I just paid my first (apparently overdue) visit to the Sugar Shack of Lansing, Michigan. Think cupcakes are a fad? This bakery has been a family business for forty years!

Sugar Shack offers a wide and impressive variety of creative cupcakes with a rotating menu. And should someone grow tired of the menu, which would be completely impossible, the menu is completely wiped out and recreated every June 1st. So, though I’ve only paid one visit to the Sugar Shack (so far), I’m confident that no two visits could be the same.

Offerings included the “White Trash Cupcake,” a cupcake packed full of pecans, pretzels, and marshmallows, and iced with fudge frosting, then topped with more pecans, pretzels, and marshmallows, then topped with chocolate and caramel sauce. The cupcake of the day was the Menage a Trois, a cupcake with layers of strawberry and chocolate cake, topped with vanilla frosting and fresh coconut. My co-cupcaker enjoyed the Confetti Cupcake–a bubblegum flavored confetti cake. I was sorry to miss the Root Beer Float Cupcake and the Chocolate Turtle, but am grateful for a reason to go back to Lansing.

Of course, the traditional flavors were there, and I enjoyed a Mint Cookies and Cream cupcake straight from heaven: rich dark chocolate cake topped with perfect mint frosting.

While I was there, I heard another customer ask the baker what his favorite cupcake was, to which he responded, “That’s like me asking you which of your kids is your favorite.”

Seriously, I usually leave a new cupcakery happy and ready to discover the next one. But leaving this cupcakery, I just couldn’t wait until my next visit! These are cupcakes at their best!

Will you vote for the PC3 from Serendipities Cupcakes? Dark chocolate, caramel soaked cupcake topped with crushed potato chips, a layer of chocolate ganache, and deep dark chocolate frosting?

Or the Peanut Butter Cup Oreo Cupcake from the home kitchen of a teacher from Boston?

And it’s not this simple. There are dozens of other tantalizing choices! The winning baker and decorator will win the 2012 Cupcake Crown and a $2,500 travel voucher! The Creative Cupcake Contest is hosted by Celebrations.com. Let us know whom you vote for!

I just made my first visit to Northern Michigan’s first and only cupcakery: Simply Cupcakes of Traverse City. What a lovely little spot in downtown Traverse!

An impressively wide selection of offerings included Banana Cream, Peanut Butter Cup, Hint of Mint, and Lemon Love, and while we sampled many, the winner was clearly the (pictured) Bumpy Cupcake: A rich dark chocolate cake stuffed with buttercream (which tasted more like mousse), and topped with homemade chocolate ganache and more buttercream, then dipped in chocolate ganache and finished with a few sprinkles. Holy wow! That cupcake was a meal.

I was impressed with how substantial the cupcakes were. They weren’t dense, but there was certainly something to them! And the frostings were non-traditional and left me wondering about their secret recipe.

The cupcakery itself is also a tantalizing hangout, with a “cupcake room” one can book for special events. Cupcake art hung on the wall, including the beauty below, which could be yours for $3000!

If you’re in the area, Simply Cupcakes is a must-stop for the cupcake-lover!

So many people ask me what my favorite bakery is and I always have to answer Crumbs! I love their huge, overly sweet treats. They do tend to be a bit pricey but to me, they so worth it.   And even if you don’t live close to a Crumbs, they will deliver. They have a variety of shipping options but the cheapest is  UPS ground shipping for about $20 (plus the cost of the cupcakes).  They come delivered in an insulated container with dry ice.  Check out these football cupcakes- great for the party that has a mix of Giants and Patriots fans. 

My cousin attends High Point University in North Carolina and for her birthday we decided to send her cupcakes.  Knowing Magnolia Bakery’s cupcakes are her favorite we wanted to send her a half dozen but quickly realized the shipping from New York to North Carolina was crazy and cost more than the cupcakes!  Instead we decided to try to find something more local and affordable.  In our search we came across Little Bit O’Spice and we were incredibly happy to purchase the cupcakes from them.  Little Bit O’Spice, located in High Point, North Carolina, makes custom cakes, cupcakes, and pies.  After calling to inquire about placing an order we found out how easy Little Bit O’Spice made the process, she was even willing to deliver the cupcakes to the dorm at the University!

We needed to order a minimum of a dozen cupcakes so we chose six vanilla and six Oreo.  Little Bit O’Spice offered to include a card and was willing to work with us on the delivery date.  She took PayPal for payment and for a $3.00 fee was able to deliver the cupcakes to the dorm as long as she had the dorm name and the recipients phone number.  I talked to my cousin on Saturday after she received her birthday cupcakes and she loved them.  She said that it was a great surprise and the cupcakes were great.

You can place orders by calling 336-905-4353 or through Little Bit O’Spice’s website where you’ll find other items like cupcakes on pretzel sticks!

Check out these awesome Star Wars cupcakes from the now very famous Wicked Good Cupcakes of Massachusetts.

Just the other day I blogged about how we spoil our dog and how you can find some fun cupcake treats at Petco.  Today our dog got a special surprise, dog cupcakes from Sprinkles Cupcakes!  Upon returning home from a business trip in Dallas, Texas my dad presented me with half a dozen cupcakes for me and a small bag.  The bag had two mini cupcakes with fondant bones on top for our dog! The doggie cupcakes cost $2.50 each and are sugar free cupcakes topped with yogurt “frosting.” Read the rest of this entry »