I originally posted this recipe over at my blog, Bake and Destroy. As the story goes, my mother in law Jo is obsessed with powdered ice tea. She simply cannot get enough of it. I wanted to make frosting with the iced tea powder she loves, but couldn’t bring myself to do it. So instead, I made her these dairy-free tea cupcakes with vegan lemon buttercream. They’re perfect for a spring cook out, which is exactly how we’re celebrating her birthday this week end! So enjoy the cupcakes, and happy birthday, Jo! We love you!

For the cupcakes you will need:

• 1 cup soy milk
• 4-6 iced tea teabags*
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup soy yogurt (plain or vanilla)
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract**
• 2 tsp fresh lemon zest
• 1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour***
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

*Use 4 bags if you just want to say they’re iced tea cupcakes, use 6 or more bags if you want to know it.
** Replace up to 1/2 tsp of this measurement with a flavor complimentary to ice tea- lemon, orange, mint, etc. I’d recommend 1/4 tsp if you’re using something as strong as mint or citrus oil.
***These are very moist cakes. Not fall-apart moist, but they stay squishy for a long time. If you want something a little more firm to the touch up this measurement to 1 1/2 cups of flour.

Then you:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line tin with cupcake liners. In a small saucepan heat soymilk till almost boiling, add tea bags, cover and remove from heat. Let sit for 10 minutes. When ready to use stir teabags and thoroughly squeeze to insure as much tea is dissolved in milk as possible.

In a large bowl whisk together oil, yogurt, sugar, vanilla, lemon oil, zest and tea mixture until all yogurt lumps disappear. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to wet ingredients and mix until large lumps disappear; some small lumps are okay. Fill tins full and bake about 20 to 22 minutes until a sharp knife inserted comes out clean.

For the lemon buttercream you will need:

• 1/4 cup shortening
• 1/4 cup margarine, softened
• 2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 2 Tbs fresh lemon juice
• 2 tsp fresh grated lemon zest
• 1 teaspoons vanilla extract

Then you:

In a small bowl, cream the shortening and margarine until well combined. Add the sugar in 1/2 cup additions. After each addition add a splash of lemon juice and beat well with a handheld mixer. Add vanilla and beat for another 3-5 minutes until smooth, creamy and fluffy. I stuck cut-off straws in some of these and topped the rest with a sprig of organic mint.

One simply cannot speak of vegan cupcakes without a solid reference to The Urban Housewife. Known as Melisser to her nearest and dearest, The Urban Housewife has been changing the way we think of vegan baked goods since 2007. With each post to her Veg Bloggy Award-winning site, thousands of fans tune in to see where she’s been and what she ate. From Berlin to New York to Stockholm, she’s been everywhere, eaten every vegan thing and lived to blog about it.

I asked Melisser to give our readers a sampling of some of her tastiest vegan cupcake adventures and she put together a list of 10 fab places to snag a vegan cupcake. The list, she stresses, is in no particular order.

Oh, and she was too humble to mention it, but one place you’re sure to find a delicious vegan treat is Melisser’s own commercial kitchen- Sugar Beat Sweets. If you’re in the San Francisco area be sure to hit her up for some Snickerdoodle cupcakes!

Ten places you might just spot Melisser eating vegan cupcakes:

1. Vegan Treats, Bethlehem, PA & throughout the East Coast
Known throughout the vegan land for their Peanut Butter Bombs, Vegan Treats also serves up a selection of other fine pastries. After years of wholesale throughout the East Coast, owner Danielle Konya opened a retail store where you can get your cupcake on.

Cupcakes are the heart of this shop where you’ll find everything from Fleur de Sel Caramel cupcakes to Bacon Maple Walnut cupcakes, all vegan of course!

The Bleeding Heart Bakery, Chicago

3. The Bleeding Heart Bakery, Chicago, IL

While not everything in the packed pastry cases is vegan, a hearty selection of cupcakes await you at this all organic, 100% punk rock bakery!

Whether you’re looking for a cosy place to chill, a delicious sandwich, or a sweet treat, S’nice delivers with their cupcake, baked in house & available daily.

Not your traditional cupcake, Babycakes spelt or gluten free cupcakes caters to those with allergies or looking for a wholesome cupcake.

Sticky Fingers may be better known for their massive cinnamon rolls, but the cupcake selection won’t disappoint at this bakery churning out a full selection of cruelty free confections!

Cupcake, Berlin, Germany

8. Pattycake Bakery, Columbus, OH
Pattycake started out making cookies for a local co-op, but now has a full selection of vegan treats, including cupcakes, that you can snag from their storefront or the upcoming online ordering system!

9. Watercourse Bakery, Denver, CO
Not only Ho Ho Cupcakes should tempt you to try this all vegan bakery, as a full selection of sweets are available. For those with allergies, they specialize in gluten free options.

The food may not blow you away at this vegan eatery with a LA hippie vibe, but the desserts are no crunchy granola & their decadence will definitely satisfy your sweet tooth!

Today I’m happy to bring you this Kiwi’s Guide to Vegan Cupcakes by City the NZ Cupcake Queen. Most of you are probably already familiar with City’s sweet cakes and her not-so-sweet Etsy shop, but did you know that she also happens to be a fab vegan baker? I asked my friend from the other side of the world to put together a sampler of what it’s like to be a vegan sweet tooth in New Zealand. All flattering statements about myself were totally unsolicited but deeply appreciated.

When my kickass friend and fellow cupcake baker Natalie asked me to write a piece for ATC’s vegan week I was super stoked. I love cupcakes- I love being a vegan and I love eating vegan cupcakes.

Plus, how could I say no to the lady who hooked me up with tickets to a Rise Against show and helped me meet the band who I had the bonus of giving my vegan cupcakes to? That lady is connected!

Thinking about what I could share with ATC readers really got me thinking about how my switch to a vegan lifestyle will affect my long-term love affair with cupcakes. I was the NZ Cupcake Queen before I was vegan,., so how about a brief history?

At the milestone of turning 30 I recently made the choice to go vegan after being a vegetarian for a large part of my 20’s. Over the past year I found myself eating less and less dairy products and eggs, which lead me to review my diet. Why couldn’t I commit to a vegan diet when I was pretty much eating vegan 99% of the time?

My answer? Not being able to eat my own cupcakes!

Those dainty, beautiful, tasty little cakes captured my attention 5 years ago and have grown to be a huge part of my life. As my love for cupcakes grew, so did my ability to bake and decorate. Soon I was actually making cupcakes that were not only delicious but looked pretty cool too (and less like a 3 year old decorated them!)

I started my NZ Cupcake Queen blog in 2007 and never looked back. I was surprised when my blog started to get fans other than my friends and co-workers. I was soon selling my cupcakes at craft shows and taking orders from people wanting MY cakes at their parties.

Changing to a fully vegan diet meant I had to give up eating my own cupcakes and reconsider how I went about my baking overall. It was a huge choice to make, but I had been experimenting with plenty of vegan cupcake recipes to realize that vegan doesn’t have to mean dry or tasteless cupcakes. It would be a change, but I wouldn’t miss out!

My commitment to a vegan diet has been a wonderful opportunity to explore a whole new world of vegan baking and learn simple but tasty ways to get around the traditional ingredients of butter, eggs and milk. Vegan baking is adventurous and fun.

While I have made the switch to a vegan diet, I am still making and selling some non-vegan cupcakes. Its a tricky situation – I’m personally moving away from traditional animal product-based baking and I have a goal of vegan-izing all the cupcakes I sell.

But its a very slow process experimenting with recipes and while I’m being all mad scientist in the kitchen doing so, the people who are fans of my cupcakes still want to buy them and love the flavours I make. I’m not about to be a jerk to the very people who’ve helped me build my reputation. So for now I am continuing to bake non-vegan flavours until I can replace them. I just can’t eat them myself.

OK, so that’s probably enough about the NZ Cupcake Queen. How about something useful like some tips, especially for the New Zealanders out there!

COOK BOOKS

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero

There are plenty of awesome vegan cookbooks on the market but this one is much loved favourite of vegan and non-vegan cupcake lovers. Even before I was vegan, I got my hands on a copy when it first came out and was hooked. The recipes are amazing and Isa and Terry have a talent for creating delicious vegan cupcakes that are far from boring.

The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

This was a more recent discovery but it’s become my new kitchen bible. It covers all the possible questions I could come up with when it comes to vegan-izing baking and trust me, I’m one of those annoying people who asks LOTS of questions.

Both these books are helpful in getting you to think outside the square with baking and are a great jumping off point for you to head off on your own adventures in the kitchen and try out new flavours. Get your hands on a copy from your local bookseller, Amazon or other online store.

For those impatient people like me, while you wait for that Amazon order to ship, you can visit the My Vegan Kitchen blog. You’ll find an easy to read run down on some of the basic ingredients you’ll need to get you started baking vegan cupcakes.

SUPPLIES

Huckleberry Farms Wholefoods Supermarket

This is the place to go for tracking down lots of the ingredients used in vegan cupcake recipes. They sell many brands of Agave nectar (which is an excellent alternative to sugar in baking), egg replacers, ground flaxseed and tofu – just some of the clever ingredients you’ll soon be popping into your vegan cupcakes.

Other than being obsessed with cupcakes, I am also a chocolate addict and love chocolate cupcakes. Going vegan doesn’t mean missing out. Most dark chocolate is diary-free and vegan-friendly (although you do have to be careful of some companies like Cadbury who still sneak in milk solids). New Zealanders don’t have the luxury of the range of vegan-friendly chocolates available in America, but you can find the Australian Sweet William brand here.

They make pretty darn tasty and dairy free milk chocolate and white chocolate. I find Huckleberry Farms are the best place to track it down but you can find it at some regular supermarkets. If you’re lucky they sometimes have large packs of diary free white chocolate buttons or chips. And for those of you not in Auckland or just feeling lazy, you can even order via the website. Sweet!

S.A.F.E. Cruelty Free Shop

Another good place to pick up some vegan friendly chocolates and other supplies is the S.A.F.E. Shop in Auckland. I’ve heard from a couple of vegan friends that they’ve scored the large bags of Sweet William chocolate chips and buttons there too.

NZ VEGANS WHO LOVE CUPCAKES

I’m lucky enough to have come across some awesome Kiwi bloggers who are not only rad vegans, but huge cupcake fans.

Friend or Doe

Ginny runs the wonderful boutique down in Wellington also has this little gem of a personal blog covering veganism, fashion and design. She’s a big fan of cupcakes so check out her recipe for white chocolate and cranberry vegan cupcakes.

An Auckland Vegan

I found Moira’s blog through Ginny and I am hooked. It’s been a wonderful resource as a fellow vegan Aucklander. Moira is always finding new vegan friendly treats to share with her readers. The highlight for me are her reviews of the cupcakes made by local cafe Revel!

PLACES TO EAT VEGAN CUPCAKES

Revel
146 Karangahape Rd, Auckland CBD

Speaking of Revel, head along to this lovely quirky little cafe to get your hands on one of their vegan cupcakes. They change the flavours every day so its just luck of the draw- which treat you’ll get. We popped in there today and got to try a delicious chocolate berry vegan cupcake. They always have vegan friendly items on the menu and a pretty decadent chocolate cake too!

NZ Cupcake Queen

And of course, I can’t do a vegan cupcake blog post on All Things Cupcake without doing a bit of shameless self-promotion! If you’re an Auckland vegan looking for moist, tasty vegan cupcakes with generous helpings of frosting, the NZ Cupcake Queen has what you need.

You can visit me at the Kraftbomb Craft Show on the last Sunday of every month at the Grey Lynn Community Centre, 510 Richmond Road, Grey Lynn. 11am – 2pm. Be warned, the cupcakes sell out fast so be there early to avoid disappointment!

I always try to have a couple of vegan cupcake flavours each month and I’m working my way up to more and more of my most popular cupcakes being vegan-ized for your eating pleasure! The most popular vegan flavours with my vegan (and non-vegan!) customers are cookies and cream, peanut butter chocolate and good old plain chocolate! And hopefully I’ll have vegan versions of the other favourites like Jaffa, Red Bull and Caramel!

A big thanks to All Things Cupcake for asking me to do a post for their Vegan Week. I hope its inspired both vegans and non-vegans alike to have a go at making some vegan cupcakes and proven that going vegan doesn’t have to mean the death of cupcakes. So what are you waiting for? Get off your butt and get baking!

Love
NZCQ xoxo

Chicago vegans know where to go when they need some sugar – take the Damen bus to Belmont and stop when you see the giant neon sign: The Bleeding Heart Bakery. Since 2005, owner and executive pastry chef Michelle Garcia, along with her husband Vinnie and a staff of punky young bakers have been baking up local, sustainable and organic treats for vegans and dairy-eaters alike. I asked Michelle about her experiences both as a former vegan and as a professional chef catering to vegan customers. Her answers proved a point I already knew was true in my heart- vegans are hungry, they have money, and they want to buy your delicious vegan treats. So bakery owners, listen up: get yourself a great vegan recipe book pronto.

Do you remember the first vegan dessert you ever tasted?
That would be the German chocolate cake from Chicago Diner.

If so, what did you think about it?
At the time, I was so excited to be able to have a birthday cake that I didn’t care about how it tasted, so I guess I don’t even remember.

If not, do you think it’s better that you don’t remember it?
*I’m pretty sure the answer is yes, definitely.

Your original location on Chicago Ave was a hit with vegans from day one- what made you decide to offer vegan treats right off the bat?
I had spent half of my life at that point as a vegan, and I knew that the type of bakery we were would attract a lot of vegans. Also, I know that a lot of children are born with egg and milk allergies; I wanted to be sure that all children could have an amazing birthday cake no matter what.

Have you ever had a vegan baker working in one of your shops?
I’ve had several vegan bakers. However, I feel as though most of them were inhibited by old school beliefs about baking vegan.

Did mainly work on your vegan goods, or were they OK with making your non-vegan stuff as well?
Most seemed to turn there noses up at non-vegan goods, which was really frustrating as I was vegan for so long and saw everything as education and knowledge whether I personally believed in it or not.

Would it be difficult for a vegan to properly prepare your other treats without tasting them?
Our basic recipes are very simple and east to follow, if you understand the basic principles behind baking techniques, you should be able to make anything. Also, no one at the bakery minds tasting anything, so there are no excuses.

What do you think the biggest misconception about vegan desserts is?
Most people automatically think vegan means dry, flavorless cardboard and granola-ish.

What do you do with your vegan yummies to de-bunk the misconceptions?
I believe our approach is much different than most. All vegan recipes start as conventional and get tweeked to be vegan. We try very hard not to use traditional flavorless substitutes. When we have to make a substitute, we want it to add something- like bananas.

Is it any more difficult to find vegan organic ingredients than it is to find non-vegan organic ingredients?
Honestly, now a days, it is much easier. But when we first started we had to buy everything retail.

What’s your most popular vegan dessert?
That would be between the banana fudge brownie and the Slash Cupcake. (Devils food cupcake, chocolate frosting and curly chocolate shavings)

Does it seem like the demand for vegan baked goods has increased over the years?
For sure, mostly with little children.

I always hear people say that vegan cakes are dry, what are people doing wrong when they bake?
They are using substitutes such as Ener-G that act as a drying agent. Any kind of starch will do that. Try using a banana or possibly just leaving out the substitutes all together! You could also substitute oil for margarine or Earth Balance.

If Joe Blow off the street were blindfolded and asked to taste two of your chocolate cupcakes- one vegan and one conventional, do you think he could tell the difference?
I know he wouldn’t. We’ve actually done this! The vegan cupcake won every time, so now that’s all we offer!

Do you find that non-vegans are open to trying vegan desserts, or are they scared?
Most seemed to be scared, but love them when they try them accidentally, that happens almost every day – especially with the cupcake.

Do you think it’s important for a modern bakery to offer at least one vegan option?
It’s incredibly important, why alienate people? Were always trying to offer product that spans the board for allergies, we just started offering vegan sugar free options and believe it is so important.

Have you thought about making vegan versions of any of your famous bacon-infused treats, with vegan bacon?
We tried; it’s just not the same. As a vegan I never enjoyed fake meat and I guess that just followed me.

What’s the hardest thing about baking without dairy?
Running out of soymilk! It happens all the time! Even when I double the order. I think we have little vegan gnomes drinking it all.

What about pastry- can you make a vegan croissant?
You can, but margarine gets soft really fast and all the fat leaks out. We did, however, just start making vegan brioche, which rocks!

Is it harder to make dairy-free pastry than it is to bake vegan cakes and cookies?
Not really harder physically- harder mentally, it requires a lot of thought.

Were you ever vegan?
Yes, 7 years straight ad a few others here and there.

What made you go vegan?
I was raised vegetarian for the most part and became an extremist at a very young age. I don’t believe in doing something half way.

Finally, how many vegan cupcakes do you think you sell in a week?
Well, we have recently counted this, it’s 800 I’m the shop and another 200-300 in special orders.

Photos by Bill Lambert

*For the record, Chicago Diner did used to have kind of a gnarly vegan bakery- it has since improved by leaps and bounds.

How completely sweet is this tiny Polaroid necklace from Etsy seller Phoebe Marie?

There are loads of cupcake-themed necklaces in the shop, but these wee photos are my favorite!

And at only $5 a pop, why not try a few flavors?

If you’re a regular reader you just might recognize the Tiger Lady on this new shirt from Model Citizen. If you’re not a regular reader, I’ll fill you in- it’s me!

I’m so excited to be the muse for these awesome t-shirts, available on Etsy for $26. Each shirt comes with my super-special Nacho Cupcake recipe! That’s right, Nacho Cupcakes!

You can win your own at Good Girls & Geeks!

Leigh Poindexter recently left her life as a couture apron designer behind to pursue a career in… well, anything she wants, really. Nanny? Flight attendant? Shark hunter? In the meantime, she’s producing some mighty cute cupcake wares out of her brand-new Etsy shop Very Happy Everything.

Take this hand-illustrated charm necklace, for instance. It reminds me of the plastic charm necklaces I collected as a kid, only much cuter. For only $35 you can remember the good times- Rainbow Bright, roller skates, and dreams of cupcakes for dinner.

I also adore this sun-shiney yellow cupcake on a super-duper long beaded necklace. If Louise Brooks were alive today, I like to think these yellow “pearls” would be a favorite of hers.

There are loads of other sweet charms in the shop- including brooches on vintage horse ribbons and wee little pints of Guinness. Leigh also loves custom orders, I put in a request for a lady shark already.

I actually got out of bed when I spotted these in my newest Victoria’s Secret catalog. That’s how much I knew you would like these. “Pup Cakes” bow hipster undies for $7.50 (or 5/$25!) I know the picture is tiny, I don’t even think they’ve officially added this style to their online catalog yet but you can find them if you search for item BH-235-852 on the website!

Oh how much I love this frilly-yet-badass apron from LivingThread! So much so that, if it had a full back or I had a less-full backside, I would totally wear it as a dress this summer.

To be honest, I was going to post about an adorable half-apron she added to her shop yesterday, but it looks as though it was so adorable someone else already snatched it up!

Don’t let it happen to you! Run, don’t walk to Etsy and make this hot little number yours for a mere $35! Why not pick up a snarky dish towel or an ice cream cone pin cushion while you’re there?

Check out these spooky black cupcake liners from Confectionery House and the skull and bones liners from Squires Kitchen. So it seems I’m not the only one longing to bake on the dark side.

How scary sweet are these cupcakes from Debbie Goard of Debbie Does Cakes? Just in time for Valentine’s Day, too! Debbie, who you’ve probably seen on a Food Network Challenge or two, says she’s trying to phase out cupcakes but she couldn’t resist this special wedding request.

Here’s wishing the happy couple a life together as beautiful, weird and amazing as these cupcakes!

As previously blogged here, Tiffany & Co. has the sweetest little cupcake charm in the world. I just had to announce to an audience of people who I know will appreciate it that my awesome husband walked his big, bearded, tattooed self into Tiffany’s today and brought this little sweetie home to me.

As if it wasn’t cute enough, he had our three-year-old give it to me. I was loading the dishwasher when I hear, “Look mama, blue present!” Happy Valentines Day, ATC readers! And hey men-folk- the mall is still open, you too can win at V-Day!

They’re easy to make, completely free and totally creepy! Go on an get ’em at Bake and Destroy! (Don’t forget to check out all of the other free DIY cupcake topper downloads while you’re there!)

Have you guys seen Stains the cupcake-obsessed dog on The Soup? Even better, check out all the spin-offs on YouTube. Today was a great day to ditch work!

When you scour the earth for cupcakes on the daily like we do at ATC you see a lot of cupcake stuff. There’s good stuff and bad stuff and stuff that’s so lame we don’t even bother.

Then there’s stuff like the stuff I found at LivingThread that’s so great I emailed it to myself on my way to work so I woudn’t forget to post it. This is good stuff.

Of course we’re partial to the cupcake-themed items but I can’t help but be drawn to the embroidered knuckle tattoos and fancy aprons as well.

I got a text message from CM Punk last Tuesday letting me know that not only did he get a cupcake tattoo that afternoon, but he also declares 2009 “Year of the Cupcake.” The first tattoo photo (taken with his Sidekick) was pretty bad so last night I asked him for a new one. This one’s better, believe it or not, and he said Shawn Michaels took it, which makes it even more awesome.

You may recall the Sugar Slam bake off I hosted a few months ago- Punk picked a Pepsi cupcake as the winner not only because it was named after him, but also because it wasn’t really frosted. What kind of frosting hater gets a cupcake tattoo?

2009: Year of the Cupcake according to CM Punk, you heard it here first.

Many thanks to my mama for gifting me this adorable dish towel (and others) from Anthropologie.

Featuring lots of old fashioned cakes and cupcakes it’s a very sweet way to top off what has become perhaps the girliest kitchen in the Midwest.

The boys have both been told this towel is for looking, not for using, lest it meet the same tragic fate as my cupcake towel from Art Goodies.

I can personally vouch for the gift-ability of these towels – so put ’em on your wishlist this holiday.

I’ve seen my fair share of fake cakes and cupcakes on Etsy and as much as I love fake food I’m never quite satisfied with my choices.

Until today, I should say. Take a look at these holiday selections from Frosted Fakes. Who knew a little plaster, glitter and paint could make my holiday so bright?

What does one do with fake cupcakes, you ask? Why, set them up on a cake stand so your kitchen is perma-Martha. Use them in the office as paper weights. Personally, I see these being used as props for pin up photos galore.

Some designs are already set up to hang on your tree while others are meant to sit on your holiday table. She even does cookies and donuts. (And I spotted a pot-themed cupcake I might need for my little brother.)

Perhaps the sweetest thing about these faux-cakes is the daily reminder that the only road to perfection is to be totally fake.

I heart cupcakes. Therefore, I heart these heart-shaped cupcake earrings from Model Citizen. For $12 these hand-drawn lovelies can be yours – and be sure to check out the rest of the shop. I spotted matching barrettes!

Ok, so it’s not even Halloween yet but I had to post about these lovely holiday cupcake papers from Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery & Cupcake Supplies because they’re so very, very cute that I actually felt a tinge of holiday spirit in my icy, black heart.

I have never been a fan of the typical red-and-green Christmas, but the pink and silver Christmas stuff gets me every time. If I could live in a world of sugar plum fairies and crinkle-eyed Santas I might never post another cuss word on my blog again.

But alas, baking gingerbread cupcakes in these pretty liners is as close as I’ll ever to get becoming a snow queen. Ah well, close enough.

Last week I saw the ultra cute kitchy kitchen prints over at Caged Tomato and asked the artist, Carrie Gowran to please make a cupcake piece so I could blog about it here. Well, my friends, ask and you shall receive. How bitchin’ is the kitchen that sports this 11.5″ x 9″ print made with scans of vintage recipe cards and an original drawing by Carrie?

It’s only $18 and as the proud owner of two of Carrie’s pieces already I can vouch for their quality and utter cuteness. Thanks Carrie, you made my bloggy day!

Growing up, my family had a tradition that called for each family member choosing a new ornament each Christmas to represent the year about to pass. I have a ballerina from when I was four, a Lisa Simpson to represent the year I became a vegetarian and a Bettie Page for the year I spent in rounded bangs and saddle shoes.

Last year was the first time Tony and I had an apartment large enough for a small tree (silver tinsel, of course) and we kept the tradition alive with a train ornament for our son, and oragami ice cream, donuts and cupcake ornaments for me. (Keeping with tradition, Tony went unrepresented as he was generally quite uncooperative all year.)

This year, I still find myself obsessing over donuts, but I think I will be represented on our wee fake tree with these cupcake ornamets from Everyday is a Holiday. For only $36 you get four handmade cupcake ornaments, each backed with a vintage recipe, sweetly sparkly and hung with a candy pink ribbon. Packaged up like a precious parcel from your favorite old fashioned bakery, they’d be just as fun to find under the tree as hanging from the branches. Who needs gingerbread men, anyway?

What they don’t tell you when you come on board as an ATC contributor is what a complete weirdo you’re going to turn into. The thrill of finding something new and cupcake-y will cause you to dig through your purse at Target in order to get a shot of something cute- say, these cupcake lunch bags by Arctic Chill-with your iPhone. Employees will eye you suspiciously, possibly even inform you that they don’t allow photos and you’ll blush, “I was just taking a picture of this for a cupcake blog I write for. Really. I bet this post will get our guys some business!”

Your husband will flatly let you know to find him over by the socks when you’re done and you’ll wander over to the water bottles to see if they happend to have made any with cupcakes on them to match the bag.

That’s what they don’t tell you when you become an ATC contributor. But I’m telling you now, because it happened to me.

The other thing you might find out the hard way is that not everything is available online. You’ll see something as fabulous as two insulated, Microban lunch bags- adorned with cupcakes for only $12.29- and you will spend the night Googling “microban” and “arcic zone” in hopes of finding something to link to, because Target does not have these bags on their site, and you will fail.

And your readers will leave comments like “my Target doesn’t have these” and “I can’t find these on Amazon” and you will cry yourself to sleep at night because all you wanted to do was show everyone these funny lunch bags and spread the joy of cake in a cup and the whole thing blew up in your face.

So think long and hard- is the pride of saying “I’m an All Things Cupcake contributor” worth the sacrifice? Are you man enough to embarrass yourself in retail stores on a regular basis just to sniff out the cupcake around the corner? This lifestyle isn’t for everyone, I just want you to know what you’re getting into. The cupcake game ain’t no joke, son.

From now until October 15th you can save 15% on all purchases from Jessie Steele– including this way cute pumpkin cupcake apron. Just in time for Fall! Just enter JESSOCT8 when you check out.

Don’t forget the matching oven mit! And add your photo to the Jessie Steele Apron Snobs photo group!

Had my little boy been a little girl, I was going to name him Ruby Cupcake. Had he been a she, I would have had to have had this cupcake baby sling!

Get yours for $89.99 with free shipping from Target!

Hm, now if only I knew someone whose little one wasn’t already running around and breaking everything…