Salt and caramel combined together are really popular right now which is most likely why Heather from Sprinkle Bakes paired the two to created Triple Salted Caramel Cupcakes.  These are basic buttermilk cupcakes filled with a salted caramel filling and topped with salted caramel buttercream frosting.  I think I am most impressed by the salted caramel rounds sprinkled with large crystal sugar that top the cupcakes which give the cupcakes a more sophisticated look.

Cupcakes make us all feel like a kid again, right? So this week we are giving away something for your inner child or the child in your family. Check out these adorable cupcake crayons by Etsy seller GaddyNipperCrayons:

These little crayons arrived wrapped like a special birthday present.  My kids (and I!) had such a fun time using these crayons.   Their size and shape makes them perfect for young children who haven’t mastered their fine motor skills yet. 

 

This week you have the chance to win one set of cupcake crayons.  Just go to GaddyNipperCrayon’s Etsy shop and have a look around.  Then come back to ATC. click on the comment area below and tell us what crayons (besides the cupcake ones) were your favorite.  One winner will be chose on Monday, June 7.  Special thanks to GaddyNipperCrayons for sponsoring this giveaway!

Chicago’s Bleeding Heart Bakery has just released a new book of recipes titled Who You Callin’ Cupcake? You can get yours at Amazon for only $10.85 plus shipping.  Not much to pay for 75 recipes that are going to reinvent the cupcake!  Happy Experimenting!

These spectacular modern art pieces are in fact totally edible cupcakes. ATC reader Nicola make them for the diner she works at in Watertown, MA. Nicola says that they’re just your usual chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting, with the secret ingredients being food coloring and Nicola’s expert frosting skills. “To make the spikes I use round tips and just pull away while loosening my grip”, says Nicola.

Nicola wrote to us with a puzzling quandary concerning her amazing technicolor cupcakes:

Everyone that comes into the store is amazed by the cupcakes, but I get asked a dozen times a day if they’re real! How can I make my cupcakes look more “real” and edible? I also get told that they are too pretty to eat. Am I supposed to make them uglier? Any suggestions??

I say that she keeps them just the way they are – I think they look great. Besides putting up some “yes, they’re real!” signage, the only thing I can think of to do is to get friends and regulars to become “cupcake models”. It shouldn’t be too hard to get some folks to eat those awesome-looking cupcakes in a public place, right?

Created by B Mok is this amazing photograph of a deconstructed/reconstructed sundae in the form of cupcakes. B Mok seems to be talented in many medias but his photography is an area where he is talent truly excels.  Here both the photograph and the cupcakes look perfect!.

It seems that everyone is talking about nothing else but the big finale of Lost, after 6 seasons it all came to an end last week.  But  there is little agreement on whether the ending was all it could have been.  But for one cupcake baker it was!

Bonnie hosted her own Lost Party and got ultra creative in the kitchen after being inspired by MSNBC.com’s article on how to throw the “ultimate Lost finale party”. Letting her imagination run wild, she made a series of funky cupcakes to serve alongside her ‘Lost’ branded soda, chips and chocolate.

She wishes she had more time to create more of the iconic figures from the show, but at least she made Vincent.  Who incidentally is still a ‘survivor’ as she has not been able to bring herself to eat him.

As to the finale?  Bonnie give it a resounding thumbs up and I give her thumbs up on these awesome cupcakes!

Three Designing Women have created an assortment of unique stamps including a customizable cupcake stamp.  The stamp shown above says “From the kitchen of ___” but  you could add your address or business name, if you so desire.  The stamp is $39.99 and can be purchase from various online sources including organize.com.

We recently received this fun photograph from an ATC fan.

Here’s what she had to say:

Even as an adult I have a major sweet tooth and there are few things I like more than cupcakes! I love to bake and one day I will open my own bakery, where I have always envisioned having cupcakes as our main feature. One day I imagined a room like Willie Wonka where the cupcakes could grow like vines. I have been wanting this tattoo for awhile now so I just went for it! I got it done in Fayetteville, NC by Nathan at Tattoo World. Now I can’t wait to go to the beach and show it off!

Thank you for sharing!  It looks fantastic!  Have fun at the beach, and be sure to bring some cupcakes along!

Love cupcakes but worried about all the calories in there? Here is an article with some tips on how to make Cupcakes Healthier.

Have Your Cake and Eat It Too: Guilt Free Goodies

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Here are a few recipes for yummy ‘better for you cupcakes’.

Low-Fat Cupcake Recipes

Gnawing at your nails has never been so tasty!

Ditsy Daisies, our ATC sponsor has just alerted us to this adorable new cupcake manicure kit from Cupcakes and Cartwheels. Below is the apple green encased cupcake with a vanilla and strawberry topping, complete with cherry! But if you prefer your cupcake to be chocolate and strawberry or vanilla and chocolate, don’t despair as Ditsy Daisies provide three to choose from!

However, the best thing about these beautiful little cupcake cases, is that within their pastel lined interior they have everything to keep your nails in pristine condition.  All cupcakes contain a pair of nail clippers, nail file, tweezers, cuticle pusher and scissors, perfect to keep in your handbag for any and every nail emergency.

Would you quit your day-job to start a cupcake business?  According to a CNN report, that is what the founders of Curbside Cupcakes did.  The two co-owners each had jobs but one day realized they wanted cupcakes and they wanted the cupcakes to come to them.  Using that idea, they started with a truck of 300 cupcakes and have expanded to over 1300 cupcakes.  Curbside Cupcake fans find the truck’s location through their website or social networking sites, such as facebook or twitter.  Those living in or visiting Washington, DC can look for the cupcake truck and “enjoy cupcake bliss right at their door.”

Happy Birthday to YOU….Happy Birthday to YOU….

In honor of Pac-Man and Rubik’s Cube having birthdays with in the last week here are some cupcakes dedicated to them!

lizespo’s photostream on Flickr

Mr. & Ms. Pac Man and Ghosts Cupcakes

Cupcrazed’s photostream on Flickr

rubik’s cube cupcake

A new cupcake business has launched in Chicago!  Flirty Cupcakes on Wheels takes a new spin on the idea of an ice cream truck.

Flirty Cupcakes drives around Chicago with a van full of cupcakes!  Imagine sitting in your office and hearing the cupcake truck pull up to the curb!  Flirty Cupcakes announces their location via Twitter or Facebook.  So far, so good, as cupcake fans are lining up in the streets!

Visit Flirty Cupcakes!

Our 3,000+ Facebook fans love to upload their cupcake photos. We see everything from cupcake clothes to cupcake wedding cakes to cupcake art.  Here are some of my favorites from the past month.

Cupcake Halloween Costume from Danielle

Flower cupcakes by Victoria

Cupcake pants (at Macy’s) by Christine

Sidra made her own birthday cupcakes to share at her work!  I want to work with her!

Join in the fun and become a fan!

When I moved into my new place my Mom bought me some great Cupcake Wine Glasses. I haven’t used them yet unfortunately, I am scared I will break them.  I think they are sooo cute!

I found these Cupcake Wine  Glasses on Etsy at JJ’s Paintworks.

Every now and then we find ourselves hearing from someone who has an amazing story of survival to tell.  Alex is one of these people!  At just 14 she suffered from a serious eating disorder that threatened to destroy her life.

She underwent treatment, then while at boarding school met a wonderful woman who showed her how to appreciate and celebrate the person that she was.  Alex got this super cute cupcake tattoo to mark her success at coming home both stronger mentally and physically.  She is now 21, and lives by her motto ‘I am women’.

These fanciful pointillist cupcake scenes are the work of Nessa Guillet, artist and graduate of Tufts University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts.  While Nessa’s work covers many other themes, as a fellow cupcake lover Nessa especially wanted to share these pieces with All Things Cupcake.

Ladybug Cupcake

Alice in Cupcakeland

Alice in Cupcakeland 2

Regarding the inspiration for her art, Nessa says, “My art is really an expression of my love of daydreaming as well as dreaming (both as an adult and as a child). I like to imagine worlds that I could be a part of.” As far as cupcakes are concerned, “Red velvet and anything dark chocolate related are my all time favorite flavors. I am in the process of trying to create a breakfast cupcake involving a poached egg, rosemary, and maple syrup covered bacon…we’ll see how it goes : )”

While Nessa says that she does not presently have original artwork or prints for sale, she is more than happy to take commissions. You can contact Nessa at nessa.guillet(at)gmail.com.

On Saturday, May 22nd, thousands flocked to the San Mateo Fairgrounds to help celebrate arts, crafts, engineering, and the do-it-yourself mindset.  Each spring, people come from the San Fransisco Bay area and beyond to the annual Maker Faire to see what’s new in the world of zany inventions.  More than 600 inventors and artists shared their wares this year.  Among them was Greg Solberg, maker of the completely electric, motorized “cupcake car.”

These cupcake cars (sometimes called muffin cars) were invented in 2004.  They can go as fast as 15 mph.  Each car has room for just one person, whose head sticks out the top of the cupcake.  There are currently 16 cupcake cars in existence, and they are stored in a “secret location,” in Berkeley, California.

There is only one week left to enter the 2010 Ice Cream Cupcake Challenge held by Scoopalicious and  Cupcake Project.  Daring bakers can submit their ice cream cupcake creations by May 31, 2010. Prizes for the challenge include Cuisinart ICE-30BC Pure Indulgence 2-Quart Automatic Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker and a prize pack from OXO.

Here are the official rules:

• Dates: You can enter any time through May 31, 2010.
• How to Enter:

1. Write a post on your blog during the month of May and include a link to both this post and to the post at Scoopalicious. (If you don’t have a blog, you can still enter, but why not start one?)  Sorry, we are allowing just one entry per person this year – so make it count!  International readers are welcome to enter, but prizes can not be shipped internationally.  You will win bragging rights and you will have the opportunity to gift your prizes to any person or organization in the United States.
2. Upload a photo of your cupcake to our Flickr group.  Please upload as large a photo as possible so that we can be sure to best showcase it in the roundup.
3. Then, complete the entry form.

• Entrant Voting: All ice cream cupcake roundup entrants are required to vote for their favorite ice cream cupcake some time during the second week of June.  Entrants must pick their first, second, and third favorite ice cream cupcakes and they are not allowed to vote for their own cupcakes.  Entrants that do not vote will become ineligible to win.  (To summarize – you are being judged by your cupcake creating peers – no pressure!)  The top three cupcakes as chosen by the entrants will go on to the public vote.  All three entrant-voted winners will win OXO prize packs, but the public will determine who wins the Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker.  In the event of a tie, the cupcake that received the most second place votes will win.  If there is still a tie, we will look at third place votes.  If there is still a tie, we will have a quick – one day only – vote between the two tied cupcakes.
• Public Voting: Public voting will take place during the second half of June.  Anyone with a valid email address will have an opportunity to choose their favorite of the top three cupcakes.  You’ll want to vote because two voters will win the same prize pack as the semi-finalists!  In the event of a tie, we will have a quick – one day only – vote between the two tied cupcakes.

And the winner is…

Lisa Mantchev
May 18th, 2010 at 12:14 pm

Absolutely loved the frog-and-crowns set! I will probably be hostessing a Scooby Doo birthday soon, so either puppies or dog bones next? Or a set of both! :D

Congratulations! Please send your mailing address to [email protected]. Thanks to all who entered and commented on her toppers.  Special thanks to Kidscakes for sponsoring this awesome giveaway!

Tag is one of my favorite brands since they always have fun products.  I noticed they have Cupcake Frosted Glass Votives which come in four different colors, each each featuring a different cupcake style.  I know these would brighten my birthday and add a little color to any table!

Show someone how much you care about them by writing them a letter, and make it extra special with this  Written from Scratch Stationery Set

I found this delicious stationary at ModCloth.com

Here are a few more items from this fantastic store —

Yummy Breakfast Keychain

Cute Confection Key Caps

Happy Saturday cupcake fans! Just a reminder that Sunday is the last day to enter our cupcake topper giveaway sponsored by Etsy seller Kidscakes. Please click here to enter!

 

For April Fool’s Day we posted Meatloaf Cupcakes with Mashed Potato Frosting.  I recently came across Willow Bird Baking and noticed a recipe for “cupfakes,” fake cupcakes!  Like the meatloaf cupcakes, they are edible cupcakes but they aren’t the traditional cupcake. Willow Bird Baking’s recipe is for Cheddar Chive and Bacon Cupfakes with Avocado Frosting.  I am tempted to try these savory cupcakes; although I wonder if they are still considered cupcakes if they are not really cake.  Below is the recipe from Willow Bird Baking.

Cheddar Chive and Bacon Cupfakes with Avocado Frosting

Recipe By:

-Jim N’ Nicks (cheddar biscuits, tweaked)
-Me, with various internet inspiration (avocado frosting)

Yields: 15-17 cupfakes

Cupfake Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 – 1 cup sugar (depending on desired sweetness)
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
3/4 cup whole milk
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons butter, softened
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
5 strips bacon, cooked and chopped, divided
1/2 sweet onion, chopped finely
2 tablespoons of fresh chives, chopped finely
2 tablespoons olive oil

Avocado Frosting Ingredients:
4 ripe avocados
4 ounces cream cheese
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cupfakes: Cook bacon on stovetop or in oven. I bake on a foil-lined baking sheet at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes, and drain on paper towels. Crumble 4 strips into small bits, leaving one strip whole for garnish.

In the meantime, pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into skillet over medium high heat. Add onion and cook until caramelized, stirring occasionally. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, cheese, milk, egg, butter, baking powder, vanilla, chives, caramelized onion, and bacon bits. Pour into a greased (or paper-lined) muffin pan. Bake for about 20 minutes. Allow to cool for a couple of minutes in pan, and then transfer to a cooling rack. Frost only when completely cool.

Avocado Frosting: Mash avocado flesh well in bowl with the back of a spoon or fork. I processed mine in a food processor to ensure extra smoothness. Add in lemon juice and cream cheese, and mix until you have a smooth, creamy consistency. Frost cupcakes with a big star tip (I use 1M). Garnish with pieces of bacon.

NOTE on storage: Store cupcakes in airtight container in fridge when frosted. Place avocado pits in container along with cupcakes to discourage browning (but don’t fret if the frosting browns — it’s just oxidized, and still quite edible and yummy). You may even want to half the recipe if you’re just making these for your family, since they almost certainly won’t maintain they’re beautiful green overnight. For taking them to coworkers or friends, I would make the cupcakes ahead of time and frost immediately before the event.