Ask Cupcake: Best Frosting for Warm Outdoor Wedding Reception
Dear Cupcake,
My daughter is planning an outdoor wedding in late Spring 2012 (in the San Francisco Bay Area). I’m planning on serving cupcakes in addition to a tiered wedding cake. I am concerned about the frosting on the cupcakes – will it melt if it’s outside for too long? What kind of frosting or icing is safe in warm temperatures? I don’t want the frosting to melt or the guests to get sick. I need advice please!
Thank you,
Mother of the Bride – Kelly
Walnut Creek, CA
My Dear Kelly,
Congrats on your daughter’s upcoming wedding! Spring in the Bay Area is a gorgeous time of year and I’m sure your daughter’s wedding will be lovely. However I understand your concern about melted frosting and the possibility of food-bourne illness. What a considerate Mother of the Bride you are to not want to make your guests sick or to serve them melted frosting!
My fail-safe, works-wonders, go-to frosting for warm weather is without a doubt Italian Meringue Buttercream (IMBC). It holds up well to heat, and can sit at room temperature for 1 day and still be safe to eat. I recommend using pasteurized egg whites (be sure to buy the kind that doesn’t have yellow food coloring added) for extra safety, especially since there have been widespread salmonella illnesses from eggs in the last year. Now, my favorite IMBC is by Rose Levy Beranbaum, author of The Cake Bible and Heavenly Cakes. You can find the recipe in either of those books, or on Rose’s blog, www.realbakingwithrose.com
Dear me! I almost forgot to mention this very important tip: Never place wedding cupcakes in direct sunlight! Even Italian Meringue Buttercream will melt if left in direct sun for too long. It’s best to find a shaded area for your wedding cupcake display to keep everything tidy and pretty!
Best of luck in your frosting adventures!
Cheerio & Happy Wedding!
Ask Cupcake: Small ‘Cutting Cake’ or No? Help!
Dear Cupcake,
Most pictures of wedding cupcakes that I’ve seen show the top tier of the wedding cupcake stand topped with a small cake, rather than two cupcakes…I’m assuming this is done so that the couple can partake in the “cutting of the wedding cake” tradition. I was thinking of not having a small cake, and just using two cupcakes instead. Would that be ok? Should my future hubby and I cut the cupcakes? Or just feed them to each other? What do you think?
Thanks for your help!
Frances S. in Brentwood, CA
My dear Frances,
This is an excellent question, I’m so glad you brought it up. There is no right or wrong way to display/eat/cut wedding cupcakes – that is what is so wonderful about them! Wedding cupcakes are remarkably versatile and you can customize them to fit your needs perfectly. For example, as you mentioned in your question, some brides choose to top their wedding cupcake stand with a small (usually 6″ round) ‘cutting cake’ so that the couple can be photographed doing the traditional cake cutting ceremony. But if you don’t want to have a ‘cutting cake’, this doesn’t mean you can’t cut your cupcakes in a similar manner. Rather than using a cake, instead take two cupcakes and slice them in half or into fours (either on the top of your stand if it’s sturdy or have the cupcakes placed on a platter before cutting). This way you still get your ‘cupcake cutting’ photo-op.
However I must say that I personally prefer when couples don’t cut the cupcakes, and rather peel the wrapper off one cupcake together and then feed each other a bite from the same cupcake. How romantic it is to see a couple working together to carefully peel the cupcake liner and then sharing a bite from the same cupcake – that is something that you can’t do with a wedding cake! And not to mention you relinquish the need for a ‘cake cutting’ set (which saves money!).
But whichever method you choose, please don’t let yourself become stressed with the decision. Because let’s be honest, what do we really remember most from weddings? The eating of the cake is most memorable, and whether it’s a piece of cake or piece of cupcake that you are going to feed (or smash onto the face of) your betrothed, that is the moment you and your guests will probably remember most, not whether you “cut the cake” or “cut the cupcake” or simply peeled a cupcake wrapper. Hope that helps put things into perspective 
Cheerio & Happy Wedding!
