I wish it were flip flop weather, but instead, we have flip flop coconut cupcakes

Blogger Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice made these coconut cupcakes with cute flip flops on top. Go there for the recipe (a Martha Stewart one). She writes:

hese cupcakes weren't quite the chocolate overload creations I was looking for but they tasted great, were light and fluffy, and stayed moist even after being frozen for a few weeks. I love that the recipe uses sour cream to give a more rounded flavor and to keep the cakes from drying out too quickly.

Easter and spring colorful cupcake toppers on Etsy

These are everything the weather in New York right now is not, so they made me smile. Available for sale on Etsy (the toppers, not the cupcakes) from seller sosweetpartyshop: Easter cupcake toppers and flower cupcake toppers (the Easter ones are 12 for $12 and the flower ones are 8 for $8).

Cupcakes in Jamaica: Kingston Minicakes

These cupcakes are all by Kingston, Jamaica custom cupcake company Kingston Minicakes, with the photos coming from their Facebook page.









And I found an article about them via this article in Jamaica Gleaner:

Ramona Phipps-Porter and Angella Blair, are the young masterminds behind the little scrumptious treats. Both young women had a passion for the sweeter things in life from an early age, which was revealed when they met three years ago. The women said they met through work and have remained friends ever since. Phillips-Porter, the more outspoken of the two, told Food that after they realised they both liked pastry they 'knocked' heads and decided to venture into a business.

"We decided to do cupcakes because it was new. So last October we began baking and selling from home, and so far the response has been great," said Phipps-Porter.

Initial temptation

The entrepreneurs said that one of the reasons why their cupcakes are so good is that they do a lot of research and alter recipes making them into what they want them to be. They also noted that, at first, they would eat a lot of the cupcakes when they finished a batch but thankfully they have overcome the initial temptation.

Goodbye New York, Hello Australia reader cupcakes

These goodbye New York, hello Australia cupcakes were made by our reader Leslie for a friend heading home to Australia after three years in New York. What a fun sendoff!

Kindergarten student's cupcake art becomes actual cupcake

From The Boston Globe:

A Milton kindergartner’s cupcake design has been chosen to help celebrate the restoration of a full-year art program in Milton elementary schools.

The Milton Visual Arts Alliance, a group formed to fight cuts in the art program, had challenged all Milton elementary school students this month to create a cupcake design that would be used to celebrate the School Committee’s December decision to restore full–year art classes for all elementary school students.

The winning cupcake, designed by Ha-Yen Nguyen, a kindergartner at Glover Elementary School, is on sale at Cakes Bakery Café now through April.


by Ha-Yen Nguyen

Visit cakesmilton.com for more information. I don't see a photo of the cupcake inspired by the art above yet, so here are a few photos of their cupcakes below, via their Facebook page.


The pictured cupcake will be our Community Cupcake; the full purchase price for each cupcake will be donated to Doctors without Borders to support their Japanese effort. The symbol on the cupcake is the Japanese word for HOPE.


Cheesecake cupcakes: A dollop of rich cheesecake in the center of these three new confections: Red Velvet Cheesecake, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, and Blueberry Cheesecake.

How to make sea turtle cupcakes: decorating tutorial

I love these step-by-step instructions from the wonderful yoyomax12 on YouTube!

Maple cupcake wedding dress by Georgetown Cupcake and Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie cupcakes in April!

From an episode of the TLC reality show DC Cupcakes, via the Georgetown Cupcake Facebook page, comes this cupcake dress!

Another look at our "Cupcake Wedding Dress"!! The dress was made from maple cupcakes and maple buttercream frosting and fondant. The flowers near the hem are made from edible wafers and isomalt centers!



And they've been in the news for their upcoming Girl Scout-themed DC Cupcakes episode and the announcement about their Thin Mint cupcakes! Lucky for me, I'll be in Washington, DC this weekend and, as a former Girl Scout (Brownies represent!) and Thin Mint lover, I totally plan to try one. Or three.

From Washington Business Journal:

During the entire month of April, Georgetown Cupcake will add Thin Mint cupcakes to the menu at both its Georgetown and Bethesda locations, with sales proceeds going to the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital annual giving campaign.

So, what is a Thin Mint cupcake?

It's described as “a chocolate cake with crushed Thin Mint cookies baked inside, topped with a mint ganache and decorated with fondant Girl Scout decorations."

Cupcake recipe: Salted dulce de leche cupcakes by Gesine Bullock-Prado from new cookbook Sugar Baby

I'm very excited to share this delicious recipe with you, and to let you know that we will soon have a contest to win a copy of Sugar Baby and an exclusive interview with author Gesine Bullock-Prado, so stay tuned! The recipe and text below are by Gesine (who, yes, is Sandra Bullock's sister). I chatted with her about the importance of heating sugar properly, seven-minute frosting, food trends and much more, and should have the interview up by Friday.

Sugar Baby: Confections, Candies, Cakes & Other Delicious Recipes for Cooking with Sugar. You can find out more at the official site for the book, sugarbabycookbook and more about Gesine Bullock-Prado at gesine.com.

Update: Enter to win a copy of the book here. Entries must be in by April 8th.





Author Gesine Bullock-Prado


Dulce de leche cupcakes; recipe below, photo by Tina Rupp

Salted Dulce de Leche Cupcakes

I’m not big on most cupcakes, with their dry cake and shortening-laden icing. Sometimes, however, they can be surprisingly delicious, and they are at their most scrumptious when they are filled with a lusciously hidden flavor bomb. In this case, fudgy dark chocolate cake is strategically injected with silky milk caramel and topped with a thin layer of fudge. Nothing dry or shortening-laden here.

Makes 2 Dozen

For the dar k chocolate fudge cake
bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped 3 ounces , 90 g
freshly brewed hot coffee 11/2 cups, 360 ml
all-purpose flour 21/2, cups 310 g
unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder 11/2, cups 125 g
baking soda 2 teaspoons 10 g
baking powder 1 teaspoon 5 g
salt 1 teaspoon 6 g
sugar 3 cups 600 g
eggs 3
vegetable oil 3/4 cup 180 ml
vanilla extract 1 teaspoon 5 ml
nonfat buttermilk 11/2 cups 360 ml
For the assembly
Dulce de Leche (page 27) 1 batch
Dark Chocolate Fudgy Frosting (page 53) 1 batch
coarse sea salt, for sprinkling

Procedure for the dark chocolate fudge cake

1 Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C).

2 In a medium bowl, mix the chocolate into the
hot coffee and allow to melt. Set aside.

3 In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa
powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Set aside.

4 In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle
attachment, beat the sugar, eggs, oil, and
vanilla until fluffy. Pour the buttermilk into the
chocolate mixture and stir. With the mixer on
low speed, slowly add one-third of the chocolate
mixture, followed by one-third of the flour
mixture. Continue alternating between the two
until both mixtures are incorporated into the
batter.

5 Line 24 muffin-tin cups with muffin papers of
your choice.

6 Using a large cookie scoop, add one scoop of
batter to each muffin paper, filling each about
three-quarters full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until
a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake
comes out clean. Remove the cakes from the
tins and allow to cool completely on racks.

Procedure for the assembly

1 Once the cupcakes have cooled, poke a hole
halfway into the center of each cupcake with
your index finger.

2 Fill a pastry bag fitted with a large open tip with
dulce de leche. Insert the tip into each cupcake
hole and squeeze the caramel into the cupcake
until you see the cupcake expand a bit.

3 Roll a golf ball_size portion of cooled fudge
frosting in your hand and flatten it into a neat
circle approximately the size of a cupcake top.
Place the fudge disk on top of a cupcake and
sprinkle with sea salt. Repeat with remaining
cupcakes.

4 Serve immediately.

Nicole Friday Of The Cupcake Craze At Macy's

Yesterday Nicole Friday, owner of The Cupcake Craze, did a baking demo at the Culinary Center at Macy's Herald Square. Nicole Friday was named "Macy's Battle of The Cupcakes Winner" and she does cupcake catering in Northern New Jersey and New York City. For the baking demo, Nicole made coconut cream cupcakes. Her cupcakes are made with coconut milk and have big coconut flakes on top which is a nice balance texture-wise to the creamy coconut cake. She will be doing another baking demo on April 16 at Williams Sonoma Columbus Circle. You can check out Cupcake Craze on Twitter and Facebook.

Cute Easter cupcakes from Orlando's Sweet Icing Bake Shop

Very cute Easter cupcakes by Sweet Icing Bake Shop of Orlando, Florida, via Flickr.

Spotlight on Sinful Bliss Cupcakes in Pleasant Hill, California

Update - the date I had earlier for their opening is wrong. Via Food Gal:

Sinful Bliss Cupcakes will celebrate its grand opening at 10 a.m. April 17 with a ribbon-cutting and free tastings. The event is also a fund-raiser for the Pleasant Hill Middle School Art Department, which will receive 100 percent of that day’s cupcake profits. The students will be creating inspired artwork, which will be displayed at the bakery.

Morever, during the grand opening, children are invited to make their own cupcake design. Fifty of the winning designs will be made and sold on April 23, with profits of the sales going to Pleasant Hill Elementary School.

These cupcake photos are all by Sinful Bliss Cupcakes of Pleasant Hill, California, via their Facebook page. You can also find them on @SBlissCupcakes on Twitter. Their storefront bakery is set to open April 17. They also do custom cupcakes, and you can click here to see their flavor offerings, including blue velvet cheesecake (!!), Nutella, tie dye, raspberry and The Caribbean (pineapple and banana cake, topped with cream cheese frosting and light sugar crystal sprinkles), among others.












tie dye cupcake

Sinful Bliss Cupcakes
35D Crescent Dr.
Pleasant Hill, CA 94598
info at sinfulblisscupcakes.com
925-689-0200

Online Bake Sale for Japan

Bidding has officially begun at the Online Bake Sale for Japan. Please head over to the Tomato Tart to not only help a great cause, but have the opportunity to have an incredible member of the food blogging community bake you a special treat. The above goodies are just a small sampling of the over 90 incredible items baked on four separate continents. 

Also, a HUGE thank you to Andrew Sigal of The Uncarved Block who has offered to match the first $500 we raise. 

Bid NOW at theTomatoTart.com!

Check out the great cupcakes up for auction:

Bid NOW at theTomatoTart.com!

April 28: Semi-Sweet Book Party

For our April Meetup, Cupcakes Take The Cake has partnered with Hachette Book Group to celebrate the release of Roisin Meaney's new book, Semi-Sweet: A Novel of Love and Cupcakes. We will be having a book party on Thursday April 28 at Solas in the East Village and eating cupcakes from Baked By Melissa. RSVP on our Meetup page.







Author Roisin Meaney will be at the book party.

French toast maple bacon cupcake and glamorous frosting shots by Cupcake Mojo

This fun cupcake is by Cupcake Mojo of Weymouth, Massachusetts, via Flickr. Find out more and get ordering information at cupcakemojo.com. This cupcake contains:

Maple French toast cake, Dusted with confectionary sugar
Frosted with cinnamon cream cheese buttercream
Sprinkled with crumbled bacon



They also have a photo of these very elegant frosting shots:

Cupcake-a-palooza charity cupcake bakeoff April 30th in Newburgh, New York

A fun cupcake event for a great cause! Get more information here and if you want to donate or learn more about Safe Harbors, click here. "Safe Harbors of the Hudson, incorporated in 2000, is a nonprofit organization that is committed to transforming lives and building communities through housing and the arts in the City of Newburgh."



Safe Harbors of the Hudson will hold its first annual Cupcake-a-Palooza, a cupcake bakeoff event for local professional and amateur bakers, on Saturday, April 30. The event will be held from 12:00-4:00 pm in the Ritz Theater Lobby at 107 Broadway in Newburgh.

The event is free for participants. The judging categories for participants include: “Best Overall Professional,” “Most Artistic,” “Child Baker” (Age 18 & Under), “Best Organic” and “Best Amateur.”

The event costs $5 for attendees. The admission charge includes cupcake tastings and beverages. All proceeds benefit Safe Harbors and its many programs.

To reserve a participant spot or for more information, contact June Henley at (845) 562-6940 ext. 110 or jhenley at safe-harbors.org. Download the participant entry form, participant faqs and flier(s) here.

Beautiful Milles Feuilles (Napoleons) white wine cupcakes

These Milles Feuilles (Napoleons) cupcakes are by blogger Sonia's Cupcakes, where you can get the recipe--it's made with white wine!

Pink champagne, Guinness and Bailey's apple-shaped cupcakes and Lady Gaga telephone cake from Brussels, Belgium

These cupcakes are by Brussels, Belgium custom dessert company True Love Bakery, via their Facebook page. They can be reached at TLBakery at gmail.com and their flavors are:

Our Classic Cupcakes:
• Vanilla
• Chocolate
• Cinnamon
• Carrot
• Red Velvet
• Lemon
• Speculoos

Our Gourmet Cupcakes:
• Oreo
• Dulce de Leche
• Nutella
• Cookie Dough
• Guava/Cream Cheese
• Chocolate Peanut Butter
• Champagne
• Irish Bomb (Guinness & Bailey's)
• Banana* (Please order a week in advance)
• Mocha


Guinness and Bailey's apple-shaped cupcakes for a teacher appreciation event


pink champagne cupcakes


a Christmas tree cupcake - I know it's not the season but I find it adorable




black bottom cupcakes

And since this blog is called Cupcakes Take the Cake, it's an extremely rare moment when I post something that's not a cupcake but this is going to be one of those moments, since it's also from the Facebook page of True Love Bakery - a Lady Gaga telephone cake!

Extremely cute Peeps cupcake push pops!

These extremely adorable, perfect for spring and Easter Peeps cupcake push pops are by blogger Love From the Oven, where you can find out how to make your own. These are really just too much, in the best possible way. What kid (or, ahem, adult) wouldn't like these? Via Flickr.

And for the Peeps-obsessed (raising my hand), there is also a Peeps-tastic Flickr pool full of photos of even more adorable desserts with these marshmallow delights (not all cupcakes). You can also follow Love From the Oven on @LoveFromTheOven on Twitter and Facebook.



She writes:

A few weeks ago I stumbled across Cupkate’s Event Designs blog and her darling Push Pop Cupcakes. I didn’t even have to think twice, I put my order in for the push pop containers immediately from her Etsy store. I mean hello, these are ADORABLE. Cupcake shooters, push pop cupcakes, cupcake push pops, push cakes, cake shooter, cupcake shots, whatever you want to call them – I had to make them. I was already planning to make cupcakes for Peeps Week, so I figured I’d do some mini cupcakes and use them for the push pops. You could do SO many things with these containers, this is just one of my ideas, but I’m sure there are a million cute possibilities.

Whip up your favorite cake mix (or recipe) and make yourself some mini cupcakes. I made a box of white cake and added some green food coloring. Nowhere near the food coloring for green velvet cupcakes though. I mixed up frosting in two different colors, using my standard buttercream recipe, and put the frosting into two bags. I used decorating bags because I had some handy, but large Ziplock bags work just fine. I did not use a tip, just snipped of a corner of the bag.






how it all starts

Thanks to Love From the Oven for posting these. I think cupcake push pops are going to be big in 2011!

Better Homes And Gardens Cupcake Issue

Have you seen the Better Homes and Gardens special issue dedicated to cupcakes? There are 150 cupcake recipes. It is on newsstands now and Cupcakes Take The Cake is featured on page 106.

CakeSpy book available for pre-order!

That's right people... CakeSpy has written a book!!  "CakeSpy presents:  Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life" is now available for PRE-ORDER on Amazon!!

Did you hear me?? PRE-ORDER.  Click HERE... NOW!  Click it!! Order one.  Because seriously, Jessie aka CakeSpy is the sweetest lady EVER and this book... well it's her masterpiece!  If you haven't ever read her blog... do it.  CakeSpy.com.  She comes up with the most amazing recipes and now... you can find the best of the best in this super sweet book.

I have the pleasure of calling Jessie my friend, and I can truly say I haven't been more excited for a book since Bakerella's Cake Pops book came out!

And... if you have any doubt about Jessie's sweetness.... you should know...  She's on the cover of SeattleWoman Magazine this month.  Get a copy, read it. Giggle at her cuteness.