Contributed by Info Guru Danielle Merritt

For all of the cupcake-crazy bakers out there, baking cupcakes isn’t a hobby – it’s a lifestyle.

Everything from piping frosting to measuring ingredients is done with extreme care and passion. Baking cupcakes isn’t exclusively done for special occasions. Rather, every baking session is the special occasion.

Here are the top ten supplies that no cupcake-crazy baker should live without:

10. Sprinkles

Sprinkles add a playful touch to many sweets, especially cupcakes. You can find them in every color under the sun. Sprinkles are most often added on top of frosting, but they can be used in a few other ways, too. Try mixing them in the frosting, or, even better, add them into cupcake batter before baking!

9. Batter dispenser

If you’re anything like me, you make a mess getting the cupcake batter from the bowl to the pan. Between dribbles and drips, there’s usually a disaster on the counter and on the edges of the pan. But you can end that with a batter dispenser! Who knew they made such a thing, right? This nifty device lets you fill once, and then dispense cupcake after cupcake of perfectly placed batter with nary a slip or drip.

8. Piping bags

Make frosting cupcakes a breeze with piping bags. Cutting a hole in a plastic zip bag will do the trick, but piping bags are so much easier to maneuver. Buy whatever size bag works for the amount of frosting you’re using. Voila! Frosting cupcakes just got a whole lot easier.

7. Baking Tray

The cupcake-crazy baker doesn’t bake a batch of only 12 cupcakes – at least 24 or more cupcakes are baked in a single baking session. Therefore, why not have a 24-cupcake baking tray on hand? That way, if you want to bake 48 cupcakes, you can do it all at once and just bake the cupcakes on two different racks. These 24-count trays will definitely satisfy the mass of people that adore your cupcakes.

6. Pure Vanilla Extract

Pure vanilla extract works wonders in almost every cupcake recipe, even in chocolate ones. It adds a certain richness to cupcakes, along with a delicious hint of vanilla flavor. A teaspoon for every 12 cupcakes or so usually does the trick. Just be sure to buy the bottle labeled “pure vanilla extract”, and not the one that says “artificial vanilla flavoring.” It really makes all the difference in the world.

5. Electric Mixer

Whether it’s an electric hand mixer or an electric free standing mixer, these mixers will be huge assets to bakers and cooks alike. Manual hand whisking usually isn’t fast enough to properly mix batter, and, even more so, frosting. A butter cream or whipped cream frosting will come out a lot fluffier if you use an electric mixer, so buy one for your kitchen!

4. Baking Cups

Don’t ruin your cupcakes by using horrible baking cups. There’s nothing worse than baking cupcakes only to have grease seeping through the paper. To avoid that, purchase grease-proof baking cups. From plain white cups to Dr. Seuss wrappers, the options are endless, so buy ones that suit the occasion you’re baking for.

3. Food Coloring

Chocolate or vanilla colored cupcakes can get old after a while, so food coloring is the perfect thing to add some excitement to your cupcakes. The coloring doesn’t have to be completely random, either. You can match the colors to the flavors you’re making. Add a hint of green food coloring if you’re making lime flavored cupcakes. Food coloring is also excellent for frosting. Whatever color you’re using, make sure you’re having fun with it!

2. Toothpicks

Toothpicks are a completely foolproof way of making sure your cupcakes are done; sometimes just looking at the cupcakes doesn’t work. Unlike sticking a fork in the cupcake, sticking a toothpick in it will leave little or no damage. If it comes out clean, they’re done.

1. Bowls

A set of good, solid mixing bowls is a must for any baker. And cupcake bakers need even more bowls to prepare all the flavors and fillings and icings! Choose non-slip mixing bowls to avoid slides and spills. That way your batter will end up in the cake pans and not on the kitchen floor!