Leaves change, Cupcakes bloom!

By popular demand from comments on Monday's post... I give you a sneak peak of fall cupcake ideas! Now, I'm not going to do the big super awesome Halloween blitz of the ones that I've discovered quite yet - I mean, it is still September ;-) But, I will give you some cupcake design ideas that will inspire your creativity and tickle your taste buds!


Whooooo is ready for Fall?! These are adorable and so doable with the cashew nose, sliced almond feathers, and chocolate chip eyes! This is truly GENIUS!
Courtesy of Catching Fireflies


What I like about these is the simple, very Fall-neutral pumpkin made with orange sprinkles (conveniently reusable for Halloween with some glitter gel!) as well as the earth-tone flowers. It would be a fun way to play with my new icing tips...


These little pumpkin candies, sold seasonally in grocery stores as well as at Michael's Crafts now, are adorable and can be used in both Thanksgiving and Halloween cupcake designs.
Courtesy of Bee's Treats

Ok, ok, I have little self-restraint when it comes to sharing cute cupcakes... here's a couple of the particularly awesome ones I found!


Talk about arachnophobia! Some black licorice for legs, red M&M minis for eyes, and chocolate sprinkles can make this fear come to life. Yet oddly, it makes me hungry...
Courtesy of Bakerella


I LOVE these mummies!! It looks like they executed the bandages with a thin, long icing tip. Maybe I would do candies for eyes. So cute!!
Courtesy of Le'Gateaux

On to other edible options in the next post! More fun Halloween designs to come! Isn't the holiday season fun?!

Bubble, bubble, project and trouble!

When I woke up on Monday morning, I could feel a project brewing - with the summer season coming to a rapid close and fall just around the corner. So, naturally, I decided to skip my weekend chores and go to Michael's to ponder the possibilities. The moment I walked in the door, I saw a plastic pumpkin patch littered with tastefully placed fall leaves and smelled the crisp scent of pumpkin spice candles on sale for $4... sigh... sale... oh the sweet smell of sale!

Now, just to give you a frame of reference, I'm the kind of girl who puts up her Christmas decorations the day after Halloween and celebrates every holiday with a uniquely decorated muffin cup. So, I was not at all put off by the prospect of a Halloween project - though seeing the wall of holiday wreathes and the isle of sparkly winter bangles did make me do a double take! Wasn't it just last week that I was sweltering in my apartment and sitting by a pool, ready to celebrate the summer?!

I turned to the baking isle for guidance. There, I was greeted by assorted cookie cutters for Thanksgiving and Halloween - the creepy (skulls!) and the cute! - plus cooking pans that held endless options of accompanying Halloween muffin cups. I had a brief lapse of self-restraint as I threw a sparkly black icing tube into the cart, rationalizing that it could be used for more than just adorable spiderweb cupcakes. I still don't know how I feel about a haunted gingerbread house... I think it might be a fun use of candy...

But the question remains: what could I rationalize making that would be fun and potentially useful? Perhaps a Halloween wreath or trying my hand at pumpkin spice bread... the possibilities are endless. This week, I will explore some edible options! Let me know if you have any inspired ideas to welcome the Fall!

Mini Me, You Complete Me!

Who doesn't love teenie tiny bundles of joy?... I am of course, referring to mini cupcakes! They have the unique ability to quench a cupcake craving for we cupcakeaholics in one bite. Besides, 5 of them equal one large cupcake = more variety and more icing! Not to mention they are completely adorable. Check out some particularly cute ones I found:


Look at the penguin and the fishy!! So cute!!
Courtesy of Sparklette


OREOS!! My favorite thing in life... now in bite-sized portions! Love it!
Courtesy of Parents.com


Spring has sprung - YUM!
Courtesy of Cupcakerie


AW! Pink + Monkeys = Love!
Courtesy of Blue Cupcake


Now this is my kind of Valentine!!
Courtesy of Hello, Cupcake


Adorable!
Courtesy of Cupcakes Take the Cake

And of course, some that I've discovered on my travels...


Make your own artful mini!
Cupcakes, Cupcakes of Glendale


Pink and chocolate - does it get any better?
Buttercake cupcakes at the Yelp! event

I can't tell you how many awesome cupcake / baking blogs I've come across from googling these images. Check out their links under the pictures for more cupcakespiration!

If you have any creations that you would like to share, hit me up at cupcakinitup@gmail.com

Pink is the new Vanilla!

Ever since I attended that Cupcakes, Cocktails, and Cosmetics Yelp Event where they had bubble-gum pink colored icing on the mini cupcakes, I've been thinking... ok, dreaming!... about pink icing. Why would you ever have white icing when your icing could be pink?! Thus, I have take a cue from Elle Woods (Legally Blond - the captain of the pink!), and have created the saying for us cupcaketeers: Pink is the new Vanilla! Yes, I think there might need to be a bumper sticker.

Here to prove my point, I give you a tribute to all that is cutely PINK! Be inspired. Don't be vanilla!


Courtesy of Cakerella


Courtesy of Katie's Kitchen


Courtesy of KnitXcor


Courtesy of Gingerbread Fun


Courtesy of For Cake Sake


Courtesy of Madi Moo Designs

Perfectly Pink!! There's no such thing as too much pink! Got any awesome pink creations? Email me at cupcakinitup@gmail.com

Cupcake Companions!

So you've made a delicious batch of cupcakes that you want to share with the world! Do you use your super-specific individual cupcake holder and your snap-on-snap-off carrying case?! Ok, or perhaps you're not a tupperware fanatic such as myself who spends 30 minutes in the tupperware isle at the grocery store trying to rationalize the purchase of more tupperware and who has an entire shelf in her tiny kitchen for just tupperware.... I mean, who needs plates or cups?!

Well it's as easy as a stop at the local grocery store or Target for some Ziploc! I've found their sauce container to be the perfect size for an average cupcake or their salad size has room for two cupcakes. You can get four for under $4, and plus, they're also reusable for holding salad dressings or mini chicken wontons. Rationalized for practically sake! You're welcome - rationalizing the purchase of tupperware is what I do!!

Additionally, you can take a cue from Dots and throw the cupcakes into a random box and surround them with festive tissue paper to keep them from tipping over. If you really want to take it to the next level, you can pick up a four pack of these cute cupcake boxes from Michaels - big enough for five cupcakes or one-two jumbo cupcakes. This really makes cupcakes as a birthday present extra special.

Whatever option works for you - enjoy! Oh, sweet cupcakes containers, how I love thee!!

Cupcakes, Cocktails, and Cosmetics - My First Yelp Event!

I had a very Sex and the City circa Season 5 evening with the ladies at Yelp! The Cocktails, Cupcakes, and Cosmetics event at the Benefit Boutique on 3rd Street celebrated Margaret Rose Lester's new book The Cocktail Hours with a fantastic mixture of makeovers and mini cupcakes from Buttercake Bakery.

The cupcakes added a sweet finish to this girlie event, and they provided an elegant assortment of chocolate or yellow cake complete with pink frosting and sprinkles. They seemed to have an endless supply of the cupcakes that could be devoured from counter top displays, table centerpieces, and a circulating platter. YUM! Can we say dinner??

The icing on the cupcakes was divine - some of the best I've had and comparable to Crumbs, which I consider a solid benchmark. The chocolate cake was rich, though not super moist; however, this only served to accentuate the icing overall. Upon further research on Buttercream Bakery, I'm excited to report their selection of flavors rivals Crumbs and their prices are competitive as well - $.75 for a mini and $2.75 for a cupcake. Now that's more like it!

Although I have yet to visit the actual store on Sunset (though believe me, I will make that a priority!), I can say that my scientific sampling at this Yelp event is certainly encouraging. They also offer the cutesy cupcakes that I so appreciate, themed for birthday parties and special events.

In the backdrop of the Benefit Boutique decorated in pink cupcakes that could be washed down with pink Starlet martinis, well, it doesn't get any more girlie than that!

Check out more photos!

Christyn from Bead Up! and Amy, one of the awesome Benefit artists!







The sweeeeet window display... note the missing cupcakes - I may or may not be partially responsible for that ;-)













More cool Benefit decor!













Christyn and I outside the Benefit Event post-make over on a sugar high. HOTTT haha ;)

Dots of Cupcake Love - a lesson in branding!

Located in the fun and fashionable Old Town Pasadena, Dots is a tasty variation to the ice cream and fro yo shops that cluster on the infamous Colorado Street. My fellow cupcake companion, Christyn from Bead Up! brought me some to try - in the name of science!

The packaging was adorable - complete with colorful tissue paper to keep the cupcakes from tipping over. Although this was new to me at the time, I have come to find this technique at more than one shop. It's a really cute and convenient way to practically package these delicacies while still carrying the brand through to every aspect of the product. And plus, it's prettttty!

Even though these cupcakes didn't make it to my mouth until 5 days after purchase, the chocolate cake part was surprisingly moist. The icing was fluffy and tasty as well. Dots strategy for freshness is an interesting one. They have set menu for evey two days. Like on Monday/Tuesday you can get a strawberry shortcake cupcake but on Wedneday/Thursday you can't, though you can have a pumpkin pie flavored cupcake. It's actually quite a long list - check it out by clicking here. It includes exotic flavors such as Madagascar Bourbon and Tahitian vanilla. Oooo fancy! But you know me, I'm a sucker for good ol' chocolate cake with white icing!