Like many children, Natalie Hope started out in the kitchen watching and helping her parents. But unlike many children, Natalie continued on her own, experimenting and advancing her skills. With the help of Food Network programming and parents willing to be guinea pigs for her creations, Natalie entered and won the She Expo’s cupcake competition last month. What makes the 10-year-old’s accomplishment so impressive is the fact that the competition had 63 other participants, a mix of professionals and amateurs. Read the rest of this entry »

I don’t know about you but I never seem to buy the right number of cupcake liners for when I’m baking. I always end up with too many. It’s like the hot dog and bun conundrum where liners aren’t sold in the same units as the number of cupcakes people generally bake them. With all the different patterns available to customize your cupcakes for holidays or events, it’s easy for the paper or foil liners to accumulate in the cabinet. Luckily, there are many other options for how to use those leftover liners, ranging from kids’ crafts to useful tricks. Read the rest of this entry »

Forget the $45 cupcake from Australia. There’s a far more expensive cupcake available in the United States. Appropriately, the decadent $750 cupcake can only be found in Sin City.  Sweet Surrender at The Palazzo in Las Vegas, which requires 48 hours to prepare the expensive treat, find this extravagant cupcake satisfies big spenders’ sweet teeth. For most of us, the only way we could justify spending that much on a single treat would be if Lady Luck were generous enough to smile upon us.

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When it came time for the city of Myrtle Beach to celebrate its 75^th anniversary, they decided they wanted to do it with cupcakes. 7,500 cupcakes to be exact. Katherine Berman and Sophie LaMontagne of Georgetown Cupcakes and TLC’s DC Cupcakes collaborated with the city of Myrtle Beach to not only bake more than 7,500 cupcakes, they planned a cupcake tower to rival all those that came before. And just this week, their achievement was confirmed. The cupcake tower created to celebrate Myrtle Beach’s 75^th anniversary is now officially the Guinness World Record holder for Tallest Tower of Cupcakes at 20 feet and 5 inches tall. Read the rest of this entry »

Every once in a while there are some cupcake stories that aren’t as sweet as one would like. Unfortunately, these are of that less than savory kind. Unless you have a very open mind when it comes to the toppings you find acceptable for your cupcakes (though I’ve yet to meet anyone who would find deceased fruit flies or any rodent’s droppings acceptable anywhere near beloved frosted treats). When routine inspections from the Health Department visited the Little Miss Muffin facility in the Chicago area back in mid-July, the facility failed with rodent droppings and fruit flies only two of many citations they received. Read the rest of this entry »

It’s not the size of the cupcake but the size of the flavor that matters. At least, that’s the philosophy behind Batter Co.’s Sweet and Savory mini-cupcake bakery in Fort Lauderdale FL. While their cupcakes remain bite-sized, their business continues to grow. Beginning online, Shaun Hunte and Sarah Whalley will soon be opening a storefront in Pompano Beach. Purchasing a vending machine for their tiny treats and franchising are also in the bakery’s long-term plans.

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For some people, cupcakes and cake are just a vehicle for sugary frosting. For others, the frosting is the paint and the cake or cupcake serves as the canvas. Some of us cook or bake as a kind of therapy, a way to handle stress, to blow off steam (beating eggs and sugar lead to a much tastier mess than beating the feathers out of your pillow). Whatever the reason for pulling out the decorating tips and pastry bags, each cupcake is an opportunity for creative expression. As Penny Alexander of A Residence, blogger and mother of two, who had little regard for cupcakes discovered, the right materials and the right attitude can turn anyone into a cupcake fan. Read the rest of this entry »