Bonjour!  Aujourd’hui, nous sommes a Paris!  Good morning ~ today, we go to Paris.  On our week-long trip abroad for cupcakes, we’ve been to Spain and Holland, and now on to la belle France.

“Elo les Cupcakes” is the name of the blog and the recipes range from “cupcakes a la clementine et mousse au chocolat” – we all know “mousse au chocolat” – to “les croquants gingembre et caramel.”

Avec mousse au chocolat!

Just a moment on the “croquants gingembre et caramel” (croquants ginger and caramel).  The flavor ingredients are the crystalized ginger, caramels, and “golden syrup.”  In England, “golden syrup” means the brand Lyle’s.  It is sweeter, thicker, and smoother flowing than natural honey.  It is a processed sugar product.  You can use honey as a direct substitute.

A demain mes amis du cupcake!  Until tomorrow!

I love toffee and have always liked Heath Bars and Skor Bars; which is why these Heath Bar Cupcakes sound delicious to me!  Jamie on My Baking Addition blogged about these chocolate candy bar cupcakes.  One of the best parts of these cupcakes is that they are a doctored cake mix will help save you time.  My Baking Addition has tons of other great recipes so be sure to check out the website.

One of my all-time favorite summer foods is watermelon.  It’s sweet, it’s juicy, and it’s good for you, so you don’t have to feel guilty about eating it.  I came across these watermelon cupcakes the other day.  Even if watermelon-flavored frosting doesn’t sound that appealing to you, you can still use food coloring and chocolate chips to turn a plain vanilla cupcake into a summery-looking treat.  Continue reading »

More in my week-long series, using foreign blogs for summer cupcake ideas.  Yesterday, we were speaking Spanish for super cute, beach umbrella cupcakes.  Today, we’re working in Dutch to figure out baking cupcakes in sea shells!

Sea Shell Cupcakes

Even if you’re land-locked in South Dakota, you can find sea shells for this recipe at cooking shops.  Primarily used for dishes like Coquilles Saint-Jacques, leave it to Carola Damen in Boskoop, Netherlands to think to use sea shells in lieu of cupcake wrappers!

And, take note that Carola starts the cupcake by placing an edible “pearl” under the cupcake batter and ends with chocolate sea shell decorations on top.  Carola makes use of edible body paint to achieve her silvers and golds.

If anyone speaks Dutch and would care to help us understand even more about the recipe, please let us know.

My mom spotted this cupcake find at Marshalls and I am curious about this The Inflate & Take Cupcake Carrier.  The carrier costs $30, similarly priced to other cupcake carriers on the market except with this one, you aren’t left with a big bulky plastic carrier to bring home.  You are left with a cupcake carrier that you can deflate to a smaller package.  Created by Silvermark, the website description states:

Your cupcakes travel in style and arrive unharmed and smudge free at a birthday party, office event or for any occasion where cupcakes are welcome. The WOW is when you are done; the Inflate & Take®; deflates for neat, compact storage. The trays stack and attach to one another so multiple layers can be combined to increase the capacity. The Inflate & Take® accommodates cupcakes of various sizes—even supersized cupcakes and muffins are held firmly in place.

Set contains 2 trays, each with a 12-cupcake capacity, and a separate storage lid. Each tray measures 21˝x 17˝x 4˝ when inflated. The set also includes a hand pump, carrying strap and storage case. Available in clear, blue or red.

I’m left wondering how the cupcakes are after being transported in this inflatable carrier? Is it like giant bubble wrap for your cupcakes? Would you buy this product?

We’ve shared several ideas for how to turn your favorite breakfast foods into cupcakes.  Remember the pancake cupcakes, or the donut cupcakes? How about the cinnamon roll cupcakes?  Well until I came across this recipe I had not thought of turning breakfast cereal into cupcakes.  Multiply Delicious took a classic cereal and turned it into Cap’n Crunch Cookie cupcakes topped with vanilla ice cream.  Below is the recipe for the captain crunch cookie cupcakes but be sure to check out Multiply Delicious for other cupcake recipes! Continue reading »

Got a favorite summer memory?  Maybe it’s days spent on the lake, a week at the beach, hiking in the mountains, camp-outs in the woods, eating ice-cream or snow-cones, or playing putt-putt on a warm summer evening.  Whatever it is, hop on over here and enter the ‘Savor the Summer’ cupcake contest.  Chocolate Moose in Greenville, South Carolina and Cupcake in Columbia, Charleston and Mount Pleasant, SC are asking you to be creative and transform your favorite summer memory into a cupcake.  Finalists will have their cupcakes available weekly at each location, and customers will vote for the best flavor.  The grand prize winner will have their cupcake permanently featured in Cupcake’s flavor lineup.  See complete contest rules on the contest’s facebook page. Continue reading »

What’s cute, useful and shaped like a flower?  Why, it’s this week’s giveaway! 

This flower tower is being given away to one lucky reader by ATC sponsor The Smart Baker.   It’s reusable, adjustable and can fit up to 48 regular size cupcakes (or 80 minis) or many other delicious treats.    The Smart Baker can also help you to create your own tower design.   Looking for a specific shape?  They can help!    

To enter this giveaway, click on the comment area below and tell us your favorite item from The Smart Baker OR tell us what tower you would love to create.   One winner will be chosen on Monday, July 18.

Make sure to like them on Facebook or follow them on Twitter too!

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!

Looking for a unique way to display your mini cupcakes? How about The Pastry Pedestal designed by Jess from Pen and Paperflowers.  Instead of the typical cake stand these reusable stands allow you to customize your cupcakes for each event.  The starter kit includes 12 rounds, 12 rods in 3 varying sizes, 12 stabilizing rings, and a drawstring bag for storage.  The kit can purchased from the website for $29.99 or you can enter to win the Amy Atlas giveaway that ends Tuesday July 12, 2011.

Are you thinking about doing some decorating or remodeling around the house?  Or, are you looking for some creative additions to your cupcake shop?  One of our sponsors, Angel Heart Designs, has a nice cupcake chandelier that would be the perfect lighting choice for your kitchen, breakfast area, daughter’s room, or any room for that matter!

You can choose between a gold or white fixture, and the cupcakes are interchangeable if you decide that a change of flavors is in order!

I love the cozy look of this chandelier.  It would definitely give a sense of warmth to your home or bakery!

Owners of Lucky Penny Cupcakes on Prince Edward Island have some creative cupcake arrangements and ideas.

The cupcake bouquet:

Continue reading »

It’s summer.  It’s hot.  The kids want a soda.  You want them to drink water, organic fruit juice, and local milk.

Orangina cupcakes

How about a compromise?

Coca Cola Cupcakes.  What if you win on the beverage and the kids win on taste?  Here’s a recipe for Coca Cola cupcakes that spreads 1C of soda through a dozen or more cupcakes.

Root Beer Float Cupcakes. Here is a super recipe for root beer float cupcakes with step-by-step photo instructions, including scooping off a section for a little scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Orangina Cupcakes. On this one, I have to confess, I’m an Orangina nut.  I’m going to be drinking any excess product while these Orangina cupcakes are baking.

And while you’re at it?  Use range free chicken eggs from the local farmer’s market.  They’ll thank you for it when they start baking for their kids!

These orange dreamcreamsicle cupcakes look like a great summer treat!  The recipe comes from Nigella Lawson’s book, How to Be a Domestic Goddess.

The owners of Batter Up Cupcakes in San Diego, California have combined two of their passions: baseball and cupcakes.  Their baseball-themed cupcake store offers two main sets of flavors: “the home team” (those flavors offered daily) and “the visiting team” (those flavors that are rotated throughout the week).  “The home team” includes popular flavors like chocolate, vanilla and red velvet, while “the visiting team” boasts such specialties as bananas foster, cookies & cream, strawberry shortstop, and caramel apple pie.  I don’t know about you, but these pictures sure make my mouth water!

Do you have any local cupcake stores with interesting themes?

Caramel Apple Pie

Cookies & Cream

Bananas Foster

Cupcake in a Cone!

Wow!  Here’s a novel idea:  it’s a cupcake in an ice cream cone!

Variations?

How about bubble gum cupcake, instead of bubble gum ice cream?  Turns out you can make bubble gum cupcakes using either bubble gum extract or bubble gum flavored soda.

Or, how about Oreo cookie cupcake, instead of Oreo cookie ice cream?  Bake it using the cookie, the cream, or both!

What’s your ice cream flavor and how can you turn into a cupcake in a cone?

Today, my friend Beth and I tried a little market research on cupcakes, going to Dollop, a local cupcakery.  A novel concept:  at Dollop, you pick your cupcake, your filling, your frosting, and your topping, and the cupcake is put together before your eyes.

Ice Cream & Cupcakes!

Beth asked for a chocolate cupcake with mint frosting and York Peppermint Patty topping.

I asked for a vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting with dark chocolate bits as topping.

On the side?  That’s mint chocolate chip ice cream and mocha chip ice cream from our favorite local, Pittsford Dairy Farms.  All organic, Pittsford Farms Dairy uses milk and cream from their cows to make their ice cream.  The perfect accompaniment!

Do you have cupcake shops like this near you and what do you choose when you go there?

You can find the recipe to these cherry cheesecake cupcakes here.  The cupcake will sink after being baked, creating the perfect spot for the cherries and cherry pie filling.  Of course, you can use other types of pie filling, too, depending on your preference.  Check out this past ATC article, too, for another twist on the cheesecake cupcake.

After the brilliant fireworks display provided last night at Sodus Point, NY, I thought I’d search out some fireworks cupcakes for your Fourth of July.

Here’s a nifty 3 minute video from Kitchen Daily, if you’re looking for a last minute idea this morning.  The start can be boxed cake mix and purchased frosting.  The ingredients suggested to decorate the tops are ones that you are likely to have around your kitchen, if you have kids in the house.  Easy!

Wilton's 4th of July cupcake tree

Here’s another quick tip from Wilton decorating supplies.  Vanilla cupcakes, iced in white, with little red, white, and blue toppers, stacked on a cupcake tree.  Festive!

One more quick tip?  How about using your thin push frosting in a drapped fashion?  This Food Snots blog photo is a third, super-quick, company’s-coming, and what-am-I-serving tip for the Fourth.

Happy Fourth of July, everyone!

10-year-old Lauren Crawford from Naples, Florida is a cupcake entrepreneur.  She invented a cake in a cup (which is not technically a cupcake, hence the name of her business “Notta Cupcake”) that can be made in 3 minutes in the microwave. She and her Mom have teamed up to make organic cupcake kits that they sell online and at the Green Market in Naples.  Each kit contains cake mix, chocolate chips, icing and instructions, and each package goes into a brown ceramic cup, which bears their own logo in pink lettering.  Lauren says her product is great for those late-night chocolate cravings, since it can be ready in less than five minutes! Visit her website to find out more and to order her product.  Sounds like a pretty sweet idea to me!

In case you need more patriotic ideas for your 4th of July celebration on Monday, here’s a fun cupcake recipe.

I just found this t-shirt at our local Tractor Supply.

It was too sweet to pass up!

Fourth of July batter

Red, white, and blue profusion!  If the cupcake isn’t the ultimate Fourth of July treat for everyone in the family.

It took me a little while this evening to find a new twist to bring to the blog.  How about red, white, and blue batter from Baking Bites?  The complete recipe is included and looks Y-U-4thofJuly-MMY!  Did you know that you could layer cupcake batters to put this splash into the presentation?

And, just in case you’re buying, you’ll find Fourth of July specialty cupcakes going on at Sprinkles Cupcakes or try them at Magnolia’s Bakery or, well, just about every bakery in America!

I love this turtle cupcake cake!  This just goes to show that you can make pretty much anything you want out of cupcakes, and it’s a whole lot easier (and less mess) than cutting the shape out of a sheet cake!