Pretty In Pink Velvet Cupcake

So we know that red velvet is a thing. On St. Patrick's Day, you see green velvet. Blue Velvet has also been spotted. Pink velvet is pretty and one of Cupcakes Take The Cake Flickr members made these.

Speaking of pink velvet, I did a cake mix hack earlier this week using Duncan Hines Pink Velvet mix. I added a ripe banana, made a lemon glaze and it is delicious. The cake is like a hybrid between banana bread and yellow cake. It is less dense that banana bread. It's great to eat with coffee in the morning.

Latest Cupcake Innovation: SprayCake

We love to know what is new with cupcakes whether is new flavors, products or technology. Five years ago, Cupcakes Take The Cake was one of the first blogs to report on 3D printing via the Makerbot Cupcake CNC.

Now, two Harvard students have created the Spray Cake which is cake batter in a aerosol can. I read about them on PSFK. John McCallum and Brook Nowakowski have created an easy way to dispense cake and cupcake batter. The Spray Cake also cuts down the baking time.

The accelerant in the can releases air bubbles inside the batter, eliminating the need for baking soda and baking powder so the confection is ready to eat almost instantly. It takes 30 seconds to bake a cupcake in the microwave, and only one minute to bake a full cake.- (via Time)

Fig, Honey And Goat Cheese Cupcakes By Angel Cakes

More than 90% of figs grown in the United States are grown in California. A fig is a fruit that is often paired with more savory food like ham or brie, but it is really sweet. Angel Cakes in San Francisco baked these lovely fig with honey and goat cheese cupcakes.

How To Draw A Cupcake via CakeSpy

Even if you consider yourself to be not very artistic, you can easily draw a cupcake. CakeSpy illustrates how to draw a cupcake.

This cupcake says everything I think about them in one word

But what else would you expect from a bakery with the cool name of James and the Giant Cupcake and delicious cupcakes to bake it up? Check them out in Oakland, California and on Facebook.

Recommendation: Pepperidge Farm's Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish

Earlier this week, I heard about Vanilla Cupcake Goldfish Grahams via email. Then I looked them up online and contacted Pepperidge Farm via Twitter to ask if I could get a sample. I got them today. They are delicious! These vanilla cupcake goldfish are not cheesy crackers but graham crackers with sprinkles in them. At only 140 calories per 35 crackers, these "goldfish" make a good snack for lunch.

Also, they would be great as cupcake toppers or you can crumple up the graham crackers to look like sand for beachy cupcakes like these cupcakes below.

Baked by Melissa to close its first Manhattan bakery, others to remain open

In a video, Baked by Melissa owner Melissa revealed that July 21st will be their original SoHo store's last day, and she will be there in person to give away free cupcakes. Their other shops, in Manhattan, at JFK airport, and at Garden State Plaza mall in New Jersey, will remain open. Click here for a full location listing.



Here's a double decker cupcake photo they Tweeted the other day in response to Judd Apatow and Lena Dunham discussing their cupcakes.



And here's an older photo by me of a limited edition flavor, Rice Krispie Treat cupcakes:

Video: How To Add Summer Fruit To Cupcakes

This Potluck Video featuring Bobbie Lloyd of Magnolia Bakery will show you how to add seasonal summer fruit to cupcakes.

Spotted on Reddit: Banana Split Cupcakes And Pug Cupcakes

I tried to check Reddit every morning to see what's trending or new on the Internet and I spotted these two cupcakes.

These cupcakes are pug-cakes.

Toppers: Smucker's Magic Shell and Chocolate Topping

A lot of cupcake bakeries have started to add ice cream to their menu, and that's a good thing. My parents don't even like to eat cake or cupcake with vanilla ice cream. Sprinkles, A Piece of Cake, are among the many bakeries selling artisan ice cream.

Smucker's has two new flavors of Magic Shell, Chocolate Pretzel and Rainbow Sherbet. I love the chocolate pretzel flavor. It's the perfect combination of salty and sweet. The Rainbow Sherbet would be better paired with a sorbet or frozen yogurt since it is really sweet.


I made homemade vanilla ice cream a few weeks ago. Of course, I made an easy sundae with one banana, Heath toffee chips, and the Chocolate Pretzel.

Smucker's also has chocolate toppings. I used the chocolate coconut in a milkshake made with the homemade vanilla ice cream.

MY visit to Sprinkles (finally!) and a little place called Disneyland

So I finally got to eat a Sprinkles cupcake, and from the original location and the original ATM, no less!  Herein, I will painstakingly chronicle the entire pilgrimage for you all, if you are cupcake fanatic enough to stick with me...

My adorable daughter humored me when I told her there was an ATM, so I let her take the reigns.  First, she deftly maneuvered the simple touch interface.  Every flavor was available on the menu except for the daily specials, though there was no information displayed to let us know that.

Then she waited patiently, perhaps 2 minutes while it processed our order.

She was fascinated by the storage below the machine, but we couldn't tell exactly how automated it was.  Maybe if we came back at 2am, we could see a mechanical arm or a person's arm for that matter.

 

The door eventually slid open and Tada! Cupcakes!  (There really should have been gospel music playing or some kind of trumpets sounding when it opened).  We had ordered 3 cupcakes from the ATM, knowing we would also be going in to have the full experience, but there was barely enough time to snap a picture and grab the cupcakes before it closed on our hands. 

 

And then we got in line outside the store.  The door was closed and there were tables and chairs outside with people loitering about, but when we walked up to the door, we were told there was a line, which we didn't notice at first.

 

There was a funny little note on the door telling us why it was closed and why people weren't standing nearer:  It says "Please keep the door closed...this helps us maintain the freshness of our cupcakes".  I think they're being a little precious about their cupcakes.  It was pretty cold when we finally got in there, but the shop probably only fits half a dozen people anyway and they really want the door closed to keep their electric bill from skyrocketing.

 

Inside!

They sold tshirts, mixes, toys and all sorts of things inside that tiny shop.  I bought a "large" tshirt, but ended up giving it to my daughter later because "large" in Beverly Hills apparently means "small" in the Midwest :p. There were at least 3 people behind the counter and cupcake trays kept coming out while we were there.

This was adorable and I considered buying it for my daughter, but truthfully, I'm the one that wanted it, not her, so I settled for a picture.

 

Of course I had to grab a menu and some of the adorable branded wooden forks for the hotel room.

When we arrived back at our hotel, this too precious note was inside the box.  Apparently, we should tip over our their cupcakes or bad things can happen.  I do appreciate the "do not refrigerate" note, since that's the best way to eat a 3GC cupcake as well. Beware of refrigerated cupcakes or bakers who tell you to refrigerate them.

Strawberry, Triple Cinnamon, Vanilla Milk Chocolate, Orange Ganache, Chocolate Marshmallow, Chocolate Peanut Butter in the box.  From the ATM, we got 3 individual boxes with Red Velvet, Lemon Blueberry and Coconut.

 

Now for the tasting results!  Most of the icings had a nice flavor, but not very bold for cupcakes from the star of Cupcake Wars who is always telling people their cupcakes need to have a strong flavor.  The fruit flavors had the zest or pulp of the actual fruit which was nice and the consistency was a lot like our own Cupcake A La Mode, which may be why I like it so much ;).  However, the peanut butter frosting was a bit too chunky and not sweet enough for my taste and the chocolate ganache was more bitter than I typically like.  The milk chocolate frosting, however, was creamy and rich, but definitely a light enough flavor of chocolate to be considered "milk", almost like a candy bar.  The coconut and cinnamon were my favorites and interesting to note is that the coconut was a lot like 3GC, with the flavoring in the icing itself and then covered with (non-toasted) coconut.  Many people today think it has to be toasted to be considered gourmet, but apparently Sprinkles agreed with us.  My husband said the red velvet wasn't necessarily the best he'd ever had, but it was definitely up there.  My daughter's favorite was the lemon blueberry, with real whole blueberries in the cake.  Now to the downside.  The cakes were all pretty dense, with a large homemade crumb, which I like, but the flavor of the vanilla cake was almost inedible by itself.  It wasn't sweet, but it also had a bad taste (not after taste) like you were eating baking soda, maybe?  All of the vanilla cakes had this flavor consistently.  When eaten together with the frosting, it was tolerable, but that's no way to spend $4+ on a medium cupcake.  Also, the ubiquitous and infamous gelatin markers on top of the cupcakes was just gross.  Technically, they are edible, but even fondant tastes better.  My guess is that the gelatin tabs are easier and cheaper to produce and last longer, like cockroaches.

 

Did I mention I was in LA on a trip to Disneyland? 

 

 

 I picked up a Lemon Strawberry cupcake on the way out of Disneyland and it was WAY better than I expected.  The cake was moist and flavorful and the strawberry sauce and chocolate shavings were a nice combination.  The only thing that would have made it better is if it had real whipped cream on top, but I'm not gonna quibble.

 

 

 

Piña Colada Cake Pops

If you like piña coladas and getting caught in the rain, then you will love these cake pops by Nadia Bakes.