We’ve all had those days in the kitchen where something happens and we’re unexpectedly left with a cupcake tray that has empty liners and the conundrum of whether to reconcile the situation with fewer or smaller cupcakes. Whether you dismiss it as a consequence of the spill at the hands of favorite your little helper or the presence of too many willing volunteers offering their batter-sampling services, you might shrug it off and move on to the next thing. But when that situation arises and you’re alone in the kitchen, you realize the sad truth that the culprit might actually have been your trusty box of cake mix all along.

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 Wilton has some amazing new cupcake products and A.C. Moore wants to introduce you to them this weekend! Stop by one of their many stores on Saturday, February 16th from 1-3 and see free demonstrations of the new products.  FYI- if you sign up for A.C. Moore’s emails, they send you free coupons every week!

If you are anything like me, you love to try new recipes but worry that recipes found are the internet may not be high quality.   Never fear, All Recipes is here! Check out this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes. It has 4 1/2 stars out of 5 and has been review by 870 bakers! I love reading the reviews and seeing how some people modify the recipes for dietary concerns and taste preferences. Sounds like a good one to try out this weekend!

You slave all day to make the perfect chocolate cupcakes, and then when they come out of the oven, your white wrappers have turned to an unappetizing shade of brown. Or worse, you spend a bunch of money on Elmo cupcake wrappers for your kid’s birthday party, but when they come out of the oven, you can’t see Elmo. All you can see is the color of the cupcake. Because of these tragedies, I’ve been using foil cupcake wrappers for any cupcakes that will leave the house. And I’ve just discovered a pretty snazzy version of foil wrappers–Wilton Color Cups. There are many cool patterns to choose from, and they work! The wrappers come out of the oven just as pretty as they went in. I tested them out!

With so many recipes available to us through the internet, cookbooks, and magazines, sometimes I have a difficult time choosing the best recipe.  I want the recipe that will give me the best looking and tasting cupcakes but not all cupcake recipes are the same.  I found this yellow cake comparison on The Way The Cookie Crumbles website.  The blog post compares three yellow cake recipes from Cooks Illustrated, Martha Stewart, and Smitten Kitchen to see which is the best.  The Cooks Illustrated recipe was the winner, for the recipe and to read more about the comparison check out The Way The Cookie Crumbles.  There’s also a chocolate frosting comparison if you need help choosing a frosting for your cupcakes!

I spent way too much time this morning on a colossal cupcake fail. I was trying to do the Wilton Rose, but all I got were wilted dandelions. Finally, I gave up and went to youtube for some help. Probably should have done that before I frosted two dozen cupcakes. Sigh. Anyway, I found this great video, though I had to watch it in slow motion. One of my problems was the consistency of my frosting. Too stiff won’t work. Neither will too soft. Of course, if you’re smart enough to use premade decorating frosting, then you don’t need to worry about that! So, here’s your professional tutorial!

Love fudge?  Been eating hot fudge sundaes?  How about cooling down while heating up some “Lava Fudge Cupcakes” in your kitchen?

Lava Fudge Cupcake

Georgetown Cupcake’s Sophie has a 2-minute video, courtesy of The Learning Channel, claiming to “reveal the secrets behind their famous Lava Fudge cupcake.”

While she doesn’t provide the recipe, Sophie does provide several excellent tips, from using apple corers to hollow out cupcakes before pouring in the fudge, to easy-pour tops for filling and decorating.

So I dug around the Internet at bit…and found the Georgetown Cupcakes recipe for their chocolate cupcake with vanilla cream cheese frostings with variations!  Add your own fudge and, “By George!  I think we’ve got it!”

I recently discovered Fantasy Cupcakes on line, a lovely UK bakery that won a gold heart prize in the North West Fine Foods Awards, beating out 400 entries in the general foods competition.

Vegan Mudpie Cupcake

So I e-mailed Fantasy Cupcakes to ask for their secrets at taking a vegan cupcake into the mainstream.  The owner, Melinda, thought that the bitterness of the chocolate was the primary flavor of the cake and that it lingered on the palate.

Here’s a list of Melinda’s tips for vegan mud pie cupcakes:

• Use a little apple cider vinegar in the sponge batter instead of soya milk curdled with vinegar;
• Mix the wet ingredients together and fold in the dry ones; and,
• For the frosting, melt rich, dark chocolate mixed with soya cream, leave it to set, beat in a little powdered sugar until a firm(ish) spreading consistency is reached, spread onto the cupcake in a dome shape with a small palate knife, and dust with a good quality cocoa.

Melinda said the frosting recipe was an adaptation from a recipe for a vegan chocolate torte which was a family favorite for years.

For my two pence, I’d recommend using Cadbury’s cocoa powder.  It’s make in the UK and has more bite to it than its US Hershey counterpart.

I was so excited to discover this cupcake kit that I couldn’t seem to come up with blog post title of reasonable length. I cannot wait to play with this kit, and make my own cute little yummy cupcake-cheeseburgers. The kit, available from Cupcake Crafts, contains all you need to decorate like a professional: papers, icing tubes, tips, spice drops, taffy, sesame seeds, sprinkles, toothpicks, and pastry bag. And of course, you get comprehensive instructions! The kit comes in two sizes and if you opt for the “Full Meal Deal” option, you get cake mixes too!

Do you ever wonder how people make those sensational fondant creations to sit on top of their cakes and cupcakes?  Well wonder no longer you too can make a cheeky cute fondant monkey just like this one here!  How?  Well Cake Fixation last month posted a detailed step-by-step how to, with loads of photos to show you exactly how to make your own!

It looks so super easy thanks to Stephanie’s instructions!  Let us know if you have a go at trying to make this little monkey girl!

I recently went looking for a baking cookbook for a friend and found a great site called Snubbr,  a recommendation site.  You ask them for recommendations, and they’ll find an expert to give you advice on what to buy.   Check them out here.

I decided on one of our fan favorites (and mine too!),  Hello Cupcake! 

I love this book and am amazed by the clever use of ordinary food.  The step by step photos allow those visual learners (like me) to succeed in making wonderful looking cuppies.   My personal favorites are the spaghetti and meatballs and the pumpkins!  So many cupcakes for so many different ocassions.

This week we are giving away a free cookbook of your choice (could be baking, cupcake, whatever), thanks to the kind folks over at Snubbr.com.  First,  click here  to see what books you can choose from and then leave a comment in the comment area below telling us the title of the book (must be under $30), and a reason why you want to read it.  We’ll choose our favorite comment on July 4th, and announce it here.

No idea what cookbook to get? Why not head over to Snubbr.com?

Last August Cake Journal had a series of posts on Cupcake Decorating as part of a “How To” section. I thought these tips might be helpful for anyone struggling with their cupcakes. In part one, her favorite tool of the trade are discussed.  Part two moves on to the author’s personal favorite cupcake recipes.  For step three, you learn how to create buttercream domes and fondant circles.  Finally part four teaches you how to swirl!  If you have additional tips or advice, please share!

Step 1

Step 2

Step 3

Step 4

PROFESSIONAL CUSTOM MADE CUPCAKE MASCOT COSTUME

from mercuryretrograde

Hello all my favorite cupcake goers! I had a creative spark this weekend and came up with a few things. If you guys could take a look at them and let me know what you think and if it is something that you would purchase. I am thinking about putting them on Etsy. Here are pictures … thanks for the feedback ahead of time!!

None of these cupcake tips in Newsweek magazine from Pam Nelson, owner of Butter Lane Bakery, were that ground-breaking, but these tips have a smack yourself in the forehead simplicity.  You can imagine if all the suggestions were followed, how much better tasting your cupcakes can be.  The tips are:

– Use the best butter you can find
– When possible use real ingredients not extracts or artificial substitutes
– Use real chocolate over cocoa powder
– Frosting does not have to be teeth-shattering sweet
– Wrap your cupcakes after baking to preserve moistness

I, just like some of you am an avid cupcake baker.  To make marvelous, mouthwatering, munch-able cupcakes you have to have some good tools. Here are a few of my favorite  tools I like to use when baking cupcakes.

This right here is essential for frosting cupcakes. It is angled so you don’t get your finger and hands all covered in frosting.

8 Inch Angled Spatula

Another way to frost cupcakes is to use the plastic bags with the tips. Here is a good starter kit for cupcakes. It comes with a few tips to get you started and you can make fancy designs with it!

Cupcake Decorating Kit

This is the way to get all the last bits of cake batter and frosting.

Spatula

Instead  of using good old fashioned food coloring that get very messy you can you use this Icing Color Set! Plus it has some of the colors already figured out for you! (using food coloring i think you have to be a color chemist to get the righ colors you want).

12 Icing Colors Set

These spray mists are a great way to do a lil’ something different with your cupcakes

Color Mist™ Food Color Spray

This is a great way to carry you treats … bonus is that it has a cupcake pan with it!

24-Cup Cupcake Carrier

These are some of my faveorite tools! Do you have any secret weapons  you use in the kitchen?

I have been so busy getting our webstore finalized and what we plan to carry that it has been a while since I posted here. I am happy to announce that we are now supplying to several bakeries all over the world and learning so much of the cupcake industry everywhere! Soooo today I bring all ATC readers some sweet news! We are now carrying an absolutley gorgeous line of gift cupcake liners, their beauty and high quality cannot be seen in a photo but I assure you these are so pretty you may not want to bake in them.

Each package is elegantly packaged with a keen sense of the environment, you can read about that on our site! There is a lovely size selection that you can easily adapt to your pans! Hint : Never oil your pans prior to baking with a cupcake liner! Make sure you are not sweating your cakes, they need dry hot quick baking! Also if you are using a convection oven, again do not sweat them, bake them by turning off the fan for the last half of baking! All these hints will keep the integrity of your gorgeous liners. Each box has a European recipe for cupcakes (muffins) printed on the bottom.

Now to introduce our line up

You can find these in Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery and Cupcakery Supply

And for a sweet cuppin deal for all All Things Cupcake readers we will toss in a free sample of our other new product line up. Pinks, purples, rainbows, polkas and a whole lot more. In the message area of your order simply  type  “I LUV ALL THINGS CUPCAKE ”

Cheers to all and enjoy the day!

Lyns

We received this e-mail from Barb who has a question…

When I bake cupcakes in liners they stick to the liners, what can I do to stop this?

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

We received this e-mail from Kay who has a question…

Hi.  I am having an issue with the tops of my cupcakes having a crispier edge than the rest of the cupcake.  Is this common?  Normal?  I hate it!

Thanks, Kay

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

If you have a question, please submit it to [email protected]. Please title your email “Cupcake Help!” Thanks!

We received this e-mail from Kathleen who has a question…

Came across your website -I am a former cupcake lover!  I have Celiac – can’t have any gluten (no wheat, barley or rye).  Do you have a fix on gluten free cupcakes?  Just wondering.

PS – Have made them myself but something is missing – the texture is very dry

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

If you have a question, please submit it to [email protected]. Please title your email “Cupcake Help!” Thanks!

We received this e-mail from Tracey who has a question…

I have my own  at home cupcake business here in Johannesburg South Africa, and would like to expand into cupcake bouquets, but like your lovely Famous Teachers bouquet, I am looking for the plastic cupcake stand holders shown in your photograph, that you fit your cupcakes into.
 
I have tried all the florists, here in Johannesburg as well as the accessory baking shops and no one has them.
 
Could you please let me know where I may purchase them.

She is referring to this one made by Famous Cupcakes.

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

If you have a question, please submit it to [email protected]. Please title your email “Cupcake Help!” Thanks! :)

We received this e-mail from Alba who has a question…

“I am from Barcelona, Spain. I read your blog
daily and thought maybe you could help me out with something:

I’m visiting London for three days in about two weeks and I’d like to know if there are stores where I could go buy Sugarpaste Decorating things, Sprinkles for my cupcakes, Cookie Cutters, and this sort of stuff. If you could give me some names or adresses that would be awsome!!

Thanx for your attention! And keep this blog as cute as it is!!! I
love it!!

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

We received this e-mail from Theresa who has a question…

I recently received a “Giant Cupcake silicone pan” for Christmas and there were no baking instructions inside.  I was wondering if you could tell me where I can find baking instructions.  I would appreciate your help.

Please leave a comment if you have any answers or solutions.

We received this e-mail from Angela who has a question…

Q- I am doing my daughter’s first birthday in a cupcake theme. I was wondering if you knew of anywhere I could find Susan Winget’s Celebrate collection besides Cracker Barrel. I was told Cracker Barrel put it on clearance and it is all sold out. I wanted to use the plates, platters and bowls for the party if I could find them. Just wondering if you had any ideas or suggestions. Thanks so much!

Please leave a comment if you have any solutions.