Cuppy Love

By Annie (Rose) Rundle, Taste of Home Associate Food Editor

When my fiance, Ryan Rundle, and I first started planning our wedding, we wanted to do something different and special that all of our guests would remember. Baking cupcakes seemed like an easy, affordable and fun twist!

Three days before the wedding, I got a group of co-workers, family members and Ryan together to bake 300 cupcakes in the Taste of Home Test Kitchen.

We got going about 4 p.m., and with about 20 cupcake pans and seven ovens going at one time, the kitchen heated up fast! After the baking was done, I had different tasks for everyone. Some piped frosting onto the cupcakes (see my frosting recipe below), others sprinkled on white edible glitter and placed the cupcakes safely in small clear plastic boxes. An eggplant-colored ribbon was then tied onto the box to resemble a gift to each guest at our wedding.

Finally the big day came! I’d been planning the cupcake idea for 9 months and was overcome with joy when I walked into the reception hall to see the boxes placed at each guest’s table setting. The talk of the wedding from there on was about the cupcakes! Everyone said they were a wonderful addition to our beautiful wedding.

I can’t thank my “cupcake crew” enough for helping to make our wedding day so special!

Cupcake Frosting

Prep/Total Time: 15 min.

1 cup shortening
1 cup butter, softened
8 cups confectioners' sugar
6 tablespoons milk
2 teaspoons clear vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, beat shortening and butter until light and fluffy. Add the confectioners’ sugar, milk and vanilla; beat until smooth. Yield: 5-1/2 cups.