We just found an interesting interview with Mia Bauer, the cofounder of Crumbs Bake Shop at a cool new blog called No Joe Schmo. Crumbs Bake Shop churns out 1 million cupcakes per month at 36 different locations across the country! That’s a whole lotta cupcakes! They always roll out a new “Cupcake of the Week” and always feature a “Cupcake of the Month.” Our photo is of July’s S’mores Cupcake: chocolate cake filled with vanilla cream cheese frosting, topped with chocolate cream cheese frosting and covered with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and graham cracker pieces. Yum! Who needs a campfire?

And, Crumbs is the only publicly traded stock for a cupcake company, so if you’re looking to invest…

Ever since I found this recipe, I can’t stop thinking about whipping up a batch of Cuckoo Coconut Cupcakes. I think I see a few of these and some piña coladas in my future — my immediate future. Stay out of the hot sun and have a great weekend!

I recently took my kids to the zoo, and I wish I’d found this Flickr photo first, as it inspired me to create the perfect take-along treat. It also inspired me as an easy decorating idea that I can do in a jiffy.

From these fleetingly hot days of summer in Upstate New York, I thought I’d take you on a getaway this week to go baking cupcakes in kitchens in foreign countries.  I’ve scouted out the bloggs for the best-looking cupcakes with photo instructions and recipes.

Summer Cupcakes

We start our tour with the cutest summer cupcakes on the planet!  How creative are these?  La Despensa Del Gnomo blog uses the universal image of the drink umbrella with fondants to create beach scenes, from towels to starfish to shovels.  The cupcakes are bottomed-off with palm tree wrappers.

Can any of our Spanish-speaking readers act as our translator tour guide?  One of the ingredients is that yum word “Nutella.”  But just how it fits into the cupcake is the question.

Do take a moment to click on her “cupcakes” category in the blog.  One of her recipes is for Papaya cupcakes – another great summer cupcake idea.  How fun to wander through foreign kitchens to bring their local flavors to our own!

Okay, I admit it — I’m kind of a hippie, and I’m kind of raising a hippie daughter, which is why I am so inspired by these “tie-dyed” (air-brushed) cupcakes from Simply Sweets!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cupcake

Let’s chat on the subject of peanut butter cupcakes, like this lovely one from the Baker Street Bakery.

Smooth or chunky?

I have never met a peanut butter cupcake made with chunky peanut butter.  Have you?

Here’s a sampling of what I could find.  Some recipes create a peanut butter cupcake base and go so far as to say “smooth.”  Other recipes put the peanut butter in the frosting and indicate “creamy.”  Going over the top is a recipe that not only uses peanut butter, it also uses Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.

And I did manage to find one recipe that specified “creamy or chunky.”

Red Velvet Razorback

This morning when I typed in “cupcake” to Google News, I was pleasantly surprised that the second search result featured a cupcake cafe in my own hometown!  I’ve been meaning to try their cupcakes for quite a while now, and I decided this was the perfect excuse to check them out!

Bliss Cupcake Cafe is located just off the downtown square in beautiful Fayetteville, Arkansas.  It was tough to decide on a cupcake with yummy options like cinnamon roll and chocolate milkshake, so I decided I’d break the tie by going with one of their local favorites, the ‘Red Velvet Razorback’ (red velvet cupcake and cream cheese frosting), in honor of the University of Arkansas’ mascot.  It was absolutely delicious! Read the rest of this entry »

While the Miami Heat was playing the Dallas Mavericks this past Sunday, one of ATC’s fans was celebrating with some cupcakes.  She got her idea for the cupcakes from a previous ATC post about batter babies, a divider that sits in the cupcake pan and allows you to make two-toned cupcakes.  What a great way to celebrate the big game!

One of our loyal readers just tied the knot and sent us some of her fabulous engagement and wedding photos, taken by J Patrick Dean.  I thought these were lovely, and a great way to incorporate cupcakes into engagement and wedding photography.  The bride even made all of the cupcakes for the engagement shoot and wedding herself.  Talk about dedication!  Congratulations to the newlyweds!  Thank you for sharing these creative pictures with us!

The rings

Read the rest of this entry »

Are you a collector of cupcake items?  Going to a cupcake-themed birthday party and looking for the perfect gift? Disney has just come out with some really cute cupcake-shaped vinylmations, designed by Susan Foy.  There are six in the collection, but you can view the Minnie cupcake, Tinker Bell cupcake, and Marie cupcake online. These vinyl figures are all 3 inches tall and each one includes detachable frosting which reveals each character’s face when removed.  Another cool feature is that the arms and head can be moved into different poses.

Minnie Vinylmation accompanied by detachable frosting

Read the rest of this entry »

I was treated to a truly chocolate experience yesterday: the Cheesecake Factory’s Chocolate Blackout Cupcake! The cake was moist and sweet, but the frosting … seriously, there is something special in that frosting. It was so rich! When you try one, I recommend pacing yourself!

Still wondering what to bake on the third Sunday in June? Here are some ideas from Simply Sweets from Scottsdale, Arizona!

S'Mores Cupcakes: Graham Cracker Batter and Roasted Marshmallow Topping

Looking for some cupcakes to take to a cook-out or on a camping trip?  Are you in need of something that won’t melt in the sweltering heat?  You don’t need to look any further, because we’ve found a s’mores cupcake recipe just for you.  The best thing about them?  The toasted-marshmallow topping is super easy (just throw some mini-marshmallows on top before sticking them in the oven) and it won’t melt in the summer heat like frosting does! Read the rest of this entry »

Chocolate + Guinness= A Man's Cupcake

Looking for a special Father’s Day treat for your father or husband this year?  Sugar Blossom Bake Shop in San Clemente, CA has put a manly spin on the cupcake.  This bakery will be selling Guinness cupcakes from June 10-19.  If you don’t live within driving distance, they have been kind enough to share the recipe with us.

Since he’ll probably be asking for more, be sure and check out other beer cupcake recipes that ATC has posted in the past: Beer, Cheese, Bacon & Cream Cheese Cupcake, St. Patrick’s Day Cupcakes, and winning recipes from the Scharffen Berger Cupcake Adventure Contest. We hope Dad will be impressed!

Teacup cupcake

I collect odd bits of china – the only real criteria being at least a touch of gold.  How about using the teacups to serve your cupcakes?  It’s one idea for creating an inviting scene to share cupcakes with your adult girlfriends, while evoking those wonderful scenes from our childhood of playing at tea time.

If you’re looking for china to set a table out of Victoria Magazine, you won’t want to miss the CNY Regional Market on Sunday mornings during the summer.  Syracuse was home to Syracuse China from 1871-2009, and I’ve purchased pieces of their bone china for as little as $1/plate.  And Rochester’s Public Market offers Sunday morning fleas with nice china too, if you’re there early.  I’ve left with Lenox and even Limoges for less than $10/each.

Though a little bit more than paper or plastic, if you’re serving a cupcake work of art, why not complete your artistic presentation?

The Om of Cupcake

Who isn’t living a totally over-committed life these days?  If you can’t slow down, especially while you’re whipping up buttercream frosted cupcakes for end of school year parties, can I persuade you to steal a quiet moment with a cupcake?

Here’s my recipe for the Om of Cupcakes.  Take one part chocolate raspberry-infused buttercream cupcake and add one part local coffee shop with a window seat.  Omit cell phone; substitute “oops!” if you later see missed calls.  Variation includes reading a copy of “Hello, Cupcake!” or “What’s New Cupcake?”

This recipe for about twenty minutes of relaxation should be repeated daily to enjoy the full, long-term benefits.

What better way to begin your summer than lounging by the pool with a mojito cupcake?  With a hint of rum, a little bit of lime zest, and a sprig of mint to top it all off, it’s the perfect treat for a hot summer day.

While you savor its unique flavor, you can also take pride in knowing that this particular cupcake was used in an important cyber-warfare operation this week, which was appropriately called “Operation Cupcake”.  A group of British spies hacked an al-Qaeda magazine and replaced bomb-making instructions with a list of the best cupcakes in America.  The mojito cupcake from Main Street Cupcakes in Hudson, Ohio made the top of the list.

The Priscilla Cupcake

New York City’s Magnolia Bakery will once again release the “Priscilla Cupcake” on Monday, June 6.  This green pistachio cupcake, iced with pistachio meringue butter-cream icing and topped with a meringue kiss and colorful confetti, was inspired by the dancing cupcakes from the Broadway musical Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems that we are always hearing about ways we can give of our time and resources to help others, and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to cupcake enthusiasts that cupcakes can also play a role.

This past Tuesday, singer Sheryl Crow used cupcakes to bring some cheer to sick kids at St. Jude Children’s Hospital in Memphis, TN.  The popular singer visited the hospital as a part of the Music Gives to St. Jude Kids initiative, which aims to fight childhood cancer and disease through raising funds and awareness.  Crow participated by making cupcakes with children at the hospital.

Read the rest of this entry »

Is there anything better than a cupcake and a cappuccino? The combination of sweet and strong creates its own special mood.

Today, I was at the Baker Street Bakery on Park Avenue in Rochester, NY. Park Avenue is a trendy, long street, of multi-colored houses converted into individual shops. The smell of sugar, baking in the oven, was wafting out the open door. I was treated to a tour of cupcakes – these were the ones with an airy French buttercream – and the assurance that everying at Baker Street was made from scratch.

So I asked Mary Ellen Leonardo, one of the owners for the secret of the perfect cupcake.

“Love!” was the shout-out from one of the bakers.

From there, I knew exactly where to go for my cappuccino on the side.

I just found this mouthwatering idea on the very cool blog, Three Different Directions. It’s french toast that tastes like, and looks like, a cupcake! Visit Three Different Directions for recipes and instructions on how to make this scrumptious breakfast!

 These Marilyn Monroe Cupcakes from Jo’s Cakes just make me smile.

Check out this great rocketship cake with star cupcakes from Keira’s Cakes.

I think NASA would be proud!

I just found these remarkable photographs in CupcakeEnvy’s Flickr stream.

Read the rest of this entry »