Design an Umbrella-Shaped Dessert for the Bridal Shower Using Cupcakes

Make your wedding shower unique and memorable with a dessert in the shape of an umbrella – and made up of cupcakes! Your bridal shower guests will admire your creativity… and the dessert will be easy to serve.

With cupcakes, you have the option to purchase or bake as many cupcakes as needed, with flavor selections and toppings of your choice.

Set up about 13 cupcakes in a semi-circle and fill in the half circle with cupcakes. Then use cupcakes in the shape of a reverse ‘J’ underneath the semi-circle for the handle. You will use approximately 40 cupcakes for the complete design, but you can add cupcakes below the design as a base if you need more cupcakes – perhaps use the base to spell out the brides name as a title.

A cupcake cake design is best viewed from the top, so you might want to set it up on a table near the gift opening ceremony – so that all your guests can admire your design and pictures can be taken before the dessert is served.

Some cupcake art creations are made so that each cake is touching its neighbor (done by adding extra topping in-between cakes), and this increases the cake-like effect. When serving the individual cupcakes, it will be easy to tap off any extra, hardened topping.

You might consider setting up a cake board, at a slight angle, and then gluing empty cupcake baking-cups to the board in your chosen design. This way, you can then place a cupcake (with its own cupcake baking-cup) within. This will create an extra frilly effect – and when the cupcakes are removed to serve, the design is left for all to see.

Alternatively, just add a dab of frosting to the bottom of each cupcake and place it directly on the cake board. If you do not have a cake board, you can use a large tray layered with oven foil, doilies, or colored paper to enhance your particular design.

You will want a surface that is about 20 inches wide by 26 inches high. Use your imagination to create the coloring, style, and flavors that will delight the bride.

Here are some ideas to consider:

•Ice a letter on top of certain cupcakes to spell out the bride’s name

•We suggest using cupcakes with chocolate icing for the handle – to make sure some chocolate flavored selections are available for chocoholics, but you can add designs or picks to any particular cupcakes to indicate what flavors are inside

•Add sprinkles to the top of each cupcake

•Add entwined ring designs to the top of each cupcake

•Add hearts to the top of each cupcake

•Add the bride’s – or the bride and groom’s initials – to the top of each cupcake

•Sprinkle candy kisses beneath the umbrella for raindrops

•Adding a small flower in another color at the center of each cupcake will give your umbrella a more colorful look.