valentine's day valentine's day cupcake class at Westchester's Flour & Sun Bakery

Updated: Via Flour & Sun Bakery, details on their upcoming valentine's day cupcake class (and cookie class). Maybe I'll take one! If you're running any cupcake-related events, classes or otherwise (like tonight's San Francisco Buffy the Vampire Slayer cupcake contest!), let us know at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com so we can add it to our rolling 30-day calendar at right and possibly blog about it. Put "Event" in subject line.

Flour & Sun now hosts boys and girls cupcake decorating parties for ages 10 and up! Whether for a kid's birthday party or bridal shower, decorating cupcakes is fun, especially when you do it with friends. We supply the cupcakes, icing, and decorations as well as a professional baker/decorator to lead the session. Hearts, swedish fish, bugs, pirates, baseballs - there are lots of options and themes.
Call Traci at 914.495.3232 to find out more information and see how we can tailor the party to fit your needs.

NEW! Valentine’s Day Cookie Decorating Class
Saturday, Jan. 29th from 4:30 to 6:30
Here’s your chance to learn from a pro the basic technique of how to decorate cookies for Valentine’s Day. Every student gets to bring home the recipes and at least six cookies to show off their decorating talent to family and friends. All materials will be provided for you, just come for some decorating fun. Please note, this class is for teens or adults.
Teacher: Traci Sherman, a graduate of Florida Culinary Institute, International Baking and Pastry Arts, and a professional in the baking industry for more than ten years.

NEW! Valentine’s Day Cupcake Decorating Class
Saturday, Feb. 5th from 4:30 to 6:30pm
Here’s your chance to learn from a pro basic techniques of decorating cupcakes for Valentine’s Day. Every student gets to bring home 6 cupcakes to show off their decorating talent to family and friends. All materials will be provided, just come for some decorating fun. Please note, this class is for teens or adults.
Teacher: Kim Ambrose, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, Baking and Pastry Arts, is the baker and decorator at Flour & Sun.

Price: $65. Register with a friend and you each save $5!
Register now by calling 914.495.3232.

valentine's day Quick Recap: Cupcake Stop Meetup

valentine's day

Last Sunday, we had a meetup at Cupcake Stop's new location in Greenwich Village (70 Greenwich Ave). It was a nice group of attendees many of which had just joined our Meetup Group. We also met the owner Lev Ekster, his business partner Rich Kallman, and the Cupcake Stop's lead baker John.

valentine's day

I personally loved the Almond Joy cupcake. The mound of coconut with a light airy cupcake was delicious. BTW, you can see Lev Evster and I speak January 25 at the Social Media Club of Long Island.

valentine's day See you at our CupcakeStop meetup today!

Reminder: our January cupcake meetup is at the newly-opened CupcakeStop, already a well-established and popular cupcake truck, storefront at 70 Greenwich Avenue in the West Village in Manhattan today at 2! See you there! You can join our 1,700-member strong cupcake meetup by clicking there. Funnily enough, I just saw an ad for Meetup on the subway. We prefer you to RSVP but if you're reading this now, feel free to show up!

January 9, 2 pm
CupcakeStop
70 Greenwich Avenue
New York, NY

Have you stopped at the Cupcake Stop truck or gone by the location at The Limelight Marketplace?! Now there is a Cupcake Stop shop in the Village (70 Greenwich Avenue) which just opened in December. We're going there this Sunday afternoon to eat cupcakes. The first dozen for the group will be paid by Cupcakes Take The Cake; please bring cash/credit/debit card to pay for additional cupcakes and or beverages.

See owner Lev Ekster's recent guest blog at Zagat:

While the new store carries new challenges, I’ve already started enjoying the many benefits. In a brick-and-mortar location, only one employee on duty needs to have the food handling certification, and since I’ve been practically living in the store since we’ve opened, I’ve had that requirement covered. Many of my new employees here already have this certification, but I’ve also been able to hire and train those who don’t, and they’re able to begin work for me while getting certified concurrently. I think this distinction between the mobile food truck and brick-and-mortar licensing requirement has allowed me to bring on an exceptional staff.

Having a brick-and-mortar location also makes business a lot less contingent on weather. During the blizzard we experienced at the end of December 2010, we were unable to bring out our cupcake truck but had a steady day of business at 70 Greenwich. I also assume that in the summer when the temperatures outside get into the 90s, the cupcakes will be a lot easier to maintain in the brick-and-mortar location as compared to on the cupcake truck.

valentine's day The Beatles, Yellow Submarine, Led Zeppelin and Rolling Stones cupcakes

These 60's rock cupcakes are by New York City custom company Man Bakes Cake, who made some beautiful and delicious cupcakes for our 6-year anniversary party (I know I owe you my recap of that). Check them out on Facebook, where you can contact them about orders, and the Man Bakes Cake blog, for more custom cupcake creations. They're coquito and red velvet cupcakes with spicy chocolate ganache and fondant.

valentine's day Cupcake resolutions and peppermint chocolate frosting at Butter Lane

I stopped by Butter Lane in the East Village (Manhattan) the other night. They were out of eggnog frosting, which I would've tried out of curiosity, but I bought a chocolate peppermint frosted chocolate cupcake (I was told to try it with chocolate) for $3 and was very happy. It wasn't quite as full-on peppermint as I might have liked (the frosting equivalent of, say, Starbucks' peppermint hot chocolate, which is very pepperminty), the peppermint seemed more concentrated in the crushed candy cane at the top, but it was very good, and also rich.

I couldn't finish it - that's actually a compliment! See butterlane.com and follow them @butterlane on Twitter for the latest news and info on their cupcake classes. I did appreciate their cupcake resolution sign. Still trying to work on my 2010 cupcake recap before I get to my 2011 cupcake resolutions!

valentine's day Cranberry vodka cake filled with Grand Marnier chiffon, topped with champagne buttercream and candied cranberries

How festive! From Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe in Rochester, New York, via their Facebook page.

258 Alexander St.
Rochester, NY
sugarmountainbakeshoppe at gmail.com


"Poinsettia" cupcake: Cranberry vodka cake filled with Grand Marnier chiffon, topped with champagne buttercream and candied cranberries.


White chocolate cake baked with a hint of peppermint, filled with white chocolate ganache, topped with white chocolate peppermint buttercream and crushed candy canes.

I also love the names of their flavors - deadline is tonight at 9 pm to pre-order these, via their Facebook page:

Drunken Patty Cake, Cookie Dough, S'mores, Peppermint Candycane, Poinsettia, X'mas Cappuccino, Bourbon Eggnog, White Chocolate Raspberry, Nutella Mochaccino, White Russian, Red Velvet, Chocolate Merlot, Very Vanilla, Sinfully Chocolate and Chocolate Peanut Butter.

valentine's day Happy National Cupcake Day!

Yes, today, December 15th, is officially National Cupcake Day in the United States (November 10th is National Vanilla Cupcake Day). How will you celebrate?

Flour & Sun Bakery in Pleasantville, New York, is offering up this brand-new hot chocolate cupcake, made with "Cocoa cake with toasted marshmallows topped with hot chocolate frosting & powdered sugar:"



And, just for fun, here's their peppermint cupcake, both photos via their Flickr account. Visit them at www.flourandsunbakery.com for daily flavors and specials. You can also join their email list and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

valentine's day Cowgirl Cupcakes coming to New York.

EV Grieve reports that the East Village in New York City, already home to Butter Lane and Dessert Club ChikaLicious, is also getting Cowgirl Cupcakes soon on East 10th Street between 1st Avenue and Avenue A:



I couldn't find a website for them, but I did find Austin, Texas's Cowgirl Cupcakes on Facebook.





Last but not least, there is also Cowgirl Cupcake, another custom cupcake company, in Sandy, Oregon!

valentine's day Christmas Cappuccino cupcake: Eggnog cinnamon cake with a sambuca & advocaat cream filling

This very special cupcake debuts tonight at Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe in Rochester, New York. Via their Facebook page:

"Christmas Cappuccino" cupcakes debut this evening at Sugar Mountain. Eggnog cinnamon cake with a sambuca & advocaat cream filling, topped with espresso buttercream and a dollop of eggnog whipped cream. sprinkled cinnamon.



Today's other flavors:

Roccity Crunch, Peppermint Candycane, White Chocolate Raspberry, Bourbon Eggnog, Turtle, S'mores, Tiramisu, Chocolate Merlot, Pecan Pie, Lemon Creme, Chocolate Malt, Cookies&Cream, Ol'Blue Eyes, Chocolate Peanut Butter, Sinfully Chocolate and Very Vanilla.

And an older photo, but one to whet your appetite for February - the Valentine's Turtle. Chocolate fudge pecan cake filled with a chocolate caramel ganache whipped with salted caramel buttercream. a caramel drizzle,rolled in crushed pecans. garnished with a heart shaped white chocolate drizzled chocolate on top.



You can also follow them @smbscucpakes on Twitter

Sugar Mountain Bake Shoppe
258 Alexander Street
Rochester, NY, 14607
585-319-5001
sugarmountainbakeshoppe at gmail.com

valentine's day Gingerbread cookie coffee & cream cupcakes for our NYC party by Lux Sugar

Look what custom cupcake company Lux Sugar made for our 6th anniversary party at Brooklyn Winery in Brooklyn tonight! Join us, why don't you? Yum! Via Ow.ly. You can find out more about Lux Sugar on their website, see their photos on Flickr and follow them @LuxSugar on Twitter and on Facebook.

valentine's day

And this Christmas tree green tea Lux Sugar cupcake isn't for our party, but I saw it on Ow.ly and liked it too!

valentine's day

valentine's day Cupcake parties for our blogiversary tonight! See you in New York and Seattle!

As a sign that cupcakes and Cupcakes Take the Cake just keep getting bigger and better, tonight we are celebrating 6 years (!!) of cupcake blogging in New York and Seattle. We can't wait to party with you!

valentine's day

December 7, 7-9 pm
Brooklyn Winery
213 North 8th Street
Brooklyn, NY 11211

$10 admission; RSVP here

Come celebrate six years of cupcake blogging with Cupcakes Take The Cake with a fun party at the new Brooklyn Winery in Williamsburg. Come party with founding editors Rachel Kramer Bussel and Nichelle Stephens as well as contributing editor Stacie Joy and columnist Melissa Zhang. There will be cupcakes, cupcakes and more cupcakes! Plus there will be a raffle for cupcake-related goodies like cookbooks, cupcake ornaments, and much more. A portion of the proceeds will go to Cancer Care.

We'll be updating this invite with the cupcake sponsors and raffle prizes regularly.

Cupcake sponsors include Robicellis, Lux Sugar, Sugar Sweet Sunshine, Little Cupcake Bake Shop, Nibbles By Nora, CRUMBS, Magnolia Bakery, Tonnie's Minis and more.

Raffle sponsors include cupcake ornaments by Amy Miller Designs, and a cupcake book, 1000 Ideas for Decorating Cupcakes, Cookies and Cakes, Sweet Bling and more.

valentine's day

Cupcakes Take the Cake is turning 6 blog years old and what better way to celebrate then by throwing a party! Come out and enjoy great people, great food and of course great cupcakes! Door prizes and contests as well as live entertainment will be available at the party as well!

WHEN: Tuesday, December 7, 7-9:30pm

WHERE: Chopstix Piano Bar – 11 Roy Street, Seattle, WA 98109

Click here for map & directions

Thanks to Betsy Eves, blog intern at Cupcakes Take the Cake, and owner of JavaCupcake.com for hosting this event!

More special thanks go to Carrie Middlemiss of Bella Cupcake Couture for helping plan and organize the party as well as Jessie Oleson of CakeSpy for the artwork and Lisa Johnson of New York Cupcakes for providing the cupcakes!

Party Details!

In case you were wondering what’s included in your $20 ticket… here’s what you get!

- A buffet to include:

• Ground Beef and Pulled Pork Sliders with all the fixings


• Vegetarian Spring Rolls with chili dipping sauce


• Tomato and Basil Crostini with Olive Oil and Cracked Pepper



• Spinach and Artichoke Dip with pita wedges


• Assorted Cheese and Crackers


• Fresh Vegetables with dipping sauce


• Coffee, tea, soda and water are included in per person price


• All alcoholic beverages will be paid on individual cash bar basis

- Entertainment from two dueling piano players!! If you’ve never seen a piano show… you won’t want to miss out!! It’s so much fun!!!

- Cupcake Piping Contest – See who has the best piping & decorating skills in this piping contest! Winner gets a great prize!

- Tons and tons of door prizes! You’ll receive a raffle ticket at the door which will enter you into a drawing for dozens of fabulous cupcake prizes.

- Cupcakes, cupcake cookies and cake pops! There will so many cupcakes on hand as well as other cupcake goodies for you to enjoy… you’ll think you’re in CUPCAKE HEAVEN!!!

valentine's day Hannukah blue velvet cupcakes, plus Man Bakes Cake NYC plus custom cupcakes

These cupcakes are by New York City custom cupcake company Man Bakes Cake, who can be reached via their Facebook page, where these photos are from. There's also a blog. No menus that I can see, but there are 98 Facebook photo albums to peruse!


Blue velvet Hannukah cupcakes






decorated cupcake from children's party cupcake bar


Superman cupcakes


Cadbury creme egg cupcake


initial cupcakes

valentine's day Cupcake tattoo done by artist on herself!

I was at a party the other night and met a tattoo artist, Jess Versus of Glamour Garage Salon and Tattoo Parlour in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. While I got my first tattoo this year (not a cupcake, alas), I don't tend to encounter too many people with cupcake tattoos, but at this party, I met her, and another woman she had inked with cupcakes and other desserts.

The best part about her tattoo is that she tattooed it on her ankle herself! Check it out:

valentine's day Are You Ready To Celebrate?! SEA and NYC Parties Next Tuesday

valentine's day

We are so excited to celebrate our sixth anniversary of Cupcakes Take The Cake with parties in both Seattle and New York City next Tuesday. It is our first time partying bicoastal with Betsy Eves from Java Cupcake hosting the Seattle Party and the New York editors and columnists (Rachel, Stacie and Melissa and Me) partying here in Brooklyn. Get your tickets today. Tell a friend.  It's your chance to eat lots of cupcakes and have a fun time!

valentine's day

valentine's day Cupcake review: Au Bon Pain French vanilla, double chocolate and red velvet cupcakes

Last week we told you about the new limited edition cupcakes for sale at the restaurant chain Au Bon Pain, and I can now report on how they taste! You can see more photos in my Flickr set.





I was impressed with all of these cupcakes because not only were they tender and moist, they tasted like what they were supposed to. I can't tell you how many times I've had "vanilla" or "chocolate" cupcakes where all the flavor was in the frosting. That's too much work for frosting. These cupcakes were all delicious and flavorful and very rich; I couldn't finish them, but they're great for sharing.

I think the chocolate would be my favorite of the three; it's rich and dense but not overly sweet, which is something that can easily turn me off from a cupcake. I like the presentation of the cupcakes, too, with chocolate shavings atop the chocolate and red velvet, and little white chocolate chips (I think that's what they are) on top of the French vanilla cupcakes.





I'm not sure how limited "limited time" means, but look for them at Au Bon Pain.




red velvet cupcakes, which have the most calories at 400 each (350 calories for double chocolate cupcake, 320 calories for French vanilla).

valentine's day Limited edition Pinkalicious cupcakes at Crumbs Bakeshop

Pinkalicious, the popular New York Times bestselling children's book (click here to read our interview with the autor and illustrator) and now theater character, has her own limited edition cupcake at Crumbs Bakeshop. I also got in trouble for the first time in years of taking photos at Crumbs - perhaps it's a new rule, or the Crumbs I went into was particularly persnickety, but whatever, I got these before I was told no more photos. And yes, in New York City, due to our labeling laws, you can find out exactly how many calories are in your cupcakes. See Crumbs.com for ordering and shipping details and store locations.




Apple Cobbler (as opposed to Apple Pie cupcakes, pictured below), is their flavor of the month


blackbottom cheesecake cupcakes


pumpkin cupcakes


chocolate pecan pie cupcakes


apple pie cupcakes

valentine's day Animal print wedding cupcakes, Nick Jr., chocolate espresso and more from Treat

All of these cupcakes are by NYC custom dessert company Treat, via their Flickr account, and they're also on Facebook and can be reached at treatnyc at hotmail.com (as always, if you found out about a bakery via Cupcakes Take the Cake, we'd love it if you'd let the bakery know).




beautiful animal print wedding favor cupcakes


Nick Jr. cupcakes


chocolate espresso with mocha latte buttercream & chocolate shavings


Canada cupcakes

valentine's day 5 frosting shots from Butter Lane: hazelnut chocolate, cranberry, blackberry, pumpkin and apple spice

I'd read that NYC's East Village cupcake bakery Butter Lane has new Thanksgiving frosting flavors and I wanted to check them out last night. I love their moist cakes, in vanilla, chocolate and banana, but at $3/cupcake, and after dinner, I was more in the mood just for the purity of the frosting. They do a great job with their frosting shots; they're $1/each and mine were very carefully prepared and packaged so as not to spill, plus they had garnishes on top.


5 frosting shots: Cranberry, Blackberry, Pumpkin Spice, Apple Spice, Hazelnut Chocolate (which is different from their other chocolate frostings)


hazelnut chocolate frosting shot closeup

Out of these, cranberry was far and away my favorite. It was a little tart but sweet as well, and refreshing. It very much tastes like cranberry, and the same for blackberry tasting like blackberry - if you like those fruits, check them out for sure. Pumpkin spice does have a bit of a kick, as does the apple spice, which was my least favorite of the five. The hazelnut chocolate was intense, in a good way, and the nut shavings added a little texture. They also have tiramisu frosting, but they told me that that wouldn't be so good as a standalone frosting shot because it works better on a cupcake so you get the full experience.

I think I've said this before, but unless you have an extremely high sugar tolerance, these are almost impossible to finish. I recommend bringing a friend or two; you really notice when eating frosting shots how rich frosting itself is, and how much the cupcake is actually the marriage of frosting and cake, and how each complements the other. What I like about Butter Lane is that because it's mix and match, you can ask them which cake would go best with which frosting, and they're happy to share their opinion.

They've also just launched a loyalty program using PlacePunch (more next week on other cupcake bakeries with loyalty programs). I'm not 100% sure how it works, but you can log in using Twitter, Facebook or Foursquare, and you get points for checking in, like this:





See more of my photos from last night in this Flickr set


sea salted chocolate frosting on vanilla cupcake

Visit them at Butterlane.com as well as Tumblr, Twitter and Facebook for the latest news. They offer cupcake classes twice a week.