For the cupcakes: • Plain Vanilla Cupcakes • Plain Chocolate Cupcakes • Different colors of Frosting For decorating (all optional): • Candy Corn • Candy Googly Eyes • Mini Oreos • Halloween Sprinkles • Chocolate Candies • Colored Sanding Sugar • Marshmallows • Peanut Butter Cups • Rolos • Gummy Worms • Chocolate Chips • Sliced Almonds
I recommend providing both regular and mini-sized cupcakes, both for visual interest and because the mini ones are fun since you can decorate (and eat) more of them than the regular ones. I used my go-to chocolate cupcake and vanilla cupcake recipes, which are tried-and-true favorites!
I recommend two or three different frosting colors or flavors and putting them in piping bags fitted with decorative tips. I made one batch of chocolate buttercream and a large batch of classic vanilla buttercream and dyed half of it orange.
Offering a variety of candy and sprinkles to decorate the cupcakes makes it more fun because there are more things for guests to use to customize their cupcakes. I used an assortment of small bowls and measuring cups to hold each different decorating element.
To assemble the board, first arrange the cupcakes in either corner of the board. I like to keep the flavors separated for more visual impact, and adding a sense of movement with curved lines to draw the eye around the board.
Next, add the decorations down the middle of the board, making sure to leave space for the bags of frosting. I tried to be thoughtful about spacing out colors and sizes here so I didn't end up with all orange in one spot or have all the big sprinkles together.
Finally, place the frosting bags around the edges. You could also provide bowls of frosting and knives, if you don't have piping tips, but that is messier and isn't as easy to share with others as a piping bag is.
Then it's up to your guests to decorate their own cupcakes!
Grouping the ingredients in a pleasing spread on a board has a visual appeal that gets everybody excited about decorating their cupcakes!
Fruit and cheese boards and charcuterie boards have long been popular party fare because everybody can graze and assemble their favorite bites. Making a decorate-your-own-cupcake board is super easy as it's mostly just an artful assembly of supplies so that everybody can make something the way they like!
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