Hello Sugar his already in the holiday spirit with several holiday cupcake images on their website that look amazing.  I think my personal favorite is the snowman.  They kept him simple and traditional but still managed to include a lot of detail.   I also like that they use edible glitter.  I always loved it when my mom did food styling jobs that included edible glitter, something about it is fun to me.  According to the website the cupcakes are Callebaut chocolate cupcakes with dark chocolate chips and peppermint buttercream which sounds delicious!

Ornament Cupcake

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.

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!

One of the things I like about the internet is that one site leads you to another and then another and before you know it you have come across so many sites that you have tons of bookmarks.  In my case you also end up with more recipes from blogs then you will ever have time to make.  That is how I came across Culinary Concoctions by Peabody. Which always has delicious looking recipes, many of which are cupcakes.  One of the most recent posts was for Cinnamon Sour Cream Cupcakes with Oatmeal Raisin Buttercream Frosting. To me they sound like a delicious hybrid between sour cream coffee cake with oatmeal raisin cookies combined in the form of cupcakes.  Peabody made them in the form of cute little minis.  An additional benefit of getting recipes off blog is that the trial and error part has been done and recorded for you so you know what mistakes to avoid.

Upon one of my cupcake searches I found this lovely twist on cupcakes.

Ice Cream Cone Cupcakes!

Here is what you would need to replicate this delicious cupcakes …

1)  A scrumptious cake recipe.  I recommend Straberry Cupcake Recipe

2) A simple frosting recipe (better to color you with my dear) Buttercream Frosting

3) Tools to frost with Cupcake Decorating Kit ( this includes the disposable bags and tips to decorate, use the 1M tip to get the swirly ice cream effect) this includes a great tutorial as well!

4) This is how you make a rainbow of colors Icing Color Set (you can also use just plain old food coloring if you don’t want to spend that much, ya just got to get creative with the colors)

5) Top it off with these Star Sprinkles , Daisy Sprinkles and/or Confetti Sprinkles ( you can choose which ones you want according to the color of frosting used) or you can go old school with these Rainbow Jimmies

Bake the cake, prepare the frosting, cool the cake, fill the bags, frost & sprinkle away!

Let me know how they turn out!

Psst … If you dont want to spend all the money on the expensive stuff you can just with all the boxed goodies (boxed cake, canned frsoting, etc. [it will just be our little secret] )

Photos from Cupcake Tea Party and Cupcake Par-tea!

Kara from Kara’s Party Ideas and Lyndsey from kitchendoughdough had a Cupcake Par-tea! They were also kind enough to share it with all of us! :)

Please check out the links to see all of the great cupcake party ideas and the rest of the photos!

One simply cannot speak of vegan cupcakes without a solid reference to The Urban Housewife. Known as Melisser to her nearest and dearest, The Urban Housewife has been changing the way we think of vegan baked goods since 2007. With each post to her Veg Bloggy Award-winning site, thousands of fans tune in to see where she’s been and what she ate. From Berlin to New York to Stockholm, she’s been everywhere, eaten every vegan thing and lived to blog about it.

I asked Melisser to give our readers a sampling of some of her tastiest vegan cupcake adventures and she put together a list of 10 fab places to snag a vegan cupcake. The list, she stresses, is in no particular order.

Oh, and she was too humble to mention it, but one place you’re sure to find a delicious vegan treat is Melisser’s own commercial kitchen- Sugar Beat Sweets. If you’re in the San Francisco area be sure to hit her up for some Snickerdoodle cupcakes!

Ten places you might just spot Melisser eating vegan cupcakes:

1. Vegan Treats, Bethlehem, PA & throughout the East Coast
Known throughout the vegan land for their Peanut Butter Bombs, Vegan Treats also serves up a selection of other fine pastries. After years of wholesale throughout the East Coast, owner Danielle Konya opened a retail store where you can get your cupcake on.

Cupcakes are the heart of this shop where you’ll find everything from Fleur de Sel Caramel cupcakes to Bacon Maple Walnut cupcakes, all vegan of course!

The Bleeding Heart Bakery, Chicago

3. The Bleeding Heart Bakery, Chicago, IL

While not everything in the packed pastry cases is vegan, a hearty selection of cupcakes await you at this all organic, 100% punk rock bakery!

Whether you’re looking for a cosy place to chill, a delicious sandwich, or a sweet treat, S’nice delivers with their cupcake, baked in house & available daily.

Not your traditional cupcake, Babycakes spelt or gluten free cupcakes caters to those with allergies or looking for a wholesome cupcake.

Sticky Fingers may be better known for their massive cinnamon rolls, but the cupcake selection won’t disappoint at this bakery churning out a full selection of cruelty free confections!

Cupcake, Berlin, Germany

8. Pattycake Bakery, Columbus, OH
Pattycake started out making cookies for a local co-op, but now has a full selection of vegan treats, including cupcakes, that you can snag from their storefront or the upcoming online ordering system!

9. Watercourse Bakery, Denver, CO
Not only Ho Ho Cupcakes should tempt you to try this all vegan bakery, as a full selection of sweets are available. For those with allergies, they specialize in gluten free options.

The food may not blow you away at this vegan eatery with a LA hippie vibe, but the desserts are no crunchy granola & their decadence will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth!

I love a good cake wreck, and this is one of my favorites!

For Shara’s birthday her son asked the baker to make a “happy monkey cake” ala Curious George. Now, as a reminder for those of us who haven’t watched Saturday morning cartoons in a while, here’s what Curious George looks like:
And here’s what Shara got for her birthday cake:
So apparently what the decorator heard was “Curious George after he’s been flattened by a cement truck”. That, or maybe he/she was going for an homage to Teen Wolf:
After he was flattened by a cement truck.

For this Cupcake Cake Wreck and more please visit Cake Wrecks!

This 2 column blog design is sure to let others know just how you feel about cupcakes. Your blog will be “powered by cupcakes!”. This design is for Blogger & WordPress users. :)

You can purchase this design in Delicious Design Studio’s shop. It is currently $15.00 off!

I can’t think of a better way to decorate your cupcakes for halloween (or anytime) than with Bake & Destroy‘s super creepy, super awesome Classic Monster Cupcake Toppers.

They are only $6.00 and for something handmade, unique, unable to find anywhere else, what a great deal.

I also love these Horror Poster Cupcake Toppers too.

Basically, Bake & Destroy is going to take over the world with her cupcake toppers and merch. To be a part of take over, get an awesome shirt (I have the shirt and the hoodie. Srsly.)

Last but not least, she featured a delicious Pumpkin Cupcake recipe on her blog last year, and I am tempted to try but, but like her, what the heck is cream sherry? Hm…

She says “I was really trying to avoid the cliche of pumpkin cupcakes in October, but the other day my mother-in-law bought grocery store cupcakes right in front of me! I almost protested but then I realized I hadn’t baked for the woman in ages. She loves pumpkin, as does my husband and I happened to have a can in my cupboard. This recipe is from 125 Best Cupcake Recipes by Julie Hasson.”

Get the recipe 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!

I just finished up this website design today and I thought I’d actually take a moment and write about this wonderful little business. A Cupcake Occasion in New York City.. with melt in your mouth cupcakes.

Their menu features many traditional and modern flavors named after New York City neighborhoods. They believe in small batch baking and take no shortcuts in providing their customers with fresh, delicious, one-of-a-kind cupcakes.

Here is a little taste of their menu:

West Village Dozen
Vanilla cupcakes, vanilla buttercream frosting.

Which is why NatalieDee is awesome.

This isn’t entirely about cupcakes but they sure do a lot of cupcake designs!! Delicious Design Studio is giving away a FREE blog design!!!! Yum! Here are the rules, taken directly from deliciousdesignstudio.com

Blog Design Package Giveaway
April 13th – 15th

How to enter :
Write a post about Delicious Design Studio and link to our website .
The person who sends the most visitors to our site will win the Full Blog Package.

I will post the tracker statistics to show the results of who won.

2nd place winner will receive a custom header for their blog!

Note: your specific visit will only be tracked ONCE… so no need to keep clicking.

Searching for the perfect cupcake has never been yummier than stumbling across Bakerella’s blog. It is just one scrumptious picture after another. Even better, she’ll walk you thru recipes and how-to’s for the cutest things cupcake. She also has many other yummy recipes, plus another blog called Lovely Little Cakes.

Yummmmy!

Sweet root beer goodness.

I’ll take a root beer any day over a Dr. Pepper. Dr. Pepper is made from prunes people. Blach.

Back to Yummmmmy.

I found these beauties on flickr user bitter-sweets. And lo and behold not only does Hannah Kaminsky take beautiful pictures, she is also a blog author and a book author!

Her blog is called BitterSweet, of course.

Her new book is called My Sweet Vegan. Publisher: Fleming Ink; 1st edition (December 3, 2007).

Prepare your taste buds for indulgence as My Sweet Vegan has arrived! Covering virtually every craving, this wonderful full color cookbook is the ultimate sweet tooth solution. You will be amazed and delighted by the diverse range of recipes, including Pumpkin Pecan Pie to deliver holiday cheer, Butterscotch Blondies to brighten lunchboxes, and the author’s award winning Mocha Devastation Cake for the sophisticated palate.

She’s hoping that the sale of her book will help support her college education she has just begun. Well Hannah, we at ATC wish you all the best of luck!