Pretty diploma on graduation cupcake by Rachel's Cupcakes (no relation)

I found a company on Facebook called Rachel's Cupcakes (alas, not sure where they're located), so of course I had to post some of their photos! Love this very pretty diploma on the graduation cupcake. Also the grass on the cupcake on the bottom is adorable to me; not sure why piped frosting in the shape of grass always wows me, but it does.

Blue velvet Cookie Monster cupcakes sure to enchant any kid (or adult)

These cool blue velvet Cookie Monster cupcakes are by blogger Mmm...is for Mommy (where you can get the recipe), via Flickr.

Trophy Cupcakes featured on Unique Sweets on The Cooking Channel

Jennifer Shea, co-owner of Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle, WA is no stranger to the spotlight. Having been in multiple magazines and on the Martha Stewart show, Jennifer has done it again but this time, her cupcake shop is being spotlighted on The Cooking Channel's new show, Unique Sweets.

To learn more about Jennifer's creations and Trophy Cupcakes, visit their website!

Cupcake Baker of the Week: Debbie Adler, Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes

What do you do when your child is born with multiple life-threatening food allergies? If you’re Debbie Adler of Sweet Debbie’s Organic Cupcakes, you learn a whole new way of baking, and start a national business in the process. Based in Los Angeles, Sweet Debbie’s provides made-to-order allergen-free cupcakes and sweets, shipped all over the country. Read the full interview to find out more about her business, how she started baking for celebrity clients including Gwyneth Paltrow, and how she almost gave birth while delivering cupcakes.

Name: Debbie Adler

Location: Los Angeles, CA 

Website: http://www.sweetdebbiesorganiccupcakes.com

1. How did you get started baking cupcakes?
   My initial idea was to create a sugar-free bakery using all natural sweeteners, since white refined sugar is really so poisonous to your body. The cupcake craze was just beginning and people were lining up outside bakeshops all around the country to eat sugar-laden, saturated fat-filled cupcakes. So I thought by making mine healthful, I could save the world one cupcake at a time.
   
2. Do you have any training?
   Yes, the Culinary Institute of Trial & Error Sugar-free, Allergen-free Organic Baking.
3. What other kinds of products do you offer?
   We also offer allergen-free, sugar-free organic brownies, muffins and cookies.
   
4. What inspired you to go organic and gluten free?
   We are actually completely allergen-free, which means we bake with no dairy, no casein, no eggs, no wheat, no nuts, no tree nuts, no soy and, of course, no sugar. I was inspired to do this because a gun was put to my head. The gun was called food allergies. My son was born with multiple and life threatening food allergies and I had to learn how to bake safely for him. I soon learned there are millions of other children and adults with this same fate, and my goal was to make treats that everyone can enjoy safely and deliciously no matter what their allergies.
   
5. What are the biggest challenges to allergen-free baking?
   The biggest challenges to allergen-free baking are you have no eggs to help the dough rise and you have no gluten to keep it together. The no dairy is not that big a deal because there is rice milk and other milk substitutes that stand-in nicely. The other big challenge was finding a great all natural, low-glycemic sweetener that would lend a moist crumb as well as a pleasant sweetness with no aftertaste. That bill was filled with agave nectar and stevia. I have learned to successfully bake with stevia and I would say that was the biggest challenge of all.
6. Is there any ingredient you just can't find a substitution for?
   There’s no substitute for hard work and a belief in yourself that it can be done. I learned 189 ways how not to make allergen-free cupcakes. On the 190th try, I finally learned how to do it.
   
7. Do you have a signature cupcake, or a personal favorite?
   I’d have to say my personal favorite is the Chocoholic Cupcake. Like any self-respecting woman, I have a one track mind when it comes to chocolate.
   
8. Where are you doing your baking? Do you use a rental kitchen space, own a commercial kitchen, or bake from home?
   We rent a commercial kitchen.
   
9. Have you ever considered opening a store as opposed to the shipping method?
   Maybe one day.
   
10. Your website boasts some pretty impressive celebrity clientele. How did you start catering to that base? 
    It all started with a call from Gwyneth Paltrow’s people. We were asked to do Apple’s and Moses’ birthday parties. When Gwyneth likes a product she becomes its advocate, and luckily, she has lots of friends. Yes, we’ve gotten celebrity clients from other sources, but I’d have to say Gwyneth was the first celebrity to take a chance on us at the very beginning.
    
11. Anyone you're dying to bake a cupcake for?
    I’m dying to bake for anyone with food allergies or sensitivities that hasn’t had a good cupcake, brownie, muffin or cookie in a really long time and is really chomping at the bit to have one.
    
12. What is the best business advice you've ever gotten?
    "Everyone has the will to win, but it's only those with the will to prepare that do win." – Bobby Knight
    
13. Any advice you wish someone had given you before you started?
    To be patient.
    
14. What’s the most difficult aspect of running your own business?
    How to be a full-time mommy and full-time entrepreneur in the same time zone.
    
15. Do you work with original recipes?How do you come up with those?
    I had no choice but to come up with original recipes because what I wanted to do was almost non-existent at the time. I came up with the allergen-free, sugar-free organic recipes by substituting one thing at a time until each element worked in conjunction with the other. It was a long and arduous process.
    
16. Where do you see yourself in five years?
    I would like to teach others how to bake allergen and sugar-free, so if they can’t buy baked goods from an allergen-free bakery, for whatever reason, they can do it themselves.
    
17. How do you market yourself? Is it largely word of mouth?
    Our website is our greatest marketing tool and, yes, good old fashioned word-of-mouth plays the largest part.
    
    
18. How does social media play a role in your business?
    Social media is a great way for us to be seen and heard universally.
19. Any cupcake horror stories?I had to deliver 350 cupcakes to Annaheim for Stonyfield Farm’s 25th Anniversary Celebration while I was in labor. Contractions every 7 minutes and it was an hour in each direction to the convention center. I made it without incident, but it was close.

Thanks, Debbie! Stay tuned for the next Cupcake Baker of the Week. Leave us questions, feedback, and suggestions for future bakers in the comments below, or e-mail Jackie at cupcakestakethecake@gmail.com with the subject "Hey Jackie! Meet this Cupcake Baker!"

Mermaid cupcakes!

How fun are these mermaid cupcakes, made with fondant? I love them! From blogger Bake Happy, via Flickr. Go to Bake Happy to find out exactly how to make your own!

1st birthday animal party cupcakes!

These Spice Cake with Apple Caramel Filling and Vanilla Buttercream. Decorated in fondant to match the partyware are by jennywenny on Flickr. Hope the new 1-year-old enjoyed them!

Kung Fu Panda cupcakes by Kati's Cupcakes

Aren't these just adorable?  Kati's Cupcakes made these for the opening of the new Kung Fu Panda movie! 

Make sure to visit Kati at her Facebook group to see all of her fantastic creations! ! 

Caramel Creme Latte cupcakes

Being over here in Germany, I'm finding every excuse in the book to bake.  This time, my neighbor's in-laws are in town and wanted a special treat.  They are from the Pacific Northwest and love coffee so I created them these delicious coffee based cupcakes.

These Caramel Creme Latte cupcakes are a brown and white sugar based cupcake with Irish Creme liquor, cinnamon, espresso powder and bold coffee.  An amazing combination, truly.  The frosting is an espresso buttercream topped with a caramel drizzle and chocolate coffee bean.  

I thought mini cupcakes would be fun with this recipe too, I call them Espresso Shots! 

Head over to JavaCupcake.com for the complete recipe and how-to!  

4 cupcakes from Sweet in Cambridge

I'm in a rush but wanted to share one of my photos from Sweet Cupcakes in Cambridge. Report on which ones were great (and which one wasn't) later.

Memorial Day red white and blue cupcakes

These Memorial Day cupcakes are by home-based business Chocolate Flowers Cakes, via @cfc_cakes on Twitpic. I like the festive cupcake wrappers!

Cupcake Gals in Wonderland

Unbearably adorable cupcake gals on stage for a production of Alice in Wonderland.















Images via Will Merydith.

Cupcake Mafia?

Nice low-light shot by pangalactic gargleblaster and the heart of gold.

Kitty cupcake!

Just looking at this kitty cupcake makes me super happy. What about you? It's by le fluff le puff on Flickr.

Dulcie Blue Bakery Prettiness

Oh my these are certainly all beautiful:





Vanilla sponge with chopped strawberries, vanilla frosting & a whole fresh strawberry on top!








Vanilla sponge with fresh raspberries, vanilla frosting, fresh raspberries & chocolate drizzle.











Chocolate sponge with orange zest & freshly squeezed juice, orange frosting & topped with grated chocolate.











Chocolate sponge with lime zest & freshly squeezed juice, choc-lime frosting & sprinkled with lime zest.




All shots courtesy Dulcie Blue Bakery.

Repetition in Cupcake Art

Shot courtesy Bildbunt.







I'm really into this cupcake stencil work. I have no idea the scale or size or if it's outdoors or not but I do know it's from Berlin and I love it!

Churro cupcakes!

I'm loving these churro cupcakes by C&C Cakery - click through to get the recipe!

Pretty Bird's Nest Cupcakes Under Glass

Lovely shot by Pash Photography.

Kids and Cupcakes: Kalliway Before and After Birthday Cupcake

Kalliway's birthday cupcake.











Like you didn't see that coming!



Great birthday baby cupcake shots by Jacob Wayne.

Rastafarian Jamaican Cupcakes

Sugar Daze Cupcakes in Paris, France posted some pretty coooool cupcakes on their Facebook page.

I particularly love the rasta man and his smoke ;) Peace!

V or W?

More in Star Wars cupcakery:






"Darth Wader," this bit of awesomeness by Kalexanderson.

Montreal Cupcake Street Art

Nice instagram! "Cupcake Love" by hey-kit.

Banana split cupcakes filled with banana custard cream!

Get the recipe for these beautiful filled cupcakes at Bakers Royale.

Darth Vader cake pops. You're welcome.

Yes, these are Darth Vader cake pops. They're by Sweet Tooth Cake Pops and more via their Facebook page.



They can be reached at sweettoothcakepops at yahoo.com or find out more about their many cake pops (not all are Darth Vader!) at sweettoothcakepops.com.

Chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes from Melissa's Cuisine

These chocolate chip cookie dough cupcakes are by Melissa of the blog Melissa's Cuisine, where you can go for the recipe! She writes:

These cupcakes really do have the taste of chocolate chip cookies, I love the addition of the cookie dough filling, and their presentation is quite nice as well. I had fun making these and everyone had fun eating them!

Harvard Class of 2011 and Bruins cupcakes, plus the cupcake with pretzel I'm most excited about trying this weekend

I'm excited to head back to Sweet Cupcakes this weekend, which has two Boston locations and one in Cambridge, Massachusetts. These first two photos are via Twitpic and the last two are by Michael Blanchard Photography via Facebook. Visit sweetcupcakes.com for location and custom cupcake ordering information. The one with the pretzel is the one I'm most excited to try while I'm in town!








Spring cupcakes at Sweet - not sure what all the flavors are (I know there's lemon and flourless chocolate cake), but will make a full report this weekend!

Extra holiday weekend cuteness: giraffe and lion cupcake cakes by Polkatots, plus American flag cake

I couldn't resist how fun these giraffe and lion cupcake cakes are...30 cupcakes put together and decorated equals pure magic for a kid's birthday, at least, in my opinion. They're by Pasadena, California bakery Polkatots Cupcakes, via their Facebok page, where you can check out lots, lots more.



And since it's Memorial Day weekend (I think we can call Friday part of "the weekend" - who's with me?) I thought this American flag cupcake cake was also appropriate:



Polkatots Cupcakes
Address
720 N. Lake Ave Suite #3, Pasadena, CA 91104
fun at polkatotscupcakes.com

(626) 798 - 3932

Memorial Day means free cupcakes 5-8 at Kickass Cupcakes

From the Kickass Cupcakes newsletter:

Cocktail Cupcake Happy Hour
Monday, Memorial Day, May 30th
5-8 pm
Free tastings of mini cupcakes with
cocktail inspired flavors
featuring
*The Beach Cruiser
*Peach Melba-Tini
*Choco-Pop...a frozen treat!

They're located at Davis Square, 378 Highland Avenue in Somerville, Masachusetts, and you can get more information daily on their Facebook page.


Banana cream cupcake via Facebook, was cupcake of the day on the 24th

And from their website, some limited edition flavors:

Ltd. Edition Strawberry Margarita Cupcake - vanilla cupcake with a tequila soaked strawberry center topped with pink lime frosting and a pinch of salt.
Ltd. Edition Green Monster - Chocolate cupcake with a beer ganache center topped with Sam Adams Cream Stout frosting and cocoa nibs
Ltd. Edition Choc-annoli Cupcake - Chocolate cupcake, sweet ricotta center, vanilla frosting garnished with cannoli chips and chocolate chips
Ltd. Edition Peach Melba - buttermilk cupcake, raspberry jam center, peach frosting drizzled with raspberry sauce
Ltd. Edition Lemon Drop - lemon cupcake, lemon curd center and lemon icing sprinkled with lemon sugar
Ltd. Edition Ginger Peach Bellini (vegan) - Spicy ginger cupcake with peach champagne frosting topped with a fresh raspberry

Last but not least, they've got Bruins cupcakes and are promising free cupcakes to the whole team if they win tonight!

Ice Cream Party Cupcakes

I wish I was going to this party. Cookies and cupcakes -- yum! (via Jenny Cookies)