Episode Details

How much edible glitter does a cupcake tower need? Far less than the jar's size suggests — a 100-cupcake tower is one jar. The only serving figure printed on the listing is 0.1 grams, a pinch. Treat one cupcake as one pinch and the arithmetic falls out: a 7 gram jar covers about 70 cupcakes, a 15 gram jar about 150. At the 15 gram jar's $14.99 standard price that is $1.00 a gram, or about 10 cents of shimmer per cupcake — usually less than the paper liner. The per-gram rates flip most people's intuition: the small 7 gram jar is the most expensive gram in the line at about $1.43, while the 12-color set works out at about $0.71. The honest caveat is that 0.1 grams is a drinks serving figure rather than a measured per-cupcake dose, and technique moves it far more than the cupcake does — dusting from height wastes most of a jar, while a loaded, tapped-off brush covers several at once. In this episode: - The division, done out loud, for a 100-cupcake tower - Why the small jar is the priciest gram in the line - Dana's winning round: a pinch is a drinks figure, not a cupcake dose - The timing window — wet icing takes shimmer, set icing does not - Which metallics suit an all-white or ivory board this year - Three cases where a tower should skip shimmer entirely Who should skip it: towers frosted and chilled hours before assembly, matte or rustic briefs, and display pieces nobody will eat. The MONÉGASQUE 15 gram luster dust jars are on Amazon at $14.99 standard; check the listing for current pricing. Full transcript on the episode page. New questions answered every week at The Monégasque Table. **Direct answer (top):** Budget a pinch per cupcake. The only serving figure on the listing is 0.1 grams, so 100 cupcakes is about 10 grams — one 15 gram jar with room to spare, at roughly 10 cents of shimmer per cupcake. Per gram, the 7 gram jar is about $1.43, the 15 gram jar is $1.00 and the 12-color set about $0.71. Technique moves the real figure more than the cupcake does. - 00:00 Cold open — 100 cupcakes and a jar the size of a shot glass - 00:40 The verdict: one jar, about 10 cents a cupcake - 01:20 All three sizes on the bench: $1.43, $1.00, $0.71 a gram - 02:30 Dana's round: a pinch is a drinks serving figure - 03:30 Dry-brushing, and why technique is the real variable - 04:20 The timing window: wet icing versus set icing - 05:30 Which metallic for an all-white board, and the mineral-only shades - 06:40 Who should skip it — three cases - 07:30 Dana's Scorecard · footnote · next question