Once again as I was doing one of my searches for all things cupcakes online I came across these lovely intricate detailed cupcakes. I contacted Zahirah Motala  that master mind behind these cupcakes of Cupcake D’Lights.

<!–[if !mso]> <! st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } –>

Where is your company located?

I’m based in Durban which is situated on the east coast of southern Africa.

How did you get the idea to ‘paint’ cupcakes, such as your cupcakes and tea cupcakes?

When I decided to do the vintage tea set I really wanted to paint on a design as I love the gorgeous designs you find on the china especially the vintage cups and saucers.

What are a few cupcake tools you couldn’t live without?

That’s a hard one as I really love my tools which I’ve bought over some time. But my favorite ‘find’ was a box of old mini cutters which was being sold for next to nothing and there are some jewels in there which I know I’ll never find again! So it would def be those :)

What is your inspiration for these lovely cupcakes?

Inspiration comes from everything and everywhere sometimes just a pretty piece of fabric or a tea cup might spark an idea. Lately I don’t have time to play as I get fully booked out and it’s generally what people request from me that I need to interpret their brief and add my unique touch.  Sometimes a mistake or something you throw together becomes such a huge hit :) I enjoy those ones the best!

When did your love of cupcakes start?

I am an oil artist by profession so when I was doing a search for pretty cupcakes to paint and I came across Kylie Lambert amazing cupcakes and I fell in love! She has been a huge support and great friend and I really owe it all to this amazing personality.

Do you eat any of the creations you create?

No I never have the time :) but we often bake for the family and I enjoy making new flavors just for home, but the decorated cupcakes never get eaten at home :)

If you had to eat one flavor of cupcake (& frosting) for the rest of your life what would it be?
Kylie shared with me her very amazing chocolate mud cupcake which I only make for special people and for myself! It’s the most divine cupcake ever which I team it up with my delicious cappuccino nougat ganache mmmmm I could never tire of it!

Anything else you want to share about yourself or your company?

I’m really excited that South Africa has finally caught onto the cupcake fever I started way back in early 2006 and everyone laughed at me when I caught onto the fever. I pride myself in being the first person here to do decorated cupcakes. I also see my ideas and styles all over now (Kylies as well) and it’s great to see that you are an inspiration to others.

I would like to thank Zahirah for taking the time to answer these questions.

Please check out her blog for more information and some amazing looking ( & I am sure tasting ) cupcakes!

http://cupcakedlights.blogspot.com

All Images & Cupcake Ideas are Copyright of Cupcake D’Lights and are not to be used or copied without premission for Zahirah Motala!

None of these cupcake tips in Newsweek magazine from Pam Nelson, owner of Butter Lane Bakery, were that ground-breaking, but these tips have a smack yourself in the forehead simplicity.  You can imagine if all the suggestions were followed, how much better tasting your cupcakes can be.  The tips are:

– Use the best butter you can find
– When possible use real ingredients not extracts or artificial substitutes
– Use real chocolate over cocoa powder
– Frosting does not have to be teeth-shattering sweet
– Wrap your cupcakes after baking to preserve moistness

I a big fan of presents and birthdays which is why I secretly love those belated birthday gifts that surprise you when they show up.  I had a small package waiting for me yesterday when I go done with classes and one of the items inside was a charm for my Pandora bracelet.  The popular Pandora bracelets are the new version of charm bracelets.  The charm I received was of course a cupcake! It is sterling silver with 14k gold on top and is $35.oo.

Hi!  I just wanted to share my robot cupcakes with you!  This is for my son Otis Rhythm!  Thanks for looking!  I love your site so much:)  Love Katharine

Great job Katharine with this cupcake tree.  The presentation really pops with the lightning blue and the robot cupcake toppers.  Too bad the toppers are sold out on Etsy.

Our giveaways keep getting better and better! This week csnstores.com is giving away this adorable Kidkraft wood set. The Cupcake Stand with Cupcakes is the perfect kitchen accessory for any of the young chefs in your life.    The best thing about this toy is that the icing tops come off and are interchangeable with the cupcake bottoms. My kids have been playing cupcake shop all week with this adorable toy!

Csnstore.com sells nursery furniture and so much more!  Check out these other cupcake must-haves.

  To enter this contest, please go to csnstores.com and then come back to ATC and leave a message in the comment area below about another CSN item you would love to own.  One winner will be chosen on October 12th.  Thank you csnstores.com!

And the winner is … Jessika!
Congratulations! Please email us at [email protected] and give us your full name and address so we can have the magnet mailed to you. Thanks to all who entered and commented on the wonderful items in her shop.   Be sure to enter our next giveaway coming later today.  Thanks again to threerabbits for the great prize!

As I was doing one of my searches for lovely cupcake items I found these great vintage like baking cups. The website that I found them on  is www.bakeitpretty.com . This is a great website it has a lot of different cupcake and baking items. So here are the Baking Cups I fell in love with …

Black Elizabeth – Designer Baking Cups

Elenor Green – Designer Baking Cups

Madeleine – Designer Baking Cups

Pink Elizabeth – Designer Baking Cups

Check out the website is has a great selection of Cupcake Toppers ( I like the Wizard of Oz ones myself ). They also have a great and different selection of Sprinkles.

They also have this interestingly named product Edible Disco Dust … I just might buy this!

Enjoy!

The credit for finding this costume goes to my best friend, who passed it along to me.   She too shares an obsession with cupcakes and is thinking about buying this Hostess Cupcake Costume to be as cute as a cupcake for Halloween.  It is from The Lingerie Closet and is $43.50 without shipping.

Hello there all you cupcake lovers! This is just a reminder that today is the last day to enter our Cupcake Magnet Giveaway sponsored byEtsy crafter threerabbits. One winner will be chosen tomorrow morning so enter now!

Cozy up with Cupcakes …

Ever loved cupcakes so much that you you want to snuggle up with them while you sleep?

Now here is your chance with this Cupcake Bedding and Cupcake Pillow.

I know  if i had these Id prolly never get out of bed!

One of the things I like about the internet is that one site leads you to another and then another and before you know it you have come across so many sites that you have tons of bookmarks.  In my case you also end up with more recipes from blogs then you will ever have time to make.  That is how I came across Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. Which always has delicious looking recipes, many of which are cupcakes.  One of the most recent posts was for Cinnamon Sour Cream Cupcakes with Oatmeal Raisin Buttercream Frosting. To me they sound like a delicious hybrid between sour cream coffee cake with oatmeal raisin cookies combined in the form of cupcakes.  Peabody made them in the form of cute little minis.  An additional benefit of getting recipes off blog is that the trial and error part has been done and recorded for you so you know what mistakes to avoid.

I know we have had a few posts recently celebrating the 90th anniversary of Hostess cupcakes but I wanted to share a few amazing Etsy finds that honor this special treat.

Hostess Cupcake Dress $60

Cupcake Soap $4

Giant Cupcake Floorcloth $40

Visit stayhomecupcake’sshop in Etsy.

If you do not have the time to make your own cupcake costume,  you can always count on Etsy for something homemade.  Devaniweaver has created a Pink Cupcake Dress with sprinkles and a cherry.  I love that it the bottom half really looks like a aluminum cupcake liner.  The dress is $175.00, remember someone put a lot of hard work and time into this cupcake creation.

The NY Cake Convention takes place January 2-5, 2010.  Next year, why tell us so early?  The premier contest in the NY Cake Convention this year is Cake VS Cupcake with a whopping grand prize of $2,500.  The official site states:

“THE FACE OFF”    CAKE VS. CUPCAKE

• Decorated Cupcakes: Entries can be with made with actual cup cakes or Sty ro foam cup cakes dec­o rated with any sugar medium. At least twelve (12) cup cakes must be included in the dis play. Cup cake struc tures are allowed. Exhibit to fit within a base area of 46cm (18”).
• Novelty Cake: A regular shaped cake decorated in a novel fash ion with any sugar medium. Dum­mies or internal supports can be used. Exhibit to fit within a base area of 46cm (18″).
• First, second, and third place win ners in each cat e gory are then determined.
• The first place winner in each category will then be judged to determine the winner of the Cake vs. Cup cake competition.

Even if you are not a professional baker, there are SEVEN classes of competition you can enter depending on your experience levels from Youth/Teen all the way to Masters.  With the competition a mere 3 months out, it is time to put on the brainstorming caps and represent the cupcake nation!

—–

NY Cake Convention

January 2-5, 2010

Hotel Pennsylvania
401 Seventh Avenue (33rd Street)
New York, NY

Official Website
Full Contest List
Rules and Regulations

Looking to send a cupcake lover the perfect Halloween Greeting Card? If so, I’ve got what you need! PS … It isnt from Hallmark!