Hello Cupcake Universe! It is my pleasure to introduce you to the “world’s first cupcake on a pretzel.”  Make sure you turn up your volume when you visit the PopsyCakes website, because the PopsyCakes literally POP onto your screen.

PopsyCakes started as a high school project and has turned into a national cupcake business. Who wouldn’t want a handmade cupcake, dipped in chocolate, and perched on a pretzel stick? PopsyCakes ships worldwide. You can buy a half dozen or a dozen of several flavors including: strawberry milkshake, dark chocolate decadence, vanilla bean dream, and red velvet rush. Have a new flavor in mind? Share it with them via their website and be entered to win a dozen PopsyCakes! Businesses, you can also order them wholesale!

Do you live in New York? Well, if you live anywhere near Gardiner, you are in for a treat. Literally.  The third annual Gardiner Cupcake Festival will take place on Sunday, May 15, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

It’s a cupcake-themed block party! More than a dozen professional cupcake vendors will be there, including: Moxie Cupcakes, Deisings Bakery, Wright’s Farm, and Bettie’s Cakes.

There will also be an amateur cupcake contest! Four awards will be given: prettiest, most delicious, most creative, and best in show. To enter, all you need to do is drop off your cupcakes between 10:45 and 12:15. Bring 4 or more cupcakes to the Cupcake Contest Tent, which is next to the HiHo Home Market at 132 Main Street. There is also a youth division for bakers 14 and under. For more info about the cupcake contest, email robinhayes18 (at) gmail (dot) com.

Activities for all ages include: donkey rides, bounce houses, wine tasting, craft tents, and face painting.

 The festival will happen rain or shine. For more information, call 845-256-1122 or email mainstgang (at) aol (dot) com.

I just found these remarkable photographs in CupcakeEnvy’s Flickr stream.

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Cupcake Kids is not your traditional bake sale. These kids are baking, decorating, and selling cupcakes to raise money and awareness for SixtyFeet, an organization dedicated to helping the impoverished children of Uganda.

It all started in 2010, when a 6 year old girl and her 4 year old brother in Atlanta asked their parents if they could sell some cupcakes to raise money for SixtyFeet. Those two kids (with some help from mom) raised $260! Because they shared their mission with their shoppers, they ended up selling cups of lemonade for $25. The very next weekend, there were sales all over Georgia and in several other states. Cupcake Kids went viral.

As of today, The Cupcake Kids have raised more than $44,000 to help kids on the other side of the world. That’s a lot of cupcakes! Everyone is invited to join in the fun and host their own Cupcake Kids bake sale. You can find the details here.

If you can’t find a cupcake sale near you, you can still show your support by ordering a virtual cupcake. You can also buy a really cool t-shirt:

You can also follow Cupcake Kids on Facebook!

Can you imagine a world where the sale of a single cupcake buys thirteen meals for children in Uganda? We’re living in it.

Cupcakes for Kiddos was started by 10-year-old twins, Ella and Liliana, from Lawrence, Kansas. If you live in Lawrence, you can place an order for some homebaked cupcakes, and they will be hand-delivered to your door. If you don’t live in Lawrence, you can still make a donation, and if you wish, cupcakes will be delivered on your behalf to a deserving individual. All the proceeds go to Amazima Ministries.

For more information, or to order some cupcakes, email cupcakesforkiddos (at) gmail (dot) com by Tuesday, May 3rd.

If you’ve been down the baked goods aisle lately, you may have noticed that Hostess Cupcakes has added Strawberry to their flavor lineup.

These pink delights are part of Hostess’ Jackpot promotion. Cupcake lovers are given a chance to win $10,000, or more than 300 daily prizes (one of which is a one year supply of Hostess Cupcakes).

If you want to play, look for a specially marked multipack, and then register the game code at www.hostesscakes.com. While you’re there, you can also vote for your favorite cupcake flavor.

She’s been called an “eco-mamma” and the lovely Elana Amsterdam’s new cookbook features 50 organic, gluten-free cupcake recipes that make use of coconut flour and almond flour.

You can order the cookbook from Amazon for $9.23, and you can visit her website, Elana’s Pantry, which is loaded with recipes, for free!

Have an Android?

Check out the Butterflies and Cupcakes app!

It’s a cute live wallpaper that helps you kill a few minutes in the airport. There’s a free version and a slightly fancier paid version. Both feature an adorable little pink butterfly carrying cupcakes away. Just tap a cupcake, and the butterfly gets to work!

From the makers of Cupcake Wines comes … Cupcake Vodka! I know, what took them so long?

This is so smart! I just found these adorable Easter critter cupcakes at CantonRep.com. Who knew that a donut hole could double as a cute bunny head or chick head? Brilliant! For full decorating instructions, visit the article: Easter Treats: Bunny Cupcakes and Chick Cupcakes.

I just found the coolest blog! The Mommy Blogger behind Kaitlyn’s Korner is a talented cupcaker! As with all of my favorite decorating ideas, these monkey cupcakes are smart and easy! Thank you Jenee for your cupcake brilliance!

My daughter is 3 and is obsessed with Dora the Explorer. Unfortunately, whenever her mother tries to create Dora decorations, Dora comes out looking like a bloated alien with a bad haircut.

While searching for inspiration, I found this photo on Flickr. Sigh. They make it look so easy …

Personally, I would never have the intestinal fortitude to wear these, but I thought I should pass on the opportunity to those of you who are braver than I.

These 6″ stiletto cupcake platform shoes are available from Baby Girl Boutique. They come in pink too! 

Just in case you needed a laugh this morning, I thought I would share a photo from Misty Warden’s Flickr stream. Happy Easter!

Why do I love this picture so much? Because it’s cute, creative, festive … and EASY! Pick up some candy eggs and then pipe on some grass, and voila! You’ve got photo-worthy easter cupcakes! Brilliant, and way easier than the bunny heads I was trying to create. I found this awesome idea and photo at Toronto Sweet Cakes. Visit their website for more mouthwatering ideas!

Feel like showing off your bad biker chick side while celebrating your sweet and fluffy cupcake side as well? I love this t-shirt, and the Baker Babe design comes on a variety of items, so if you’re not into kelly green, don’t worry. I’m thinking it would make a pretty cool tattoo myself. Hmm…

A while back, we brought you news of the Scharffen Berger Cupcake Adventure Contest! Well, the winners are in. The rules were that bakers had to create an original cupcake recipe that included one of several “adventure ingredients.”  Among the choices were: stout beer, ricotta, adzuki bean, fresh beet, chili pepper, and coffee beans. Talk about adventurous!

The crazy part? All three of the winners chose Stout Beer as their adventure ingredient. In fact, the first prize cupcake, the “You Make Me Wanna ‘Stout’ Cupcakes” featured Stout in four different ways: batter, filling, reduction and frosting! Now that’s adventurous!

The judging panel included Top Chef: Just Desserts guest judge and award-winning chef Elizabeth Falkner; Scharffen Berger chocolate co-founder John Scharffenberger; chocolate expert and award-winning cookbook author Alice Medrich; award-winning food blogger, photographer and art director Matt Armendariz of MattBites.com; and baking expert and blogger Angie Dudley of Bakerella.com. Cupcakes were judged on creativity, spirit of adventure, ease of preparation, appearance and flavor.

Click here for the winning recipes! And congrats to all the winners from ATC!

Feel like a little Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Well then, have a cupcake!

Check out this cute little Tiffany and Co. cupcake charm! How charming!

Are you watching FOX’s new cop drama, The Chicago Code? You should be. The show is a knockout. Well-written, well-executed, and a star-studded cast. Australian dreamboat Jason Clarke and the gorgeous and uber-talented Chicago-born Jennifer Beals lead the way with stellar backing from critically acclaimed Delroy Lindo and up-and-coming Friday Night Lights standout Matt Lauria.

But what you really want to hear about is the cupcakes, right? Adam Arkin (The West Wing, Life, Chicago Hope) joined the series last night as a big and bad FBI hot shot, bent on pushing our lovely Jennifer Beals around. At first, things didn’t look good for the Chicago Superintendant of Police, but then she brought in a platter of red velvet cupcakes. And as the FBI agent and the Super munched on some cupcakes, they came to a compromise that moved watchers to tears. Then they licked their fingers. The whole thing was easily believable.

According to one of the show’s writers, the actors had to eat those cupcakes through six takes of the scene. Oh! Acting is such a rough gig! I’m hoping the show sets a precident. Crime can be fought, problems can be solved, corruption can be conquered, if we would just sit down together and have some cupcakes.

I just found this t-shirt, and it cracked me up. “I’m only running so that I can eat cupcakes later!” Brilliant! Now I just need to find one that says, “I’m going to Zumba so that I can eat cupcakes later!”

When I saw this recipe on NY1 yesterday, my mouth started watering and I just knew I had to share it with you! If you visit NY1’s website, you can even watch an instructional video. (Warning: Don’t watch this if you’re hungry!)

Ingredients for 2 dozen cupcakes:

• 3 cups flour
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• 1 tbs baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 cup of grated carrot
• 1 cup of grated apple
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 4 large eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla

Ingredients for the yummy frosting:

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 4 tbs butter
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup maple syrup

Mix frosting ingredients until smooth, and then put in fridge. Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour, brown sugar, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, carrots and apples, and mix well. Add vegetable oil, applesauce, eggs, and vanilla and mix well. Divide your batter into paper-lined cupcake pans. Bake for 25 minutes. Let cupcakes cool, and then top with chilled frosting.  Then enjoy!

It is a pleasure for me to introduce ATC readers to Cristina Del Sol, an award-winning Canadian mixed media and experimental visual artist with a soft spot for cupcakes.

Cristina is a unique artist, who paints as a way of exploring and experimenting. Her art serves as a journal of her life’s journey. For Cristina, art is a form of meditation, one that connects her to herself, the world around her, and the people who see her work. Cristina believes in, advocates for, and shares the healing power of art.

While her finished product is always captivating, it is her process that leaves me in awe. Her cupcake paintings are so much more than paintings – they are three-dimensional creations, using a variety of material ranging from cardboard to copper. She builds the base and the toppings of her art cupcakes much like the real ones, sometimes even piping the “frosting.” I wish I could watch her work!

Learn more about Cristina at her website: Cristina Del Sol. You can also view (and shop for) her art, much of it “cupcake-inspired,” at her Etsy shop: Cristina’s Fine Art Store or her blog: Cristina’s Daily Paintings.

The Bankery is a full service bakery located in an old bank — 0ld as in 1864 old! — in historic downtown Skowhegan, Maine. I’ve often dropped in for a tasty treat, and they’ve often offered cupcakes. But today’s cupcake offerings were just so cute, I had to share them with you. These cupcakes were decorated to look like full-size cakes. Such a simple idea, I can’t believe I’ve never thought of it. You can imagine what this did to the frosting-to-cake ratio! Since the cupcakes were also cream-filled, they were almost too sweet. (But notice I only say almost, as I managed to eat mine up just the same.)

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Ghost Hunters fans are on the edges of their seats, as Season 7 premieres tonight at 8 EST. One fan in particular chose to celebrate in the best way — with cupcakes. Chelsea of Cupcake Adventures made these cupcakes, and I think the ghost hunters, and possibly even the ghosts, would be honored. Nice work Chelsea!