Archive for February, 2010

Manly Cupcakes by Butch Bakery

By on Friday, February 26th, 2010

Manly McMancakes (via the Wall Street Journal)

When it comes to the competitive cupcake markets of NYC or Seattle or LA, you really need a niche within a niche, something that makes your own particular cupcakes pop.  This isn’t easy these days since the proliferation of bakeries has meant a proliferation of specialties. But David Arrick of Butch Bakery managed to find one specialty that I’ve never seen tried with cupcakes before: masculine.

After a job abroad fell through, Arrick was looking for his next career move when he drew inspiration from Magnolia Cupcakes. Cupcakes looked to be a wildly successful enterprise. The thing was, he felt like the business was way too girly for him as it was.

“Why did cupcakes need to be magical? They’re not magical for me. Where’s the masculine aesthetic?” Arrick said. “We needed to butch it up, buttercup.” And so Butch Bakery, an online delivery “masculine” cupcakery was born. (from the Wall Street Journal)

So, what exactly does it take to make a manly cupcake? First, no fancifully patterned frosting on top – all of Butch Bakery’s cupcakes have a topper of patterned-chocolate over a straightforward dollop of buttercream.  Next, flavors are named after stereotypically manly things, like Tailgate (caramel cake with a salted caramel swirl filling with vanilla buttercream) and Homerun (peanut butter cake with banana bavarian cream & crumbled bacon).

Personally, I don’t assign gender to my food.  That said, the flavors that Butch Bakery has come up with look inventive, and they’re marketing isn’t just adorable, it’s also successful: after a pre-Valentine’s mention on Daily Candy, BB’s website crashed from too many hits and they’ve been backlogged for weeks ever since.

Kim Kardashian Cupcakes

By on Friday, February 26th, 2010

On February 19, 2010 Kim Kardashian launched a line of vanilla cupcake mix through Famous Cupcakes.  The mix costs $13 and makes 18 cupcakes.  Included in the kit are cupcake liners, a frosting recipe, pink sugar crystal and Kim’s favorite vanilla cupcake mix.  The mix is available for purchase at Famous Cupcake stores or online.

Cupcake Hand-Etched Mirror

By on Thursday, February 25th, 2010

8×8 inch Personalize-able Cupcake HAND-ETCHED Mirror $15.00

Hand etched cupcake inspired mirror.
Include a saying or a name on the top for no additional charge.

The seller can do anything cupcake related. Just ask! ;)

I think these would look awesome in a bakery. You could do a series…cake, cupcakes, pie, etc.

Olympic Cupcakes

By on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Ohh the Olympics ! Everyone is glued to the TV watching the Winter Olympics .  But I found someone who managed to pull themselves away from the TV for a bit and make some cupcakes in honor of the Olympics and in honor of the fascinating event Curling. Making Olympic Curling Cupcakes

Nerdcake of the Week: XBox 360 Controller Cupcake

By on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

This cute little guy comes to you courtesy of Clever Cupcakes (via Cupcake Takes the Cake). They weren’t exaggerating about the clever when they named this bakery. The things they can do with fondant are ridiculous.

Olive Oil Cupcakes? Delicious!

By on Wednesday, February 24th, 2010

Chocolate Olive Oil & Blood Orange Cupcakes, Feb./Olive Oil Cupcake Hero!

One issue that cupcakes and cupcake lovers have to perpetually face is that our favorite tasty pastry treat isn’t exactly healthy. But what can you do? One answer that’s been floating around cupcake circles is to use olive oil in place of shortening or butter. While there’s still more than enough sugar to go around (but let’s be honest, we are working with desserts here), olive oil is great for heart health with it being all full of bad-cholesterol-removing monounsaturated fat & delicious antioxidants.

There are a lot of recipes out there, but some of the most interesting & well documented I found via I Heart Cupcakes February [Olive Oil] Cupcake Hero. It looks like there’s not much lost in translation from shortening/butter to olive oil: all the entries look and sound fantastic!

Basil Infused Olive Oil Cupcakes with White Wine

I especially like Cupcake Project’s entry, Basil-Infused Olive Oil Cupcakes with White Wine – that kind of flavor combination in a cupcake sounds intriguing.  Cupcake Project also has a recipe for Lemon & Thyme Olive Oil Cupcakes with Balsamic Vinegar Whipped Cream. I am a big fan of balsamic vinegar, and I can definitely see how the sweet tang of the balsamic would work beautifully with whipped cream.

If these semi-savory recipes don’t sound like your cup of…cupcake, I Heart Cupcake’s February Cupcake Hero gives you plenty more to choose from. Three cheers for this month’s heart-healthier Cupcake Heroes!

TEACUPCAKES CUPCAKE MOLD

By on Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010

I know I have blogged about cupcakes baked in actual cups before but this is a little different.  Instead of using your own heat proof mugs, Fred has created this set of four Teacupacakes made out of silicone.  The set cost $17.99.