I recently watched a Candies commercial staring spokes model Vanessa Hudgens.  In the commercial they describe  Candie’s Girls with “Candie’s-isms.”  One of the descriptions is that a “Candie’s Girls insist that sprinkles are a food group.”   Are sprinkles a food group? I’m working on my master’s in nutrition so my studies say no but as a cupcake lover I say of course sprinkles are a food group! What about you, do you agree with Vanessa?

Do you have a sweet tooth? I know I do!  I think it’s almost a requirement for cupcake fans to have a pretty big sweet tooth. I love these creative Sweet Tooth Cupcakes by who other than Erica from Sweet Tooth! How fitting! She also made these Mickey Mouse Cupcakes we blogged about in March.  She comes up with some very creative ideas! I think these tooth cupcakes are super cute and really look like teeth except they look good enough to eat! In her post she shares her recipe for marshmallow fondant and the directions for how to make these cupcakes.

Usually I am a huge Etsy ‘window’ shopper and I usually do a weekly cupcake search and this weeks cupcake search showed me something AMAZING…I never thought I would see anything like this, EVER!

Be prepared …

Cupcake ukulele from Celentano Woodworks Etsy Shop

Amazing!

Trista Sutter, former star on ABC’s The Bachelorette, has come together with Betty Crocker and concocted her own cupcake recipe using Zinfandel wine.  This TV-star-turned-cupcake queen says, “The cupcakes are a great choice if you’re preparing for a TV viewing party with your girlfriends.”

I love getting unexpected packages in the mail! Like this belated birthday present that came last week.  It’s a teal cupcake poster from AllPosters.com that says “Eat a cupcake then eat another.”  The poster is surprisingly large measuring 24×36 inches and is surprisingly inexpensive costing only $4.98!  At that price you could easily make someones day by surprising them with a little cupcake mail!

These sweet cupcakes were baked by Cupcakes with a Heart, an organization started this summer by two Yale students.  Proceeds from the cupcakes go toward different charities, and right now they support New Haven Reads, an organization that encourages literacy in New Haven.

Have you seen these My Little Cupcake POP Cake Pop Molds?  They are cupcake shaped molds that are used for making cupcake cake pops! This little gadget looks like it simplifies making Bakerella’s cute little cupcakes on a stick!   It costs $5.95 and they ship internationally.

Got a green thumb?  The summer might be winding down, but you can continue “gardening” with these creative treats. With ingredients like chewing gum, AirHeads, Jolly Ranchers, Starbursts, Tootsie Rolls, M&Ms, and chocolate-covered sunflower seeds, these garden cupcakes are sure to be a treat.  One thing is for sure: they will not fail to impress.

Conchetta Washington is a 24-year-old street artist in San Francisco.  Her company is called Conchetts, and they offer custom hand-painted items, like t-shirts, mugs and TOMS shoes (see the beautiful cupcake designs below).  Conchetta describes her designs as “whimsical, full of bold colors, swarovski crystals, and my signature cupcakes”.  Be sure and also check out her Facebook and Twitter pages.  I love her choice of colors…definitely eye-catching!

If it weren’t for Betty Crocker, my family would starve, so I was pretty excited to discover The Big Book of Cupcakes! This soon-to-be-classic cookbook offers 175 cupcakes, most of which are simple reciples using common ingredients. Many of the recipes can be done using cake mixes and store-bought frosting, and of course, they can all be made from scratch for all you ambitious bakers out there! There’s also a chapter dedicated to kids’ parties. Here’s a sample tease for you, the Chocolate Moose Cupcake:

I am a huge fan of grasshopper iced coffee, so I’m pretty sure I’d also love these mint-chocolate flavored treats.  Especially with Andes mints crumbled on top.  Yum!

Do you have a little princess in your life that loves to dress like a girly girl? 

Are bows, flowers, sequins and jewels a part of your day to day life? 

Well, then this week’s giveaway is for you!  Posh Little Tutus makes the cutest tutus and girly accessories I have ever seen.  My little cupcake has this tutu (with a matching bow!) and it is the envy of all her playdates!  It is so well made and the colors are amazing. 

Posh Little Tutus also sells unique headbands, shoes, clips and dresses.  Your little one will be posh from head to toe! Check out a few adorable cupcake items for their shop. 

This week Posh Little Tutus are giving away a $25 gift certificate to their shop.  To enter this giveaway, visit their site then come back to ATC and tell us your favorite Posh item.  One winner will be chosen on Monday September 5.  Thanks Posh Little Tutus!

Follow them on Facebook too!

Did you know that August is National Peach Month?  Go celebrate by picking yourself some fresh peaches and trying out a new cupcake recipe.  (You better hurry, though, because you’re almost out of time!)  This recipe was patterned after the peach cobbler cupcake at Chattanooga Cupcakes in Tennessee.  The batter and frosting contain hints of cinnamon, and of course, peaches.

I went to a gorgeous wedding the other day and was treated to gorgeous homemade cupcakes. Check them out!

I love my little coin purse that I have, it has saved me many times when I was just a bit short at the coffee shop for cash. But if I had had this cupcake coin purse, the baristas would have thought it was so cool that they would have given me my coffee and bagel for free!

Cupcake Yummy Pocket from Perpetual Kid

Who out  there is getting ready for Irene?! I know I am — got my flash light, got my candles & plenty of reading material! Well the folks at Carolina Cupcakery were getting ready a little bit differently.

They came up with the Hurricane Cupcake Kit about 3 years ago and they decided to bring it back for a Irene’s arrival.

Who else is preparing for Irene?!

Cupcakes plus cookies are the perfect pair in this cupcake recipe for cookie cupcakes with raspberry fluff frosting.  Ez Pudewa from Creature Comforts adapted from the September issue of Everyday Food Magazine so that they were gluten free.  I have yet to try baking cookies into cupcakes but since I love both cupcakes and cookies I will be adding these to my to-bake list!  The gluten-free version of this recipe can be found in the Creature Comfort’s blog post while the original version is on the Martha Stewart website.

These cupcakes look beautiful, simple, and eye-catching!  Any batter and frosting will work, and you can decorate with a variety of candies.  Some suggestions: smarties, jelly beans, peanut m&ms, plain m&ms, skittles, and fondant-filled ropes.

Did you know today, Thursday August 25th, is National Banana Split Day?  Join in the celebration and make one of these Banana Split Cupcake recipes from Tastespotting!

Just in case any of you awesome teachers (thank you) out there are looking for a few cupcakes to relieve some of that classroom stress, here are some cupcake bulletin board borders for you! I found them at Dollar Tree!

Attention all men: Looking for a sweet way to pop the big question?  If your girlfriend has a sweet tooth, then here’s an idea that you might like, and one that could easily be done at home with some practice (since you want your cupcake to impress).

Dreamcakes in Homewood, Alabama has recently come out with the proposal cupcake.  Customers can choose from any of the bakery’s 100 flavors, and the employees will write the big question on top of the cake, along with two faux rings (unless, of course, you’d like to put the real ring on top).

While reading one of my favorite blogs, Paper Crave, I noticed a post about a recipe book complied by over 50 bloggers.  All proceeds from the cook book, titled Recipes to Help, go to The American Red Cross.  Cupcake recipes included in the book are a recipe for chocolate cupcakes with nutella, almond butter, and vanilla cream cheese frosting by Good Life (eats) and derby cupcakes from The Polka Dot Chair.  The book is available in print or as a e-book, each are $10.00.

This is such a cute idea, and Wilton.com gives you the instructions you need to make it doable. So gear up for one more round of summertime cupcakes!

Before you take a bite of these cheeseburger cupcakes, you should know that they are sweet and not salty (wouldn’t want your taste buds to get too much of a shock).  Check out the ingredients:

• Coconut shavings and green food coloring (lettuce)
• Yellow cake mix (buns)
• Chocolate cake mix (meat)
• Yellow frosting (cheese slice)
• Red frosting (ketchup)
• Sesame seeds (sesame seeds)

These plates and bowls come in beautiful pastel colors, and the bowls are shaped like cupcake liners.  I think these would be fabulous for a nice brunch or a wedding shower, and it sure beats getting out your fancy china, because these are dishwasher safe, which will save you a bunch of time for clean-up.