(NewsUSA) –

Doctors have not declared cupcakes all-you-can-eat health foods.

But these cupcakes from the Oregon Raspberry & Blackberry Council contain protein (peanut butter) and antioxidants (berry jam), making them a better choice for bake sales.

Peanut Butter & Blackberry Jam Cupcakes

Makes 16 cupcakes

Cupcakes:

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 16 muffin cups with cupcake liners. Mix the vinegar with the milk and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, stir the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In another mixing bowl, whisk the milk mixture, canola oil, vanilla and almond extract. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until toothpicks come out clean. Remove from the oven. Cool completely.

Peanut Butter Frosting:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 (8 ounce) package of cream cheese, at room temperature
4 cups of confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon cream

Beat the butter, peanut butter and cream cheese with a hand or standing mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Slowly add the confectioner’s sugar and continue to mix until the frosting is smooth, mix in the cream and continue to mix until it reaches a good spreading consistency.

To assemble:

1 cup marionberry or blackberry jam

With a sharp paring knife, cut a cone-shaped hole into the top of each cupcake. Cut the cone portion off, leaving only a top cap. Spoon approximately one tablespoon of jam into each cupcake. Replace top.

Frost with peanut butter frosting, using a large (5/8” opening) star tip and a pastry bag. Swirl tops. Place one fresh blackberry on each cupcake.

Article & Recipe from East Texas Review.

CUPCAKES ARE HOTTER THAN HOTCAKES: and red velvet tops my list…
By Meridith Ford | Wednesday, August 27, 2008, 01:18 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Photo: Joey Ivansco/AJC staff

How wonderful to open this month’s Bon Appetit to find Buttersweet Bakery in Hapeville featured.

The little bakery that could, Buttersweet owner Charlita Varner’s Key lime cupcake with cream cheese frosting is featured in a piece that’s all about the best of the bake shops across the United States. Atlanta is home to lots of “cupcakeries,” where smallish is best and flavors from funky monkey to plain old vanilla will make every day seem like your birthday.

Here are five spots that bake up cupcakes better than best:

Buttersweet Bakery’s red velvet cupcake is the moistest, reddest, most luscious version of this Southern favorite ever.

Little Cake Bakery in Buckhead’s chocolate cupcake with sweet chocolate frosting has the old-fashioned buttery goodness of something homemade, but with pretty, fat swirls of chocolate frosting and fairy-like sprinkles.

Sweet Pockets Cupcakes’ (Old Fourth Ward) lemon cupcake with velvety lemon frosting is a hands-down best alternative to chocolate and vanilla.

Atlanta Cupcake Factory makes a mean “sugar cookie dulce de leche” that’s sweet enough to make your teeth hurt. My only complaint about this place is that every time I go by, they’re never open. Dang.

Order Sugar Mama’s toasted coconut cupcake filled with vanilla cream and expect to get a creamy, dreamy sugar rush.

Who bakes your favorite cupcake? (and don’t say your mom…)

Article here: Access Atlanta

Jamie of Pongr sent me a little e-mail with this picture below, and he stated: "I’ll tell you, I never really considered myself a cupcake fan until recently (just wasn’t something I had ever given much thought to before).  Lately I’ve just been stopping into the nearby SWEET and treating myself to quick, guilt-free, pre-lunch deserts – these cupcakes are made with all-natural ingredients. They really are delicious, and I’m grateful for being made aware of such treats."

and I got to thinking… why are cupcakes so popular? Why do people LOVE their cupcakes? He made it a little clearer, "My observation about the cupcake phenomena is that they’re cute, fun, and can generally be an “experience” versus just eating a cookie or something… I love cookies, but cookie consumption is more solitary affair; cupcakes are for friends and activities."

How true! There is only so much you can do with a cookie. Cupcakes? A whole nother story!

“SWEET” the cupcake store on Mass Ave. in Boston.

”If we had said, ‘no cupcakes,’ I think, for our community, that would have been tough,” said Lynn Cheddar, the elementary school’s assistant principal and the head of the district’s wellness committee.

All of Pennsylvania’s 501 school districts must have rules in place that promote good health. Last year, the state dangled a carrot — additional federal school lunch funds — to those that set certain nutritional goals, one of which is the discouragement of food as a reward.

Read More here >>>

‘Why yes, I’d love one!’

Started in 2001, clothing line Johnny Cupcakes has quickly grown to become a popular and fashionable clothing line with its bright color tees combined with its iconic baking figures. Providing items from key chains and stickers to T-shirts and underoos, Mr. Cupcakes proves that there is no end to his success. Accordingly, Johnny Cupcakes recently opened a store on Melrose (next to Tarina Tarantino, no less) and customers already can’t get enough.
Credit: deedee deGelia

view this article for the virtual tour of Johnny Cupcakes!

2 for 1 Cupcakes on Tuesdays!

Yep, you that read right.

This offer is good at Bleeding Heart Bakery and Chaos Theory Cakes in Chicago. They hope to see you on Tuesday !

If you missed the last cake challenge on the food network, they are on TV again! They received great feedback from the Cirque de Soleil Challenge !

The next challenge is:
Food Network Tag Team Cake Challenge

Sunday Sept. 7th at 8:00pm EST

“Forget that Middle East skirmish and all that stuff with tanks in Georgia. In Hollywood, battle lines have been drawn over something really serious. Yep, we’re referring to the great cupcake kerfuffle. Seems the celeb favorite Sprinkles Cupcakes is really frosted. The SoCal bakery just filed a federal lawsuit against Famous Cupcakes accusing its rival of swiping Sprinkles’ signature circles-and-dots cupcake decor by putting dots on its Web site.

We never thought we’d say this, but we feel sorry the lawyers. Years of law school and now they’re arguing polka dots.”

– Spin Cycle “Sweet Suit”

Laid off structured finance pros look for new work
Posted Aug 17th 2008 9:40AM by Zac Bissonnette

Bloomberg reports on the career struggles of former structured finance professionals who have now found themselves unceremoniously dumped on the street as the products they built wreak havoc on the global economy. According to Bloomberg, the investment world has shed 76,670 in the past year.

One former vice president in credit strategy at Bear Stearns is setting up her own company to provide birthday parties and cupcake cooking lessons for children. A Bank of New York asset backed securities trader has left the world of high finance to open a discount hair salon with his wife. Others are becoming teachers.

I’m not sure how I feel about this. Can’t these washed up masters of the universe just collect unemployment and live off their investments, and leave the world alone? They’ve already crashed the housing market and led to hundreds of billions in write downs. Now they’re going to go mess with cupcakes? Is nothing sacred?

We can take some comfort in the fact that they’re taking a pay cut. Wall Street salaries averaged $399,360 in 2007. That’s a lot of cupcakes and $12 haircuts.

article here >>

Local portrait artist Shannon Casey will do quick sketch charcoal portraits Aug. 23 from noon to 3 p.m. at Main Street Cupcakes, 238 N. Main St. Hudson, Ohio.

The charcoal sketches are done on toned paper and take about 30 minutes to complete. The drawings are available on a first-come, first-served basis for $35. Sittings are suitable for children of all ages, as well as adults. Casey, a Hudson resident, is a member of the Portrait Society of America as well as the Hudson Society of Artists, Akron Society of Artists and Peninsula Art Academy, where she has a studio.

Also, on display are oil “portraits” of cupcakes by Casey created with thick impasto paint to represent the frosting.

For more information, visit Main Street Cupcakes at www.mainstreetcupcakes.com or e-mail Casey at [email protected].

Article Here >>

Cubs must widen lead before stretch run
By Paul Sullivan | Chicago Tribune reporter
10:42 PM CDT, August 16, 2008

Read article here >>

“One of my favorite New York City mottoes is: Life is short, eat dessert first. New York City is famous for its cupcakes. With a friend of mine, I made a summer pilgrimage to find the best cupcake in New York City.

We went to Magnolia Bakery, Buttercup Bake Shop, Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery, and Crumbs Bakery. After a whole day of eating cupcakes, we decided that Magnolia’s icing was melt-in-your-mouth sweet, and Sugar Sweet Sunshine takes the cake on “best cupcake overall.”

– By NANCY HAWTHORNE
LEDGER CORRESPONDENT

Read the rest of the article >>

Hurry before these go fast!

Found them on ebay:

Jansport Cupcake Backpack #1 on Ebay (ends in 3 days)

Jansport Cupcake Backpack #2 on Ebay (ends in 5 days)

How to Grill Cupcakes in an Orange

To grill cupcakes in an orange, you’ll need the following:

• Half as many oranges as cupcakes you want to make. I bought a bag of 10 seedless navel oranges.
• Your favorite cupcake batter.
• A cupcake tin or some foil.
• A grill.

read more from the cupcake project: http://www.cupcakeproject.com/2008/06/orange-cupcakes-cupcakes-grilled-in.html

Thanks to the Cupcake Project for this awesome post! Comes complete with a recipe!!!

Jello frosting is cool, refreshing, and a perfect topping for a summer cupcake!

Click here to read more and get the recipe.

Look who is featured in this month’s Time Magazine Pop Chart! with cupcakes!

50 never looked so good!

Thanks to our readers, Lisa & Meghan for sending this to us.
Cupcake t-shirt featured on Woot!

We were all so excited when I planted that cupcake tree in the backyard. Because hey, free cupcakes! But nobody warned us about the bugs. Nothing can kill a cupcake experience like a mouthful of grubs.
This shirt was designed by: cheesesandwich, having dessert.
Wear this shirt: if you’re doing some sort of “Biggest Loser” competition with your co-workers. How can anybody look at this shirt and not crave cupcakes?
Don’t wear this shirt: and then look in the mirror, though. Its power is too strong! The tempter shall become the temptee!
This shirt tells the world: “I told you that I like those cupcakes, cousin.”
We call this color: Black Icing.