Baby Einstein, caterpillar and iPhone cupcakes

Paris-based Little Miss Cupcake bakes up some of the cutest custom cupcakes around! Here's some of her handiwork, via her Flickr account. See www.littlemisscupcake.eu for ordering information.


Baby Einstein caterpillar, star and finger puppets, part of a larger order birthday order. These are Chocolate Squared, Chocobutter, Vanilla Lovers, Strawberry Berry Berry Good, Gimme Smore, and Cookies n Cream cupcakes.


I couldn't resist a closeup of the caterpillar - so cute!


These are Lemon Tart and 16H Gouter cupcakes with hand-made sugarpaste app buttons: SMS, Calendar, Photos, Camera, Remote, Notes, Paris metro, Weather, Phone, Calculator, Jott, App Store.

The Easter Bunny exists (in cupcake form)

Yay for Easter bunny cupcakes...so adorable. I think Easter is bringing out the cutest cupcakes of the year! These are by Heavenly Bites Cakes via Flickr.

Cute spring pastel flower mini cupcakes

These cupcakes are by Nutmeg Confections via Flickr.

April Fool's Day TV dinner cupcakes

Some fun April Fool's Day TV dinner cupcakes by Winona, Minnesota custom cupcake company Mon Petit Cupcakes, via their Facebook page. I'll have more on them tomorrow but wanted to share this timely photo. For ordering information, contact owner Jennifer Rogers at monpetitcupcake at yahoo.com or 507-358-8504 and you can also follow @monpetitecupcake on Twitter.

Gary Vaynerchuk custom Crush It! cupcakes

Rutherford, New Jersey bakery Sweet Avenue Bake Shop is famous for putting images on cupcakes, such as the stars of Twilight. Recently, they did cupcakes for WineLibraryTV video blogger Gary Vaynerchuk, author of Crush It! Why NOW Is The Time To Cash In On Your Passion, for a book signing he did. I'm going to see if Gary will give us a little insight into the increasingly popular cupcake and wine pairings.

You can read more about the book at publisher HarperStudio and buy it from Amazon. I haven't read it so can't speak to the book but I imagine it has some helpful advice for anyone looking to pursue a business in cupcakes, or anything entrepreneurial.


photo via @winelibrary at Yfrog


photo of Gary Vaynerchuk with Crush It! cupcake by Anthony Quintano



Visit www.sweetavenuebakeshop.com or call 201-935-BAKE (2253) or email info at sweetavenuebakeshop.com to get your own custom photo cupcakes. You can also follow them on Twitter, Facebook, and their blog.

Below is their banana cream pie cupcake...looks delicious! Available Tuesdays and Thursdays in April.

Strawberry mania and color-coordinated Peeps cupcakes at Wink Cupcakes, Seattle

These strawberry cupcakes and Peeps cupcakes are by Seattle's Wink Cupcakes, via their Facebook page. They did not have either of these when I visited their bakery, but they did have adorable ice cream cone cupcakes, which is something I rarely see. My phone battery died just as I was eating their ice cream cupcake, so I couldn't properly capture my surprise, or the frosting on my nose, when I found out there was frosting under the cake. I'm using a photo from their site to illustrate the inside - it was quite something.


inside the Wink Cupcakes ice cream cone cupcake

The strawberry cupcakes are available by special order until they're fully in season, according to their blog.



I love how the Peep and frosting colors match!



The ones below were for a media appearance - how cute is the chick hatching?





Wink Cupcakes
1817 Queen Anne Ave N
Seattle, WA 98109
206-856-1600

Easter toffee apple cupcakes

How fun are these Easter toffee apple cupcakes and pretty pastel flower cupcakes by blogger Torie Jayne? See more Easter cupcakes and cupcake liners at her blog.

Sugar and Spice Review Miami's Buttercream Cupcakes and Coffee

This is a guest post from Sugar and Spice, two ladies from Miami who love cupcakes as much as we do.

Sugar and I visited Buttercream Cupcakes & Coffee, owned by wife and husband team Kristine Graulich and Jose Cuellar. The shop itself is warm and inviting. The minute you open the front door you are hit with the warm aroma of baking cupcakes and brewing coffee. Jose and Kristine are friendly, and very welcoming, despite a rash of what seems to be cupcakery spies who have even taken pictures of their ovens and kitchen layout. [People this is NOT cool!] Sugar and I tried several of their cupcakes: vanilla, chocolate chocolate, vanilla oreo, chocolate coconut, triple chocolate, and lastly the most perfect red velvet cupcake to ever have touched our lips!

The cupcakes all have a moist, dense texture that Buttercream is known for. All of the frosting flavors were very rich and had a slight tang to them. Perhaps it is from buttermilk or cream cheese? To be honest, the vanilla was a great cake, but the frosting was a bit overbearing. The cake definitely can stand alone without the very rich and slightly tangy frosting. The chocolate chocolate is a moist, rich chocolate chip studded cake that is almost brownie-like in texture with an uber-rich chocolate frosting. The triple chocolate is one of Sugar’s favorite flavors. It had a very rich and chocolaty overall taste. The chocolate sprinkles actually taste like chocolate instead of sugar as most other sprinkles do.

All of the other cupcakes must be jealous of the red velvet. The red velvet from Buttercream Cupcakes has changed our cupcake lovin’ lives!!!! We have been converted! I realize that I just hadn’t had the right red velvet cupcake before, and I have had more than my share! Perhaps they should be renamed red velvet magic, or red velvet miracles. No, we’re not stopping short of the word MIRACLE. The cake is dense and moist, with a very tender crumb and gently crisp top dome. You can actually taste both the vanilla and the cocoa. The real question is what does Kristine do to her red velvet magic cupcakes? The mystery haunts us every night since we have eaten one. I lie in bed thinking buttermilk? Simple syrup? Cream cheese? And the only way for me to truly find out is to go and taste them again and again and again. I don’t even need the frosting;as a matter of fact, you can scrape it right off! The red velvet miracle cake doesn’t need any frosting, it’s just fine on its own. We recommend that everyone who is in Miami go to Buttercream Cupcakes & Coffee, located at 1411 Sunset Drive in Coral Gables, and taste what red velvet cupcakes are supposed to be.

Bunny ears and Peeps: Easter cupcakes at Gigi's Cupcakes

Via Facebook, these Easter cupcakes are available at Gigi's Cupcakes in Chattanooga.

Cute Easter cupcakes

All these fun Easter cupcakes are by ashleycupcakes on Flickr. See more in this photo set.

April 2010 cupcake calendar

Send any events we missed or May 2010 event details (must include date/time, address, event name, price, URL, 2-3 sentence description and, if applicable, jpeg) to cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com OR leave in the comments - see RSS calendar at right for ongoing 30-day links, we update that as events come to our attention. We welcome international event listings. Please note: events are listed at our discretion.

April 1, 12:30 pm
Cupcake decorating demo, Macy's City Center, Philadelphia

Free mini cupcakes plus flower cupcake demo by A Cupcake to Remember.

Click here for details.



April 2, 8 pm
Johnny Cupcake Suitcase Tour kickoff, New York City
Click here for full tour dates (nationwide)



April 5
What's New, Cupcake? book tour kickoff
Houston, Texas
Click here for full tour dates



April 5, 6 pm
Iron Cupcake Chicago: Cookies



Email beautifulcakes at sbcglobal.net or click here for more information.

April 9, 7 pm
CupcakeCamp NYC



See cupcakecampnyc.blogspot.com for details.

Happy Ending Lounge, 302 Broome Street, New York

April 10, 11 am
CupcakeCamp Seattle

Click here for more information.

WHEN: Saturday, April 10, 2010 11am-2pm
WHERE: 415 Westlake Ave Seattle, Washington, 98109
WHY: Because who doesn’t love cupcakes? Plus we will have some fun competitions and a fundraiser for Hope Heart Institute

The concept for Cupcake Camp originated in San Francisco and promotes a true spirit of community and sharing, and Cupcake Camps now happen around the world and come in a wide variety of flavors and sizes. The most essential feature of a Cupcake Camp is that it brings together people to share their love of cupcakes!

Cupcake Camp Seattle is presented by Bella Cupcake Couture as a delicious celebration of this small coveted treat. Completely volunteer run and organized in an open and participatory manner, our first Cupcake Camp Seattle raises funds for Hope Heart Institute.

April 10, 1-4 pm
Cupcakes for Cures, Asheville, NC

Charity cupcake event at The Grove Park Inn. Click here for more information.



April 10, 1 pm
Los Angeles Cupcake Meetup: Big Man Bakes

Real men bake cupcakes? Well, that seems to be the case at Big Man Bakes in Downtown L.A., where they specialize in traditional Southern Cake!

Minis cost only $1 (or 6 for $5) and XL cupcakes are $3.25 each. Flavors include Red Velvet, Carrot Cake, Double Chocolate, Old School and Coconut

Big Man Bakes
413 S. Main Street
Los Angeles, CA 90013
213-617-9100

Click here to RSVP.

April 11, 12-3 pm
Cupcakes Take the Cake Meetup, Denver - 2 locations

Join Cupcakes Take the Cake blogger Rachel Kramer Bussel for cupcakes, cereal and chat at this cupcake meetup. No RSVPs, just show up! (Email cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com if you have any questions.)

12-1:30: The Shoppe Denver
first dozen cupcakes free courtesy of Cupcakes Take the Cake

The Shoppe Denver
3103 East Colfax Avenue
Denver, CO 80206
303-322-3969
Theshoppedenver at yahoo.com

1:30-3, Lovely Confections
first dozen cupcakes free courtesy of Cupcakes Take the Cake

Lovely Confections
1489 Steele St., Unit C
Denver, CO 80206
720-524-7770

photos below via Lovely Confections:





April 11, 1-3 pm
Iron Cupcake Toronto: Coffee

Click here for more information.

Judges: Byron Cunningham – President and CEO Plant Bean, Pauline Cunningham, Ben Kaplan and Melissa Long both reporters for the National Post’s Arts and Life section



April 11, 6 pm
Iron Cupcake Leeds (UK): Retro Sweets

Upstairs at The Adelphia.

Click here for details.

April 15
CupcakeCamp Boston

CupcakeCamp is a free and open gathering of people who enjoy cupcakes. Attendees are encouraged to bring cupcakes.



Click here for more information.


Petsi Pies cupcake


cupcakes by Treat Cupcake Bar

April 17, 1-4 pm
Cupcake Business Class by Cupcakes Take the Cake, Philadelphia

See Meetup.com to sign up.

April 19, 6:30-8:30 pm
Cupcake Baking class with The Robicellis, Brooklyn

This month we're happy to welcome Allison and Matt Robicelli whose innovative cupcakes have won them a cult following in New York City. Allison and Matt will go over the finer points of cake baking, covering the fundamentals of the process, which they will demonstrate step-by-step to turn non-bakers into bakers. They will then discuss the pros and cons of two different methods for making cake, creaming and oil-based, and of course, go over buttercream. Students will go home with recipes, a belly full of cupcakes, and the confidence to bake perfect cake at home with ease.

$40; click here to register

The Brooklyn Kitchen, 100 Frost Street, Brooklyn, NY 11211

April 24
Cupcake Eating Contest, Ivy Bakery, Brooklyn

see www.ivybakery.com for details

April 25, 3 pm
Iron Cupcake Milwaukee: Cheese



See ironcupcakemilwaukee.com for details.

IronCupcake:Milwaukee
CHEESE Challenge
with WI Milk Marketing Board, Larry's Market & Holland's Family Cheese
RUMBLE at the Harley-Davidson Museum
400 W Canal St
.Milwaukee, WI 53201

What is "the new cupcake?"

The Gloss takes a look at the many, many media outlets, such as the Miami New Times ("Cutesy cupcakes are as outdated as truffle oil. All over the country, these ubiquitous mini-cakes are being supplanted in popularity by the donut") that are asking what's "the new cupcake?" Answers range from donuts to macaroons to whoopie pies, but we around here know that cupcakes are, in fact, "the new cupcake."

Tulip, duckling and more flower cupcakes

I saw this cute tulip and duckling cupcake at Party Cupcake Ideas and couldn't resist it's cuteness; the photo is by wockerjabby on Flickr. I love how you can see all the sugar crystals, and how simple but very fun and attention-getting the designs are.




via Flickr

What's New, Cupcake? book tour and TV dates

Authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson are about to go on a big book tour for their latest, What's New, Cupcake? (click here for some photos and recipes from the book, and we'll have more soon). Visit their official site for cupcake decorating tips and tune in tomorrow to the Today Show for special April Fool's Day cupcakes.



New York City
TODAY Show, demo/interview, April 1, 4th Hour

New York City
Fox & Friends, demo/interview, April 2

Houston, TX
Central Market, Cooking Demo and Class, April 5, 6:30pm

Austin, TX
Central Market, Cooking Demo and Class, April 6, 6:30pm

Dallas, TX
Central Market, Cooking Demo and Class, April 7, 6:30pm

Ft. Worth, TX
Central Market, Cooking Demo and Class, April 8, 6:30pm

San Antonio, TX
Central Market, Cooking Demo and Class, April 9, 6:30pm

Palo Alto, CA
Sur la Table, Cooking Demo and Class. April 11, 12:00pm

San Francisco, CA
Sur la Table (Union Square), Cooking Demo and Class, April 12, 6:00pm

Fairfield, CA
Jelly Belly Factory, Cooking Demo, April 13, 1:00pm

Kansas City, MO
Webster House w/Rainy Day Books, Cooking Demo, April 15, 1:30pm

New York City
Barnes & Noble, 66th and Broadway, Cooking Demo, April 17, 2:00pm

Scottsdale, AZ
Sur La Table, Cooking Demo and Class, April 19, 6:00pm

Denver, CO
Tattered Cover (Colfax/Uptown), Cooking Demo, April 20, 7:30pm

Apex, NC
A.C. Moore, Cooking Demo and Class, April 24, 12:00pm

Cary, NC
A.C. Moore, Cooking Demo and Class, April 25, 12:00pm

St. Louis, MO
Left-Bank Books, Cooking Demo, April 27, 7:00pm

St. Louis, MO
L'Ecole Culinaire, Cooking Demo and Class, April 28, 10:00am

Toronto, Canada
Media Day, May 5

Paramus, NJ and Hartsdale, NY
Chef Central, book signing, May 8, 11:00am and 2:00pm

Manhasset, Long Island
Sur La Table, Cooking Demo and Class, May 11, 6:00pm

Toms River, NJ
Ocean County Library, book signing and demo, May 13, 7:00pm

Philadelphia
Sur La Table, Cooking Demo and Class, May 14, 6:30pm

Marlton, NJ
Sur La Table, Cooking Demo and Class, May 15, 11:00am

Canton, CT
Sur La Table, Cooking Demo and Class, May 18

Chicago, IL
Sweet & Snacks (formerly All Candy Expo), May 23-27

Milwaukee, WI
Iron Cupcake: Earth / Hearts for Haiti Event, May 28-30

Cotton candy Easter mini cupcakes at Baked by Melissa

New York's Baked by Melissa, which has a window in SoHo and a shop on 14th Street near Union Square, is serving up cotton candy mini cupcakes in pretty pastel colors for Easter. Visit www.bakedbymelissa.com or call 212-842-0220 for ordering information.

Mini marshmallow lamb cupcakes

These mini marshmallow lamb cupcakes are so cute! Get the recipe at Food2.com.

Coconut Easter basket cupcakes and pastel spring cupcakes

Chicago's Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique is serving up some special Easter cupcakes (they will be closed on Easter Sunday and are open Saturday 9 am to 3 pm). Visit www.sugarblisscakes.com for more information. Regular size cupcakes are $40/dozen and mini cupcakes are $15/dozen.


These Easter basket cupcakes are available from today through April 3rd. They are: "Vanilla Coconut and Chocolate Coconut cupcakes topped with green coconut shavings and topped with jelly beans."


These spring cupcakes are also available through April 3rd: "Black & White and Vanilla Vanilla cupcakes with pastel vanilla buttercream."

You can also follow Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique on Facebook and Twitter and on April 6th at noon can catch owner Teresa Ging at noon at Macy's State Street offering a dessert demo using KitchenAid. They're also eco-conscious: they sell a $5 tote bag that holds up to a dozen mini cupcakes and if your bring it back for a cupcake refill you get 20 cents off your order and as we all know, every penny counts.

Chocolate ganache macaroon flourless cupcakes, chocolate peanut butter & more at Tee & Cakes

Boulder, Colorado bakery Tee & Cakes posted on their website on March 26th:

Perfectly tasty seasonal cupcakes. For the next week, we’ll have these cupcakes available at the shop. They go fast, so come by at 11am or feel free to pre-order. 720-406-7548.

They look delicious! It doesn't say for sure but I'm assuming the flourless chocolate cake is kosher for Passover (note that some bakeries are selling Passover cupcakes but they are not technically kosher for Passover, so ask if this is a concern). See www.teeandcakes.com for store information.


Flourless Chocolate Cake with Macaroon and Chocolate Ganache.


Chocolate peanut butter


Pistachio


Carrot cupcake