Sparkle Cupcakes: April 2013

cupcakes

Cupcakes, also known as fairy cakes, are delicious, pocket-sized cakes. We have a basic cupcake recipe, a delicious lemon cupcake recipe, a classic vanilla cupcake recipe, a dark chocolate cupcake recipe and a matching white chocolate cupcake recipe. Cupcake recipes are wonderful inventions that help us to create our favorite cupcakes. Cupcakes are versatile little cakes that can be used for a casual birthday gathering or even a more glamorous affair. Cupcakes are only limited by your imagination, and I sincerely hope that you will find our ultimate cupcake recipes exactly what is needed to get your imagination moving!

cupcakes

Basic Cupcake Mix
The basic mixture for a cupcake recipe is the same as for many other large sponge cake recipes with the basic mixture consisting of

50g/2oz self raising flour
50g/2oz Caster sugar (superfine)
50g/2oz Butter or margarine (shortening)
1 Egg

These quantities are enough to make about 6 medium or 10 very small cupcakes, about 5cm/2-inches in diameter and can be doubled or trebled as required, however make sure to keep the same proportions of ingredients if you wish to treble it the amounts would be

150g/6oz Self Raising Flour
150g/6oz Caster Sugar (superfine)
150g/6oz Butter or Margarine (shortening)
3 eggs

If you are using the above guidelines or a heaped teaspoon of cupcake mixture per cake, 15 minutes should be long enough however, you can test whether the cupcake is cooked through by pushing a wooden toothpick into the centre. If it comes out clean, then the cupcake mixture has cooked through. If you decide to make slightly larger cupcakes, they will need an extra 5 minutes or so.

A level tablespoon in each paper case will make medium sized cupcakes about 7.5cm/3-inches in diameter. A heaped teaspoon of cupcake mixture in each paper case or cupcake hole will make small cupcakes about 5cm/2-inches in diameter. You can make larger and deeper cupcakes by placing more of the cupcake mixture in the cases or cupcake hole however, never fill the case or hole more than 2/3rds ful

Googly eyes, cotton candy, chocolate peanut butter and moonpie cupcakes that make me wish I were in South Carolina

Once again I'm featuring Cupcrazed Cupcake Bar and promising myself I will get to Fort Mill, South Carolina soon to taste their luscious looking cupcakes! Look at how tall their cotton candy topped cupcake is. Wow. Today they are wishing their customers Happy Hippie Day and special flavors are: "Cocoa Puffs, Strawberry Hi-C, Groovy Tie Dye, Chocolate Brownie, Elvis, and Policeman special with a chocolate cupcake, and +21 Drunkin Policemen Special with a whipped vodka in coffee buttercream." Via their Facebook page. Contact them at info at cupcrazed.com or 803-396-7372 and visit cupcrazed.com for more information.

today's cupcakes

moonpie cupcakes

Black Forest cupcakes

"Chocolate filled with caramel and fudge, caramel frosting and a pretzel"

Boston Pride cupcakes by Cakes by Erin benefit families affected by Boston marathon bombings

From the Facebook page of Cakes by Erin at 58 Kenoza Avenue in Haverhill, Massachusetts comes a way to help: "We challenge you to come buy our Boston Pride cupcake. You name the price ( Is it worth $5, $10, $20?) and we will donate the proceeds to The One Fund. Come in today and all next week to help raise money." Contact them at cakesbyerin_info at yahoo.com or 978-469-9136 and find out more at cakesbyerin.com. You can get more information about the fund and donate directly at onefundboston.org.

Graduation cupcake with mortarboard and hummingbird cupcake with pretty dried pineapple flower

I like both of these festive cupcakes by Bliss Bake Shop - the hummingbird cupcake ("Pineapple, Coconut & Banana Cake topped with cream cheese buttercream and a dried pineapple flower") on the bottom is their April cupcake of the month! Via their Facebook page. Contact them at baked at blisscupcakeshop.com or 503-645-6000 and find out more at blisscupcakeshop.com.

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Are you dreaming of Summer yet?

Having visions of sitting by the pool with a refreshing drink in your hand?

I have a delicious summery treat for you...Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes!

I am really excited with how well this idea turned into delicious cupcakes,

because this recipe is simple and just SO good!

I started with my favorite strawberry cake, which uses a white cake mix.

Then I added some frozen lemonade concentrate to give it a new, intense flavor.

The sweetness of strawberries + the tang of lemonade = YUMMY!

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

by Bird On A Cake

Ingredients

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

1 box white cake mix
1 (3 oz.) box strawberry instant gelatin
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)
1/2 cup oil
4 eggs

Strawberry Lemonade Frosting

1 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)
6 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (frozen or fresh)
2 tablespoons frozen lemonade concentrate (thawed)

Instructions

Strawberry Lemonade Cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together cake mix and gelatin powder. Add lemonade concentrate and oil; mix on medium speed. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well. Add strawberries and beat until blended. Pour into prepared liners and bake for 18-20 minutes.

Strawberry Lemonade Frosting

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add 3 cups of the confectioners' sugar, pureed strawberries and lemonade; mix well. Mix in the remaining confectioners' sugar. Keep covered.

Enjoy!

Even more strawberry cake deliciousness:
Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake Cake

I share my recipes and tutorials at these fun link parties.

Cupcake job interview fair tomorrow with Taste Love Cupcakes in Michigan

Job seekers, check out the Royal Oak, Michigan Taste Love Cupcakes interview fair tomorrow, Saturday April 20th. They're located at 304 S. Main Street and you can get more information on their Facebook page. Contact them at eat at tastelovecupcakes.com or 248) 543-2253 and visit tastelovecupcakes.com or more information.

lemon blueberry cupcakes

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes From Love Peace and Cupcake

Inspired By A Doughnut, A Way To Help Boston

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/YNQST8IqZw/

Today on my way to the studio to do #amTwib, I stopped by a bakery and got a Boston Creme doughnut. I took a photo and posted on Instagram and came up with an idea. Maybe some bakers both amateur and professional can bake Boston Creme cupcakes and do a fundraiser for the people affected by the Boston Marathon. Personally, I have an aunt who lives in Boston and on Monday, my family was anxious as it was hard to get in touch with her, but luckily she is safe.

I am not sure what nonprofits but since many of the runners run on behalf of Team In Training or other organizations so it might be nice to donate that way.

Here's some Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes from prior posts on Cupcakes Take The Cake.

Boston Cream Pie Cupcakes via The Kitchn
Mini Boston Cream Valentine's Day Cupcakes with Recipe
Banana Cream Pie Cupcake by Emily at Sugar Plum

If any bakeries do any fundraising to assist the Boston Marathon victims, please let us know. We love to support by spreading the word.

By the way, I see two different spellings in my research. Is it creme or cream? Is it a Boston thing?

Is There A CupcakeBubble?! We Are Talking About Today At 2PM EST

I woke up this morning to a "cupcake emergency". I got two emails about today's Wall Street Journal article about the Cupcake Crash.

The article focused on CRUMBS stock price which has fallen to $1.70. However, if one company underperform, does that mean that ALL cupcake businesses are in trouble?

We don't think so, but we want to hear from you. Bakers, cupcake lovers, food bloggers, owners are welcome to chime in.

So we're gonna have a Twitter chat today at 2PM EDT. If you can make it, follow the tweets from our Twitter account, http://twitter.com/cupcakeblog and the hashtag is #cupcakebubble.

Dollar sign cupcakes even though it's after Tax Day

These dollar sign cupcakes were for sale Monday, the United States personal income tax deadline, but I think they're cute (and maybe a symbol of prosperity?) so am sharing them with you today. They're by Seattle's Trophy Cupcakes, via their Facebook page. Visit trophycupcakes.com for locations and information.

Cupcake Wars winning flavors for sale at Austin's Sugar Mama's Bakeshop

Austin's Sugar Mama's Bakeshop won Cupcake Wars and is featuring their winning flavors, named Eat It = Eat It, Polka Cake = Weird Al's accordion, Waffle King = Waffle King, Alpocalypse = Alpocalypse, this week. From an interview at Austinist with owner Olivia O'Neal: "Our challenge was to make the weirdest cupcakes possible in an attempt to cater his book release party. To say it was a huge challenge is an understatement. How do you out weird Weird Al? It certainly helps that our town motto is Keep Austin Weird!" Keep up with their latest happenings on their Facebook page and @sugarmamas on Twitter and visit sugarmamasbakeshop.com for more information. I hope I will have a chance on my upcoming visit this weekend to Austin to stop in and give you a first person report on these cupcakes!

Bourbon, Orange and Cherry Cupcake

Submitted to our Flickr group, this Old Fashioned Cupcake by Angel Cakes in San Francisco has three things in it that I LOVE... Bourbon, Orange Zest and Brandied Cherry.

YUM!

Cupcake Piping 101

Hello friends!

I've put together a super simple tutorial to pipe perfect swirls of frosting onto your cupcakes. I use 5 different piping tips and create 7 different looks - and in the video I've created, I show you how to pipe 4 of the 7 techniques.

For the video and complete tutorial, visit: http://javacupcake.com/2013/04/tutorial-cupcake-piping-101/

Happy Baking!

Betsy

Sunday, April 21: Smoked Sumatra Coffee Cupcakes At Sweet Sensations Event

Enjoy scrumptious desserts and techniques demos at the Sweet Sensations event while helping to support scholarships and programs for at-risk students in Careers through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP). 100% of the proceeds raised at this event will go to C-CAP, www.ccapinc.org.

Hazel of Tasty Pursuits is making Smoked Sumatra Coffee cupcakes (pictured above) for the event.

$39 Tickets are on sale at Sweet Sensations

Sunday, April 21, 2013, 3:00-5:30 p.m.

Openhouse - The Old Bowery Station | 168 Bowery

Pastry & chocolate techniques demos by renowned pastry chef Stephen Collucci (Colicchio & Sons) and master chocolatier Mehdi Chellaoui

Amazing door prizes including a copy of the Momofuku Milk Bar Cookbook signed by Christina Tosi, baked goods from Pound for Pound Bakery, and many others.

Desserts by local bakers and NYC food bloggers:

Alejandra Ramos |www.alwaysorderdessert.com

Angela Sanchez-Robles |www.mind-over-batter.com

Hazel Sy |www.tastypursuits.com

Jacqueline Raposo |www.thedustybaker.com

Joanne Bruno |www.joanne-eatswellwithothers.com

Josephine Son |www.saucysmile.wordpress.com

Patty Lee |www.bypattylee.com

Louise Ng |www.louandesi.com

Income Tax Cupcakes

Tax day has come and gone so we can all breathe a sigh of relief. You may even want to celebrate with a cocktail but why not celebrate with a cupcake full o' spirits instead?

The Cupcake Project has re-imagined this Income Tax Cocktail into a baked treat! It's made with gin, vermouth, bitters and orange juice. Don't worry, it's not super strong so it's perfect to indulge in without worrying about getting cupcake wasted. Check out the recipe here!

Another cupcake cake dress for a bride to be

Cortland, New York bakery Frosted made this cupcake cake dress for a bride to be! Beautiful. From their Facebook page. Contact them at frosteddelight at yahoo.com or 607-662-4200. Via Blue Sheep Bake Shop on Facebook.

Green lips toppers, tie dyed cherry vanilla and death by chocolate cupcakes

Colorful cupcakes (the green lips were for St. Patrick's Day) by Lil' Bit of Heaven Cupcakes in Saint Albans, West Virginia, via their Facebook page. Contact them at teri at lilbitofheavencupcakes.com or 304-421-8640 and visit lilbitofheavencupcakes.com/ for more information.

Magic Roundabout Cake & Cupcakes

Here's another entry from the Cake International Show in London this weekend. This Magic Roundabout Cake & Cupcakes comes from Mrs. Starkey's Kitchen in Swindon, England. Isn't it sweet?

For more pictures of these cupcakes, visit Mrs. Starkey's Kitchen on Facebook!

21+ only pomegranate vodka cupcake

I didn't even know pomegranate vodka existed, let alone a pomegranate vodka cupcake! Leave it to Cupcarazed Cupcake Bar in Fort Mill, South Carolina, who we've featured a lot recently, and whose marriage equality equal sign cupcakes I covered for Parade.com. Photo via their Facebook page. Find out more at cupcrazed.com.

BCakeNY Cupcakes Available Online

via Instagram http://instagram.com/p/Xpu5HNIqcp/

BCakeNY is a Brooklyn-based custom cake bakery that also makes cupcakes and push pop cakes. I stopped by last week and sampled a few of their cupcakes. They were delicious. The Baileys cupcake was especially good. I talked to the manager and she said that they do lots of alcohol cupcakes for birthday parties for adults. They cupcakes with tequila, vodka, and more. BCakeNY cupcakes and push pop cakes online via their website.

Savory Breakfast Cupcakes

Are you a sweet or savory person?

Most folks have a favorite, or at least a mutual appreciation for all things delicious. I’m a sweet lover without a doubt! I’d prefer a muffin over an omelet at breakfast and I’d even pass on dinner to enjoy a sugary cupcake. However, that hint of saltiness amongst a mound of sweet can bring out the full flavor and send taste buds soaring.

There are so many wonderful combination treats here on cupcakes take the caketo inspire a sweet and salty blend. Yet, savory cupcake inspirations can be challenging to find. I want to share a breakfast cupcake specifically for the savory lovers of the world. I’m a dairy-free cook, so this recipe can easily be adjusted for lactose intolerant diets. But if you love cheese, consider mixing some grated cheese into the biscuit dough for extra flavor.

These cupcakes can be preserved overnight in the refrigerator and microwaved briefly in the morning for a quick and warm meal. Garnish after microwaving.

Not only are these delicious cupcakes, but they’re perfectly portioned with a beautiful delivery. The egg inside will be slightly runny which complements the spicy and salty homemade biscuit. The fried hash brown topping adds a rich, home-style flavor. These cupcakes contain all of the basic breakfast foods: eggs, bacon, hash browns and a biscuit. Impress true savory lovers with this innovative twist on breakfast.

This post was written by Tali Wee who blogs about life in the northwest for fun, and handles the community outreach for Charlotte, NC at Zillow for work. She owns Wee PicketFences where she writes about being a new homeowner, bargain hunter, foodie and DIY enthusiast. She enjoys family, food, travel, writing and spending time on projects around the house.

A disco ball on a cupcake, Audrey Hepburn cupcakes and beautiful flowers

Sunnyside Cup in Bramhall, Stockport, UK has made some delightfully charming custom cupcakes, including this giant cupcake cake with a disco ball on top! See more photos and get info on their Facebook page and sunnysidecup.com and contact them at web at sunnysidecup.com or +44 7973 922623.

Cupcakes at the Cake International Show

Starting today, the Cake International - The Sugarcraft, Decoarting and Baking Show - kicked off in London. Jen's Just Desserts was there to cover the event! Here are some of the cupcakes that were on display!

The show runs all weekend - so if you're in London, it's not too late to get tickets for Saturday and Sunday!