Cupcake Kabobs

Why go with boring old cupcakes?

Change it up - Make Cupcake Kabobs!

Anything is better, when served on a stick - Don't you agree?

Everyone has seen a regular cupcake. And you can decorate them in so many ways, but when you use them to make something different, something a little more exciting - you will get great reactions. Weather it is kids or adults, the crowd is sure to love them. You will get compliments and smiles when they see these fun Kabobs.

Photos and Cupcake Baking and Assembly

Everyone loves a kabob, but you can use the stick and concept to make pretty much anything.

Traditionally kabobs are made with a meat, and assorted veggies, but wouldn't a dessert kabob be amazing?!?

I propose that you use mini cupcakes (liner or not) and add whatever makes them more interesting. Add fruit or candy or anything else yummy to go with the cupcakes. Frosting is always a bonus, but not a necessity.

BE CREATIVE!

The Cupcake Kabob

This is a new twist on cupcakes. You can serve them up at a kids birthday party, 4th of July bash, or any event when you are looking for a fun alternative to the regular cupcake.

This page will show you tons of examples and give you some ideas to get started, but your own creativity is your only limit when it comes to these Cupcake Kebabs.

Be sure you have a MINI muffin pan - not regular size cupcake pan. Big cupcakes will not work as well when serving, and no one will want to eat three whole cupcakes anyway. Well...they might want to, but they shouldn't.

Baby Photo by Photo by Odonato98 used with permission

These directions are fairly vague as your own preferences will drive the final product.

EVERYTHING HERE IS OPTIONAL EXCEPT THE CUPCAKES AND THE SKEWERS! :o)

Be creative - use what you like ... These are just some ideas to get you started:

You will want to be sure that all of your cupcakes are uniform in size, and filled to the proper level. You can do this easily with a baker's scoop. They come in 3 different sizes. The small is PERFECT for these mini cupcakes. The middle size works great for cookies, and the large is exactly a full cupcake. I do suggest purchasing a full set of 3 for all occasions, but for this project it's the SMALL that you need.

Are you trying to think of a great unique thing to bring to a 4th of July picnic? Want to bring a patriotic dessert to the potluck? Want to be sure that it is something that no one else will bring?

These red white and blue cupcake kabobs are perfect for Fourth of July barbecues, and are great for other patriotic holidays like Veteran's Day, Memorial Day, and Flag Day, too.

Three cupcakes were used, with two colored - red and blue. The marshmallows had their ends dipped in red and blue as well.

They are fairly simple, and kids will love making them. They will be pretty impressive at the picnic, and "wow the crowd".

THE 4TH OF JULY IS ALMOST HERE - PLAN ON MAKING THESE - THEY ARE EASY AND MAKE A BIG STATEMENT ON THE PICNIC BUFFET!

These photos also show you how to add the colored sugar to the marshmallows pretty clearly. Use this technique to add any color to your kabobs - pastel sugars for baby shower - red and green for Christmas - Be Creative!

If you use marshmallows, you can leave them plain white, or you can dip in water, and then in colored sugars, to add a great look like the 4th of July Kabobs shown above.

Here are some options for colored sugars. Use whatever colors match your theme. It comes in pretty much every color.

Everything is better !!! - Ask Jose!

My kids sure love anything served on a stick. We do it all the time at home - Hotdogs, Chicken Pieces etc ... No matter what it is - it is better ON A STICK!

One day we thought (when looking for something different, and creative, to bring to class) - we thought of Cupcake Kabobs. We made them and the kids loved them. We make them for picnics and they go over great too.

We have seen many versions of them over the years now ... and wanted to share the concept with you, so you can get your creative juices flowing and come up with some great combinations to serve up as Kabobs with your cupcakes!

(not sure if this cake qualifies as a Kebob - but it is a CAKE and it is ON A STEEK!)

You will need skewers to make your kabob. You usually can find these in the grocery store (baking isle) but you can also order online so you don't have to worry about remembering them. (I keep them on hand, because as I said, nearly EVERYTHING gets put on a stick sometime in my house ...)

I have included the typical bamboo skewers here, as well as a few more creative options.

When planning a baby shower, you usually look for some unique thing that has not been at every shower you went to before. Well why not bring a batch of these ! Pink (or blue) Cupcake Kebabs!

Use Pink cupcakes (strawberry flavored boxed cake) or even white cake - with Pink frosting (maybe cotton candy flavoring?) and Pink Marshmallows (can use white if you can't find the pink ones) and dip in Pink sugars (see instructions on this page for dipping marshmallows in colored sugars) You can also add Pink sugar wafers, or any other pinkness you can think of.

For Blue - Use a white cake mix and add blue food coloring. Use Blue Marshmallows (or white) dipped in Blue sugars, and Blue frosting of course.

For girly party can just go pink or add some purple etc. For boy party, go blue or add some green ... Your call !

If we don't know if it is a boy or a girl - or want more than pink or blue - mix it up - add some purple, mint green, and yellow - any pastel works for baby showers. It also allows for more flavors to be added - either flavored frostings, or flavored cake or fruits. Melons (orange or green) add a punch of pastel color - and pineapple etc. Cakes in lemon, or pistachio may be pretty too ...

You might find a silicone muffin pan as a great option as it can allow you to skip the liners. Cake tends to brown less in the silicone pans, and may allow you to bake directly and not have to purchase and peel liners just for baking purposes...

Some kabobs can have a dramatic look - by adding a liner (or a little chocolate swirl!)

These ones are great - Please click on them to go to the Carpe Cupcake blog. They have their description there - as you can see they turned out AWESOME !

Photo Credit - and Cupcake Credit - Jo Lynne Lundy

used with permission

Most people use them mini cupcakes for the kabobs, as the size just works much better than the regular standard size cupcakes, but as for the paper liners - they are split.

Some people make their Cupcake Kabobs with the cupcake liners as they are easier to bake and handle WITH the liners, and the liners can be purchased in such great designs, that they could add to the beauty. Others believe that they are in the way when eating, and are too much fuss. Pick what you like, go with it.

Photo by seelensturm

An alternative to the cupcake liners is the cupcake wraps. These give the effect of the liners, but they have no bottoms and can be removed easily without taking the cupcake off the stick, which makes for easier for eating.

They come in many different colors, some with polka dots, others diecut to show some cake through.

If you want that extra color or design, you might choose to go with cupcake liners. They are usually significantly cheaper than the wraps, and really are not that horrible to deal with.

Some people also choose to use them to make the cupcakes in anyway, and then unwrap before they put on skewers to avoid the discoloring in the muffin pans when cooked without liners.

You can display your cupcake kabobs in lots of different ways - sticking out of a melon, out of a bowl, laying on a platter etc... It is all about the presentation.

A cup full of some of the left over marshmallows can hold it all together - Check out how Dina with Cupcake and the City did it!

Feel free to click image to see the steps they used to create this one.

I recommend that you use liners to bake your cupcakes and remove liners (if you are doing plain cupcakes). The cupcakes without liners are easiest to eat on kabob. If you bake without the liner though (like a muffin, directly in pan) you will get browned edges - and that is not as pretty for presentation.

Sometimes you just don't have the time or want the mess of Banana Splits - or maybe you just love cake more. When you want the Banana Split feeling you can go Banana Split Kabob!

This one uses banana flavored cupcakes (you can use white, but banana is really better).

(suggestion - you can put chunks of banana dipped in chocolate too - but be sure it is all dipped so it doesn't turn brown )

Maraschino Cherries, white frosting, and sprinkles make for a perfect topping on top of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry flavored frostings.

You can look at the pic here - but you can also click the pic for more details on how to put this one together.

Photo Credit - Lindsay Ann @ dollhousebakeshoppe.com

used with permission

For Cherry Jubilee Cupcake Kebobs, you'll want to add Chocolate Covered Cherries, Maraschino Cherries, and Cherry Flavored Cupcakes (you can use the Betty Crocker Cherry Chip Box).

Of course, you can add mini marshmallows and some crushed nuts if you like. Feel free to change it up with banana or chocolate flavored cupcakes... It is all up to you!

Photo by thenkv used with permission

Everyone knows (and most love) the traditional Neopolitan Ice Cream of strawberry, chocolate and vanilla. Here is a twist on that, as a cupcake Kabob!

You would make this one with cupcakes, frostings and sugar wafers (each in all 3 flavors chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry). You can also add marshmallows (feel free to dip those too!)

This tray of neopolitan cupcake kebobs was make by Nibbles By Nora.

(Photo used with permission)

Here is an idea - make Smore's cupcake kabobs!

The key here is the marshmallows dipped in chocolate and rolled in crushed graham crackers. Coffee Cake is a great cake mix to use with this one too. You can get as fun as you like. Campfires are fun, and sometimes people bring foods, why not bring these great kabobs and be the talk of the party?

Photo used with permission by: thenkv

Cupcake Machines are fairly new the past couple years, and have become more popular. They allow you to make a small amount and make it quick. If making Kabobs for just the family for a surprise one night, or with a child and do not want a full batch of cupcakes, you can use one of these.

Jiffy Mix makes a small amount of cake that is perfect with this maker.

You can also use half or quarter a box (or third) - just have to split by how many eggs go in, and do a little math on the other ingredients. You can make one egg and either 1/2, 1/3 or 1/4 - depending on how many eggs the box or recipe requires.

But Still Want To Make A Statement?

Try buying mini muffins or mini cupcakes at your local grocery store, and begin the fun of building your kabobs !

There are many versions available at most grocery stores all done, Just buy a box, and some sticks and have fun !

Check out these great pages about various Kabobs. They each feature one Kabob.