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valentine's day Go to the gym, get a cupcake*

*When you buy 2, at Patty's Cakes & Desserts in Fullerton, California, who put this ad on their Facebook page as an enticement to customers. What a fun way to get your exercise and sample a few cupcakes!





valentine's day Berkeley Repertory Theater sells cupcakes and somehow I missed them!

One of the best things about being a cupcake blogger is that you start to notice that cupcakes are everywhere, not just at bakeries. They're at the movies and at theaters. One of the worst things is when you find out too late that you've missed a cupcake opportunity. I skipped the concession stand when I was at Berkeley Repertory Theater recently, and therefore apparently missed out on the cupcakes they sell. From their blog, in a post called "Confessions of a concessionaire: a delicious dilemma" by Kate Vangeloff, in which she opines on the cupcake options provided by local bakery Love at First Bite (which I have been to):

We received a new shipment of cupcakes in which there were two, yes, two cupcakes that would have fulfilled my own personal visual requirements to earn a “Cookies & Cream” flavor designation. This new development shocked me, as I was unable to identify the new cupcake as anything other than “Cookies & Cream: Version 2.0.” Being inquisitive by nature, I did some internet sleuthing, and I am proud to announce that I have solved this cupcake mystery.

On the left of exhibit A, you will find the true Cookies & Cream cupcake, notably marked by its rakish, Oreo-crescent chapeau. On the right, you will find what Love at First Bite calls their “Mud Pie” cupcake—a devil’s food chocolate cupcake topped with whipped mocha frosting and
Oreo crumbs.

Here’s to knowledgeable cupcake consumption for all!



photo via Berkeley Rep blog

It was my first visit, and I loved the design of the theater (I was there to see The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, which I highly recommend), so I will definitely be back, with my first stop being the concession stand!

valentine's day Rachel in Bay Area and Los Angeles next week

I'll be in the Bay Area (for all of two days, January 27-28), and then in Los Angeles January 29-February 1st. Looking forward to meeting as many cupcake bakeries and eating as many cupcakes as I can. To arrange a meeting, email me at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com - so far I have plans to visit Cupkates cupcake truck in Oakland on Thursday, and am also going to be tasting and reviewing the frozen yogurt cupcakes (frocakes) by Los Angeles' Half Baked Co. I'll probably be back in both places at some point, but if you have any tips, let me know. I'm hoping to meet up with Kimmie again, who drove down from the Bay Area to go to CupcakeCamp LA, again, so we can compare cupcake notes.

valentine's day Interview with "Cupcakes Wars" winners Sift Cupcakery!

I had the pleasure of meeting the Sift Cupcake and Dessert Bar team this summer on my northern California cupcaking trip:




valentine's day Sift valentine's day




I loved my experiences at Sift, so when I heard that they won Food Network's Cupcake Wars, I was delighted for them! Jeff and Andrea Ballus, owners, agreed to take a moment from their hectic schedules and give us their behind-the-scenes take on their experiences with the show.




How did you decide to appear on Cupcake Wars? Did you create a video application?


We created three audition videos! We never heard back, so we would just make a new one and keep calling the producers to see if they watched it. By the end, I'm sure they only said yes to make us stop calling. ;)


What was the filming/taping like?

It was incredibly intense. The crew on the set was amazing...I don't know how they are even standing at the end of the show...we were only still standing because we won $10,000!! Everyone worked so hard, it was a very looooong process. I remember begging the producer to let me change my shoes...my feet were killing me! Corey was a natural, she helped keep us grounded and calm (or so it seemed).




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What was it like behind-the-scenes?

It's so sureal actually being on the set that you've only watched on TV. It's also a little intimidating being in someone else's kitchen and having four or five cameras running after your every move. Many times we were like, "Woah! Watch out for the cameraman!" as we're running with a hot pan.


How different were your experiences than what we saw on TV?

It's really amazing how long you film for versus how LITTLE of it actually makes it in the 30-minute show. We tried giving Justin some of the wine we were using...that didn't make the cut. Ha!

Were you given guidance by the Food Network? Were there things you wanted to do but were unable to?


Take my shoes off, sit down, and enjoy a glass of wine. They didn't allow that...




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How did you choose your winning cupcakes?

We decided on our Samoa and Pink Champagne, which is one of our best sellers (and perfect for weddings!). Then we decided to bring in a little wine country with our Zinger (Zinfandel Ginger). We could have used our Ooh La La (top-selling red velvet), but we just felt that flavor was a little played out.


What was the competition like?


Competition was tough. Lucy & Leo's gave us a run for our money. And at the end we really had no idea which way the judges would go. We had two completely different wedding looks and themes. We called them on the air date to congratulate them on a great show. They were good competition!

How has winning affected your business, if at all?

Wow. We imagined business would increase...we just had no idea by how much. Let's just say that we took in extra money in sales that week...and paid for it in overtime! Ha!
In all seriousness, our Sift family has worked so hard, they are simply amazing and we couldn't be more grateful. They must love what they do because they keep sticking around.




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What are you planning on doing with your winnings?

We are launching a Wine Country Cupcake Truck! We'll roam the valley and vineyards and pass cupcakes to the wine-weary...or wine-happy. Follow us on Twitter @Sifted.




Is there anything else you want to share with our readers?
We just received our first Food Network order for Guy Fieri's birthday cupcakes! We're doing sushi, burgers, bbq, pizza, and Jack Daniels-themed cupcakes. We'll send pics when they're done.



[Images used by permission.]



We can't wait to see the Guy Fieri birthday cupcakes, and whatever Sift dreams up next!




valentine's day 5 beautiful, glamorous vegan valentine's day cupcakes

These 5 beautiful cupcakes are all vegan, and all be Fresno, California's custom cupcake company Sweet Elites Vegan Cupcakes, via their Flickr account. Visit their website for more photos, menu and ordering information or contact them at SweetElites at gmail.com. You can also find them on Facebook.


a cute pink heart atop layers of frosting


chocolate Oreo vegan cupcakes


XOXOXO vegan cupcakes with red hots



valentine's day Red velvet chocolate-covered strawberry and cherry cupcakes for valentine's day

BlakeyCakes in Los Angeles is baking up these valentine's day cupcakes. Via their Facebook page.

Specifically, these are:

"Red Velvet cake filled with a flowing lava of chocolate fudge inside with valentine's cream cheese frosting adorned with fresh, luscious chocolate dipped strawberries, fresh, juicy, Bing chocolate covered cherries, and even a cake-heart-cut out as a topper too!"

Email b.arias101 at hotmail.com to place an order.





valentine's day Half-Baked Co. features frocake (frozen yogurt-filled cupcakes) and cupcakes on a stick!

I've been meaning to write about a lot of the people I met at CupcakeCamp LA, and now, as I get ready to head back to California, I have to accept that I am only human, and simply don't have time to blog about all the amazingness that I encountered at that event. So my apologies, but I will be posting as time allows, but please understand that I cannot possibly blog about all the cupcakes I encounter, much as I'd like to.

One of the cupcake companies I discovered at that event was Half-Baked Co. but I didn't realize until just now that they combine two of my favorite things: frozen yogurt and cupcakes! In the form of frocakes...with these flavor options:

Cookies ‘n Cream

chocolate cupcake filled with

cookies n cream froyo

vanilla buttercream

crushed oreo rim and oreo on top

Mint Chocolate Chip

chocolate cupcake filled with

R.F. mint choc. chip ice cream

mint buttercream

chocolate chips

Root Beer Float

chocolate cupcake

filled with vanilla froyo

root beer buttercream

chocolate sprinkles and cherry on top


I found some others on their Facebook wall, including this amazing candy cane frocake: chocolate cupcake filled with candy cane frozen yogurt, green mint buttercream and crushed candy cane pieces.

There's more! The "Half" in their title comes from this:

Welcome to Half Baked Co. where we bake with half the fat, calories and sugar. We are an online bakery based out of Burbank, CA that uses only the finest ingredients in our deceptively healthy baked goods.

We always use local and organic products and carry a variety of vegan, gluten-free and reduced sugar options.

This allows us to create freshly inspired treats available for pick-up from our commercial kitchen or for delivery within the San Fernando Valley. Shipping is also available across the U.S. for select products.


Cupcakes on a Stick come in pink heart, death by chocolate red velvet or salted caramel. And also seasonal flavors, like the ones below, from their holiday pie collection (pumpkin, apple and pecan):



Other cupcakes:


cotton candy cupcake!


s'mores cupcake


cutie cakes in 8 colors


Mardi Gras king cake cupcake


Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Cupcake

You can also find them on Facebook and @HalfBakedCo on Twitter.

Half Baked. Co.
Los Angeles, CA (LA delivery, nationwide shipping)
halfbakedco at gmail.com
310-880-8380

valentine's day Buffy the Vampire Slayer themed cupcake contest January 19th in San Francisco

How cool is this? The details are direct from Isotope via ComicsAlliance. Reminder: If you have events for our rolling 30-day RSS calendar at right, please send them to us at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com - we want to spread the word!



Come celebrate the final issue of Buffy Season Eight and Ms. Summer’s birthday with your friends here at the Isotope and the nice ladies from GeekGirlCon!

Fire up your ovens ladies and gents, work your pastry magics, and be ready to go all-out in a cupcaking battle royal… because this event features the Isotope’s first-ever world’s greatest Buffy-Themed Cupcake Contest! Knowing the amazingly talented (and also at least very ambitious) bakers around the extended Isotope family, I have a feeling this is going to be pretty jaw-dropping. We’ll have fistfuls of great prizes from Dark Horse Comics for folks and I’m told some Buffy-lovin’ celebs will be showing up too. But really, I think the real celebrities are going to be all of you awesome people.

And yes, you read that flyer right… because you demanded it, we will be hosting live karaoke for the first time at the Isotope. And it’s Buffy-themed as well. What could be better?!


If you want to RSVP, get more info on this event, or give us a sneak peek at your astounding cupcake making plans the official Facebook event invite is here:


Buffy Summers’ 30th Birthday Party

valentine's day Sprinkles to open in San Diego (La Jolla) January 13, DC in February, NYC in April

The latest news via Sprinkles' website and this article from Patch.com. The DC store will be at 3015 M Street NW and the Manhattan store will be at 780 Lexington Avenue.

From Patch.com:

"This new location represents a big thank you to all our loyal customers who have made the drive up to our Newport Beach store over the past four years," said Nelson.

Together with her husband, Charles, Nelson decided in 2005 to launch her business after attending pastry school in San Francisco. Beverly Hills became their first location.

"I developed all the recipes from scratch," says Nelson, who now finds herself overseeing expansion across the country.

The La Jolla shop will be Sprinkles' eighth location. According to the Sprinkles website, grand openings in Washington, D.C, and New York will follow in February and April, respectively.

Sprinkles' menu features a rotation of over 20 flavors, including seasonal options. In addition, health-conscious dessert lovers will find no preservatives, trans-fats, or artificial flavors in the cupcakes.

With the growing emphasis on well-being and environmentally friendly and sustainable efforts, it seems the cupcake business is getting into the act. Cups, a cupcake shop that opened in La Jolla on Black Friday in 2009, uses organic ingredients and recycled materials in nearly all facets of its business.

valentine's day Bellini cupcakes for New Year's Eve by BlakeyCakes

The bellini cupcakes below are by BlakeyCakes, aka Blake Arias, who makes custom cupcakes and delivers them in the Los Angeles area, via their Facebook page. They're "A fluffy, moist, sweet peach cake filled with a fizzy Prosecco (Italian sparkling wine) cream infusion." they're $39/dozen, or $26/dozen for mini cupcakes, and you can contact him at b.arias101 at hotmail.com and see more on his main site.




Blake and me in LA




coffee cake mini cupcakes

valentine's day Dedicated to my fellow blizzard sufferers: Snowman and snowflake cupcakes

These snowman and snowflake cupcakes are by Sweet Creations by Stephanie in Santa Barbara, California, who I'll be posting more from soon. They can also be found on Facebook. Hope those who are dealing with the snow are getting around okay.

valentine's day Cupcake Bike Rack!

These should be everywhere.


valentine's day Bike rack outside Frosted Cupcakery valentine's day


Wonderful and practical idea, a cupcake bike rack outside of Frosted Cupcakery. Shot courtesy of Ubermaus.



valentine's day Tron cupcakes by B Sweet Catering in Los Angeles!

I will freely admit to you that I hardly know what Tron is; I'm not saying I'm against it, maybe I'd like it, and I'm dimly aware that TRON: Legacy is about to be released.

But even though I'm not sure what "old school" and "new school" mean in relation to Tron, I do love cupcakes, and I'm sure some of you will be intrigued by these cupcakes by Los Angeles custom catering company B Sweet, who also have an extensive sandwich, food and other dessert offerings, along with cupcakes. They're based in downtown LA but deliver all over the Los Angeles area. These photos are all from their Flickr account, with a bonus non-Tron reindeer cupcake photo thrown in, because it was too cute to ignore!


TRON: Legacy cupcakes


B Sweet's custom "Old School Costume" cupcakes.

Inspired by the original "Tron" movie.


Old School Tron "Bad" Cupcakes

B Sweet's custom MCP and Sark cupcakes. Inspired by the original "Tron" movie.


reindeer cupcakes

B Sweet Catering
B Sweet Catering
3380 ½ S. Robertson Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
310-963-7213
bsweetorders at gmail.com

valentine's day Strawberry flambé, peppermint chocolate cheesecake, and cranapple cider POP! cupcakes from LA's BlakeyCakes

When I was in LA a few weeks ago, I got to meet Blake of custom and delivery cupcake company BlakeyCakes and try his sinfully delicious banana chocolate drizzle cupcakes, which I will post about...when I can. I still haven't posted about cupcakes I tried on my visit to LA in September, that's how behind I am!

But since these are seasonal, and look amazing, I wanted to share them with you now; photos and descriptions from this Facebook album:


Strawberry Flambé
Making its way into the BlakeyCakes hall of fame, the strawberry flambé! Contained within this complex wonder is a strawberry fruit filling flambéed with Gran Marnier smacked with a dollop of custard! This wonder filling is sandwiched between two moist vanilla cakes topped with a deluge of chocolate ganache and a decadent chocolate dipped strawberry.


Holiday Peppermint Chocolate Cheesecake
This holiday cheesecake is baked with a chocolate graham cracker crust, a creamy cream cheese center with a chocolate ganache swirl, and infused with just a whisper of peppermint. The topping is your standard homemade whipped cream lightly dusted with ground up peppermint candy canes.


Cranapple Cider POP!
POP-ing with apple and cranberry goodness, these holiday cupcakes just pour forth a festivity of glee! Just imagine being able to bite into a fresh, juicy apple with hints of spicy cinnamon and nutmeg; then being welcomed by a gush of homemade cranberry filling and finally unified by a dollop of cream cheese glaze.

BlakeyCakes
b.arias101 at hotmail.com
Los Angeles, CA
818-577-8302

valentine's day Paul Frank cupcakes and more by For The Love of Sugar

I found this Paul Frank ad in a magazine, and thought it was cute:



Then I went searching for "Paul Frank" cupcakes and look what I found by For the Love of Sugar! They serve Los Angeles and Orange County, and can be reached by emailing Sarah at ForTheLoveofSugar.com and you can also find them on Facebook. Click here to see all their designs and here for their flavors, which include samoa, key lime pie, junior mint, heath bar blondie, pumpkin and more.



Below are more photos from their site:


wedding cupcakes




Toy Story cupcakes






LA Lakers cupcakes


polka dot cupcakes

valentine's day Free mini cupcakes at Teacake Bake Shop tomorrow in Emeryville, Lafayatte & Corte Madera, California

Free mini cupcakes tomorrow, Saturday, December 4th, at Teacake Bake Shop, at all their shops (Emeryville, Lafaytette, Corte Madera) to celebrate their 5th anniversary! Are there cupcake years like there are dog years? I feel like there should be; that's a long time in this business. They've been around almost as long as Cupcakes Take the Cake has!

See www.teacakebakeshop.com for store locations and more information.

Flyer via Facebook.



They also do cupcake cakes, I found this one on Facebook too and it seemed appropriate:



Teacake Bake Shop has also been doing mail order cupcakes for a long time; I tried them once and they are expensive but came gorgeously delivered and very fresh, an outstanding job. Click here to order their holiday cupcakes, pictured below, 6 for $32 plus shipping.



Details:

Each cupcake is frosted by hand and decorated with a chic and modern "Ticing" circle - an edible cornstarch based sheet with printed in edible ink. Designs are (2) penguins, (2) snowflakes, and (2) red swirls. Each cupcake is nestled in a white gift box held snugly in place with our custom cupcake insert.

Total six cupcakes, 21 oz (1.3lbs) net weight. Each measures 2.5” x 1.5”

Flavors:

(3) Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream and (3) Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream.

valentine's day Holly jolly white chocolate caramel cupcakes and chocolate peppermint cupcakes

These cupcakes are by Sweet Elites Vegan Cupcakes based in Fresno California, who can be reached at SweetElites at gmail.com and on Facebook. As you can tell from their name, they specialize in vegan cupcakes. Descriptions from their site.




Holly Jolly cupcakes: "A trio of cinnamon imperial candies and two green leaves nestled in a creamy caramel and white chocolate buttercream imitate a winter sprig of holly. Joined with a ultra moist chocolate cake these are guaranteed to melt in your mouth and melt your heart at the same time!"


Peppermint chocolate cupcakes: "A moist chocolate cake topped with peppermint buttercream and chopped candy canes. The crunch of the candy canes and chocolate cake together are a match made in cupcake heaven!