Summer is just too hot to bake cheesecake.

If you are looking for a quick and easy cheesecakin filling or topping for your cupcakes, try this.

Beat together 8 ounces cream cheese, with 1 tablespoon flavouring extract

( Neilson Massey chocolate extract, cotton candy,  madagascar vanilla are our favourites) If using chocolate  flavouring then also beat into cream cheese 1/2 cup brute cocoa powder. You of course can colour the cotton candy pink <3  Then beat in a little at a time 1 — 1 1/2 cups powdered icing sugar (to taste)

When quite fluffy FOLD in 2 cups cool whip dessert topping ( no substitutes please) You will see the transformation into a quick setting cheesecake that you can use to pipe on top or fill your cooled cupcakes. We use a large open star tip for topping and a filler tip for filling. (we fill and top) Use a piece of Salt Water Taffy in delicious summer colours to adorn your masterpiece. Only use taffy as needed or it will DISSOLVE! These are our triple chocolate salt water taffy sweet cuppins. You will be glad you did.

Lyns

While looking at cupcake photos in our flickr group, I came across Windy Sydney’s inspired cupcakes by Wee Love Baking.  Both Andee and Sharon have a TON of talent and both offer a collection of the most inspiring cupcakes to conquer.

Our group  Flickr stream is a great place to stir up the creative process or stimulate your whimsies. =o)

from Sharon at  Wee Love Baking Blog.

From Andee at Windy Sydney.  Both are fantastic! Check them out!

<3

With May in full swing and Mother’s day behind us Summer is coming and with that is a bounty of fun! So here at Sweet Cuppin Cakes we wanted in on all that fun.
Starting we have hooked  up with another clever crafting cupcakkie for Our Talented Cupcakkie Crafters  end of our store, where we feature several cupcakkies you already know like Cakespy, Bake and Destroy, The Glass Chef, Gigi Minor, Chic Baby Rose and  Sugar & Meringue. We will continue to feature these special artists  in our shoppe so you can easily access special treats.  Emily at Sugar & Meringue is one special lass to get to know through her blog and awesome creations. 

How fun are these for a baby shower or a baby party or just to be real retro and cute in a scrapbook project. Emily takes great care handcrafting these and the finished project is awesome! We will give you a package of 50 liners with your purchase from Sweet Cuppin Cakes.  Now for some more fun, if you have a design that you would like to see as a topper, send it on to me at [email protected] Subject ATC SCC Summer Contest #1 We will send out a notice when we have enough designs that will be enough to choose from. I look forward to hearing from you. The winner will receive a bounty of cupcake toppers and liners.
<3
Lyns

I have been so busy getting our webstore finalized and what we plan to carry that it has been a while since I posted here. I am happy to announce that we are now supplying to several bakeries all over the world and learning so much of the cupcake industry everywhere! Soooo today I bring all ATC readers some sweet news! We are now carrying an absolutley gorgeous line of gift cupcake liners, their beauty and high quality cannot be seen in a photo but I assure you these are so pretty you may not want to bake in them.

Each package is elegantly packaged with a keen sense of the environment, you can read about that on our site! There is a lovely size selection that you can easily adapt to your pans! Hint : Never oil your pans prior to baking with a cupcake liner! Make sure you are not sweating your cakes, they need dry hot quick baking! Also if you are using a convection oven, again do not sweat them, bake them by turning off the fan for the last half of baking! All these hints will keep the integrity of your gorgeous liners. Each box has a European recipe for cupcakes (muffins) printed on the bottom.

Now to introduce our line up

You can find these in Sweet Cuppin Cakes Bakery and Cupcakery Supply

And for a sweet cuppin deal for all All Things Cupcake readers we will toss in a free sample of our other new product line up. Pinks, purples, rainbows, polkas and a whole lot more. In the message area of your order simply  type  “I LUV ALL THINGS CUPCAKE ”

Cheers to all and enjoy the day!

Lyns

How cute are these?

Snow cute! ;) LOL

Snow Cone Cupcakes by kara’s cupcakes.

With Mother’s day around the corner, here is an excellent DIY suggestion from Theresa Wong at thestar.com.my.  As delectable as these cupcake boxes may seem, they are in fact not edible.  They are merely paper mache containers for little treasures hidden inside of them!

All of the materials (ingredients) needed can be found at your local crafts store.  Click here for step by step DIY instructions.

As with any other english speaking country, the english language may be the same, but the terminology may be different.  Below are some terms that I had to scratch my head a little to figure out:

Foam fruit net = foam net that protects fruit

Paper cake cases = paper cupcake liners

Patty tin = muffin tin

It looks like the cupcake concept has gone to Malaysia.  We found this report of a massive 20,000 cupcake Malaysian flag being created.  According to the original news story, 150 members started working in shifts on thursday morning until staurday noon to complete this monumental task.

Unfortunately, no pictures of the final 23 feet by 15 foot cupcake flag was provided.  We do know that the malaysian flag looks like this.

This would be a stretch, but do we have any Malaysian readers who might have witnessed the event?

One of our ATC readers wrote us recently.  She has renewed my faith in attractive cupcakes found in supermarkets.  Meghan writes:

I love your website, very cute, but you must hear that a lot! anywho, I work at Publix Bakery (its like floridas biggest super market) anyways, I’m starting to become a decorator there and I thought you might like these cupcakes that I made for the website.

We love your cupcake designs Meghan.  Keep on improving!

Addi Cupcake Painting done by Lilyana’s Room

I can not say enough nice things about the Brianna, the owner of this store. She is very fast, kind, and polite. Her work is amazing. See for yourself!

Thank you so much for creating this gorgeous Cupcake painting for me! I love it!

Celebration Cupcake Liners $6.95

These cupcake liners are decorated in a vibrant mix of fun graphics in hot pinks and bright colors. These colorful celebratory cupcake papers are perfect for any occasion.

Available from Crate & Barrel

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

World’s Best Cupcakes Clock $19.95

It’s the sweetest clock you’ll ever see! Old-fashioned design is accented with delicious confections and boasts, “World’s Best Cupcakes.” Crafted of wood composite with large numerals. Quartz movement. Requires one AA battery. Keyhole hanger. 13 1/2″ diam.

Available at Potpourri.

Thanks to ATC Reader Julie for bringing this to our attention.

http://bakerella.blogspot.com/2009/04/eye-candy.html

All Retro Bakery cupcakes will be dressed for the Easter holiday from April 6- 11. As always, the holiday decoration is at NO EXTRA CHARGE!!

HOPPY Easter!
www.retrobakeryLV.com

NEVIEPIECAKES says: these are for my sister-in-law. She is a photography student and having an exhibition about pictures of living rooms and wants to raise a bit of money selling cakes.

While browsing flickr, I discovered tons of beautifully decorated Easter Cupcakes. Here are some great ideas!

Read the rest of this entry »

Baby Shower Cake and Cupcakes

A cookies-n-cream cake and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream topped with fondant decorations. #9

Kitty Cat Cupcake Wristlet $10.50

This wristlet in pea green is just the perfect size! Carry your keys, credit cards, and cell phone. Latch hook allows you to hook secure the handle strap through your belt loop for hand-fee shopping. Fully lined interior; zippered top. Even Kittens love cupcakes!

Available at Allenbrite Etsy Shop

Cupcake Hand Painted Ceramic Beads $11.50

These sweet beads are kiln fired bisque ceramic beads that are hand painted with acrylics, and sealed with a hard, glossy, weather-proof varnish.
Holes run horizontally on this set…perfect for bracelets and necklaces. Almost good enough to eat!

Available from The Royal Bead Etsy Shop

Pink Cupcake Ruffle Top

ATC Reader Jen sent us an email and photo about this Custom Cupcake Scrub Top that she had made.

Custom Cupcake Scrub Top was made by AmethystThreads.

Hand Painted Cupcake Frame $30

This cupcake picture frame adds a whimsical touch to any room! This original design is hand painted with non-toxic acrylic paint and sealed with a clear satin protective finish. There is even subtle sparkle detail on the cherry and sprinkles.

Available at  Whirley Girl’s Etsy Shop

EdytheAnne on Etsy has certainly a gift for you! Absolutely adorable 3D cupcakes you can make yourself.

All you do is visit her Etsy shop and purchase her wonderful DIY instructions, maybe a trip to the craft store, some gorgeous liners from Sweet Cuppin Cakes and you are off to have a wonderful day of cupcake craftin’ A big thanks to EdytheAnne for sending this in!

Of course I bought my copy of the DIY instructions, you will not be disappointed <3

Cheerful Chocolate Cupcake photos by me (GreenEyedLillies)

My review…

I was sent several boxes of cake mix and frosting mix from a company called Naturally Nora. I baked the cheerful chocolate cake with the cheerful chocolate frosting. Everyone loved the cupcakes I made with their product! I shared them with people of all ages, from a toddler to a few folks over thirty.  The cupcakes have a great chocolate flavor but they are not too rich or over powering. I can not wait to try the other kinds! I told my vegan friends that they could substitute some applesauce for the eggs. They are now working with me to get Naturally Nora available in stores locally!

Other reasons I love this product…

Naturally Nora is using all-natural ingredients you can’t find anywhere else!   They have created cake and frosting mixes that they are now delighted to share with you.

Naturally Nora mixes are made with:

• All-natural ingredients.
• NO artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
• NO hydrogenated oils or trans fats.
• Lots of Love!

Environmentally-friendly packaging is also something you can expect from Naturally Nora.

Dairy is “optional”, meaning none of their mixes contain dairy products. It is your choice whether to add milk & butter during preparation. Vanilla soymilk & margarine also work well.

All of their products are kosher and do not contain dairy or soy. They are produced in a facility that also uses milk, soy and tree nuts. Check the ingredient statement of each product for additional ingredient information.

Please visit Naturally Nora for more information.