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.

How would you like to sink your fork into  potato focaccia cupcakes with cream cheese and goat cheese icing? That’s what was served at Little Cupcake Bakeshop recently in an effort to raise funds and awarness for the Endangered Species Coalition. Eat a cupcake — save a polar bear? What can beat that?

A lovely young lady by the name of Cyanne has made quite a statement by starting a cupcake club in her neighborhood in Arizona.  She, along with some help from her mom, made cupcakes and sold them to family, friends, and neighbors to raise money for the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance.  She sold her cupcakes for only $1 each, and she raised $125 for the food bank, which enabled the alliance to distribute 875 meals.  If a 7-year-old can do this, it makes me wonder what I could do, what any of us could do.  A lot can be accomplished with a little bit of heart, a little bit of time, and some cupcakes.

As you probably know, this week is Cupcake for a Cancer Cure week, with loads of bakeries around the nation donating funds raised from the selling of their cupcakes towards supporting kids affected by cancer.

At the same time Iron Cupcake Milwaukee decided to think pink with its challenge to support the breast cancer cause!

There were some amazing cupcake ideas, including a lemonade cupcake stand, which won best display.  The photo here, which was the Queen’s Choice winner created by Kate and Christina is a giant pink ribbon is decorated with lots of tiny mini cupcakes.  The cupcakes themselves were lemon cake with a raspberry filling, pink lemonade icing topped with a pink bra made from lemon shortbread.

Well done to all the winners and you can check out the full details and photos here.

From today through September 26th, more than 700 bakeries and stores all over the country are joining cupcake forces to sell cupcakes for a cause.  They are raising funds and awareness for CancerCare for Kids, an organization that provides support services to kids and families dealing with cancer.  You can find a participating bakery near you here.  If you can’t find a location near you, you can order online from CupcakeStop.  Visit Cupcakes for a Cause for more information.

What color are your tiger stripes?

That is the question that is being asked over at ATC Sponsor Pink Sugar Bakery.

But why? Well, did you know that of all the tigers in the world that there are only about 3,000 left in the wild?  According to Pink Sugar Bakery, “poaching and habitat destruction have decimated the population of tigers in the wild” so they are calling on your assistance.

These little cupcake necklaces are not only adorable but they have been created specifically to support the Wildlife Conservation Society and the tigers.  From each one $5.00 is being donated directly to the cause, and best of all you can wear your stripes, be they black and orange, white and black, or the rather rare hot pink and white tiger stripes proudly.

You can purchase one of these limited edition Tiger necklaces for $14.99 plus shipping from Pink Sugar Bakery up until the end of October, or you can head directly to the WCA website to donate directly.

What does tasting four fantastic cupcakes have to do with helping find a cure for breast cancer?

Well in this instance a lot!  You may have heard of Susan G Komen, who fought an epic battle against breast cancer.  She wanted to make a difference for all women suffering with the disease and help raise funds so a cure could be found.

Supporting Breast Cancer Awareness - Cupcake created by Tracey Lau

The Inland Empire Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure® is dedicated to combating breast cancer at every front and one way they are planning on raising money this year is with an almighty Cupcake Camp!

The Cupcake Camp will take place on Sunday November 7, 2010 from 1-4pm at the Mission Inn Hotel & Spa in Riverside, CA.

What can you do?

Heaps!  The organizers desperately need all sorts of help for the big day, take a look at this list:

• Cupcake Bakers – who can whip up a batch of something great and get it to the venue
• Sponsors for printing services
• Photography
• Paper goods – including napkins, forks, plates etc
• Catering supplies – including coffee, tea and milk
• Raffle prizes!
• Cupcake eaters :)

The last one is for anyone on the day that would like to support the event.  The organizers need you to come along and sample some cupcakes.  The idea is that you sample the cupcakes there, and at just $10, you get to try four great cupcakes and support a really worthy cause!

For more information, check out their website and support a great cause.

On Sunday, October 17th, Tallahassee will host its very first Cupcake Camp Tallahassee.  Cupcake lovers are invited to bring cupcakes, or to just show up and eat some! 

This celebration of all things cupcake is free to anyone and everyone.  They will hold a silent auction to benefit Jessica June Children’s Cancer Foundation.  Many, many cool cupcake items have already been donated!

You can learn more about this event at their blog or on their Facebook page!

Bill Rancic frosts cupcakes for 11 year old Eric Hernandez (right)

Cupcakes will brighten the day of any child, but in hospital, even more so!  The South Town Star reported that “Rancic, the original winner on the reality TV Show ‘The Apprentice’ and his wife Giuliana, host of E! News passed out 150 cupcakes to children on Monday at Hope Children’s Hospital in Oak Lawn.”

“The couple partnered with Candace and Charles Nelson, owners of Sprinkles Cupcakes to donate $15,000 to the children’s hospital and its Ronald McDonald House”.

Having sold more than 98,000 cupcakes in 14 months since opening, Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery in Madison, Wisconsin  is poised to sell its 100,000th cupcake.

Seriously, that’s a lot of cupcakes.

The person who purchases the lucky cupcake will be presented with a prize package that includes: dinner at the Daisy Café & Cupcakery, a night’s stay at any one of seven North Central hotels in the Madison area, a bottle of Champagne, and two Strawberry-Champagne cupcakes. In addition, the Daisy Café & Cupcakery will donate $1,000.00 in the name of the winner to Porchlight Inc, the Madison non-profit organization committed to reducing homelessness in the city.

Would it be silly of me to fly to Madison just to buy a cupcake?  I’m thinking about it.  I really love Wisconsin this time of year.  

Further, the Daisy Café & Cupcakery will donate $100.00 to Porchlight Inc in the name of each of the next five customers who buy cupcakes. So, I should probably bring five friends.

Daisy’s co-owner, Daryl Sisson, says, “We were the first to bring premium cupcakes to Wisconsin and, although we hadn’t thought 100,000 cupcakes would come so soon, we’re thrilled to be here. And we are not standing still–we’re rolling out new cupcake flavors every month.” Co-owner Kathy Brooks adds, “We are especially happy to continue our support of Porchlight with donations in the names of our loyal customers.”

Here is a video about the 4 C’s of Daisy Cafe & Cupcakery!  Gosh, I don’t know when I’ve been so impressed!  Gotta go now, I’ve got plane tickets to buy.

The cupcake craze, which has resulted in new cupcakeries springing up in each major city of America, has not quite yet invaded Australia. However we are not to be excluded entirely, as our love of cupcakes is equally as strong, so much so that we have declared August 16th as the national day of cupcakes!

National Cupcake Day is a fundraiser for the RSPCA, and encourages the involvement of companies and individuals around Australia to raise money by throwing a cupcake party.

These funds go to support the important work of the RSPCA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals).  The RSPCA provide an ongoing service to step in and defend mistreated animals, find new homes for abandoned animals and generally be the voice for our furry, feathered and scaly friends.

Last year 350,000 cupcakes were baked around the country and over $1.1 million Australian dollars was raised. This year they have set the target at $2.5 million and need your help in reaching it.

If you are in Australia, get involved by registering a team or as an individual and scheduling your party. Let us know about your entry so that we can support you. If you are not in Australia you can still get involved by making a donation or voting for your favorite cupcake.

Sea Life Cupcakes! (photo by Ashley of The Cupcake Cauldron)

The BP Oil Spill is a disaster of such proportions that it can seem like there’s nothing people like us can do to help…until cupcakes show up on the scene. Ashley of The Cupcake Cauldron decided to do her part the best way she knew how – by making and selling cupcakes and donating the proceeds to help wildlife affected by the BP disaster.

Ashley’s delicious Sea Life Friends Cupcakes are available for $35 a dozen and all proceeds go to the National Wildlife Federation.  These ocean-friendly cupcakes come in any variation of chocolate or vanilla cake and frosting that you’d like, along with adorable Sea Life cupcake toppers.  Get ahold of thecupcakecauldron(at)gmail(dot)com if you’d like to have your cake and save the ocean too.

I know Heather Lynn is rooting for her own homestate of Massachusetts in what I think is All Things Cupcake’s new favorite show, Cupcake Wars. I just wanted to take a moment to mention that I will be in the cheering section for Team California, or really, Team Southern California.  I grew up around Los Angeles, which just happens to be one of the cupcake meccas of the U.S., so I’m happy to see my former home well represented.

During tonight’s episode I have been rooting for Catarah Hampshire of Southern Girl Desserts (LA) and Todd Becker of Becker’s Bakery (Manhattan Beach, CA).  I’ll do my best not to spoil anything for folks who might be catching the repeat shows later tonight, but while I am loyal to my homestate, I was actually most impressed by Hollis Wilder of Sweet! (Orlando, FL). Ms. Wilder was hands-down the most adventurous cupcaker of the bunch.  I cannot believe she pulled off good cupcakes with salmon in them!  I wonder if this will be the beginning of a new wave of savory cupcakes?  Watch out bacon!

The Eat My Blog Bakesale will be held next Saturday, June 19, 2010 from 10am to 4pm at  Zeke’s Smokehouse in West Hollywood on.  The charity bake sale will donate all proceeds to  the Los Angeles Regional Foodbank.  While the bakesale will have over 1000 sweet items to choose from, daring cupcake lovers will be inticed by Kurogoma Cupcakes with Matcha Cream Cheese Frosting.  If you’re like me and have never heard of Kurogoma, it is black sesame seeds. According to a Los Angeles Times article, Cathy Danh started the bake sale because she found herself looking at food blogs thinking, “I wish I could eat that.”  She decided to turn that desire into a reality and put the proceeds towards a worthy charity.

The 11th anual Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer will be held the week of May 3-9, 2010.  Throughout the week various establishments throughout Boston and surrounding areas will offer a selection of desserts where 100% of the proceeds will go to breast cancer research or care at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.  Cupcake lovers will be excited to know that included on the list of participating restaurants and bakeries offering cupcake desserts are Kickass Cupcakes, Party Favors, Post 390, South End Buttery, Sweet Bites Bakery & Cafe, Ula Cafe, and Daily Bread Bakery & Cafe.

The biggest winner of last weekend’s Cupcake Camp Seattle was the Hope Heart Institute: 5,000 cupcakes donated by 70 bakers and consumed by nearly 1,000 people raised $5,276.50 for the charity in just three hours. Carrie Middlemis, owner of Cupcakes Couture and one of the organizers of the event, says, “For our first year we estimated maybe we would have about 300 people attending. We were blown away by the response and already planning to make it bigger and better.”

As for the competitive prizes, see below or Bella Cupcakes’ post on the winners. There were three competitive categories, Most Unique Ingredients, Best Seattle, and Healthiest, with a Professional and Amateur division within each category. Last but not least is the youth division’s best cupcake prize. And of course no competitive cupcake event is complete without a cupcake eating contest (you can see the video here).

(most pictures courtesy of Barbie Hull Photography)

PROFESSIONAL DIVISION:
Most Unique Ingredients
1st: NY Cupcakes / Limoncello with Raspberry drizzle.
2nd: Rocket Queens /”War Pig” Chocolate cake, smoky chipotle, bacon; topped with white chocolate buttercream and candied bacon.
Honorable mention: Kimm of Spitfire- Kimm-chi (Korean pickled cabbage) with grated carrot, zucchini and ginger frosting. Sweetened with agave nectar.

I guess first and second prize must’ve tasted really good, because I don’t think that those are particularly unique ingredients, though I admit I may be jaded by the flavor proliferation of the Seattle cupcakery scene .  I still say that if you’re giving prizes for the weirdest stuff you can put in a cupcake and still be edible, kim-chi definitely takes first prize.

Best Seattle:
1st: : Bella Cupcakes / Pacific NW Sustainable Granola NY (left)
2nd: NY Cupcakes /Orca Whales and salmon (middle)
Honorable Mention: Rocket Queen Cupcakes / Unhappy Hipster – my favorite! (right)

Healthiest:
1st: Immortal Bakery / Banana with Honey and Cinnamon
2nd: Kimm of Spitfire / Vegan delight Banana-Orama (not pictured)

AMATEUR DIVISION
Most Unique Ingredient
1st: Tina Campbell / Strawberry Pop Rock (right)
2nd: Ronnie Porter and Nicole Lucas / The TCB Velvet Elvis (not pictured)
A banana, chocolate chip cupcake with peanut butter frosting and a slice of bacon on top. A treat the King would have surely loved.
Honorable Mention: Anisha Hathiramani, Rootbeer Float (right)

Best Seattle:
1st: Ani and Amber Butler / Uptight Seattleite (left)
2nd: Melynda O’Brien Captivating Creations/ Ferry, Orca, Seattle scene (middle)
Honorable Mention: Vicki Bushnell / Destination Seattle (right)

Healthiest:

1st: Teigan Walker / Red Goat- Chocolate beet cake with goats cheese frosting and candied beet. (left)

2nd: Jana Bailey-Bailey-Hessler (The Cake Diva) / Vegan Chocolate Mocha (right)

Personally, I think that the Red Goat should’ve gotten an special prize for unique ingredient too – I can’t say that I’ve ever seen goat cheese and beets in a cupcake before.

YOUTH
Best Tasting/Design Kids
1st Choice: ? Unknown, Space Needle with Whale; (left)
2nd Choice Tie between Jazzmyn (middle) & Tycie Engberg (right)

I was particularly impressed by the youth category…kids in grade school did better cupcake decorating than I ever could. I salute the next generation of cupcake makers!

Testing, testing, one two bee!

Cupcake Camp Seattle was great: good cause, good food, big crowd. But my favorite thing was being able to meet some really great people who are totally into cupcakes. One of these folks is Jennifer White, an amateur baker who entered her Baklava Honeybee Cupcakes into the “most unique ingredient” category. In this case, amateur just means she doesn’t run her own bakery – those Baklava Honeybees were totally pro level.

The final Cupcake Camp product

Jennifer says that she came about this recipe especially for cupcake camp – when a friend of hers told her about the event, she knew she’d have to come up with something super cute and super tasty.  The inspiration for the bee theme came from the Bright Ideas beehive cupcake that was taken to the next level by actual honey, even cuter bees and Jennifer’s love of Greek food.

After a test run at an office birthday party which ended with an empty cupcake box and rave reviews from co-workers, the Baklava Bee cupcakes were ready for Cupcake Camp, which is where I got a chance to taste test them. Being a fan of the deeper sweetness of honey, good baklava and cute little bees, it was love at first bite.

If you want to try out Baklava Bees for yourself, Jennifer’s recipe and instructions are below :

Favorite yellow cake recipe, enough for 24 cakes: I like Martha Stewart’s basic yellow cake and if pressed for time, I have the best results with Duncan Hines “Butter Recipe Golden” boxed mix.

For the nut and honey mixture: 1/3 cup each of the following chopped nuts: almonds, walnuts, pecans. Combine the cup of mixed nuts with about 3 heaping tablespoons of clover honey.

Note: I also like Tupelo honey, but not everyone likes the distinctive taste of Tupelo honey. Other types of honey might also work well, but I’d caution that some may be overpowering, for example Orange Blossom honey is probably just a little too pungent.

For the crusts: About 4-5 tablespoons of melted butter, but you might end up using a whole stick depending on how generous your buttering is. 1 box of frozen Phyllo Dough, though you won’t come anywhere close to using the whole thing. For 24 cupcakes, you’ll need 96 squares cut about an inch or so larger than your cupcake cup base, but you’ll want to cut about 110 squares (some will tear and break, so don’t fret if you lose a few). I used a sharp knife to cut the squares. Keep a slightly damp napkin or towel on top of the squares you aren’t working with so they don’t dry out too much. Also, make sure you’ve defrosted your dough well beforehand. Defrosting usually takes a minimum of 5 hours.

Honey Buttercream Frosting: 1 cup unsalted butter, 1/3 cup honey plus two tablespoons, 2 level tablespoons meringue powder, 4-5 cups powdered sugar, gold food coloring (optional). Cream the butter, honey, and meringue powder for 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar. Start on low speed, beat until smooth and creamy, about 3-5 minutes. Gradually add the remaining sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well after each addition until the icing is thick enough to be of good piping consistency. You want it to be stiff enough to hold a shape but don’t add so much sugar that it loses its creaminess.

For the cute little bees: Next I needed to perfect those cute little bees.  I decided that I needed a yellow shiny candy and black frosting that would dry hard.  For the test batch for the birthday party, I tried out multi-colored pastel Jordan Almonds.  The problem was these really only come out around Easter time and are terribly expensive.  I decided for the Cupcake Camp that the pastel Easter peanut M&Ms were a more reasonable choice, and personally I prefer the taste of them to Jordan Almonds.

I decided to use the black gel icing that comes in a little white tube, ready-made and store-bought, to paint three black stripes on the bees.  You could use black royal icing, you just want to make sure you know how the bee is going to sit once you’re done icing it and have set it down to dry.  Many bees want to roll over onto the icing; I leaned them against the edge of my cake carrier to dry.  You have to make sure you prepare the bees the night before so that the icing is completely dry before you add them to the cakes.  As with the Bright Ideas honey bees, I used almond slivers for the wings.

Cupcake Camp Seattle is a benefit for The Hope Heart Institute, a heart disease research non-profit, that is centered around the baking and eating of cupcakes.   It is also free(!) and conveniently located (for me) in Downtown Seattle, which means that the lucky readers of All Things Cupcake will get pictures, reviews, and hopefully recipes straight from the first ever Cupcake Camp in Seattle.

The event is sponsored by just about every group that is remotely related to cupcakes, including my favorite cute cupcake artist, CakeSpy (guess who made the poster :).  However, it’s Bella Cupcake Couture that gets the credit for importing the Cupcake Camp concept to the Emerald City from our foggy fellow Northwest mecca, San Fransisco.

The event runs from 11am to 2pm with cupcake tastings scheduled every 15 minutes.  Braving throwing themselves into the sugar breach are the event’s judges: Jessie Oleson aka CakeSpy, Jackie Shaffer (founder and CEO) of CakeCentral.com, Melody Biringer of CRAVE Company, Kelley Moore of Kelley Moore Creative Media, Keren Brown of FranticFoodie.com and Laura Cassidy of  Seattle Metropolitan magazine.  Luckily for all of us, there is a ‘healthiest’ prize category on top of  ‘most representative of Seattle’ and ‘unique ingredients’.

Today, March 26th is Purple Day which The Great Purple Cupcake Project supports. The Great Purple Cupcake Project aims to raise awareness of epilepsy, a condition that effects over 3 million Americans.  During the week of March 26th, bakeries are asked to sell purple cupcakes and that a portion of sales go back to Purple Day  for epilepsy awareness.  Purple Day and The Great Purple Cupcake Project are associated with the Anita Kaufman Foundation (AFK). On the website there is a complete list of participating bakeries by state along with international cupcake shops participating in purple day. Just to list a few cupcake shops that have tweeted about todays event,  Cake Love with locations in Virginia, Maryland and DC announced on their twitter that they are participating by offering a blueberry cupcake. Similarly, Two Sweet Cupcake in Richmond VA tweeted that they are offering Blueberry Pancake and Cranberry Charbord as their purple flavors today.  There are more special purple cupcakes today so if you are thinking about a cupcake, eat one today for this great cause.

Besides being (possibly) National Cupcake Day, March 3rd was also the first day that the District of Columbia allowed and licensed gay marriages. The usually quiet D.C. marriage bureau was swamped with couples that have waited for years to be able to legally tie the knot as well as crowds of well-wishers.

Now, how to celebrate this momentous occasion…what about cupcakes?  David Catania, the D.C. Councilmember who authored the Religious Freedom and Civil Marriage Equality Amendment Act of 2009 had just that idea. It appears that he was was so delighted by the results of his legislation that in celebration of its enactment he passed out boxes of cupcakes to the first 200 couple (of any orientation) to get their marriage license at the the Carl Moultrie Courthouse (500 Indiana Ave. N.W., D.C.).  Catania distributed vanilla and chocolate Hello Cupcakes as part of a joint celebratory gesture on the part of the Councilmember and the cupcakery.

Ok, I have to say it: that is just the sweetest thing I’ve heard all week :)

February isn’t just about presidential federal holidays or your valentine…it’s also about bare-knuckles cupcake smackdowns.  The East Coast brings us the Iron Cupcake Challenge on February 28th at the Tortilla Press Cantina. Open to the amateur and the baking professional, the fifth annual Iron Cupcake Challenge will center (like its namesake) around one special ingredient: chilies.  Cost to participate is $15 for adults and $7 for kids under 12, and the proceeds from this event will go towards earthquake relief in Haiti.

From the left coast we have the third annual Cupcake Challenge on February 20th at the Hollywood Renaissance Hotel. Over 20 Southern California cupcakeries will go head to head for the honor of becoming the Cupcake Challenge Champion. Since it’s LA, there’s a celebrity judge panel, but members of the public in attendance at the event also get an equal vote.  20 different cupcakes to sample, $40 at the door – if you have room in your stomach, the math works out in your favor.

Cupcakes are versatile things. They’re tasty, portable, come in many flavors, have been known to create jobs, and also happen to be really good for fundraising.  Emma Klassen of Kelowna, BC made the right choice when she decided to make 300 gourmet cupcakes to exchange for donations to the Canadian Foundation for the Children of Haiti.

Klassen put together this Saturday’s Sweet Exchange to collect money and supplies for the Haiti Home for Children, an orphanage and school run by the CFCH. Though the orphanage’s buildings have been damaged, the children and caretakers were not hurt in the earthquake and are presently living in the orphanage’s courtyard.

While the Sweet Exchange is over,  the Haiti Home for Children still needs your help. You can send donations to the CFCH at:

The Canadian Foundation for the Children of Haiti
11400 Seafield Crescent
Richmond, B.C. Canada. V7A 3J2

(CFCH is a registered Canadian charity. CRA Business No. 89000 4591 RR0001. Donations qualify for CIDA’s matching grant program.  Tax receipts will be issued for donations over $20)

The recent earthquake in Haiti has had a real affect on everybody’s mind, body and soul. We all want to help the victims of this tragedy. And the Bleeding Heart Bakery is doing their bit by cooking cupcakes to help raise money for the people of Haiti.

The bakery will cook up special cupcakes in coconut, banana and pineapple flavors. The owners of the bakery wanted to their bid for the victims and have decided to sell these special cupcakes this weekend. All the proceeds from this sale will go to Red Cross in the aid of the earthquake victims. The cupcakes are priced at $3 per cake.

So, go to the Bleeding Heart Bakery and purchase as many cupcakes as you can. They are not only delicious, but also have a type of goodness and kindness attached to them.

http://gapersblock.com/drivethru/2010/01/14/cupcakes_for_haiti_at_bleeding_heart_bakery/

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.