Still wondering what to bake on the third Sunday in June? Here are some ideas from Simply Sweets from Scottsdale, Arizona!

Magnolia Bakery (c Sam Dow)

Let the cupcake wars begin!

Magnolia Bakery – of Sarah Jessica Parker fame – is about to face some serious competition from Georgetown Cupcake – of DC Cupcake fame.  The official announcement, made June 7, forecasts the opening of the NYC store in winter 2011.

Can anyone weigh in on who will win this war?

Will it be Magnolia with their “delicately textured lemon cupcake filled with a tart lemon cream and topped with lemon meringue buttercream,” now on its second owner, having already been sold once since its 1996 opening in Greenich Village?  Or will it be sisters Katherine Kallinis and Sophie LaMontagne with their “Valrhona chocolate cupcake with a whipped Callebaut chocolate frosting topped with a fondant flower” at the shop in SoHo?

If the yumminess of website photographs is factor to handicap this competition, my money is on Katherine & Sophie.

Chocolate + Guinness= A Man's Cupcake

Looking for a special Father’s Day treat for your father or husband this year?  Sugar Blossom Bake Shop in San Clemente, CA has put a manly spin on the cupcake.  This bakery will be selling Guinness cupcakes from June 10-19.  If you don’t live within driving distance, they have been kind enough to share the recipe with us.

Since he’ll probably be asking for more, be sure and check out other beer cupcake recipes that ATC has posted in the past: Beer, Cheese, Bacon & Cream Cheese Cupcake, St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes, and winning recipes from the Scharffen Berger Cupcake Adventure Contest. We hope Dad will be impressed!

How Charitable is Your Cupcake?

I can’t remember a school or church bake sale that didn’t include cupakes.  I fondly remember the ladies of my home church for their baking.  And who doesn’t have memories of counting all the shiny change after a bake sale – didn’t it seem like riches?

Publicly traded Crumbs Bake Shop has partnered with the non-profit “Success for Kids” to help at-risk children.  Their May 2011 Initial Public Stock Offering was a reported $66M, and it’s currently trading at $12.90/share.  (Look forward to a future post on just how much of that is going to be donated to the charity — I’m on it!)

The Cupcake Kids raises money through cupcake sales to help a ministry in Uganda, Africa.  It’s an international idea by kids for kids through cupcakes that has raised nearly $50k.

And, on an everyday basis, community groups, school groups, and individual people use the power of cupcakes to bring people closer together through events like a “Random Act of Cupcake.”

Looks like a little cupcake goes a long way.

The Om of Cupcake

Who isn’t living a totally over-committed life these days?  If you can’t slow down, especially while you’re whipping up buttercream frosted cupcakes for end of school year parties, can I persuade you to steal a quiet moment with a cupcake?

Here’s my recipe for the Om of Cupcakes.  Take one part chocolate raspberry-infused buttercream cupcake and add one part local coffee shop with a window seat.  Omit cell phone; substitute “oops!” if you later see missed calls.  Variation includes reading a copy of “Hello, Cupcake!” or “What’s New Cupcake?”

This recipe for about twenty minutes of relaxation should be repeated daily to enjoy the full, long-term benefits.

What better way to begin your summer than lounging by the pool with a mojito cupcake?  With a hint of rum, a little bit of lime zest, and a sprig of mint to top it all off, it’s the perfect treat for a hot summer day.

While you savor its unique flavor, you can also take pride in knowing that this particular cupcake was used in an important cyber-warfare operation this week, which was appropriately called “Operation Cupcake”.  A group of British spies hacked an al-Qaeda magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a list of the best cupcakes in America.  The mojito cupcake from Main Street Cupcakes in Hudson, Ohio made the top of the list.

The Priscilla Cupcake

New York City’s Magnolia Bakery will once again release the “Priscilla Cupcake” on Monday, June 6.  This green pistachio cupcake, iced with pistachio meringue butter-cream icing and topped with a meringue kiss and colorful confetti, was inspired by the dancing cupcakes from the Broadway musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Read the rest of this entry »

Is there anything better than a cupcake and a cappuccino? The combination of sweet and strong creates its own special mood.

Today, I was at the Baker Street Bakery on Park Avenue in Rochester, NY. Park Avenue is a trendy, long street, of multi-colored houses converted into individual shops. The smell of sugar, baking in the oven, was wafting out the open door. I was treated to a tour of cupcakes – these were the ones with an airy French buttercream – and the assurance that everying at Baker Street was made from scratch.

So I asked Mary Ellen Leonardo, one of the owners for the secret of the perfect cupcake.

“Love!” was the shout-out from one of the bakers.

From there, I knew exactly where to go for my cappuccino on the side.

There’s nothing I love more then trying a great, new-to-me cupcake shop.  The cupcake shop that I tried this past weekend is a little different since it is not an actual shop.  Instead it is a vintage 1978, 31 foot Airstream Sovereign cupcake mobile, named Sugar.  Daisy Cakes sets up shop, or rather Sugar, on Saturdays from 9am-12pm at the intersections of Foster and Geer Streets in downtown Durham, North Carolina.  Their Saturday location is about two blocks north of Durham’s farmer’s market location.

I have been wanting to try Daisy Cakes for some time now and was very pleased when I finally did.  Everything about the visit was great, especially the super friendly staff .  After having been to several cupcake shops where I have been disappointed by the unpleasant workers Daisy Cakes was an enjoyable visit. This husband and wife duo definitely know what their way around the kitchen!  Both are trained in the culinary arts as skilled chefs and more importantly for cupcake lovers, they are talented pastry chefs!   Read the rest of this entry »

Guess what I’m doing right now. Yep. I’m eating a piña colada cupcake from the Cupcake Fetish Bakery in Sanford, Maine for breakfast.

Hello. My name is Robin and I have a cupcake fetish.

I have just found my new favorite cupcakery. Owners Amy and Jen were so gracious and enthusiastic, it was like stepping into a cupcake dream. And because we purchased a dozen rock star cupcakes, the dream is still going strong. My friends and I sampled and shared the cupcakes and argued over which ones were the best. My votes were for the pink lemonade or the red velvet revolver, but other folks were raving about the “car bomb” — chocolate stout cake with a ganache center, topped with Bailey’s buttercream frosting and a maple whiskey drizzle. This cupcake was long gone before I could get my fork into it, but those who were fortunate enough to get a bite were raving about it for hours. My husband was particularly taken by the “MegaDough,” a vanilla cupcake with eggless cookie dough filling, topped with vanilla bean buttercream frosting and a cute little chocolate chip cookie. But none of the cupcakes disappointed anyone, so if you live in New England, you must make a trip to Sanford. If you don’t live in New England, you should move there. These cupcakes are that good. Plus, winters aren’t as bad as people say.

Pink Lemonade

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!

This just in — coming this summer Magnolia Bakery will be opening a shop inside Bloomingdale’s! Shopping and Cupcakes, Yes Please!

The fifth Magnolia bakery in NYC  will open inside Bloomingdale’s flagship store this summer. The store is located street level at  Third Avenue between 59th and 60th streets. They became famous for their cupcakes when they were featured in the  TV show Sex and The City! They have also been featured in Saturday Night Live, Prime and The Devil Wears Prada.

Did you know that they have a shop in Dubai? Yep, they sure do!

Here are a few ways to keep in touch with Magnolia Bakery —

Magnolia Bakery Website

Join them on Facebook

Follow them on Twitter

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!

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.)

Read the rest of this entry »

At Christmas time, we brought you gorgeous photos of Keira’s cupcakes. Now here she is again with Valentine’s Day cupcakes that are too beautiful to eat. 

Read the rest of this entry »

According to the Wall Street Journal, the hot new thing is Lasagna Cupcakes. While I’m a cupcake purist, and am excited by a simple chocolate chocolate, these do look delicious. These beauties are the creation of Heirloom-LA, a catering company in Eagle Rock, California. And yes, I know what you’re thinking — people do eat them with their hands. De-lish.

Dana Fox, the screenwriter of “Couples Retreat” and “What Happens in Vegas” offered her wedding guests lasagna cupcakes. I’m wondering how those fared with her (I’m assuming here) white dress.

Ken, Barbies on and off boyfriend makes one final plea for Barbies love via Cupcakes. Magnolia bakery has decided to help Ken in is fight to win the heart of his dream girl. The Barbie cupcake is a classic chocolate or vanilla cupcake with pink vanilla butter-cream frosting and sugar crystals, topped off with a personal inscription from Ken — “You’re the only doll for me. Love Ken”. These cupcakes are available at Magnolia bakery from January 28th until February 14th.

A few months ago there was a Food & Wine issue that featured an piece on Will Cottons.  Will Cotton is a New York based painter known for creating landscapes inspired by sweets.  Most recently he is known for having painted fellow cupcake lover, Katy Perry which appeared on the December 2010 cover of ARTnews. What caught my eye in the Food & Wine article was Cotton Candy Hannah, 2009 which is shown above.  The description reads:

Pink cotton candy clouds are the backdrop for many of Will Cotton’s portraits. The model in this oil painting is wearing a cupcake tiara that Cotton created for workers at his NYC pop-up bakery.

A cupcake tiara as part of the employee uniform! The Will Cotton Bakery was part of Partners & Spade and I would have loved to work there if it meant getting to wear a cupcake tiara! Below is an image of the employees wearing their uniform.

I’ll admit, I’m not usually one to read the business news, but yesterday, an article in Business Insider caught my attention. (Or maybe it was the picture.) The article, Here’s How Cupcakes Became America’s Favorite Sweet Treat, could also be called “Cupcake Fairytale” or “The Cupcake’s Meteoric Rise to the Top.” The engrossing article highlights some of America’s favorite cupcakeries, and looks at the rise of the cupcake from a business perspective. What shocked me were the dollar signs. I tend to take life one cupcake at a time, taking the time to stop and smell the cupcakes, if you will, but this article taught me that for some people: cupcakes is big business!

One of the good things about moving to a new place is there’s lots of new places to try.  So moving to an area in South Carolina but close to Charlotte, North Carolina, for grad school means new cupcake spots to try.  For my first adventure I stuck to what I knew and went to Dean and Deluca, a gourmet food shop, for a snack.  They have such a great bakery display case that it was hard to decide on just one thing.

Instead of sticking to the usual, classic flavors I went for one of the unique ones and tried a Raspberry and Pink Champagne cupcake.  How can you pass up a hot pink cupcake?  The cupcake was really good.  The raspberry and champagne flavors complimented each other nicely.  The champagne flavor was very subtle and came across as a hint of yeast flavor.

Andri is a photographer and while in New York the other day she came across this graffiti.  Well we have everything else ‘cupcake’ so why not a sassy cupcake cowgirl!

Cowgirl Cupcakes on East 10th Street have gone with a cool street frontage with this design, and on a frosty evening, it is no wonder that the bright colors caught Andi’s eye!

Check out more of Andri’s photography here.

How would you like to sink your fork into  potato focaccia cupcakes with cream cheese and goat cheese icing? That’s what was served at Little Cupcake Bakeshop recently in an effort to raise funds and awarness for the Endangered Species Coalition. Eat a cupcake — save a polar bear? What can beat that?

They are pretty hard to miss!  Maybe it is the lovely smell that wafts from their open windows, or the people who have formed a queue at some random corner of town, or maybe it is their bright bubblegum pink color? Whatever the case, the cupcake truck has become a part of our day to day lives and you may even find yourself wondering how you managed without them!

One such company is Simply Cupcakes of Naples, bringing New York style cupcakes to the streets of Florida.  And why not?  There is such a large market in people who just don’t have the time to get to their local cupcake store!   Having had a foot inside the cupcake kitchen since 2006, it is no wonder Simply Cupcakes of Naples are proving successful with everything they touch, including delivered cupcakes!

Have you tried a Simply Cupcakes cupcake?  If not, simply keep an eye out for this snazzy cupcake van, their white and pink van or alternatively call them to book a delivery.

You can follow Simply Cupcakes of Naples on both Facebook and Twitter.

If you stick bacon into a cornbread muffin and then add honey buttercream frosting, does it become a cupcake? Yes. It does. This particular bacon cornbread cupcake is enjoying the title of flavor of the month at Frosted Cupcakery in Los Angeles. And while this has nothing to do with bacon, Frosted Cupcakery offers a special service to all you romantics out there. They will artistically place your diamond ring in a cupcake’s frosting, and then giftwrap it for you. I, for one, cannot think of a better way to be asked.