7 Ways To Package Single Cupcakes

Have you ever been stuck in the quandary of wanting to give someone a cupcake or two as a gift, only to find yourself at a loss for how to package said cupcake(s)? Well. I gotchu! Here are seven different ways to package cupcakes for gift-giving.

1. Single Cupcake Boxes & Containers

This is the most obvious method, of course, though perhaps not the most practical because these are a little tough to find. I’d still recommend purchasing some just-for-cupcakes boxes or containers and keeping them on hand because they come in handy more often than you’d think!

You have two options here: boxes + inserts, or clear plastic cupcake containers. I’ve had success finding boxes at Michaels and Mr Take Out Bags, and clear containers at Amazon. You can also check out specialty cooking/baking supply shops like Orson Gygi in Salt Lake.

Note: When ordering containers onine, you might want to consider teaming up with someone to share, say, a bulk case of 200 containers. You’ll save tons of money that way!

2. Makeshift Cupcake Insert

This is a variation on 1. Perhaps you don’t have special cupcake holder inserts, but you do have a cupcake-sized box on hand. You can create a makeshift insert with card stock by cutting and folding it to fit, cutting an X in the middle for the cupcake to sit in.

3. Clear Cup + Clear Gift Wrap

There are these certain short, clear disposable cups you’ll see around stores that are just about the right size for a cupcake. Pop the cupcake in, add some clear gift wrap, tie it off, and you’re done. Mine are these fancy looking ones from BJs, I believe, but you can also find clear plastic cups on Amazon. (I think those would work.)

4. Take-Out Box

You can get these for cheap at Michaels. They have a size that is just about perfect for a cupcake, so with these you can probably get away without making an insert for the cupcake to sit in.

5. Cake-In-A-Jar

I talked about this in this post about baking cake in jars. Check out the method there, then decorate your jars to your heart’s content.

6. (Parfait-Style) Cake-In-A-Jar

This is especially great for when your cupcakes don’t come out quite as pretty as planned, as I talked about in this post about salvaging sub-par cake and cupcakes. Simply layer bits of crumbled cake with some frosting to create a parfait-like treat. Ha, I’d definitely decorate the jar a little and label it before giving it away because it looks kinda weird otherwise.

7. Box-From-A-Cup

Guys. I saw this on Pinterest, and it totally works. (I would totally cite the source if I could, but I kept hitting dead ends with a bunch of Chinese characters.) Find a paper cup whose base is around the same size as that of a cupcake. Cut off the top rim, cut equal-sized strips all the way around, and then fold them all down to secure. See?

Whew. Ok, that’s all of them. Do you have any go-to methods for single cupcake packaging? I’d love to hear ’em! Shoot me a comment below.

Love, Maurine