valentine's day Peppermint twist cupcake with a kiss on top and more from Grace-ful Cakes

Peppermint twist cupcake with a peppermint Hershey's Kiss on top...aw. It's by Grace-ful Cakes in Southgate, Michigan, via Flickr. You can also find them on Facebook or contact them at gigiguel at yahoo.com about orders.



And though I'm aware Christmas was last month, I'm still posting some Christmas cupcakes because they are fun and festive:



And this was their September 2010 cupcake of the month, a caramel apple spice cupcake. "Honeycrisp apple cinnamon cupcake, caramel filling, whipped cream topping, fried apple chip garnish, and caramel drizzle"



Last but not least, some festive cupcake pops:

valentine's day This guy doesn't like the cupcake stump.

Another beautiful Christmas cupcake:



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I love the red and green findings on this one.


Shot (with pretty bokeh) by itsjed.

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What a lovely Christmas tableau!


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I always mean to stage my cupcakes but I get lazy after all the baking and I just plop them on a plate. If my guests are lucky, I add a sprig of mint and call it a day.

Beautiful shot by pink.polka.

valentine's day 2011 Happy New Year cupcakes by Anita Jamal

I for one am very excited about 2011. I don't love New Year's Eve as a holiday but I do like the idea of turning over a new leaf, wrapping up one year and beginning the next, so I'm getting the New Year's celebrating in early with this cupcake by the very talented Anita Jamal on Flickr. If you're making or selling 2011/New Year's cupcakes, whether that's special flavors like champagne or ones with "2011" on them, let us know by adding them to our Flickr pool (our preferred way of receiving photos) or emailing them to us at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com with "NYU" in the subject line and a description/price/etc.



And I couldn't exclude her Christmas cupcakes: snowflake, Santa and a Christmas tree with presents!

valentine's day Christmas light cupcakes, gingerbread, egg nog and a very "happy" cupcake from Swirlz in Chicago

These Christmas light cupcakes and holiday cupcakes plus the "happy" one are from the Facebook page of Swirlz, makers of delicious cupcakes (including some of the best gluten-free cupcakes I've ever tasted) in Chicago. Visit swirlzcupcakes.com for more information. Yes, they're closed today, but these seemed appropriate to post on Christmas (aka, my time to catch up on cupcake blogging!).




ingerbread, Chocolate Peppermint & Egg Nog cupcakes

valentine's day How to make a Christmas tree cupcake using candy - video tutorial

Perfect for some Christmas Day (or anytime, if you want to spruce up your cupcakes) fun!

valentine's day Merry Christmas red velvet cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting

From food blog Paris Pastry, which has the recipe for these red velvet cupcakes with vanilla buttercream frosting, from The Complete Magnolia Bakery Cookbook.



She writes:

Red velvet cupcakes can be tricky. First of all, do you fold the baking soda & vinegar into the batter, or mix it in? How much red food coloring should you add? What kind of frosting goes best with red velvet cake? And then I’m not even talking about the likelihood that your cupcakes might overflow or, worse, sink. It seems all so much easier to buy a cake mix for red velvet cupcakes. There’s just one little problem… Red velvet cake mix disgusts me. Not ALL cake mixes, just the red velvet kind. I was feeling brave last night and decided to give this recipe a go. It turned out to be the easiest and best tasting red velvet cake I have ever stumbled upon. Rating: 4.5 out of 5

valentine's day You know Dasher and Dancer.... Prancer and Vixen....

But have you met THESE reindeer?  Check out these lady reindeer from abbietabble on Flickr... they're a little naughty, a little nice, and whole lotta sass!

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valentine's day Holiday Decor at the Denham House

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 The Holidays are about sharing and being with Family and Friends, right? So I wanted to share a little of what's been going on at our house. In between moving Mom in, working, and spending time with my daughter who is home for the Holidays from her first year at college, we have been decking the halls just a little bit.

Last year I made some stockings for the mantle using white burlap, trimming them with a little left over green linen I had from a local Showhouse I had worked on years ago. I added wooden letters to each stocking for each family member's initials. I made them with carved wood letters that I found at Michael's, which I painted black, then added gilding on top of that. I rubbed through the gilt so some of the black paint showed through. Cost for each stocking, about $6. 

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My Mom brought some very fun things with her when she moved it! She had the vintage wire basket (I think it looks like a crown!) and we filled it with crystal bunches of grapes, decanter stoppers, and huge crystal chandelier drops. She also has been collecting crystal balls and spheres for some time, which we scattered across the mantle. I put up a Flea Market painting I found and a copper float that has faded to a beautiful grey-green atop a white ironstone footed bowl. Glass hhurricane lanterns and small glass votive holders, Cedar and Fir garland complete the mantle. Family memories, new and old make it special to all of us.

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Our tree is not very "designer-y". There are so many beautiful takes on designer trees out there, my mind is boggled every year with all of the creativity out there! But our tree remains pretty much the same from year to year. Our kids love to put up ornaments we have collected over the years, many of which I had when I was growing up, some of which my Mom has had since her early marriage since the 50's! All of them hold Christmas stories for us....even the gold paper stars that have been on our tree ever since I was little. It may not be the chic-est...but it is perfection to us!

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I hope you all have wonderful memories of Christmas past and joyful plans for Christmas present!

* Happy Weekend! *

valentine's day Christmas cupcakes with fun toppers

These Christmas cupcakes are all by Posh Cupcakes in Mobile, Alabama, via their Flickr account. You can also find them on Facebook.

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Santa cupcakes! Seriously adorable and very well done:


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"Coming Down the Chimney" by Sugar Daze. Double chocolate gingerbread cupcakes -- sweet!

valentine's day Double decker Christmas tree cupcake

I love this double decker Christmas tree cupcake, featuring a star and mini cupcake atop a bigger cupcake to form a tree...it's by Sweet Scarlet Cakes & Cupcakes on Flickr, as is the one below, which is also impressive, but not double decker.

valentine's day Reindeer, snowman and other holiday cupcakes from Dollop

These fun holiday cupcakes (and how can cupcakes using pretzels not be fun??) are by Dollop Gourmet in Rochester, New York. They can be reached at info at dollopgourmet.com and also on Facebook and @dollopgourmet on Twitter. They are $3.75 each.









The Gingerbread wreaths are gingerbread cake.

The reindeer are double chocolate with pretzel antlers.

The snowflakes are sugar cookie flavored.

The marshmallow snowmen are marshmallow flavored with fluff.

Peppermint chocolate pointsettia cupcakes

And the Christmas trees are eggnog flavored.

valentine's day Santa, snowman and reindeer cupcakes by Just Baked

These holiday cupcakes are by Just Baked, via their Facebook page, with locations in Ann Arbor, Livonia, Novi and Royal Oak, Michigan.

valentine's day Hannukah, Christmas and red velvet valentine's day cupcakes in stores and by mail order at SAS Cupcakes

SAS Cupcakes, with locations in Newark, Delaware and Charlotte, North Carolina, and a mail order cupcake business, is selling holiday cupcakes, including Hannukah cupcakes, Christmas cupcakes, and, for those who plan ahead, a set of a dozen red velvet cupcakes for valentine's day (or any time!). Each store has its own Facebook page: Newark and Charlotte. Visit www.sascupcakes.com for more information.


Hannukah cupcakes with cupcake flags


Christmas cupcakes

Here's what's in this one (1 dozen for $49.95):

Two chocolate cupcakes topped with Peppermint Schnapps buttercream
Two Eggnog cupcakes topped with Vanilla Rum buttercream
Two Gingerbread cupcakes topped cream cheese frosting
Buttery vanilla cupcakes topped with sweet vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream
Rich chocolate cupcakes topped with chocolate buttercream and vanilla buttercream
Decadent Triple chocolate cupcake filled and topped with dark chocolate ganache
Red Velvet cupcake topped with tangy cream cheese frosting

valentine's day A wee bit late for Halloween...

But so cute I hadda share.


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and



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Also by the same artist, Navidad cupcakes!



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All cupcakes made in Madrid by ilusionacakes.

valentine's day Giant Christmas cupcake cake and smaller Christmas cupcakes from Lola's Cupcakes

A giant Christmas cupcake cake and some other Christmas cupcakes from Lola's Cupcakes in London (UK), via their Facebook page, where they're doing a 12 Days of Christmas free cupcake countdown. Check them out!

valentine's day Christmas (cup)cake pops by Colorado's The Lollicake Bake Shop

These Christmas cake pops are by Lollicake Bakeshop via their Flickr account. You can also find them on @lollicakes on Twitter and Facebook.







And this one isn't a holiday one, but I thought it was cute. It's a Guinness Stout Lollicake! I love the creative use of pretzels going on here and below.



These photos are from their holiday Facebook album - the first is a Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer cake pop!









Lollicakes can be purchased exclusively at The Bagel Bakery in Thornton (128th & Colorado), in Brighton (1850 E. Egbert Street) and at The Orchard Town Center in Westminster (144th & Interstate 25).

They also do custom orders.

The Lollicake Bake Shop
720-480-1906
lollicakebakeshop at gmail.com