It was Cupcake Designer’s birthday the other week and she decided on a green theme. So I got these fantastic wrappers from Green Party Goods, aren’t they adorable.

When using wrappers, I have learnt that it is usually best to go with a white chocolate or vanilla cupcake mixture to ensure the color remains true, and I couldn’t be happier with how these turned out.

Have you thought of making fondant birds for your cupcakes?  they are really easy if you follow the instructions on Wilton’s website and they were very popular.  Next time though I think that I might make the nests brown with a chocolate ganache!

Real Simple Magazine is always coming up with new uses for old things.  This idea is even featured in the New Uses for Old Things Hall of Fame!  LifeSavers candy can be used to hold birthday candles. The original roll for the sized candy that ensures a snug fit. If you place the candy in the candle before putting on to the frosting, there won’t be marks left from the candles.

One Determined Gardener has made incredibly creative cupcake toppers.  She used Hollyhock Dolls to top cupcakes! To make the dolls, a hollyhock bud and partially opened flower along with scissors and a toothpick are needed.  Follow the three steps with pictures to create the doll and you have your cupcake decoration.  One Determined Gardener made honey cupcakes with buttercream frosting to display her hollyhock dolls.

Sprinkles, a cakery in Winter Park, Florida, is now offering CakeShooters.

Layers of cake and frosting in a plastic contraption that allows you to “shoot” the cake into your mouth.  It might remind you of the pushpops you had as a kid.  Or it might remind you of the jello shooters you had in college. 

Let me remind you that it is illegal to eat cupcakes and drive in most states, no matter how adorable the temptation.

These tantalizing little devils cost $3 each and come in six flavors:  Yellow Raspberry Swirl, Pina Colada, O.M.G., Signature, Vanilla, and Chocolate. 

For real:  What will they think of next?

Luau cupcakes!, originally uploaded by Lairy the Cupcake Fairy’s creations.

These sultry July days just make me want to hit the beach with a cold drink and one of those fancy paper umbrellas. Then, I saw this picture on Flickr and realized I also need to bring cupcakes with me. Isn’t this a cool idea? (The decorating I mean, not necessarily my trip to the beach.)

photo courtesy of Clever Cupcakes

Clever Cupcakes yet again prove they are veritable demigods of fondant with this cupcake set for a two-year old’s birthday party. The tire cupcake is my personal favorite – I think it really shows the care they put into their decoration. The theme of the birthday party was the Disney movie Cars. Since Clever Cupcakes doesn’t make a practice of copying the likenesses of trademarked characters, even in fondant, they use opportunities to be more creatively true to their assigned theme.

IMG_0075, originally uploaded by verdantmedians.

This is the yummiest caterpillar I’ve ever seen! 

Gosh, gotta love Flickr!  It’s an endless supply of cupcake ideas!

I’m off to buy some extra food coloring — going to give this one a try!

We have seen lots of different things done with Cupcake liners here on All Things Cupcake! But this is still always by far my favorite idea for Cupcake Liners.

Cupcake Lights Are Sweet by Family Chic

<3 This Blog!

What funky things have you done with Cupcake Liners?

Lingerie Cupcakes by Look Cupcake (photo courtesy of Look Cupcake)

Wow, these lingerie cupcakes are lookin’ good.  I’ll be sure to keep Look Cupcake in mind next time I hear someone needs treats for their bachelorette party! They’re stuff isn’t cheap, but it’s conveniently located next door to me in Seattle (on Queen Anne Hill) and you cannot beat their presentation. Too bad they only do events – if they had a storefront, I’d stop by to see if these taste as good as they look!

Cupcake Dress Display by Alice in Cakeland

This lovely dress, which is possibly the best cupcake stand ever, was created by Alice in Cakeland for the kickoff of Amsterdam International Fashion Week at Maison de Bonneterie.  Alice in Cakeland was founded by American transplant Rebecca Treherne, who decided to start up her own bespoke, American-style cupcakery because she “was disappointed to not find an American cupcake that tasted as good as it looked” in the fine city of Amsterdam.  These are some fine looking cupcakes, so I hope that Rebecca has succeeded in her mission to make them taste as good as they look.

photo courtesy of CakeJournal

When I was tooling around CakeJournal‘s site after getting info about Louise’s cupcake needle felt pillows, I found her collection of cake decorating tutorials. This made me happy because it reminded me that the creation of fancy cupcake decorations are indeed within even my beginner’s grasp.

In my quest to find new and interesting cupcake news for ATC, I see the incredible craft and artistry that goes into decorating cupcakes and cakes. I’m always  impressed by the creativity of these pieces.  However,  most of the time  I can’t say that I find inspiration in them because it often looks like a level of composition and sculpture that’s well out of my league. I think that CakeJournal’s collection of tutorials is just the thing to bridge that gap.

Read the rest of this entry »

Looking for a last minute 4th of July cupcake idea?  All you need for these semi-homemade firecracker cupcakes are 24 cupcakes, angel flake coconut, cool whip, food coloring, and red licorice.  Follow the three easy steps in the directions which include dying the coconut red and blue.  Then top each cupcake with cool whip then coconut and finish by inserting the licorice into the top of each cupcake.

The Meringue Bake Shop of Placentia, California is celebrating the 4th in creative style with cupcake kabobs!  They almost look too sweet to be true.  Click here for a complete tutorial on how to make your own kabobs!  I am thinking these would be fun for the winter holidays as well (of course, with a slightly different color scheme)!

Longtime ATC friend Green Party Goods has recently come out with a new line of mini cupcake stands.  I just love these new additions and think they would be perfect for your next cupcake gathering!  Look for another Green Party Goods giveaway coming this fall.

Futurama Cupcakes by Unicorn Magic Baking Co. (photo courtesy of Unicorn Magic Baking Co.)

I was clued into this week’s nerdcake by Cupcakes Take the Cake. While Rachel of CTTC hasn’t watched the show, I have and it makes these cupcakes all the more adorable. We have the Unicorn Magic Baking Company out of LA to thank for these hilarious creations.

Cupcakes by Cupcake Queen with Duff Goldman Animal Skin Cupcake Tattoos (photo courtesy of Cupcake Queen)

I heard about this nifty new product from one of the cupcake blogs I regularly read, Way More than 52 Cupcakes by Cupcake Queen out of DC.  As it turns out, Duff Goldman of Ace of Cakes is rolling out his own line of cake accessories at Michael’s which includes edible cupcake tattoos.

According to the Michael’s website, you just lay down a nice even layer of frosting and then lay down the tattoo(s).  Cupcake Queen tried them out herself on several batches and says that they’re very easy to use.  The Michael’s website only shows striped and floral tattoos, but Cupcake Queen was showing off batches with skulls & crossbones and animal print, so my guess is that you’ll have a better selection in store than online.

Thanks for the heads up, Cupcake Queen!

Check out AliCakes Blog, where she shows off her Tiffany cupcakes! 

Helping to decorate for her friend Tiffany’s bridal shower, she thought, 

why not create some Tiffany & Co. themed cupcakes for table centerpieces!   

  And what a great idea it was! 

Check these out! 

Today, I am opening the door onto the many adventures and disasters that is cupcake creation in the Apple Cupcake household!  We have three kids, Alan,15 aka Cupcake Demolisher, Zoe, 11, Cupcake Designer and Megan, 6, Baby Cupcake. Together we make mess!

These images are from two recent cupcake bake outs, the first was for Mother’s Day, that is we got my mum to bake for us, so we could have all the fun decorating!  The only problem was we ran out of cupcakes, so I started decorating the girls!  That pic is Baby Cupcake, poor thing, I had her wedged up against the coffee machine and she just had no where to run! (evil laugh).

One of our disasters was when I had the great idea to chop up chocolate bars adding them to the wrappers (we had all the favorites, Boost, Cherry Ripe, Picnic etc).  Unfortunately they glued themselves to the wrapper, and the picnic ones just tasted like burnt peanut! Personally I would have tossed the little critters, but the Cupcake Demolisher came to their rescue!

Then just the other day I gave Cupcake Designer icing pens, and along with her friend Emma, Cupcake Sidekick, they designed this batch of strange looking cupcakes!

Hello Hanna has created these sweet stands, perfect for displaying cupcakes!  They are easy to assemble with no gluing or cutting necessary.  For $10.95 you get a pack of 6 white stands made from recycled paper.

Southbank Centre, an arts and culture center in London, recently spearheaded a new project of interest to us cupcake-lovers:  Poetry Cupcakes!

GPS, otherwise known as Global Poetry System, is a Southbank Centre project that tries to explore and map the poetry of the world.  The project is built on the idea that poetry is all around us, from gravestones to graffiti.  GPS invites people to take a fresh look at where they are and to find the poetry that inspires them.

And today I have:  poetry on a cupcake.  The project has earned a nickname:  Poetry Digest!  Ha!  Get it?  Digest!

Why didn’t my English teachers think of this?

A while back I had seen the picture, shown above, of garland by Petunia that was made using cupcake liners.  Sadly directions were not included and I, unfortunately, am the type that needs to follow instructions when it comes to crafts.  Then today I came across a new (new for me) website, 100 Layer Cake.  The site has the cute tag line, “crafting your wedding layer by layer” which means they have lots of great DIY tutorials.  One of these tutorials is for cupcake liner garland which of course you can use for any occasion, not just weddings!

Remember Easter when we shared with you Nested Easter Egg Cupcakes by Bakers Royal?  Well Bakers Royale has impressed me once again with her Creme Brulee cupcakes.  Having found most creme brulee cupcake recipes to call for filling the cupcake hole with swiss or butter cream frosting she instead wanted real creme brulee.  I think she has captured the true dessert in cupcake format with her recipe below.

Crème Brulee Cupcakes

Heat oven to 300 degrees and prepare water bath. Place kitchen towel on bottom of a roasting pan or cake pan.  Place one ramekin in the pan to determine the water level. The water needs to be two thirds the height of the ramekin. Bring determined water amount to boil while assembling the custard.

Custard
1  teaspoon vanilla bean paste or 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
½ cups sugar
5 large egg yolk (room temperature)
8-10 teaspoons Demera sugar
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Combine and bring vanilla paste, 1 cup of the cream, granulated sugar, and salt to a boil over medium heat. Stir every now and then to prevent the cream from forming a skin.  Once boiled, remove the pan from heat and let steep for 15 minutess.
2. After the mixture has steeped, stir in the remaining cup cream to cool down the mixture.
3. Whisk the egg yolks together in a large bowl until uniform. While whisking eggs with one hand use your other hand to slowly pour in the cream mixture. Make sure your cream has cooled enough so that your eggs will not curdle. Push final mixture through a fine mesh strainer, discarding any solids. Pour into the ramekins.
4. Place custard filled ramekins into pan.
5. Pour boiling water into pan, being careful not to splash water into ramekins.
6. Bake for approximately 30-35 minutes or until custard either reads 170 degrees and/or until custards gives a gentle wiggle when moved.
7. Transfer baked ramekins to cooling rack. Cool to room temperature for approximately 2 hours.
8. To store, place plastic wrap directly on custard surface to prevent skinning.

Magnolia’s Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozens

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two 12 cup muffin pans.
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (*see  note)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Note: To melt the chocolate, place in a double boiler over simmering water on low heat for approximately 5–10 minutes. Stir occasionally until completely smooth and no pieces of chocolate remain. Remove from the heat and let cool to lukewarm 5–10 minutes.
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Line two 12-cup muffin tins with cupcake papers. Set aside.
3. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and baking soda. Set aside.
4. In a large bowl, on the medium speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugars and beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the chocolate, mixing until well incorporated. Add the dry ingredients in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. With each addition, beat until the ingredients are incorporated, but do not overbeat. Using a rubber spatula, scrape down the batter in the bowl to make sure the ingredients are well blended and the batter is smooth. Carefully spoon the batter into the cupcake liners, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake for 20–25 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted in the center of the cupcake comes out clean.
5.Cool the cupcakes in the tins for 15 minutes. Remove from the tins and cool completely on a wire rack before filling with custard.

Assembly
1. Using a paring knife cut a shallow cone from the top of the cupcake.

2. Fill hole with custard.
3  Generously sprinkle  Demera sugar on top of custard.
4. Keep torch six inches from sugar to brulee.

These are so cool!  Oh my gosh, I just have to try this!  I don’t have much of a green thumb, but these “plants,” I can handle!

 KansasCity.com featured a post recently on these delightful flowerpot cupcakes!

We have Bernard Shondell of Roeland Park to thank for these tasty works of art.  If you’d like to try to create your own, here are his words of advice:

These veterinary-themed cupcakes come to us courtesy of a  grad party and Clever Cupcakes in Montreal. And to quote Clever Cupcakes flickr feed, “Yes, in case you are wondering that is a dissected fondant frog :)”

I feel like I really should just change this to “Clever Cupcakes Most Awesome Cupcake of the Week” since the Montreal-based cupcakery gets featured here so often.  But what can I say – they make great nerd-themed cupcakes.  Perhaps this will be a challenge to our readers and cupcake bakers the world over to make more nerdy cupcakes. And to send us the pictures :)

A Baked Creation has some of the best decorated cupcakes I have seen.  I always envy those who are skilled with fondant, mostly because I am so inexperienced when it comes to using the ingredient.  A Baked Creation recently made Grrday cupcakes which are cute little dinosaur topped cupcakes that were used to celebrate someone’s birthday (get it birthday, grrday).

A Baked Creation has made dinosaur cupcakes before which included an assortment of dinosaur types. This time around one addition was made, Nessy, the Lock Ness Monster who lives on a cupcake.

An added bonus for all of us needing help with fondant is the How: T-Rex Cupcake Topper post which includes both written and visual directions on how to create the cute little dinosaurs.

I think these dinosaur topped cupcakes would make any grrday memorable! Be sure to checkout their website for tons of other fun and impressive cupcakes!