National Cupcake Week (16-22 September) is approaching and, to help bakers, coffee shops and food retailers boost their sales and raise more funds for charity, European inclusions specialist Pecan Deluxe Candy (Europe) has produced a handy guide to creating mouthwatering cakes that will fly off the shelves at any time.

Pecan Deluxe commercial director Graham Kingston explained: “There’s no excuse not to create truly scrumptious cupcakes, as bakers and manufacturers now have access to fabulous fillings and innovative toppings such as bake-stable fudge pieces, pralines and naturally-flavoured sugar pearls, which can be used in almost infinite combinations.

“Over 30 million cupcakes were bought last year and National Cupcake Week is a great way to raise much-needed funds for cancer charity CLIC Sargent. We’re confident that, given the right ingredients, the most tempting cupcakes will give consumers a fantastic new taste and texture experience – all in a good cause.”

Pecan Deluxe’s top ten cupcake tips:
1. Bake-Stable Ginger Fudge pieces and Lemon Sugar Pearls for a zingy tingle
2. Choco Cookie Crunch with Almond Pralines for chocolanutty texture
3. Honeycomb Pieces that will melt in the mouth
4. Pecan Praline inclusions with Chocolate Sauce filling – pecanolate!
5. Banana Sugar Sprinkles with Caramel Sauce for a banoffee sensation
6. Coconut Fudge pieces and Coconut Sugar Pearls – go tropical!
7. Dark Chocolate Coated Meringue pieces for more melting moments
8. Brownie pieces topped with Coffee Sugar Pearls – coffee and cake all in one!
9. Micro Marshmallows to help lighten the load
10. Choc chip cookie pieces for when you can’t choose between treats!