Having recently feasted on a Cumbs Bake Shop “Almond Bliss” cupcake (pictured), I thought to gather some almond cupcake recipes for you.

How about a Vegan Chocolate Cupcake with Almond Buttercream and Raspberry Glaze?    The “Oh She Glows” blog site has both the recipe and fantastic photographs for step-by-step instructions, including a video to guide you through piping.

Or, how about Honey, Lavender, and Almond Cupcakes, complete with the directions for making your own lavender milk for the frosting?  The recipe from Lily Vanilli in England is in metrics, but worth the math exercise to get you there!

Finally, from the Love & Olive Oil site, let’s go for the Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream Frosting.  This yummy recipe includes almond extract, vanilla bean seeds, and coconut milk.

Is it possible to cupcake topping your way to happiness?

Let’s start with the basics:  a white cupcake with a white frosting.  Vanilla-on-vanilla, and I’m going to add a little vanilla ice cream.  Vanilla signals simple, uncomplicated, neat, cool enjoyment.

Put mini M&Ms on that same vanilla-on-vanilla cupcake, and it’s a game changer!  It’s not just adding the chocolate of the candies.  It’s adding everything associated with rainbow-colored M&Ms, like childhood, blue skies, remembering the brown ones, and even reminiscing about UK Smarties.

Likewise, take the Crumbs Bake Shop cupcake “Good Guy.”  How do I know, just by looking at it that it will be good?  It’s vanilla cupcake, vanilla frosting, rainbow sprinkles, and white drizzle.  Think Glinda, the Good Witch from the Wizard of Oz.

Or, how about tye die and peace sign cupcakes at Cupcakes by Carousel?  Now there’s a sure-fire way to make me smile.  I don’t even think that there’s a flavor associated with this visual, but it signals to my whole being:  “Don’t worry – be happy!”

Cupcake with a smiley face, anyone?

Rosewater.  A near completely forgotten about ingredient, except that I was daydreaming of France and how often the bakeries feature edible flowers.

So, a petit selection of the loveliest of the rosewater cupcake recipes I could find.

How about Organic White Chocolate Rosewater Cupcakes?  Yum.  The cupcake includes the white chocolate and coconut milk.  The frosting is a meringue buttercream with 3T of rosewater.

Then, let’s get a little carried away with Persian Love Cupcakes.  Candied rose petals on top.  Lemon peel and cardamon seeds within.  A frosting with rosewater, saffron threads, and pistachios.  C’est l’amour!

Just in case you don’t have rosewater handy, here’s a recipe to make your own rosewater at home.  Note that every type of rose creates a different rose water, naturally, so this, too, becomes a lovely opportunity to play in the kitchen.  From one batch of cupcakes to the next, using a different rose’s water will create a different flavor.

Papaya.  I never buy this fruit here in Upstate New York, having convinced myself that to enjoy it, I would need to be somewhere tropical.

Not true, ATC readers! and here are the papaya cupcake recipes to prove it.

Start with Coconut Rice Pudding Stuffed Cupcakes with Ginger Cream Cheese Frosting & Papaya.  A long name for papaya used as a garnish to top off an unusual cupcake.  You’ll also notice that I’m continuing my recent penchant for lime…

Get more adventurous with Papaya Cupcake.  This recipe appears in Spanish, but, if you’re using Google Chrome as your Internet browser, this nifty top bar pops up asking if you want the page translated into English – answer? yes.  The tip on putting a dye tube inside the frosting piping bag to get the beautiful swirls is just OTT.  I discovered La Depensa del Gnomo during my global cupcakes week, and he never fails to impress.

May this inspire you to venture into the land of tropical fruits this summer no matter your climate!

One of our ATC readers, Lisa, has made it to the top five finals in the Jelly Belly $10,000 Cupcake Challenge with her cupcake creation titled, “Bubble Trouble.”

"Bubble Trouble"

Now Lisa’s “Bubble Trouble” cupcake needs your popular vote.

You can vote once per day per e-mail address through Sunday, July 31.

I’ve already voted for Lisa’s Bubble Trouble cupcake today and shared it with my FB friends.  Can we give Lisa the help she needs to show Jelly Belly that her adorable cupcake with jelly bean design should be selected as the winner?

Good luck Lisa from everyone at ATC!

The lemon slices in my iced tea got me started on a recipe quest for lemons and limes.  The raspberries and blackberries were bonuses from the hunt. And remember, I’m out for fresh-picked berries, here in Upstate New York.

In the lemon category, I came across “Lemon-Limoncello Cupcakes.”  Yum.  These tangy delights include lemon zest, lemon juice, and limoncello.  They’re topped with raspberries and lemon slices.

In the lime category, how about “Key Lime Cupcakes with Blackberry Frosting?”  Yowee!  We’re talking lime juice, lime zest, lemon juice, and blackberries.

Now, the only question is whether it’s lemon followed by lime or lime followed by lemon?

Living in Upstate New York this time of year, we’re blessed with an abundance of fruits, like raspberries and blueberries. 

Inspired, I paraded through the Internet to locate recipes that have me headed straight for fresh picking tomorrow morning early so that I can head to the kitchen.

How about Raspberry Cupcakes with Champagne Buttercream Frosting?  Wow!  But with only 4T of champagne in the frosting recipe…I better pass along my personal note that you can toss a few fresh raspberries into a flute of champagne et voila!  It’s time to have over your girlfriends in spades.

For the blueberries…did you know that freezing fresh blueberries for a few hours will stop them from sinking in the cupcake batter while baking?  Another idea is to dip them in flour, also to prevent sinking.  I settled on Chocolate Blueberry Cupcakes with a recipe calling for both bitter and sweet chocolates, goat cheese, and cinnamon.  Who needs a partner with this much comfort in a cup?

Enjoy the fresh pickings!

Friends ~

Saddened by the news yesterday from Oslo, I thought that our community could pay some tribute.  Around the Web I went, and did locate three blogs by Norwegian women with special cupcake recipes.

From “My Little Norway” comes the recipe for “Norwegian Vanilla Cupcakes.”  The site is rich with beautiful images of the Norway to which I traveled when I was about 12.

“The Transplanted Baker” offers the recipe for “Coconut Vanilla Cupcakes” with a funny narrative and many winter scenes from Norway.

And Umami Girl gives us “Norwegian Gold Cake with Sour Cream Ganache” with snapshots of her life and family in Norway.

Submitted with prayers for love and peace for children in Norway and all over the world. ~ The Cupcake Faerie

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!”

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!

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.

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!

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!

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?

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!

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!

On Thursday, June 30 from 4 pm – 6 pm, all Washington, D.C. military and their families are invited to “Cupcakes for Courage” at Hello Cupcake at their new location on Barracks Row (705 8th Street, S.E., WDC).  An R.S.V.P. is requested.

Hello Cupcake Goes Patriotic

According to the e-vite:  “Families will decorate patriotic themed cupcakes, meet with friends and celebrate Independence Day early.  Light fare from Matchbox Restaurant and Zest Bistro will be provided.”

Hello Cupcake is also serving charitable cupcakes from June 30 to July 4, when a portion of the proceeds from the sale of patriotic-themed cupcakes will be donated to Camp Desert Kids, a program under Military Families United that helps service members’ children.  This 2 minute YouTube video about this special camp will more than inspire you to participate in this fundraiser.

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.

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.”

With a Rose, Mother

I’m glad that there are such places as La-Tea-Da Tea Room, where women and girls can get together, put on hats and frilly bits, and sit down to tea in proper teacups.

I have such fond memories of my mother serving various desserts on pretty, china plates, sitting with her lady friends at the diningroom table, and sharing light laughter.

This particular post is one to say thank you to my mom for those memories.  I selected this cupcake with a red rose on top as a way of sending a flower.  And, for the photograph, I paired it with the sugar and creamer from one of her dear friends, Dora, who has since passed.  Thanks, Mom. xx

"Strawberry Lime Daiquiri"

Ooooh!  About three weeks into blogging for this site, I finally have my Facebook and Twitter sufficiently loaded with cupcakeries that I’ve scored these yummy photographs from the Little Cake Bakery in Atlanta, Georgia.  These were just uploaded into Facebook in a new album titled “Test Kitchen.”

Who wants to report live on location to our cupcake community whether these cupcakes taste as good as they look and sound?

"Chocolate Curry with Coconut"

"Chocolate Ginger Toffee"

Little Baking Cup Dress

Kara Miller is taking cupcake art to the world of fashion.

For her Senior Art Gallery Show at Ramapo College (NJ), Miller created a dress called the “Little Baking Cup Dress,” made of hundreds of pink and white cupcake wrappers with Sarovski crystals sewn along the bust line.  Miller also made a tiara with royal icing and Swarovski crystals.

Crumbs' Apple Cobbler Cupcake

This just off the cupcake Tweet wire:  today only, Crumbs Bake Shop is asking you to help a family in need through the purchase of two cupcakes for $8 using NY Daily Deals.  I called their main office and you can also walk in to their Brooklyn Heights location to make an in store purchase, too – just let them know that you’re buying for the Bond family charity.

Elisa, 36, was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer on 2/23/2011 and – only 9-days earlier –  her husband Nathan, 38, was diagnosed with Stage III cancer.  Parents of an 18-month old little girl, Sadie, this family is now facing all things medical.

Here’s the blogspot, including a YouTube video put together by their friends.  Have a tissue ready, and then get on that Daily Deal or to the Brooklyn Heights Crumbs and let’s share the love of our cupcake community.

Crumbs Bake Shop – Brooklyn Heights location
109 Montague Street, Brooklyn
(718) 935-9600

What’s in a label?  We all know the answer to that question:  jobs.

So I started to wonder if the cupcake industry should be declared the gold star of American business for creating local jobs.  Cupcakes from The Cupcake Shoppe Bakery in Raleigh to the Little Cake Bakery in Atlanta are baked fresh daily in our local bakeries.  This part of the argument seemed easy enough.

But are supplies made in the USA also easy to find?

Cupcake Couture

How about these lovely cupcake holders from House on the Hill, made in Seattle Washington, that they put on their website under “Cupcake Couture?”  Or, check out Wedding Fads for their baking supplies, like cupcake stands the size of wedding cakes – all made in the USA.  Global Sugar Art has a multi-page list of supplies, including lovely, lacey cupcake wrappers that are laser cut in the USA.

Just by adding “made in the USA” to your search strings for supplies and suppliers, you can join in the patriotic parade.