Edible Cupcake Wrappers Are The Playful Dish Perfect For Any Dessert

Cupcakes are an iconic party favor and popular homemade treat that make for a great snack. Everything about these portable pieces of cake is wonderful, from piles of frosting to garnishes of sprinkles, spices, or even glitter. You can fashion nearly any dessert into a cupcake that will fit every mood and any event. A bite from a perfect cupcake is a heavenly experience — until you accidentally nibble off a piece of the paper or foil wrapper. It doesn't matter how tasty the cupcake is. Most of us find ourselves sputtering out the wrapper as soon as it touches our tongue.

A mouthful of paper wrapper is an abrupt transition from a moment of perfect confectionery bliss. But you can eliminate it altogether by serving cupcakes with edible wrappers. Whether you want a giant cupcake or a batch of miniatures, Ina Garten's secret-ingredient red velvet cupcakes or classic carrot cake cupcakes with caramelized walnuts, edible wrappers let you make a unique and completely consumable cupcake. So leave the paper wrappers in the pantry and make an edible wrapper instead.

One way to make edible cupcake wrappers is with modeling chocolate, which has the texture of play dough and can be made in any color. Sometimes known as "chocolate clay," bakers frequently use modeling chocolate in pastry decoration. It acts like fondant and tastes like chocolate. You can buy modeling chocolate or make it at home by combining your choice of chocolate with corn syrup. To make a cupcake wrapper, roll out the modeling chocolate like dough and craft edible cupcake wrappers from it by cutting out individual pieces and assembling them around already baked cupcakes. 

Candy melts are another smart way to create vibrant, edible wrappers for your cupcakes. This process involves melting chocolate or candy melts and spooning or brushing it in layers into silicone cupcake molds or paper wrappers, allowing each layer to completely set before adding another. Place the wrappers into cupcake tins to make them easier to move and allow them to completely harden before placing fully baked cupcakes in them. 

You can also make edible cupcake wrappers from rice paper for a delicate wrapper that looks like real paper. Just add sugar, flavoring extracts, and food coloring to the water you'd usually soften the wrappers in and press them into a greased cupcake tin. This method allows you to bake your cupcakes directly in the wrappers as usual. 

You can certainly put baked cupcakes in your edible wrappers, but you can opt for no-bake desserts too. They'd make adorable and delicious little cups for the best chocolate mousse you've ever had. Or scoop in some ice cream or make a mini trifle or banana pudding.

Ideally, you'd serve desserts with edible wrappers the same day, but you can store the chocolate and candy melt versions in the fridge for about a week. Remember these kinds of edible wrappers don't stand up as well during display, either. Keep the environment in mind if you plan to set them out. Otherwise, your hard work could melt away.

There are dozens of ways to serve cupcakes with edible wrappers because the material lends itself to so many different shapes and colors. But since the wrappers are edible (and potentially meltable), ensure your guests have somewhere to set it down between bites. Whether you're serving up carrot-themed cupcakes on a dirt platter or superhero-themed cupcakes cloaked in chocolate, you're going to want to provide plates.