It looks like cupcakes may be on Oprah’s list of favorite things. The OWN section of Huffington Post has, well, posted a slideshow of fantastic cupcake recipes. Several are twists on old favorites. Adding a swirl of caramel to a simple vanilla cupcake is an easy way to shake up the classic. Or adding a dash of cinnamon to the cream cheese frosting that traditionally sits atop red velvet cupcakes. The candy pie cupcakes are more of a decorating idea with the linked recipe using a standard vanilla cupcake but substitutions should be easy. In fact, a blueberry cupcake or cherry cupcake that coordinate to the colored M&Ms could taste like chocolate dipped fruit. Other flavors featured, are a little more involved. Read the rest of this entry »

Prohibition Bakery in New York City is celebrating one year of mixing cupcakes and cocktails at their Lower East Side storefront with more than just a little bubbly. After all, when boozy cupcakesare your business, no ordinary celebratory champagne cupcake will suffice and nothing says one-year anniversary like a cupcake inspired by Ernest Hemingway and called Death in the Afternoon. The self-proclaimed original alcoholic cupcake company decided to add a champagne filling to their champagne cupcake before topping it with absinthe frosting and a champagne and lemon cube. This particular flavor looks like it will only be available for a limited time while they celebrate their anniversary with fans and customers.

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.

Read the rest of this entry »

The popular obsession with cupcakes continues to spread its influence around the world. Some Singaporean students were studying in Australia when they were introduced to the cupcake shop trend and brought it home with them to Singapore. After sixty years in business, the owner of a Chinese provision shop retired and the space in Tiong Bahru became available. The three friends, self-taught bakers, bought it and made the necessary renovations and fashioned it into Kisses Bakery, which officially opened its doors just over a month ago. Keeping aspects of the old shop like the signboard on the storefront and a cupboard in the shop, Kisses Bakery pays homage to the space’s past while bringing a delicious modern touch to their neighborhood.

Read the rest of this entry »

Most people remember the excitement the first time they put a lost tooth under their pillow before bed and discovered a quarter or a dollar in its place the next morning. The Tooth Fairy might not approve, but I think most of us would display almost the same level of excitement if we showed up to work and found that this Cupcake Fairy had visited our workplaces. Emily Knight, the owner of Half-Baked Bakery in Sheldon IA, has delivered hundreds of unexpected cupcakes to local businesses spreading smiles and cheer, all while successfully marketing her bakery through simple word of mouth. And who wouldn’t want to tell the world about such a delicious and kind surprise? Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever had that dream where you go to grab some cash out of the ATM and all of a sudden the machine just starts spitting out… cupcakes? Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills, famous for being the first bakery dedicated to cupcakes, has had their trademarked Cupcake ATM next door to their flagship store for over a year now. Sprinkles Cupcakes is making progress on setting up the 24-hour treat dispensers at their other locations. Read the rest of this entry »

The time has come to raid Grandma’s kitchen for a pair of shoes that won’t hurt your feet. The cakes and cupcakes decorated by Amanda Amundson at Grandma’s Bakery in Cashton WI are frequently posted to the bakery’s Facebook page. While many of them are orders, Amundson doesn’t forget to have fun and try new things every once in a while. This past July, a photo of some fashionable high heel cupcakes that was posted to Facebook earned the bakery a lot of attention when the picture unexpectedly went viral. Read the rest of this entry »

There are so many restrictive diets out there but not all of them are entered into voluntarily. For those who suffer from allergies or sensitivities, sometimes the only solution is to cut something entirely out of your diet. For instance, it seems that more and more people are having trouble digesting gluten, a protein found in wheat based products like flour. For many sufferers, this means compromising the sweet tooth in some way or doing away with sugary treats, like cupcakes, entirely. But for a couple in Massachusetts, wandering from bakery to bakery in search of gluten-free cupcakes wasn’t going to cut it.

Read the rest of this entry »

Only two years ago, Jilly’s Cupcakes competed on Food Network’s Cupcake Wars and blew away their competition. In the time since winning, they have been hard at work expanding their business in a number of exciting and tasty directions. Turning several of their winning cupcake flavor combinations into a new line of ice cream is just one of the changes they have announced in the last few weeks. Read the rest of this entry »

Are these beautiful, or what? Positively dreamy.

These Rainbow Cloud Cupcakes are available at Flour and Sun Bakery of Pleasantville, New York.

I’ll admit–I’m not sure how they did that frosting.

It’s been a while since a cupcake flavor has surprised and delighted me the way this does: White Russian and Banana Bourbon. Oh. My. How many can I eat and still drive home? I found these delectable creations at Silver Spoon Bakery of East Greenwich, Rhode Island.

I recently paid my first visit to East End Cupcakes, which is, I believe, the only cupcakery in Portland, Maine. (If there’s another one, let me know, because I couldn’t find it!)

East End Cupcakes is ideally located right in the Old Port. Somehow, eating a cupcake while walking down cobblestone streets just feels right. On the day I visited, they had an offering of classic hits, including chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet. I chose the “chocolate salted caramel,” a chocolate cupcake topped with lightly flavored caramel frosting and sprinkled with sea salt.

We cupcake reviewers have noticed a trend toward creamier frostings, and away from sweeter frostings. East End Cupcakes seems to be on that bandwagon. Their frosting was airy and smooth. (Granted, had I tried the red velvet, I may have found a more substantial frosting there).

The store itself is adorable and seemed like a cool place to hang out. There was more seating than I’ve seen in a lot of similar sized bakeries.

I love how CupCake FabuLous decorated these Valentine’s Day cupcakes. Does anyone know what decorating tip they used? CupCake FabuLous is a family-owned cupcakery that has been serving the Dallas area since 2007. They also make twinkies! They’re enough to make a person move to Texas!

Good heavens, would you look at these things? Talk about sumptuous! These chocolate covered cherry cupcakes were created by Cupcake Anarchy, the Milwaukee cupcakery that likes to break all the rules. (They also offer beer & bacon cupcakes and honey whiskey cupcakes.)

Yes, it’s Merry Christmas Eve, but let’s not forget some people are graduating this time of year! (As if those families weren’t already busy enough!) Here are some celebration graduation cupcakes from Sam’s Cake Factory. Congrats to all those holiday scholars out there!

Every year at this time we receive a lot of amazing cupcake Christmas tree photos from our wonderful fans.  Here are our first submissions this year from our Facebook page.  I so wish my hubby would let me put up one of these in our house!

Loyal fan, Karen, has not one but two cupcake Christmas trees!

Love,

love,

love!

And how about this pink beauty?  It was sent in by Tans TastyCakes in New Jersey.

.

Do you have a cupcake Christmas tree too? Well, head on over to our Facebook page and share it with us!  Have a sweet Christmas!

Happy Hanukkah from Philly CupKates, the home of cupcaker Katie Juiliano. Nice work Katie! As one might guess, Philly CupKates is located in the great Philadelphia!

‘Tis the season! Or, almost anyway. The first holiday parties I know of are happening this weekend, and it’s certainly cold enough outside to be the season! That’s why these Chocolate Log Christmas Cupcakes from DaisyCakes caught my eye. I’m not sure how they created the “logs” (any ideas?) but they look wonderful.

If you weren’t hungry before, you are now! Right? These little delights look too good to be true. These peanut butter brownie cupcakes were created by Amy’s Sweets & Treats of Allentown, Pennsylvania. You can also visit Amy on Facebook.

Here on the east coast of the US we are hunkering down and riding through hurricane Sandy. With 50+ mile an hour winds and over a half a foot rain, it is a good day to stay indoors.  So while we are stuck inside, how about making some sweet cupcakes! These cupcakes were from Coastal Cupcakes in North Carolina during hurricane Irene but I am sure with some colored fondant, you could make them as well.  I love the pop of color in the red cylone and the two red hurricane warning flags. Hopefully my power will stay on long enough to make these today.  Stay safe cupcake fans!

This made me laugh out loud. These parrots were created by Krazy Edible Creations of Muskegon, Michigan. They are a brand new mother and daughter cupcake team. Look for a website soon!

Today is the last day of the Raleigh, North Carolina State Fair.  My parents went to the fair earlier in the week and brought back some amazing cupcakes!  Neomonde, a local Lebanese and Mediterranean Cafe and Grocery, had a booth at the fair where they were selling cupcakes.  I had no idea that Neomonde  which normally only sells baklava in the cafe, also makes cupcakes to sell to restaurants and hotels!  My parents bought two festive flavors, sweet potato and pumpkin (shown to the left), both of which were delicious!

The second cupcakes my parents bought were from BlueBird Cupcakes located in Raleigh, North Carolina.  These cupcakes were also new to me and we also delightful! My parents picked an apple caramel cinnamon, a s’more, and a crumb coffee cake cupcake.   Each cupcake, shown to the left, was better than the next! BlueBird Cupcakes doesn’t have a store front but they do deliver for free to the Triangle area!

Seriously. Could it get any better than this? These delicacies are courtesy of My Delight Cupcakery of Ontario, California.

Caution: do not visit their website if you are hungry. Delightful indeed! And dangerously delicious!

My Delight Cupcakery is the creation of Melinda and Naomi Moreno, a talented and inspired mother-daughter team. Visit them on Facebook and Twitter!

This past weekend my mom and I thought it would be fun to take the dog to the beach.  Turns out in North Carolina dogs aren’t allowed on the beach until after September 30th not after Labor Day as we were thinking.  Poor planning on my part as we were two weeks too early and ended up taking the dog for a two hour car ride.  We managed to turn our failed beach day around with cupcakes!  We stopped by Coastal Cupcakes in Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina and picked out five cupcakes to take home.  We brought back the oreo cheesecake, pink lemonade, red velvet, coconut, and key lime.  My favorites were the red velvet and the Oreo but all of the cupcakes were really good so I would definitely recommend trying Coastal Cupcakes if you are Wrightsville Beach or Wilmington!

Read the rest of this entry »

I’ve just fallen in love with these. Maybe because my husband just made me watch a Hell on Wheels marathon. But nevertheless, these cupcakes are pretty cool! These western-themed treats are courtesy of Cake Conspiracy of The Woodlands, Texas. Their slogan is “Slowly taking over the world with frosting…” Giddy-up!