuptainers.com/Cupcake-Supplies/Cupcake-Holders/Cupcake-Containers/12-Counts-Cupcake/12-Counts-Regular-Size-Cupcake-or-Muffin-Container-100-CT.html ).The quality is great, and I haven't found any at a better price than this!
Kim
AYep, doing this in my home. Mapping the whole thing out now and the job isn't for about 6 weeks. I've limited the order to my Simply Frosted cupcakes, no fillings or fancy toppings. I'll also be ordering some clamshell containers and labeling them before I bake to keep things straight. Child care and an assistant have also been arranged.
Thanks so much for the tips!
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%