One of my favorite past times is cruising the super creative network of talented cupcake decorator’s blogs out there in cyber land.  I’m always finding really cool and interesting ideas I wouldn’t have otherwise considered.  One such discovery is Bake Happy’s Care Bears!

Instead of creating full Care Bears on each cupcake (I hope you know who and what Care Bears are? because I have kind of just assumed everyone knows Care Bears), she has created two cupcakes for each one.  Best thing about this is you get double the cupcakes, and you can have fun matching the colored teddy head with the tummy patch!

Here they are mixed up!  To see if you know your Care Bears, try and match them all to the correct teddy bear head, then check out Bake Happy to see if you got it right!

As soon as I saw this cupcake key ring in Coach I wanted to buy it.  I loved the lilac Swarovksi crystals for the sprinkles but couldn’t seem to justify  spending $48.00 on myself.  Even though I passed on buying it in the store I still bookmarked it in my folder of things I want!

The Bankery is a full service bakery located in an old bank — 0ld as in 1864 old! — in historic downtown Skowhegan, Maine. I’ve often dropped in for a tasty treat, and they’ve often offered cupcakes. But today’s cupcake offerings were just so cute, I had to share them with you. These cupcakes were decorated to look like full-size cakes. Such a simple idea, I can’t believe I’ve never thought of it. You can imagine what this did to the frosting-to-cake ratio! Since the cupcakes were also cream-filled, they were almost too sweet. (But notice I only say almost, as I managed to eat mine up just the same.)

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One of my favorite things to do on any day of the week is pursuing the local thrift stores. One of the thrift stores has an amazing amount of books, including cookbooks. And I hit the cupcake jackpot yesterday, I found Martha Stewart’s Cupcake Book for only $5.00! I am still unsure why I don’t own this yet. But I do now.

Here is one of the recipes that caught my eye while looking for my next cupcake to conquer.

Tiramisu Cupcakes on MarthaStewart.com

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Ghost Hunters fans are on the edges of their seats, as Season 7 premieres tonight at 8 EST. One fan in particular chose to celebrate in the best way — with cupcakes. Chelsea of Cupcake Adventures made these cupcakes, and I think the ghost hunters, and possibly even the ghosts, would be honored. Nice work Chelsea!

Let’s Eat-Everything Food is a division of Buckets Full of Everything Food.  Buckets Full of Everything Food is the creative company of Ilyse Rothman, a food stylist, chef and much more.  With years of culinary experience behind her she has spent decades perfecting the her skills in the kitchen.  Now she brings us cupcake sized cheesecake minis.

Included in the review package was two mini cheesecakes and a sample of cinnamon caramel crack corn, taste bud crack corn that is.  The savory popcorn mixed with the sweet caramel and spice from the cinnamon was addictive and could have easily been finished in one sitting.  After sampling the popcorn I had a feeling I would not be disappointed with the cheesecakes.  As a huge cheesecake fan, I even had cheesecake instead of birthday cake one year, I can honestly say this is good cheesecake.  The mini cheesecakes had wonderful flavor, in addition to good mouthfeel and texture.  They were smooth and creamy but not too soft.  Similarly the graham cracker base nicely complimented the cheesecake but was not overpowering.  I also liked that it held it’s shape and was not too crumbly. Read the rest of this entry »

While searching the keyword “cupcake” on Etsy today I came upon this awesome laptop decoration.  You can choose the color and have it personalized with your name.  It is $14 from Beepart.  They have several other cupcake items in their shop so click on this link to find them!

Sprinkles, jimmys, or shots, no matter what you call them, they all mean the same thing, a sugary sweet cupcake topping.  I have always wondered how you make sprinkles and now you can make your own! Brave Tart originally made the sprinkles then Faith Durand blogger for The Kitchn gave them a try documenting her results. I love that you can make any color you want and any size too.  And for those health conscious cupcake eaters out there, this allows you to control everything that goes into and onto your cupcakes! Click continue reading for the instructions.

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I saw these cupcake earrings on Accessorize and immediately had to add them to my wish list!  They are only $9.00 or £5.00 and they have $5.00 flat rate US shipping! And they have a matching necklace available in both the US and Europe.

Chef Resource offers this Chicago Metallic Cupcake Plunger for $4.95.  Once you remove the center of your cupcakes, you use the plunger to fill them with frosting, fruit, or anything your imagination can think of!

I frequently find myself wishing I lived in Eurpoe.   Things seem to be so much more sophisticated and lovely across the sea.  When I came across John Lewis’s site I immediately wished I had a UK shipping address so I could buy the Flutters and Fancies Tea Towel, £6.99, which has the image of a cake stand filled with cupcakes and a bird on top.  A similar cake stand is actually sold for £22.50, except the bird is painted on the stand instead of being perched on top. The website has more items that match these two along with tons of other great!

Since it’s citrus season now would be a great time to try these gluten-free clementine cupcakes by Emily Malone of Daily Garnish. If you are wondering if you have the ingredients necessary to make these gluten-free cupcakes, I have included the ingredients list below.  For the directions check out the original post!

3 tbsp Earth Balance vegan butter

2 tbsp coconut oil

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp ground flax

5 clementines, peeled and segmented

1/2 cup walnuts

2/3 cup brown rice flour

2/3 cup coconut flour

2/3 cup garbanzo bean flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 tsp sea salt

3/4 cup orange (or tangerine) juice

1 cup powdered sugar

(Note: If you don’t want to make these gluten-free, you can simply sub in 2 cups AP-flour for the other flours, and remove the added xanthan gum.)

Reality TV fan or not, you have to agree that Lauren Conrad has great style! Personally I like her LC line carried by Kohl’s.  For one of the dresses in her spring collection, Lauren poses with cupcakes! I love the dress and the spring feeling from the picture, it even has a little Alice In Wonderland vibe. Even though the dress doesn’t have cupcake on it, if you want to look as cute as Lauren you can purchase the dress from Kohl’s for $44.99.

Happy Valentine’s Day everyone! If you’re still looking for a cupcake idea to bake for this evening or maybe after school, here’s one more idea for you! I originally saw these semi-homemade red velvet cupcakes with hearts cut out of them on Two Tiny Kitchens.  The cupcake and frosting recipe is posted there along with the instructions for how to make the heart shaped cut out.  One important tip she shared for the heart cutout is to fill the cupcake molds all the way to the top of the liners! Happy baking!

Welcome to Kandi World, a new online store featuring candy and cupcake inspired swimwear, jewelry, and other treats. Check out their leather change purse and their leather business card holder!

A few weeks ago while looking at Simple Song I noticed the cupcake image shown above.  I loved the Pom Pom heart toppers and of course checked out Hank and Hunt’s Etsy page.  For $10 you could order a set of six toppers that measure 1.5” by 2” each.  This weekend while looking around online I noticed that Jenny from Hank and Hunt was a guest blogger on The Sweetest Occasion and shared a DIY tutorial for how to make the pom pom heart cupcake toppers!  Its obviously too late to order the set from their Etsy page and receive them in time for Valentine’s Day tomorrow, but it’s not to late to make your own! Check out the original post for all the DIY instructions!

One thing that is almost as big as cupcakes, is a trend for really cute owls! It is no wonder then that owls, cupcakes and Valentines Day have all been combined to create a super cute gift for someone special.

These owl cupcakes were created by My Own Barn and you can find out all about them at the blog.  It is truly a haven for owl lovers with everything ‘owl’ being displayed!  But it was not the blog that got my attention, it was the cupcake, adorned with a lovely owl that was winking at me on Flickr.  You can check them out here.

This Valentine’s Day season we have showed you how to put hearts on top of your cupcakes and bake cupcakes in the shape of hearts.  Now we share with how to bake a heart in your cupcake.  If I was a little kid and bit into one of these I know I would have freaked out in excitement.  To be completely honest, if someone made these for me now I think I would still freak out! Bake It in a Cake seems to be willing to try baking anything into a cupcake.  She once baked a pie into a cupcake!  These hearts baked in cupcakes are much more tame and the pink hearts are actually sheet cake; so you’re baking a cake in a cupcake!  Head over to Bake It In a Cake to see full instructions on how to bake hearts in your cupcakes!

Red Robin is one of my family’s favorite restaurants because of their kid-friendly atmosphere and their yummy burgers.  Now we have three more reasons to love it!  They have cupcakes!  I haven’t tried them yet so if you have, please click on the comment area below and let us know how they are.

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In case you missed it, here it is again! Yesterday, Jerry Seinfeld surprised Regis and Kelly with what Kelly coined a “megacupcake.” It did look delicious, and the three of them were not shy about digging in! The cupcake was created by Crumbs Bake Shop.

Only three days left until Valentine’s Day and today I wanted to share with the most amazing Valentine cupcakes yet. This link comes to me from my sweet friend Nicole who is always on the lookout for amazing cuppies.  Take a look at these chocolate cupcakes with flaming strawberries from Sprinkle Bakes.

The flame is made by hollowing out a strawberry and pouring in a small amount of Vodka, rum, or your choice of liquor 80 proof or higher before it is set aflame.   Click here to read the full directions in their post. 

Click the comment area below and leave a link to your favorite Valentine recipe!

Apartment Therapy Ohdeedoh’s website includes home, design, and children’s sections.  While looking around on the children’s page I noticed these heart-shaped cupcakes.  They’re perfect for Valentine’s day which is only 3 days away! The original post comes from Disney’s Family Fun where they call them Cupid’s Cupcakes. Below are the easy instructions for making these heart-shaped cupcakes without buying a heart-shaped pan.

To create the heart shape, place a small marble or a 1/2-inch ball of aluminum foil between each liner and one side of the tin (a great job for kids). This will push the paper into the batter to form the notch in the heart.

Just found these adorable bunny cupcakes on Joanna Si’s Flickr stream. Are they cute or what? And I am one of coconut’s biggest fans!

Amanda and Blue Paperie

Amanda Parker and Family

The Gypsy Factory

I’m a huge fan of cupcake toppers since they are quick and easy cupcake decorations that take a simple frosted cupcake and transform it into a beautifully festive cupcake. Here are six different free printable cupcake toppers that I have found.  Click on the images to be taken to the respective websites where you can download the pdf files.

Country Living

Love2Create

Penny Candy Studio

At Christmas time, we brought you gorgeous photos of Keira’s cupcakes. Now here she is again with Valentine’s Day cupcakes that are too beautiful to eat. 

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