I hope I get a response or two...

I had success with my first cc bouquet, but ever since, the icing falls off, the whole cc falls off, or the cc sags out of the paper liner.

SO...CALLING ALL OF YOU WHO CAN SUCCESSFULLY GET THESE BEAUTIES TO WORK! What is your secret?

Do you have a particular cc recipe? (I typically use a box with the Durable cake/3-D Cake Extender)

How about your icing recipe? What will help it stick onto the cc? (I use the BC Dream Recipe)

And of course, what do you use to hold the cc onto the styrofoam ball? I've used toothpicks and the craft sticks that Cambo suggested. Like I said, worked once, but have fallen continually since. Any tricks to get them to work?

And the plastic pitchforks used in flower arrangements...I am very curious about these! For those of you who use them, give me some success stories!

I want to make at least one bouquet for next week, so I'm trying to do my research ahead of time! Give me the scoop!

Heather

anyone...

Heatherly30,

Sorry but I am in the same boat with you. I'll keep watching for future responses.

How about a PM to Cambo?

I was recently reading a thread on this subject and a solution to the cupcakes falling off was to use "cardettes" to fork your cupcakes with. You can find them for sale on ebay and here is a link to one I found real quick, http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230176710519&fromMakeTrack=true&ssPageName=VIP:watchlink:top:us

When I make mine, I usually just used the extender recipe but I'm sure the recipe you used would be fine. I also use BC dream. As soon as I got the cupcakes iced, I lightly tapped them on the counter just to get the icing "settled" on the cupcake. Then I put them in the fridge so they would firm up. I used skewers to place them on the ball. I think I broke them in half. I also put the whole bouquet in the fridge after I got it assembled until it was ready for delivery. I know some ppl also put a dab of icing...usually royal on the bottom of the cupcake to act as a glue to hold them on. The only problem I ever had was when I used chilled icing. The icing wanted to slide off the cupcake. I had to use freshly made or room temp. icing. Hope this helps!

Heatherly30....I'm so sorry to hear you're having bad luck with the cupcakes falling off! There was a week or two earlier in the summer where I was having the same problem....but I blamed the humidity (and I think I was right)! However, I've continued to make them with success.

I use a straight-from-the-box mix....no extenders or anything that could make the cupcake heavier, and although I LOVE the Buttercream Dream recipe, it's very soft and HEAVY (that's just my experience), so I use a more "whipped" buttercream. I'll PM you my recipe instead of using space here! It's a shortening/margarine recipe and I beat it a long time to "whip" it, especially when using it for cc bouquets.

Oh, another tip to help whatever icing you use to adhere to the cc is....after you pipe it on, tap the cc gently a few times on the countertip to help the icing "settle" down onto the cupcake!

One other thing I found is that the foil liners hold better, but I don't use them often. I have noticed that "not all paper cc liners are created equal"! I purchase them in a bulk sleeve either from Sugarcraft (I see that you're in Hamilton) or from my local GFS (they're cheaper than Sugarcraft), and they seem to be thicker/sturdier which helps....I think!

Let's see....if I think of anything else that will help I'll be sure to let you know! I'm going to PM you now....maybe the next time I'm at Sugarcraft we can meet for lunch or something!

I am no expert....TRUST ME! I have read several threads on this very subject. Here are a few things that I might suggest.

1. Don't worry about a heavy 3D extender. If you want cupcakes to "sit" on a toothpick or skewer I would think you wouldn't want them really heavy.

2. When icing the cupcake try pushing a little harder on or making sure you are adhering the frosting to the cake. I have trouble with sliding frosting if I kind of drop the frosting onto the cupcakes...if that makes any sense at all.

3. Put a 1/2 a small marshmallow on the tooth pick or skewer before you put the cupcake on. This works as a type of "seat" for the bottom of the cupcake. If you put the sticky side up it will also help keep the cupcake on the stick.

4. As far as the paper coming off the edge of the cupcake, omitting the heavy 3D extender might aleviate that problem. Also, make sure the cake comes above the paper a bit wwhile cooking.

Hope my 2 cents helps!

cambo
where do you get your cupcake bouquet boxes from?
TIA

THANK YOU, thank you, THANK YOU!

All of you who replied! I think you have given me the courage to try, try again.

What I have learned and will try...

1. I will make plain ol' boxed ccakes, no extender to weigh them down.

2. I need to get to Sugarcraft ASAP. That's not the hard part...finding a babysitter is the hard part. Not a very kid friendly store. Need to purchase heavy duty cupcake liners, and I'm gonna get some Creme Bouquet while I'm there...gotta try this stuff!

3. Less batter in the pan to leave the liner exposed and room for the icing to lay in the cc.

4. Tap the cc on the counter after icing.

5. Oh and how could I forget my new icing recipe. (Cammie...THANKS! I never dreamed that a pro would share a top secret recipe!)

6. I'm also liking the ideas of refrigerating, and/or using the marshmallow. I'll have to play around with those too.

Again, thank you all! What would I do without you guys?

Having just made my first bouqet last week-end..Thanks to Cammievand her wonderful tutorial. I can say it was trial and error. I only had the thin toothpicks so I used wooden skewers, I cut them with a pair of dog clippers new of course (which someone here suggested, and really worked perfectly) The trick like Cammie says is to keep the skewers long enough to hold the cupcake and short enough so they don't poke through. Once I got the hang of it, the rest, so they say was a piece of cake. I was at the dollar store today and picked up some nice large mugs that were the same size as the clay pot I had used so I'm going to try that this week-end. They make wonderful gifts. The only thing I can't figure out yet is how to carry them. Any suggestions would be welcomed. Oh..I also poked a hole in the paper before I attempted to put it in the skewer, it made it just a little easier to slide it on.

Hi Cambo,
I just checked out your website
I have a question. I noticed that it says "patent pending" on the cupcake bouquets, my question is does that mean that if you get a patent on them the rest of us will not be able to make them legally such as with the copyright laws governing Disney images?
Thanks
jibbies

Thanks for the info..

Haven't tried to make them yet, but they look beautiful, and they look great in the box.
Kim

this tip hasn't been mentioned yet so here goes.

I put a smear of bc on the top of the cupcake before I pipe my flowers.
It is a thin layer but it gives the petals something to hold onto and the icing doesn't slide off.

mommachris

That's a great idea, I'm definitely going to try that. Thanks

Thanks for your answer Cambo! Good luck on your system for cupcake bouquet delivery. It really sounds like a cool idea. I just wanted to make sure, I usually ask, I have a wedding cake next month and the bride picked it from here so I pm'ed the poster and asked permission to recreate it, she was very flattered and appreciative that I had done so, now I can post the cake with a clear conscience and give her credit at the same time
Again, thanks
jibbies