I don't generally do cupcakes but i've been asked to do a 7 inch cake and 30 coordinating cupcakes. I will be delivering the order at 10am, my question is when would you make the cupcakes? The day before (will they still be fresh?) or do i get up early and make them prior to delivery? They will be decorated with a layer of buttercream topped with a round of fondant (to look like Ben 10 omnitrix watch). I've only ever made cupcakes for the family which get eaten within 2 hours of coming out the oven, so i have no idea how well they keep and what the preparation/decorating timescale for cupcakes is! Any help would be appreciated.

You can bake them the day before, no problem. Also ice with buttercream the day before to get a smooth dome in preparation for your fondant. You could put the fondant on the same day too, saves you having to get up early. Once the buttercream and fondant are on, no air will get to the cupcake at all so they will still be fine the following day

Thankyou Dayti. Your green and red cupcakes are lovely - how do you ensure each cupcake is the same size? Do you use a scoop? Also, how do you ensure no air bubbles in your buttercream swirls? I always seem to have unsightly swirls due to air bubbles!

You're welcome! Yes, I use a scoop for measuring the cupcakes out. Those old fashioned types that dinner ladies use (or used to use in my day!) for dishing up mashed potato. And to avoid air bubbles in your icing, just beat your icing with a spoon or spatula before filling your icing bag. I find I get more bubbles if the icing has been sitting in a container for a day or two, so I beat by hand to get rid of them. Having said that, most air bubbles tend to squeeze themselves out if I use a large star tip like Wiltons 1M or 2D.

I also use an ice cream scoop to measure my batter.

As for the air bubbles, I use the icing plugs and that pretty much eliminates the air pockets from filling the bag.

Ditto on the ice cream scoop.