My Faux Cupcake Story

These past months, I've gone gaga over cupcakes. I've spent countless of hours surfing the net for recipes and tricks on baking that perfect cup. I've cried over my over baked cupcakes, and over my frostings that have gone bad. It's been quite a while since I started my quest on making my perfect cupcakes. And now, my cupcakes, though not perfect (yet), are "o.k."...and my son loves it. But due to the non-stop increasing prices of almost everything...including gas (and LPG which I use on my oven)... I have taken my cupcake baking addiction to a halt.

^One of the first batches of cupcakes that I have made.

I've since then diverted my attention to faux cupcakes instead, after stumbling upon few websites which create such fake treats. They looked so yummy for something that you cannot ever eat... and such an eye candy, too! And since I'm a crafty person myself, I wanted to get my hands busy creating some of those fakies. I think it's a great project idea to make and give out as gifts to family and friends. And as a single mom trying to make ends meet, I thought I could sell these (...if I even succeeded in making one), and create extra income. But how do you make one?

I have searched all over the internet for instructions and tips. I only found a few suggestions like to use "this" and "that" materials. What the heck? I might as well give it a try! So, I rushed to and rummaged my dad's garage for some left-over materials that I could use. I was really excited to create my first faux cupcake. Alas, I ended up with a very heavy, uninviting, sad looking cupcake. It's so heavy that I don't think it would be a great idea to even sell it. And darn, the fake frosting ran down like a mud slide after piping and cracked after drying.

I still have it, my first awful faux cupcake. I poked it with pens while still drying (...out of sheer frustration!) Now, it's sitting on my desk, posing as a pen holder.... an ugly one, that is! Yeah, I know, it's not just a fake cupcake...it's also a fake pen holder! LOL!




After my first attempt on making a faux cupcake, I still tried... and tried... and tried!. But to no avail, I still ended with same sad looking cup. I never thought that it would be this hard to create one that looks like the real thing. I couldn't sleep for weeks, trying to figure out how to do this. And the hardware store has been my favorite hangout after work. I would stand in the aisles and stare at different products. Would this one work? Or maybe that one? After trying out a handful of different products and materials, I have finally came up with my own formula (... and it's still a secret! Sorry!) My first faux cupcakes with this formula is way, way, way much better looking than my sad cupcake pen holder. And it's a lot lighter, too! Each faux cupcake is approximately 43 grams to 45 grams, while my sad looking faux cupcake weighs 135 grams (or even more!). And yes, they now look yummy! ...and no longer are they pen holders, they're now photo holders! Haha!


I have kept on polishing and perfecting my faux cupcake formula. I want my faux cupcakes to look as real as possible. I don't want my fake frosting to look dry, like those cake displays on cheap bakeries. I'm still experimenting on different materials. But for now, I'm very happy with my secret formula and I really enjoyed creating these fake sweet treats. I have already created different designs (or flavors...uh...whatever you call it!) of faux cupcakes. I remembered back in college, I have a package design class ....and I enjoyed creating the mockup or fake foods more than the packaging design itself!

Maybe for now, I'll be selling faux cupcakes on a "made-to-order" basis only. I'll take more pictures of the rest of my faux cupcakes and post it here next time.

But if you are interested in my faux treats, please email me at creativeabubot@gmail.com.

And for my next assignment... create a listing on ETSY ... and also, pimp my sad cupcake pen holder! :)