Cupcakes are baked goods, and baked goods are the core of every cottage food law, so the cake is never the problem. The frosting is. Buttercream made with butter and sugar is shelf-stable enough for Michigan, Minnesota, North Dakota and California; cream cheese frosting, whipped cream and custard or cream fillings need the fridge, which takes those cupcakes out, except in North Dakota, which allows them frozen and labeled. California lists baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings. In the example below, a San Diego home baker sorts its flavors.
The short version
- The cake is fine everywhere; the frosting decides it.
- Buttercream: allowed in all four states here.
- Cream cheese frosting, whipped cream, custard fillings: need the fridge.
- North Dakota allows refrigerated items frozen and labeled.
- California: baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings.
- Label each box as your state requires.
- TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot. More below.
Cupcakes, state by state
| Product | Michigan | Minnesota | North Dakota | California |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vanilla cupcake, buttercream | Yes | Yes, registered | Yes | Yes, on the list |
| Red velvet, cream cheese frosting | No: needs temperature control | No: potentially hazardous | Frozen, with labels | No: not on the list |
| Boston cream cupcake, custard filled | No: needs temperature control | No: potentially hazardous | Frozen, with labels | No: not on the list |
The business beyond home is in cupcake business plan, and boxes in how to package cupcakes for sale.
The rules
| State | Rule |
|---|---|
| Michigan | Food that isn't time/temperature control for safety, including jams, candy, dried fruit, granola, dry mixes, vinegar, dried herbs and baked goods; not meat or poultry, milk products, beverages, salsa, or canned foods other than standardized jams (MCL 289.1105(k)); prepackaged, labeled with the home kitchen statement, sold straight to the consumer (MCL 289.4102) |
| Minnesota | Food that isn't potentially hazardous, and home-canned pickles, vegetables or fruits at pH 4.6 or lower or water activity 0.85 or less; registration every year and approved food safety training (Minn. Stat. 28A.152) |
| North Dakota | No state license for cottage food sold directly to an informed end consumer; foods that need refrigeration labeled with safe handling instructions and as transported and maintained frozen; no uninspected meat, poultry only from the seller's own birds (N.D.C.C. 23-09.5-02) |
| California | Cottage foods are nonpotentially hazardous foods on the approved list, among them baked goods without cream, custard or meat fillings, candy, chocolate-covered nonperishables, dried fruit, dried pasta, granola, herb blends, honey, standardized jams, nut butters, popcorn, vinegar and mustard, roasted coffee and dried tea (HSC 114365.5); Class A sells directly, Class B also through shops and restaurants (HSC 113758) |
This is general information, not legal advice.
An example: a San Diego birthday order
Bayside Cupcake Kitchen, a made-up home baker in San Diego, California, registered as a Class A cottage food operation and takes birthday orders by the dozen. Vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with buttercream are on its list. A customer wanted red velvet with cream cheese frosting; it needs refrigeration, so the baker offers red velvet with a vanilla buttercream instead. What a dozen should cost is in cupcake pricing, and California's rules in california cottage food law.
Get the checker
Download the home cupcakes checker. Two sheets: your products, whether each needs refrigeration, is meat or poultry, a milk product, a canned food other than jam, or a drink, and whether it's on California's list; how Michigan's, Minnesota's, North Dakota's and California's cottage food laws treat it fill in; and each state's rules as read for this article. It's an ordinary Excel file with no macros, and it works in Google Sheets, LibreOffice and Numbers.
Where this stops working
The rules decide what can be sold. Birthday orders for Saturday, three flavors, and a customer with a nut allergy are where an order goes out wrong.
How TaroStack does it
TaroStack keeps each customer's order and each batch's lot, and what each dozen costs.
Orders. Each customer's order goes in for its pickup or market day, with a picking list.
Each batch a lot. A batch of dozens is a batch from its recipe, with its date and lot, and the lot goes on each order it fills.
True cost. Each dozen is costed from its recipe and the batch, at what the ingredients actually cost.
| The job | Paper | In TaroStack |
|---|---|---|
| Who gets what on market day | Order sheets | Orders by day |
| Which batch went to which customer | Not recorded | Lots on each order |
| What a dozen costs | A guess | True cost from the recipe and batch |
Orders, recipes and batches are on every plan, from $49 a month. The first 30 days are free, with no credit card. If you'd like a hand setting up, ask, and we'll do it with you.