Cupcakes – The Ocelots' Den

Budget and Style: How to Choose Cake or Cupcakes for Your Wedding

By Julia on 19 May, 2021

For the last hundred years, the cake has been the focal point for wedding desserts. That is until the early ’00s and the cupcake trend washed over the nation! Many people were opting for the convenience and cost-conscious and simply adorable cupcakes in lieu of towering pieces of art.

A DIY Bride Chooses Cupcakes

The first wedding cake I ever made, was my own. I planned my wedding from Germany for a lovely, snowy hometown affair in Michigan. My husband stayed for a couple of days before the wedding with my sister, so I planned on using her kitchen to bake. I didn’t want to make things overly complicated, and we only invited about 65 people to our wedding. (He’s from Virginia, so all of his people would be traveling if they came).

I originally researched some local bakeries and flailed trying to figure out the pricing. Planning from overseas, with an ALL-IN budget of $7K (wedding, reception, rehearsal, honeymoon, and our flight to-and-from Germany). We had to be very prudent as to where we allocated our funds. I am also a bit of a cake snob. In my experience at that point in my life, I didn’t particularly like any cakes from grocery stores or other places. I honestly felt that box cakes tasted better. (I still have that opinion about box cakes vs. grocery store bakeries). So when I saw the prices of wedding cakes, I saved my money and knew I needed to do it on my own. I also knew I would be infusing my love into the cake which was hugely important to me. (The average price for wedding cakes is $3-$8 per slice!!!) I knew I couldn’t afford at that time to spend $200+ on a wedding cake.

So, I baked adorable marble cupcakes. (I am definitely a chocolate bride!!) And to go with my Rain Forrest theme, I made them striped! (Ocelots live in South America, and I imagine them enjoying the Rain Forrest). They were fun, personal, and perfect for our event.

I did still want a small wedding cake to go on the top tier of the cupcake tower. So we had a tiny German Chocolate Cake. I piped some grass in Green Buttercream and placed safari animals after my cake toppers were smashed by the customs officers. The cake was SO good!!! It is the one thing at my wedding I wish I would have had more of. There were really only 5 tiny slices. We shared one. Then we served cake to my husband’s parents and my best friend’s parents. I make German Chocolate Cake every year in honor of my great gram for her birthday, and now I can’t wait until August!!! Yum, Yum!!

Traditional Cakes and New Trends

I don’t think we’ll ever see traditional cakes fade from weddings. There are infinite varieties and styles from elaborate to rustic. I am seeing fewer cupcake weddings, or simply some cupcakes to accompany a smaller tiered cake. I am also seeing lots of other non-traditional options which are wildly fun! (Donuts, Savory items, Cookies, etc!)

Brides on a Budget

You don’t have to sacrifice style for budget in the cake vs. cupcake decision. It really comes down to your taste, preferences, and your budget.

For brides on a budget, shop around. I have as close to transparent pricing as I can, given that I make custom cakes. My base pricing for a birthday cake, is the same price as for a wedding cake, or a celebration cake. What this means for you- I don’t have “wedding” price hikes. An 8″ cake frosted in blush pink is the same amount of effort and ingredients as a white cake. (Actually, if I’m coloring the icing it is the tiniest smidgen more complex). I charge by time.

Additionally, while my cakes are all sold by the cake size, it is a proportional cost to the actual amount of cake. (Unlike Pizza. When you buy Pizza, it’s a much better deal the more Pizza you buy (per square inch of pizza)). I use actual butter for my cakes and buttercream (vs. shortening) and unless I have a specific request for something, I use natural extracts for all my flavorings.

Cupcakes may or may not end up being more cost effective. It will depend on how simple you would like either design. If both are the simplest design, at my bakery, the total cost is about the same. (One cupcake is ≈ one slice of cake) Same ingredients and frosting each cupcake.

For Example, a 6-Inch cake serves 8 people for $34. A Dozen Cupcakes is $42

In the example above, the cake is $4.25 per slice and the cupcakes are $3.50 each. Where you can save on a cake instead of cupcakes, is smaller slices. I include the wedding servings versus party servings on my Price Chart. Wedding cake slices are typically smaller than party cakes. So for a 6-inch cake, I recommend that it serves $14 for a wedding. Which actually SAVES you money compared to cupcakes. $2.43 per slice!

The examples above are for simple cakes. Cake/Cupcake + frosting. Additional design elements would increase both prices. (eg. sugar flowers, Piped flowers, fillings, fruit, sculpted toppers etc).

Updates

Now Taking Orders!

By Julia on 29 January, 2020

I am bubbling over with joy to announce I am officially taking local orders! If you are interested, I have created a “Custom Orders” page on the menu bar! It is complicated to include every option available, so if you are in doubt, include any thoughts or ideas in the notes section of the form.

A couple of weeks ago, I got super official and set up my business as an LLC and created all the appropriate filings to pay taxes. (I still need to get with my county. I am hoping to accomplish that in the next week or so. I want to be a good citizen and check all the blocks. I couldn’t submit that form online, and their office is 20 miles from my day job). I know that may not seem exhilarating, and paying taxes isn’t exactly on my top-10 list of exciting things, but it makes everything more “real!”

If, for some reason, the form doesn’t work (still learning about building websites), or it’s just more comfortable for you, feel free to email me your order requests! (I plan to respond to all requests within three business days).

I’m looking forward to a beautifully sweet 2020!

Baked Goods | Christmas | Cupcakes | Holiday

Who Spiked the Cupcakes?

By Julia on 23 December, 2019

One of my girlfriends asked if I could make some boozy cupcakes for her annual Christmas Party (9? years running). I looked through a variety of different recipes on the internet and kept circling back to the thought of keeping it simple, packed with flavor, and seasonal. One of my favorite winter drinks is a peppermint mocha, and who doesn’t love a steamy mug of cocoa topped with marshmallows or filled with some whipped cream?

For the base of my cupcake, I used my favorite chocolate cupcake recipe. It is rich and chocolaty and always seems to be a crowd-pleaser. (The secret ingredient is coffee. Tasty, delicious dark coffee from a local roaster here in Richmond. Dark as Dark from Blanchards).

In my busy baking haste, I neglected to take photos as I was in the process of making these delightful concoctions. However, I’ll still do a quick overview before sharing the final product images.

After the cupcake base layer, I had intended to have a lovely light but stabilized whipped cream frosting. Friends, I met this task with failure, and I had a quick deadline. (Probably the reasons why I wasn’t busy snapping photos along the way).

Instead of my concept frosting, I went with an ol’ standby that is ALWAYS delicious, and ALWAYS turns out. Buttercream. I flavored it with equal parts vanilla and peppermint extracts. (As I had intended to do with the failed batch).

While the cupcakes were in the oven, I spread some chocolate out, added a layer of peppermint candy melts, generously sprinkled some crushed peppermint, and let it set up.

Once the cupcakes were cooled and frosted, I cut the peppermint bark into wedges and ~~stabbed~~ stuck the piece in the frosting.

The most fun part was adding the tiny bit of tipsy. I ordered some pettite pipettes. (They hold a volume of 4ml). For reference, there’s ~ 44ml in a standard shot. I added the pipette of peppermint schnapps, and the cupcakes were complete!

The best part was, they were popular enough to get a second order!

Autumn | Baked Goods | Cupcakes | Holiday | Thanksgiving

Second Thanksgiving

By Julia on 24 November, 2019

Like most families, I enjoy Thanksgiving festivities over multiple days. For my Saturday gathering, I wanted to make something tasty and portable. I know pie is a staple on the Thanksgiving table, but I thought cupcakes would be fun.

I wanted to make something a little different. Pie flavors- baked into the cakes! So I decided on Pecan Pie Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Pecan Buttercream.

It was a new recipe creation (which I usually would taste first), but it made a dozen, so I didn’t want only to bring 11 to share. (Sharing is caring).

I also wanted to add a fun design element. The buttercream has a little bit of a texture form the pecans, so I decided to make a festive cupcake topper. I’m an avid watcher of Friends, and though I wasn’t sure the image would come across to everyone at the event, I thought they were funny.

I designed a turkey wearing oversized glasses and a fez using my Silhouette software. I printed out a couple of copies and mixed my Royal Icing to match my three colors.

Transfers all piped, once they were dry I added a little gold luster to the turkeys.

Once my transfers were dry (at least 8 hours, but I usually try to wait for about 24 hours), I put two together (like sandwich cookies) and added a thin layer of candy melts and a toothpick to ensure they would set quickly. If I were to make them again, I would pipe the tassel after this point or flip the image to pipe it in reverse since it isn’t symmetrical. (So many lessons learned in the kitchen).

12 Turkeys getting packed to go to dinner

I thoroughly enjoyed designing, baking, and assembling these treats! Bonus, I was able to eat one, and I will be keeping the recipe in future rotations.

Baked Goods | Cupcakes | Holiday

My First Sale!

By Julia on 4 November, 2019

I’ve been toying around with offering my baking skills for hire for several years but hadn’t quite figured out the logistics. (Spoiler, I still haven’t figured everything out, but I have started nonetheless).

My neighbor, Jennifer, posted a request for recommendations for Halloween Cupcakes. I am usually pretty busy around Halloween between birthdays and creating spooks, tricks, and treats, so I wanted to ensure I wasn’t overextending myself before I offered my services. As luck had it, the order wasn’t due until the Saturday AFTER Halloween! It was the perfect opportunity.

We had some dialogue about flavors and designs. For the kids’ cupcakes, we decided on Chocolate/ Chocolate. So I made my favorite chocolate cupcakes and topped them with Black Chocolate Buttercream Frosting. I used the fir/grass frosting tip (233) to style some Monster Fir and then sculpted Monster Claws from brightly colored Modeling Chocolate. It ended up being the perfect mixture of cute and creepy!

I loved the ease of making these cupcakes. Each step was quick, and the order was only for a half dozen. It was manageable. Often, I find that I get overly excited and design very complicated and time-consuming treats. Simple and sweet was a nice change of pace.

The next design took a few conversations to decide the final design and flavor. There was also a misunderstanding about skeletons in hats. I struggled to think of spooky skeletons in hats aside from a skeleton in a top hat… Auto-correct struck again and replaced “bats” with “hats.” Jennifer knew her husband likes flavors that pack a punch, so we decided on a Spiced Carrot Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Buttercream Frosting, and I created little Bat icing transfers.

It was my first experience making icing transfers, and when I started to make them the night before, I realized too late I had run out of meringue powder. I made the mistake of trying to replicate with buttercream and ultimately just wasted time because they were too soft, even when I tried freezing them overnight. Though it was frustrating, it was a wonderful lesson to learn.

To make my adorable bats, I found a cute bat image in clip art and copied as many on a page as I could fit (once I scaled the size to the width of the cupcakes). I taped them to the counter and put a layer of wax paper over so I can pipe over the image as a template. Simple and relatively quick. The downside is it takes HOURS for royal icing to dry. The upside is once the transfers are dry, you can store them for a long time. (Make your own googly eyes, hearts or sprinkles… the sky is the limit)!

Once the bats were mostly dry, I popped them onto my freshly frosted cupcakes. I added a gray belly and used a toothpick to dot on some tiny lime green eyes.

I made cute little liners for the Monster Claws that look like spider webs, and for the Bats, I made skeleton liners (but neglected to get a good photo. Shame on me!)

I searched and searched for affordable cupcake boxes or a secure transportation method. I am always ~~a little~~ incredibly terrified of the travesties that can occur when transporting my goodies. I also thought boxes would be an excellent presentation. Unfortunately, the more affordable boxes (~$1 per box) were a little too deep, and I couldn’t remove the cupcakes from the box without touching the frosting*. The risk was too high, so I loaned out a couple of my Halloween trays.

*Update: one of my coworkers had the brilliant idea to add crinkled kraft paper (like you use in Easter baskets) under the cupcakes, so the top edge was high enough to grab. GENIUS!

As a test, I baked complete batches of my cupcakes so I could get an accurate batch count. The ~~downside~~ upside is I had three-dozen extra Chocolate Cupcakes and three extra Carrot Cupcakes. But, it made a lovely gift to share with my neighbors, and I brought the remaining Chocolate Cupcakes to share with my coworkers.

I couldn’t let the “extra” gray Royal Icing go to waste, so I piped some nails onto the Monster Claws! I wish I thought of it before I delivered the other cupcakes, but lessons for another order.

All in all, I feel a wonderful sense of accomplishment. I baked tasty treats that were a little spooky and whimsical and delivered them on time.