My best friend told me about this restaurant and I had to share it! Located in New York City,   Burgers and Cupcakes has only two options on its menu.  There is a variety of burger choices as well as an assortment of cupcake flavors to choose from.  The menu includes breakfast burger choices one of which is bacon, egg, and cheese. Or select a breakfast cupcake like spiced apple with yogurt and granola.  As their website says, the burgers will please the guy in your life while cupcakes will of course make you happy, it sounds like a win-win dining destination.

Janderyn Makris of earthandsugar bakery supplied us with these stunning photos of cupcakes in the wild.  I believe these rare shots of cupcakes in their natural state were taken in the forests of Palm Beach county Florida!

In all seriousness, earthandsugar bakery is committed to making organic cupcakes using fair trade chocolate and cocoa powder, whole vanilla beans, fresh fruit, organic butter cream, and natural food dyes.

I believe they deliver to the southern Florida area after completing their order form.

Sugar Mountain and La-Tea-Da Owners

My friend in Rochester, NY sent me this news paper article and I thought I would share it.  Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe was originally a virtual bakery that operated out of other place’s commercial kitchens.  When the owners of Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe were considering closing, out of fear of losing her cupcake supplier, Maureen Becker, owner of La-Tea-Da Tea Room and Parlor offered Sugar Mountain the use of her space.  Now the two operate under the same roof only, with La-Tea-Da Tea taking the day shift and Sugar Mountain operating during the evenings.

My friend said she tried Sugar Mountain’s cupcakes, all of which are filled.  Her most recent cupcake try was Pumpkin Spice which she said was good but noted that there is a lot of frosting on these cupcakes.  She also mentioned that the unique flavors like The Elvis, a banana spice cake filled with chocolate hazelnut ganache, topped with a chocolate peanut buttercream and a banana chip, tend to sell out quickly.

Sometimes I get overwhelmed by all the recipes there are out there because I want to make all of them and I know I will never have enough time to do so.  While looking around Design Sponge I quickly had dozens of tabs open with all of the recipes I wanted to try.  The “In the Kitchen with” section is loaded with recipes and photography that looks amazing.  In the Kitchen with Sarah Magid includes the recipe  for dark chocolate cupcakes with espresso whipped buttercream and hand-sculpted sugar flowers.  The recipe comes from Magid’s book: Organic and Chic and the blog post kindly includes a video on how to make the sugar flowers.

I can’t help but want to try White Cake Supreme Cupcakes by Looolo, a textile designer, when the description claims that they are fun and easy to make!

White Cake Supreme

I had never heard of Enjoy Cupcakes, a cute little cupcakery located in California.  Design Sponge has beautiful pictures of the location, making me wish even more that I lived in California.

Enjoy Cupcakes

There are lots more cupcake related posts on Design Sponge, that I couldn’t possibly include them all in this post. Which is why I encourage you to check out the website, it seems to have so much more to offer then just cupcakes.

Did you ever think that you would see Cupcakes at a Taco Bell? Well if you live in certain parts of California you may be able to taste test them. Click HERE to read more about Taco Bell Cupcakes and other items that they are also testing!

They don’t look too yummy and if you read the article, they didn’t get the best review! If anyone has tried them let us know!

Since my co-worker’s wedding that I am making the cupcakes for is only two weeks away I have contracted wedding fever because weddings seem to be on my mind.  I came across this while looking for alternative designs, even though we have already decided on what we will be doing.  I had to share this wedding cupcake option.

Baked is a cookbook by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito.  It is also two bakery locations, one in Brooklyn, New York and the other in Charleston, South Carolina.  The website include a shop section which allows you to purchase several items including baked goods and apparel.  There is also a new feature which they are offering, Baked Weddings.  They work with you and your budget to meet your needs and desires for your wedding cake, cupcakes, baked goods assortment.  Their designs are unique and modern so if you are looking for something different and a little less traditional white wedding cake I would suggest checking them out.

For the last few weeks Food Network has been showing a promotional commercial for the new season of Unwrapped. I couldn’t help but notice that one of the items featured on the commercial was a bacon cupcake. I kept on wondering who baked that cupcake? I found via Twitter, the proud cupcake baker is Tee and Cakes based in Boulder Colorado. The Tee and Cakes Chocolate Bacon cupcake is made of a maple cake with chocolate ganache icing and bacon on top. Tee and Cakes have made their Unwrapped segment available online. To watch the entire Bacon Unwrapped episode tune in to Food Network tonight Oct 08 at 11:30 PM ET/PT or tomorrow Oct 09 at 2:30 AM ET/PT.

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.

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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!

Swirlz Cupcakes of Chicago has holiday cupcakes ready for local pickup or delivery!

Eggnog – Spicy nutmeg vanilla cake with a layer of white chocolate ganache and topped with rich eggnog buttercream

Pink Peppermint Stick – Rich chocolate cake with bittersweet chocolate ganache and topped off with two-toned pink buttercream and a mint candy

Gingerbread – Old-fashioned gingerbread cake, a layer of white chocolate ganache, topped with cream cheese buttercream

Chocolate Marshmallow

Deliciously moist chocolate cake filled with a fluffy marshmallow center,
layers of chocolate ganache and marshmallow buttercream,
topped with a happy skull and crossbones

—–

Swirlz Cupcakes

705 w. belden, chicago, il
phone:  773.404.2253
fax:  773.404.2255
www.swirlzcupcakes.com

Some people say that the cupcake bubble has reached a pinnacle.  This is most likely true for certain areas of the country. Most prominent are the Los Angeles, New York, and Washington DC areas; each boasting many quality cupcakes stores to enjoy and compare against.  Have certain US metropolitan areas reached saturation point for the number of cupcake stores it can support?  Yes, definitely.

Are there other areas other than the major US metropolitan areas that cupcakes have not spread to?  Yes.

Here are some other cupcakes stores that have found a home in areas you would have never have thought possible:

After falling in love with the cupcakes and baked goods, Fadi Jaber started “Sugar Daddy’s” in his home in Amman, Jordan.  Business has been doing so well he opened new stores in Beirut and Dubai.  Aside from the original American flavors, Jaber tries to appeal to regional tastes, creating a date cupcake with cream cheese frosting, as well as pistachio with orange blossom frosting.

Mexico City’s cupcake king, Tom Grant, started “Cupcakes by Tom” in the middle of a country who has not been introduced to cupcakes.  About 60 customers descend on the bakery each day to scoop up a few hundred cupcakes and a hundred muffins baked every morning.  Tom is a true cupcake ambassador.

Wish Cake is a cupcake delivery service for the Philadelphia area making birthday and special-event cupcake deliveries to schools, day-care facilities and businesses in Pennsylvania’s Bucks, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia Counties.  Either design your own cupcake from scratch or choose from their existing cupcake menu.  Below are some of my favorites:

Lemon

Cookies and Creme

Tie-Dye

As Britian celebrates its National Cupcake Week (Sept 14-Sept 19), various cupcake bakeries are vying for attention in the news.  Today, Sayers and Hampson’s, a UK chain of stores and Cafés, launched their version of the world’s smallest cupcake.  Measuring 1.5 cm wide and 3 cm high, it is truly a tiny morsel.  Sayers said the Guinness Book of Records entry for the World’s Smallest Cupcake has never been recorded, so it is hoping its mini baked good will be a worthy contender.

Vanessa Hansford of Duk Design is a graphic designer by day, living and working in Silverlake, right outside of LA and am has her own small design studio.  Vanessa has a delicate and clean touch to her designs.  Here are some of the logos she has designed for cake and cupcake shops and please feel free to view more of her works on her new website: www.dukdesign.com.

SusieCakes of Newport Beach, CA is offering a free applesauce cupcake for any pre-school through 6th grade student who received an “A” assignment from Sept 1 through Sept 30.

An additional drawing to win cupcakes for your entire class is available at the store.  The more entries from your class, the better your chance of winning!

What a fun giveaway event for SusieCakes.  It hooks directly into a seasonal back-to-school trend.  There is positive social value being created by motivating young children.  Finally, it is great targeted marketing to the key parents demographic.

CupKates Bakery joins mobile cupcake fray with a cupcake truck that serves the East Bay area.  CupKates announces that its cupcakes are baked fresh daily using only the highest quality ingredients, including Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, Guittard chocolate, and Clover sweet cream butter and milk.  I’ll be making a trip with my family to taste for myself!

According to their twitter page, it seems like CupKates is still figuring out their cupcake truck route.  Take the time to sound off to encourage them to stop by your home or office!

We received this email and photos from ATC Reader Amberlynn…

Hello ladies,

My name is Amberlynn and I’m opening up a cupcake and candy story in Layton, Utah within the next week or so. I wanted to share with you the news because I am so excited and want everyone to know.

(Pics attached)

Thank you for sharing your love of cupcakes with me! I love your blog tons and tons! I read your blog often and love the inspiration that it gives to me!

I also have a sweet tattoo of a cupcake and candy to add to your collection. I got the tattoo at Lucky Bamboo in Layton, UT.

Have a sweet day!
Amberlynn

Thank you for sharing your cupcake tattoo with us! It is gorgeous! Good luck with your cupcake and candy store. It sounds like a great place!

Cupcake Wedding Cake by Venus Cakes.

A fairytale story may start and end as simply as this.

Boy meets Girl. Boy designs T-shirts. Girl designs wedding cakes.

They start a business and live happily ever after…in the middle of several thousand cupcakes and racks of custom-designed T-shirts.  (Full Article Here)

Except this story is true.  A tale of following your own dreams, taking a chance, and working on what you love the most.  Another inspirational true cupcake store story at the Huffington Post.

This store pairing concept seems to be gaining steam.  By sharing a retail storefront and marrying two individual retail concepts together, the owners can share space and share marketing power by attracting different spheres of audiences.

In the San Mateo, CA area, I saw a retail concept that married an eyeglass store with a frozen yogurt/dessert store.  It was refreshing and fun.  Have you seen other store pairings in your local area?

If you are in the New York City area, Baked by Melissa is running a unique and fun cupcake photography contest.  Here are the rules:

Pick up some cupcakes, and grab your cameras because Baked by Melissa is holding a photography contest!

We’re looking for some creative takes on cupcake photography (with Baked by Melissa cupcakes, of course!)

Place our cupcakes in obscure locations. Photograph an interesting subject taking a bite. Or just use your imagination because anything goes!

Photos may be used in one of our new stores, in our marketing material,at one of our upcoming events, on our website, etc.

Winners will be selected, on Aug 15, 2009, and announced on Aug 30, 2009.

The prizes are well worth your time as well:

First Prize – $500 and 100 free cupcakes

Second Prize – $250 and 100 free cupcakes

Third Prize – $150 and 100 free cupcakes

7 runner ups will each receive 100 free cupcakes

Official rules at BakedByMelissa.com.

Ladies and gentlemen, behold!  The mother of all cupcakes.  Measuring 1.25 m by 1.2 m (4.1 feet by 3.9 feet) and weighing in at 150kg (330 pounds).  This cupcake was painstakingly baked and assembled with 50 hours worth of labor by Michelle Wibowo from Michellcakes.co.uk.  Although this cake is a wonder to behold, I can’t imagine it being a wonder to taste!  50 hours of assembly can ruin the moistness and texture of any cupcake.  More details about the event and opinions about the cupcake at the guardian.co.uk.

Unfortunately, it seems like this giant cupcake may not meet the Guinness World Record qualifications which require that the entire cupcake be baked in one piece.  This quote from the Guardian confirms this:

Michelle said it took her five days to complete her masterpiece. “I used easily over 50kgs of sugar. I dread to think how many calories it has.” For want of an oven large enough, she whipped up batches and batches of smaller sponges and then layered and carved them into a cupcake shape. “The decorating is the fun part. The more icing the better.”

Following on the heels of this British story, an announcement by the Mall of America that they will be displaying a 100 lb cupcake with judges from Guinesss book of world records.   A mere 1/3 of its British counterpart in weight and size, this US cupcake seems poised to officially take the record.  It has already been announced that after the showing at the Mall of America, this 100 lb cupcake, all 131,000 calories, will be shipped to a local hog farm for consumption and digestion.

I have been informed from Sarah Voigt that this plus-sized cupcake will be presented on a tower that will hold 2,500 regular cupcakes.  Additionally, 4,000 FREE cupcakes will be given away during the 10th anniversary celebration of SpongeBob Squarepants.  If I were in the area, I would make some time to check out this fun spectacle.

The owner of Sweet City Cupcakes in Kansas City has tattoed her logo on her arms.  Talk about dedication to her craft!

It came to my attention there is a More Cupcakes in Chicago that specializes in not only sweet but also savory cupcakes.  Not only do they have traditional flavors like red velvet, coconut, and lemon raspberry, they have savory flavors like BLT (bacon lettuce tomato), white cheddar truffle, and sour cherry foie gras!  I am marking this place down as a must-visit the next time I find my way to Chicago.

Any of our dear readers in Chi-town capable of commenting on these unique flavors?

More Cupcakes
one east delaware place
chicago, illinois 60611
312.951.0001

http://www.morecupcakes.com

Although as a country we are knee deep in a recession, cupcake shops are springing up left and right.  Some theories are that we all need affordable comforts during times like these.  Another is that with many skilled people laid off, they are free to pursue their dreams, and some happen to open their own cupcake shop.

Christiana Whitley of Hattiesburg, MS is opening her shop named Cirque du Sweet Day. Her dream of opening a store started back in 2007 while enrolled in Emerson College. 

Rhonda Waller left her executive job in 2008 to start Rhonda’s Cupcakery in the Bethesda, MD area.  Her shop has been doing so well that it has attracted competition from other cupcake stores to her area.  What a good problem to have.

Finally, our friend Dave LaLiberte in Boston is looking to open his cupcake shop in the Boston area in March 2010.  He has an official job opening looking for a Creative Cupcake Baker. If you are interested in getting in touch with Dave, please contact him at:  [email protected]

Follow your dreams not only at night, but also during the day!

Beautiful writeup and photos by the Seattle PI on a local cupcake shop named Trophy Cupcakes.  My Seattle friends tell me that it is worth a second look… and a third.  I am staring at the photos with a little envy.  Where were the cupcake stores when I was growing up in Seattle?