How to Make a Cupcake Topiary Tree
Once a mainstay for kids, cupcakes also appear at adult venues including engagement parties, wedding receptions and anniversary celebrations. Cupcakes can be presented on multi-tiered serving pieces, used in place of candles in tiered tea light holders and, if you’re feeling particularly creative, as the crowning touch on foam topiary trees. Does this Spark an idea?
Things You'll Need
- 36 mini cupcakes
- Foam topiary in pot or 6-inch green foam floral ball, floral foam wedge, wooden dowel and pot
- Spanish moss, ivy or other greenery
- Floral pins (optional)
- Toothpicks
Instructions
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Bake or purchase 36 miniature cupcakes. Either way, pay attention to the frosting color. Once the cupcakes are inserted on the topiary tree, they should look cohesive and complementary. If you’re making your own cupcakes, see tastespotting.com/tag/cupcake/20 for creative decorating ideas.
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Place your store-bought topiary on a flat surface. If you make your own topiary, put the floral foam wedge in the bottom of the pot. Insert the wooden dowel through the 6-inch foam floral ball and securely attach the end of the dowel through the wedge. Ensure that your topiary is sturdy and stands straight, as it must hold the cupcakes' weight.
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Cover the top of the wedge with Spanish moss, ivy or other greenery. Secure greenery to the foam wedge with floral pins, if necessary.
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Plan where you will insert the cupcakes by placing toothpicks in the foam ball, about 3 inches apart. This will ease the assembly process, especially as you come full circle -- literally -- with placing cupcakes on the ball.
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Remove toothpicks from the foam ball, one at a time. Insert a toothpick halfway through the bottom of a cupcake and then through the foam ball. Continue this until the foam ball is covered with cupcakes. You may not use all 36 cupcakes on the tree; however, cupcakes likely won't go to waste if you have a couple of other hungry mouths in the household.
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Don't overload the mini cupcakes with frosting. Otherwise, the frosting could drip from the topiary tree. Tie a ribbon around the topiary pot's base. The ribbon should be a color that complements the cupcakes' frosting color.
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Tips & Warnings
Even store-bought cupcakes can be embellished to make your topiary stand out. Use M&M pieces in school colors for an athletic or sports theme, or affix candy corn or small pumpkin candy in white frosting for a Halloween theme. For those with a sweet tooth, insert lollipops in the topiary tree, but do so sparingly so as not to detract from the cupcakes.
Keep your cupcake topiary tree in a cool, dry place, away from small children and pets. If storing the tree overnight, cover the topiary with aluminum foil.
Consider elevating your cupcake topiary tree on a cake or cookie stand for added visual appeal.
Consider making a Christmas topiary tree using the same technique but with a 12- or 18-inch foam tree. Decorate the cupcakes with white and red frosting and add sprinkles and Christmas candies.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images Jupiterimages/BananaStock/Getty Images
