Which do you love more, animals or cupcakes? Can’t decide? Well, sister, I have the bakery for you! Introducing Sugar Beat Sweets– straight outta San Francisco. Vegan owned an operated, Sugar Beat Sweets is the creation of one of our favorite food bloggers, Melisser (The Urban Housewife).

From the Snickerdoodle- a vanilla-cinnamon swirl cupcake covered in vanilla buttercream, topped with a dusting of cinnamon- to the Chocolate Snowball-a chocolate cupcake with coconut mousse, coated in shredded coconut-it’s all sinfully delicious but virtuously vegan.

If you’re in San Francisco you can get yours at Rainbow Grocery- 1745 Folsom @ 14th Street; Other Avenues- 3930 Judah Street @ 44th Avenue; Real Food Co.- 2140 Polk @ Broadway; Urban Bread- 3901 18th St @ Sanchez;
Mojo Bicycle Cafe- 639-A Divisadero St @ Hayes and Harvest Urban Market- 191 8th St @ Howard. Or if you’re stuck in the Midwest like me, wait for her to come visit you and hope she bakes when she does! Want to know more? Check out the latest edition of Batter Chatter with Cakespy!

No animals were harmed in the making of these cupcakes.

My friend Hillary- who is the only other mom at the park dressing her kids in Halloween costumes year-round- brought me this rotten little cupcake today from Suckers Candy Inc. I thought it was the cutest, and my two-year-old loved that it was filled with gummy worms.

Halloween is by far my favorite time of year for cupcake decorating. What are your favorite ghoulish Halloween treats? Send us your Halloween cupcake photos and you might see them posted here! Please be sure to credit the person who took the photo/made the cupcakes if it wasn’t you!

If you’re anything like me, early September is prime “what are we all going to be for Halloween” brainstorming time. Last year I was convinced we would make an amazing version of The Munsters. Me as Lily, my husband is a perfect Herman and if anyone was ever Eddie Munster it’s my son. That never quite panned out, Teno ended up being “baby billionaire” and Tony and I were lucky we managed to get dressed in the morning. So I think my dream of following previously posted advice about making my own cupcake costume is well… pretty much unrealistic. I know we have a lot of crafty mama readers, though, and you’re exactly who I thought of when I saw these instructions on Wondertime for making a kid’s cupcake costume. So gather up your materials and get to work! I want to see done damn adorable photos come Halloween!

You’ll need:

• 2 wire wreath forms (1 large, with a diameter similar to a bushel basket, and 1 small, just big enough to fit over your child’s head)
• Bailing wire (available at most hardware stores)
• Wire snips
• 2 yards fluffy white fabric
• 2 yards of 1-inch-wide elastic (for the “frosting” and suspenders to hold up bottom of cupcake)
• Newspaper
• Pastel-colored felt squares (for making confetti dots)
• Bushel basket
• 2 yards brown fabric
• 1 yard white felt (or ribbed white material)
• White stocking or knit hat
• White tights and shoes
• Cardboard paper-towel roll
• Red and yellow felt squares (for making candle and flame)

Now go check out the article for the instructions!

After John McCain’s frightening announcement of Sarah Palin as his running mate I felt compelled to do something to let people know that although a woman in office will always be a dream of mine- this woman in office is a total nightmare. I was a big Hillary supporter, but that ship has sailed and I’m throwing my support in Obama’s direction. And being your  friendly neighborhood baker and destroyer, Obama cupcake toppers are the best way I know how to do that. Use them to raise money for his campaign via bake sales or just use them to raise awareness. Download the .pdf, print them on card stock, glue them to toothpicks and get going! Make sure you send us pictures of your wares, because nothing tastes better than cupcakes and Democracy! (Oh, and I’d like to add that I speak for MYSELF in this post and my political views do not necessarily reflect those of my fellow ATC posters.) Click here to download your Obama toppers!

My husband Tony gives me a hard time about “underfrosting” my cupcakes for the sake of cuteness. I think I use plenty of frosting, but I made an extra large batch of peanut butter buttercream last night to test Tony’s frosting limits. According to him, these are perfect, and the standard by which all future frosting jobs will be measured. I hope butter gets cheaper soon. You can find the recipe at Bake & Destroy.

Whoo, I am SO full of root beer marshmallows I can barely type but I’m suffering for my art— the art of telling you how flipping rad Chaos Theory Cakes & Confections was tonight.

I teamed up with my favorite Windy City Roller derby girl, Belle Diablo and ate everything from honey lemon marshmallows to a spinach cake with green apples and onion mousse. I have to say, as horrified as you might be by the latter, I’m glad I ate it. Like, if I had potato chips to go with it I would have been set.

Of course I was on the look out for interesting cupcakes and there were plenty, from spicy chocolate to cilantro. Yeah, that’s right. Michelle Garcia isn’t afraid to freak you out with cupcakes, cream puffs or anything else. And that’s why we love her.

So if you’re in Chicago put Chaos Theory on your to-do list. And eat a root beer marshmallow for me, because I put myself on a temporary ban. You can see all my blurry photos on Flickr. I was cake drunk, sorry. The Bleeding Heart Bakery posted better pictures here.

What do you think it’s like to be Cakespy and to be so awesome that someone as talented at Naomi of Flickr fame hello naomi make these adorable birthday cupcakes for you? I bet it’s pretty rad. (Do you think I’ll get kicked off ATC for saying I like the donut best?) Happy birthday Cakespy and thank you, thank you Naomi for existing on this planet!

“Every one is a closet wrestling fan,” says WWE heavyweight champ CM Punk. Maybe Monday Night Raw is your secret shame, or maybe you wear it loud and proud. Perhaps you hate it, but you have a boyfriend, husband, brother or best friend who can’t live without his/her weekly dose of manly soap opera. Whatever the case, like it or not, you know a little something something about “sports entertainment.” Over at Bake & Destroy I’m challenging you to tap into that side of you- the one that longs to clothesline everyone in front of you in line at the bakery to get the last cupcake. Your mission: create an amazing wrestling-themed dessert item. The payoff: a one-of-a-kind Bake & Destroy photo book autographed by the champ himself, CM Punk.

The rules are posted on the blog, so I won’t bore you with them twice. I hope by posting here I get a lot of fabulous cupcake entries, I’m trying my hardest to be fair but you know I have a soft spot for cupcakes and Roddy Piper. (Oh, and forget about Punk’s vote- he hates frosting!)

It’s cool to use someone else’s recipe as long as you credit them when you enter, but the photo you submit must be your own shot of your own decorating job. (I doubt there are many Macho Man Randy Savage cupcake photos floating around the web, but you never know.) Check the blog for all the details and good luck!

Yankee Candle’s Fall catalog is truly magical- when else would my big, bearded husband come running into the kitchen to show me a “really cool candle”? But it’s true, it’s the issue where all the fun Halloween candle holders are up for grabs- including  skeleton bride and groom candle sticks this year. There’s more to get excited about than just necrotic lovers, because Yankee has two brand new cupcake scents out for Fall! There’s chocolate cupcake— cocoa and buttercream — and Iced Pumpkin— a blend of their best selling Vanilla Cupcake and Pumpkin Pie scents. That second one’s limited so get it while you can. Prices vary depending on the candle size, you can get them online at Yankee Candle. Use the promo code CAT808V to save $15 on a $45 or more purchase. Valid through Sept. 1, 2008.

Who is super psyched about Michelle Garcia’s latest venture, Chaos Theory Cakes? Well, me for one. I mean, check out what the walls are going to look like! Rest assured I will be there to sample the cupcakes and give you descriptions so graphic you’ll blush.

Chaos Theory Cakes
2961 N. Lincoln ave.
Chicago, Illinois
Opening Aug 5th 2008
www.thebleedingheartbakery.com

Which is why NatalieDee is awesome.

Woah, it’s been a while, huh? Well, I’m back and I’m bearing pretty awesome news. Circa Ceramics, a Chicago-based ceramics team, fired me these amazing Bake and Destroy baking bowls and asked me to master the art of baking in ceramic vessels. I’m happy to report all went well and I’ll be posting a how-to video which will also include a recipe I developed just for Nancy and Andy- Ceramics Ceramics Cannoli Cupcakes. That’s right, the Quad-C.

No word yet on whether or not Bake and Destroy bowls will be made available to the public, but keep an eye on the CC Etsy shop for other baking vessels and dinnerware. You really can’t appreciate how beautiful their work is until you’ve picked it up and held it, but I’m sure  this post will get some comments from faithful customers of theirs.

With all the green-this and eco-friendly- that what could be greener than reusable cupcake baker-inners? And what could make for a fancier presentation? Like I said, I’ll give you the recipe and all the ins and out of baking in ceramics in my video this week end. If you’re just dying to hear me talk you can watch my stupid “nutritious cupcakes” video I made for one of my classes.

It’s a small world after all. Head spy over at Cakespy Jessie Oleson and I first became acquainted hen she interviewed City Down in December. City dropped my name (along with The Urban Housewife) as bloggers she enjoys and so began a beautiful, three-or-four-way Internet friendship. Jessie and I traded cupcake toppers for paintings and I even spent an entire night recreating her famous Cuppie in edible form only be be outdone soon after by many other, more talented bakers (ahem, Bakerella.)

But narrow the scope even more and you’ll find yourself here, today, glancing at this Cakespy tattoo on Just Desserts‘ head sassbox Tara. She and I go back even further, to many years ago when she was dating my friend in Joliet and I was dating a now-professional wrestler named CM Punk.

It all comes full circle, in a tale as old as time- girl meets girl on double date, girls move apart, girl meets several other girls who like the same stuff as her on the Internet, original girl gets other girl’s logo tattooed on her. Classic.

…or at least, Chicago. Yes, yes it’s the famous red, white and blue flag every windy city hipster has tattooed on them somewhere and two weeks ago I piped it onto a dozen cupcakes, complete with gummy ras for the Chicago Style Crafter Trunk Show. This week, The Bleeding Heart Bakery unveiled their much more carefully done version- the Girls Rock! Chicago cupcake.

One dollar from the sale of each charity cupcake in the month of June will be donated to Girls Rock! Chicago.

Girls Rock! Chicago (GR!C) is a volunteer-run non-profit that works to foster girls’ creative expression, positive self-esteem and community awareness through rock music.

Girls Rock! Chicago is a 501(c)(3) non-for profit organization dedicated to fostering girls’ creative expression, positive self-esteem and community awareness through rock music. Through our music education programs for girls ages 9-16, we are committed to educating girls about the musical, technical, and creative aspects involved in musicianship, because we believe that young girls are rarely encouraged to explore self-expressive creative outlets and are less likely to be given access to musical and technical instruction or equipment. We believe that rock music can be a crucial tool in allowing young women to respond to preconceived notions of what they can do and what they can become.

Get yours at The Bleeding Heart Bakery!

About a year ago I took a trip to the ‘burbs to check out Mitsuwa Market, a national chain of Japanese grocery stores. I have a local Japanese market that I was pretty faithful to, but I’d heard Mitsuwa had a dope bakery and… toys! Yes, I am almost 30, but Japanese toys get me every time. I was definitely not disappointed in the bakery, I picked up panda-shaped buns, turtle-shaped rolls and fruit sandwiches galore, but the toys…oh, the toys are what keeps me coming back.

It was then, my friends, that I first laid eyes on Re-Ment miniatures. Evil things, packed neatly in their pink blind boxes, taunting me with their tiny, mysterious contents. I bought two boxes, not knowing what was inside and not able to even read what the labels said. When I got home I unpacked a miniature strawberry-shaped dresser with a tiny needle and thread which my niece has since destroyed, but what really caught my interest was the micro crepes, complete with fillings and even a mixing bowl with plastic batter splashing out. I can’t even tell you how many sets of Re-Ment and Mega House miniature food I own today, but I can tell you that I have two mini bakery cases and a little kitchen absolutely stuffed with tiny cakes and cupcakes the size of pencil erasers, which is what inspired this post.

Often times I get doubles, because unless you buy your sets on eBay, you don’t know what you’re getting. I’m not crafty enough to do anything with my surplus, so I trade with other crazy people- I mean, collectors. But there are lots of seller on Etsy taking these sweet minis and making awesome stuff out of them.

Check out this necklace from Sparklebean. It’s a Re-Ment cupcake, with a bite taken out no less, and a tiny pastry bag. I love it! And for under $12 it’s a great deal, these sets run between $4-$10 depending on where you buy them. She also makes a really cute magnet out of my favorite piece in my collection- a tiny hand mixer and bowl of cake batter. That one’s $8.50 and I’m pretty sure that message on the fridge was meant for us.

Etsy seller DancingDin0saur took another of my favorites, the coffee and donut set, and made it into this cute bracelet. The sugar packets kill me. This one’s $13, she has a few others that are equally cute.

They say cookies are the new cupcake, a statement I find both confusing and stupid. But I swear I read it in my local paper’s news magazine. Anyway, I might prefer cupcakes for their cuteness, but I can’t think of a time when I ever said no to a cookie. So this baking cookies necklace from RESPLENDENTREDHEAD cracks me up. At $20 it’s the priciest of the bunch, but these things are so tiny I can’t imagine how frustrating they are to work with. And anyway, $20 to tell the world you’re the best cookie baker on the block isn’t all that bad.

So I realize that was a slight departure from “just cupcakes,” but most of my favorite cupcake lovers (what up to Melisser and Leigh!) are also Re-Ment addicts so I think there’s a connection there. If you’d like to read more about the sickness you can check out this blurb I wrote about Re-Ment for Echo Magazine. Find them at Mitsuwa Market, eBay, doll shops, Amazon and in the best Japanese toy stores. I’m going to go rearrange my mini taco set now. Don’t make fun of me, I can still totally beat you at arm wrestling.

Wow, that is the evilest evil cupcake I have ever seen. It reminds me of Trapjaw from He-Man. But then check out the good guys, could they be any happier and funnier?

Thanks to Cakey Goodness for sharing this work by Eric Eye at Lucky Devil in Seattle, WA!

I spotted this cupcake tattoo in the photostream of fellow Flickr user Pandaramic and fell in love with the striped candle and the cute little texture dots on the cake itself.

Kerri says the tattoo is by Chris Stuart at Ace Custom Tattoo in Charlotte, NC. Oh, and as an awesome cupcake-related side note, Chris Stuart is friends with Johnny of Johnny Cupcakes.

Did you guys see the woman who got a cupcake tattoo on Miami Ink the other night? Ok, her name is Natalie, she’s heavily tattooed and she loves cupcakes. For a sec I thought it was me, but then she said she didn’t bake.  Know who else I wish I was? The owner of THIS awesome cupcake tattoo!

From the candy hearts to the heart-shaped cherry this one goes in the Top Five of best cupcake tattoos I’ve ever seen.

This one was poked by Kapten Hanna @ Just Good Tattoos in Portland, ME.

Peep this cupcake cuff from dancinwithmyself.etsy.com. For $8 it’s a little bit girly, a little bit punk rock.

I get asked all the time why my knuckles say “Midwest” instead of “cupcake.” I don’t have a proper answer, but maybe this cross stitch from City Down will shut everyone up. It’s hilarious, crafty and only $15. Find it at citydown.etsy.com

Finally, a handmade cupcake purse that’s  grown up enough to take anywhere! I love the lining and the sweet detailing inside.

Drop the Mother’s Day hint to your baby daddy- tell him to check out StitchesAreForever on Etsy!

A while back I posted a recipe on my blog for pupcakes (cupcakes for your dog) after seeing something similar at Cupcakes. I was poking around today to see what other people are baking for their pups and came across Buttercup’s Paw-tisserie in Brooklyn. Is it sick that some of the cookies and candies for dogs looked tasty to me? I don’t care, if it’s vegetarian I’ll eat it and they have a whole section of veggie dog treats.

I’m feeling fortune right not to not have a dog, I already give my kid way too many cupcakes. But my mom’s got some doggies that I’m sure would love this place. Anyway, it goes to show you that cupcake are universally delicious, even if you drink from the toilet and lick your own butt.

I started to wonder tonight if I should be concerned at all about the fact that I’m the first person on everyone’s list when they see some kind of dangerous, demented or killer cupcake. “What does this say abut me as a person,” I pondered. “Am I projecting some kind of violent persona?”

Then I looked at some of the evil cupcakes and found myself laughing. Maybe I truly am demented after all.

First up is this 1″ button from Jodi Von Rotten. Hatchet? Check. Meat cleaver? Check. Sprinkles? Check. Awesome. $1 at JodiVonRotten.etsy.com

These next two are actually from the twisted mind of a grandma. More specifically, my son’s grandma. Yep, my mother-in-law Jo started making kid’s shirts and tote bags featuring cupcake ninjas and zombies. Support your local DIY grandma at bakeanddestroy.etsy.com

This one’s a hand painted wooden plaque. According to the description it’s to hang in the kitchen to warn our boyfriend to stay out. I wonder if it works on husbands, only asking them to come in and cook you dinner. $15 at pinkninked.etsy.com

Have you noticed that headbands are way too expensive? Every time I see one I like it’s like, $15 and I know full well it’s just going to give me a headache and end up in my purse anyway. Well, for $5.99 this one’s pretty cute, even if it does end up in your purse. Get it at DIrtYcherries.etsy.com

Here we have a pendant that says “I’m sweet, but I will wear your skull as jewelry.” So just in case you don’t already have a shirt that says that, you might need to send $75 to roadkill.etsy.com

And finally, if you really need to hit the world over the head with your depraved cupcake lust I give you this screen printed shirt which proudly proclaims, “I only eat evil cupcakes.” $16 at jonasillustration.etsy.com

Enjoy!

Thanks to Tara for directing me to this YouTube clip of Dorothy and Rose discussing cupcakes… sort of.

The Golden Girls: Cupcakes

This made me laugh, and then made me gag. I don’t get grossed out easily- I’m the chick who eats ice cream while watching Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern. My old roommate and I had Hellraiser spaghetti parties. (Try it sometime, it’s not easy.) But spit is gross. The idea of spitting on a cupcake, no matter how figuratively, grosses me out.

Regardless, this is funny… and it’s a Judge Judy quote. Not only that, but according to the item description, it’s the first in a series of Judge Judy quotes. You could do your whole living room in Judge Judy. Find the “Don’t spit on my cupcake and tell me it’s frosting” print at Rustic Goth for $15.