Looking for some new cupcake inspiration? Check out this Etsy offering: How to Make Your Own Gourmet Cupcakes! This ebook offers 14 recipes with step by step instructions. Featured cupcakes include “Shoofly Cupcakes,” “Monkey Cupcakes,” “Chocomint Cupcakes” and more. The ebook costs only $3.99. And the best part? Etsy seller Steven Seferi offers a money back guarantee!
Up and coming author, Meg Donahue’s debut novel, How to Eat a Cupcake comes out today! In honor of her and her novel we are doing a giveaway . One of our fabulous ATC readers will get their very own autographed copy of How to Eat a Cupcake.
To enter this giveaway, click on the comment area below and tell us how you eat a cupcake. One winner will be picked at random a week from today.
Here is a bit more about the book …(description taken from Meg Donahue’s website)
Free-spirited Annie Quintana and sophisticated Julia St. Clair come from two different worlds. Yet, as the daughter of the St. Clairs’ housekeeper, Annie grew up in Julia’s San Francisco mansion and they forged a bond that only two little girls oblivious to class differences could—until a life-altering betrayal destroyed their friendship.
A decade later, Annie bakes to fill the void left in her heart by her mother’s death, and a painful secret jeopardizes Julia’s engagement to the man she loves. A chance reunion prompts the unlikely duo to open a cupcakery, but when a mysterious saboteur opens up old wounds, they must finally face the truth about their past or risk losing everything.
You can purchase How to Eat a Cupcake from Indie Bound
From Scratch: A Business Story is the story of Crave Cookies and Cupcakes. Two sisters started Crave Cookies and Cupcakes in 2004 after years of making cookies for family and friends. The From Scratch: A Business story details the sister’s journey from using an old pizza oven and two kitchen aid mixers in their original Calgary, Canada location through their expansion to seven storefront locations.
ATC was sent a copy of the 60-page story to review. I thought the tale of the two sisters business adventure was well written. As I read about their shop and cupcakes I could picture what the inside of the store looked like and see them inside their kitchen baking cupcakes. I love that Crave has stuck with their philosophy of baking from scratch. The story is not just for the cupcake lover or the business entrepreneur; it’s able to appeal to multiple audiences, as it is also a story about family and following a dream when others doubt you. Read the rest of this entry »
Hello, Cupcake! is a cupcake cookbook by the creative food stylist Karen Tack and coauthor Alan Richardson. The original book in the series came out in 2008, followed by What’s New, Cupcake? and the most recent book, Cupcakes, Cookies, & Pie, Oh My! was released just last month. Over the years we have shared with you many recipes from the books and from the Hello, Cupcake What’s Newsletter. We here at ATC were sent the latest book to review.
Cupcakes, Cookies, and Pie, Oh My! Goes beyond cupcakes to include cakes, cookies, pies, rice crispy cereal bars and more! When I first flipped through the book I was impressed by all the new ideas. Since I have Hello, Cupcake! and What’s New, Cupcake? I initially wondered how many more unique cupcake ideas could there be? The answer was lot! I actually had a hard time deciding which recipe to test. For every occasion you’ll find a new quirky and cute idea. Read the rest of this entry »
Check out this new book, Cupcake Cakes, by Lisa Turner Anderson. It’s awesome! It’s full of ideas of how to combine several cupcakes into a greater design–cupcake synergy! And each idea comes with photographs and instructions. It’s inspiring! Want to make a giant pink princess crown out of nine cupcakes? Or how about a cute blue whale out of 13 cupcakes? Or an almost cuddly teddy bear out of 19 cupcakes? Or a soccer ball? Flip-flops? Polka-dotted dinosaur? All of this could be yours!
You may remember a few months ago Hungry Runner shared a post about an adorable new book, Coco Levine, Cupcake Queen. It is a sweet children’s book that mixes a cute storyline with fun recipes and crafts. This book would be a great Christmas gifts when paired with an apron and some cooking supplies. It is currently for sale on Amazon for only $11.99 and it is getting rave reviews! My little one loves this book and quickly wanted to do all the fun crafts.
Well, today’s giveaway comes straight from Coco’s creator, Audrey Davidow! She is giving away one copy of her book to one lucky winner. To enter this giveaway, click on the comment area below and tell us who you would give this book to if you won. Maybe a daughter, friend or keep it for yourself!
One winner will be chosen on Monday, December 12th. Thank you Audrey for creating Coco Levine and thank you for sponsoring this wonderful giveaway!
Make sure to like Coco Levine on Facebook too!
I just bought this spiral bound gift book for a friend. I found it at a small, local bookstore, but it’s also available on Amazon. Each of the 80 pages features an inspirational quote or verse, and many of the pages feature whimsical cupcake images. At $7.99, it makes a great gift for someone who needs a pick-me-up.
You all may not know this, but I work for Jenni Bick Bookbinding, an Internet company that sells a variety of items from Italian leather photo albums, moleskine notebooks, day planners, calendars and so much more! And every once in a while we get in a fabulous cupcake item, and this one takes the (cup)cake.
We recently got in our 2012 Calendars, and lo and behold there it was, Martha Stewart Cupcakes 2012 Wall Calendar. Anything of Martha’s is visually stunning and very well done, this calendar is no exception. It was designed and put together with us cupcake bakers in mind.
They’re two elements that I absolutely love about this calendar– At the bottom of every month/page there is a baking tip or fact. One of my favorite tips is –Save Butter Wrappers for Greasing Pans, rather than discard the wrapper after you’ve used a stick of butter, stash it in the freezer inside a re-sealable plastic bag. When you need to butter a baking dish take out the wrapper, let if soften slighty, and use.
The second element that I love, is the recipe cards that are provided for the scrumptious cupcakes displayed within the calendar.
You could give Martha Stewart a run for her money with all the knowledge that this calendar provides.
Oh Boy, do I have a craving for cupcakes now!
CoCo Levine, Cupcake Queen: Fabulous Adventures in Cooking, Crafting, and Friendship is a story about a little girl that lives inside a cupcake. This children’s book includes more than just a story, it also activities like crafts and baking recipes. Growing up my mom always incorporated us kids into the cooking and baking. Even if it was small jobs like pouring or mixing we were asked to assist. I like that this book encourages involving kids in the activities of the kitchen at an early age. I also like that it starts creating the love of cupcakes early on! The book is available on Amazon for $11.99.
I am so excited to introduce you to Sara Varon, the immensely creative, cupcake lovin’ author and illustrator of this new graphic novel, Bake Sale. Its intended audience is ages 8 and up, but Sara was sure to include some cupcake recipes for mom and dad.
The book was released on August 30th and is already making its mark with an evocative story about a cupcake who works in a bakery, while dreaming about traveling abroad to meet the pastry of his dreams, whom he saw in a cookbook, of course!
This is the perfect gift for the cupcake lover in your life! (And if you are shopping for a child, you might like to know that educators find graphic novels to be incredibly helpful to reluctant readers!)
If it weren’t for Betty Crocker, my family would starve, so I was pretty excited to discover The Big Book of Cupcakes! This soon-to-be-classic cookbook offers 175 cupcakes, most of which are simple reciples using common ingredients. Many of the recipes can be done using cake mixes and store-bought frosting, and of course, they can all be made from scratch for all you ambitious bakers out there! There’s also a chapter dedicated to kids’ parties. Here’s a sample tease for you, the Chocolate Moose Cupcake:
While reading one of my favorite blogs, Paper Crave, I noticed a post about a recipe book complied by over 50 bloggers. All proceeds from the cook book, titled Recipes to Help, go to The American Red Cross. Cupcake recipes included in the book are a recipe for chocolate cupcakes with nutella, almond butter, and vanilla cream cheese frosting by Good Life (eats) and derby cupcakes from The Polka Dot Chair. The book is available in print or as a e-book, each are $10.00.
For my birthday I was given Cupcake by Charise Mericle Harper. The cute children’s story is about a sad plain vanilla cupcake who with the help of a candle searches for a topping that will make him be as fancy as all his brother and sister cupcakes. The end of the book includes a recipe for Deliciously Plain Vanilla Cupcakes and Butter Cream Frosting. The book which is published by Disney and Hyperion Books is available on several websites including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Target with prices ranging from $8.24 to $13.49.
So my daughter is about to have a birthday, and she’s getting this! (Shh… don’t tell!)
Newly released in May, the Princess Cupcakes kit includes cute cupcake liners and reusable crown wrappers, a book featuring recipes (including one for “Pink Velvet”), and decorating tips. It was only $16 at Barnes & Noble, and I know she’s going to love it. (Okay, so I’m a little excited as well!)
Hello Hanna offers a variety of fun children’s products including Hello Books. The little cupcake lover in your life will enjoy the Yum Yum Bakery book which features build-able cupcake stickers for $9.95
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!
As you probably know there is a new movie that has just been released called ‘Red Riding Hood’. I am not sure about the USA, but here it has been trashed by pretty much every single newspaper, radio station and other media. I haven’t seen it… and I am going to take their advice and not bother… but I hope kids still love the original story (whichever form you happen to have! I love the early versions)
But whether you like a happy ending or a black one, you have to admit, these cupcakes by Leapula are absolutely amazing!
The Cupcake Ward Cookbook is a fundraising project created by a 12 year old girl, Georgie. The money raised by sales of the book will go towards Great Ormond Street Hospital where a new ward, which will be called the Cupcake Ward, is being built. The book features recipes by famous cookbook author’s such as Nigella Lawson and Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa. The book costs £17.00, including worldwide shipping (£13.00 with UK shipping) and can be purchased through bunnyandboo.net.
I’ve just fallen in love with a new children’s book. I am sort of obsessed with children’s books anyway, and this one is just irresistible.
It starts out with, “If you give a cat a cupcake, he’ll ask for some sprinkles to go with it. When you give him the sprinkles, he might spill some on the floor. Cleaning up will make him hot, so he will need a bathing suit …” The story goes on, with the poor child waiting on the cat, all because of that first cupcake.
The book is part of a series that includes If You Give a Mouse a Cookie and If You Give a Pig a Party.
If you are like me, and you read the same books every night until you want to cry, this one is a good pick. And if you don’t have little ones begging for books, this makes a great gift for someone who does! It is available from Better World Books for $13.98.
My sister noticed these Desperate Cupcakes Note Cards at her college bookstore. The card set contains the characters from the Desperate Cupcakes book featured in images that are said to be difficult situations, such as the one shown above where the cupcake is in yoga class. Amazon offers the set of 16 cards for $11.04.
Anthropologie is without a doubt one of my favorite stores. I love these Clothbound Penguin Classics For Children. According to the website’s description, “the revered books of childhood and adolescence are now bound in a brightly colored, smartly embossed canvas covers to add that much more excitement to their enduring stories”
There are six books available, each costing $16.99. The one cupcake lovers will be most tempted to buy is Anne of Green Gables which has a pink cover with cupcakes, ribbons, butterflies, teapots and teacups.
Calling all moms! Who can resist a children’s boardbook that compares a baby’s sweetness to our other favorite sweetness?
I am excited to learn that Amy Sklansky has a new children’s book coming out! You Are My Little Cupcake is illustrated by Talitha Shipman and will be published by LB Kids. The planned release date is April 19, 2011, but you can preorder your copy now from Amazon for only $6.99. I’ve already ordered mine!
Baked: New Frontiers in Baking is one of my favorite cookbooks and I loved visiting the Charleston location last summer. I was really excited when I read on design*sponge that a second book had hit bookshelves. Baked Explorations is said to have over 80 amazing recipes (including sections on Breakfast, Cakes and Cupcakes, Pies and Tarts, Brownies and Bars, Cookies, Confections and Chocolates, and Drinks), 40 color photos, various tips, tricks and more!
The Kitchn not only reviewed the new book but also blogged about the Maple Cupcake recipe found in the book. Now that the cooler fall weather has finally arrived here in North Carolina it’s the perfect time to try the recipe, found below! Read the rest of this entry »
During a recent stop in Borders I, of course, had to check out the cookbook section. One of the books I came across was titled A Zombie ate My Cupcake: 25 Deliciously Weird Cupcake Recipes. The graphic horror comic/illustrated cookbook is great for Halloween cupcake ideas because author Lily Vanilli is known for making gruesome yet gorgeous cakes! The book offers tips and directions for using fondant, piped icing, marzipan, gum paste, and more.
The book is available at borders locations or through their website. Amazon offers the book for as little as $8.39 and be sure to check Vanilli’s website for book signing and demo days throughout the month of October.
The raw vegan diet seems to be all the rage lately. Eating raw foods is uber-healthy and good for the planet too. And “raw foodists” often claim that one doesn’t have to go 100% raw to reap the benefits of consuming raw foods. Do I want to be healthy? Of course! Am I willing to give up cupcakes in order to go raw vegan? Uh …
Well, thanks to Shannonmarie, who is known to the blogosphere as Rawdorable, I don’t have to. She has created an amazingly innovative, entertaining, and useful “uncookbook” full of tantalizing raw cupcake recipes.
Her ebook details how to make the “cake,” gives us several different options for yummy frostings, and even describes how to make raw fondant. Who ever heard of healthy fondant?
Her recipes range from basic to exquisite, from Pumpkin Spice to Citrus Confetti, from Basic Chocolate to Ruby Red Chai. I’m telling you, Shannonmarie is a genius of the cupcake world. And she’s one of those rare healthy cupcake geniuses. (If you don’t believe me, try the Zippi Zucchini Cupcake!)
The book is jam-packed with gorgeous, inspiring photographs. I’m tempted to blow some of them up and frame them.
The Little Rawdorable Cupcake Book That Could is available at Rawdorable for $12.95. It will be the best thirteen bucks you’ve invested in a while!