Woof! Woof! Cupcake Sets

Fancy Flours is one of my favorite places to get cupcake liners, papers of all types, and cupcake decorations.  I got an email today featuring some new cupcake sets....and my favorite was the Woof! Woof! set.  Any dog lover will want these!

Mardi Gras Cupcakes

My flight is booked...my hotel is reserved...my taste buds are primed for some gumbo and boiled shrimp...just counting down the days til Fat Tuesday!  I grew up in a small southern Mississippi town about an hour away from New Orleans so the city is very special to me.  Last year's Mardi Gras was my first one since Hurricane Katrina and I think it was the best one so far. Can't wait for Mardi Gras 2010! 

I have planned to visit several cupcake bakeries in New Orleans and there may be some surprises along the way.  Stay tuned as the Mardi Gras season really gets started and Mardi Gras cupcakes begin to appear!

Mardi Gras cupcake decorations

and photo from Sugarcraft.com

Peeking Cupcake

Halloween is only a few weeks away and of course I am beginning to think about how I am going to decorate my cupcakes.  I saw this cupcake on the Better Homes and Gardens web site.

Cupcake Topper & Flower Template

I like to decorate cupcakes with simple piped chocolate decorations, but I have no artistic talent. I use templates and place them under wax paper....then trace them with melted chocolate. I think that Wilton's candy melts are the easiest way to pipe decorations. They stay firm at room temperature and store well for long periods of time.

I made these cupcakes for an anniversary party. I used red candy melts for the petals and light cocoa candy melts for the centers. The flower template can be resized for mini cupcakes!

Cupcake Cookies

While searching for a football cookie cutter to make a fondant topper for a batch of cupcakes, I found a cookie cutter shaped like a cupcake. I ordered a copper cupcake cookie cutter (try saying that three times really fast) from Copper Gifts.

Cupcake Sprinkles

MillSprinkles just might be the most classic of all the cupcake decorations. It brings back memories of your mother making cupcakes for your first grade class. Back then, there weren't too many choices for cupcake decorations but now the possibilities are endless!

Mill Creek Country Store has a nice assortment of sprinkles. They come in plastic bottles with shaker tops (that I refill and reuse) and they ship really fast too. I like the Autumn Mix and the Noel Mix for the holidays. Try them sometime!

My brother is a high school football coach at the same high school we graduated from almost 30 years ago. The school colors are black and red. For homecoming last year, my nieces wanted cupcakes decorated with school color sprinkles. I ordered black & red sprinkles from Mill Creek Country Store and the cupcakes were a huge hit.

Cupcake Wrappers

This is a follow-up to a post made Day 4 of this blog. I have a client that is currently shopping for wrappers for her wedding cupcakes, so I wanted to share this video.

Cupcake wrappers can add that extra "something" to the presentation of your cupcakes, especially for weddings or special celebrations. You can make your own or purchase them.

What Is a Gourmet Cupcake?

Everywhere you look bakeries are advertising gourmet cupcakes...but trying to locate an exact definition of the gourmet cupcake can be difficult. Wikipedia defines gourmet as a cultural ideal associated with fine food, characterized by high-quality ingredients with a special presentation. For cupcakes, this means making the batter from scratch in small batches, using the most decadent ingredients available. Presentation usually involves special liners or wrappers and being exquisitely decorated.

Since there is no standard definition, can we really tell a gourmet cupcake from a regular cupcake just by looking at it?

Cupcake Inspiration

I am constantly scouring bookstores for new cupcake inspiration - recipes, ways to display the mighty cupcake, and decorations. Decorations are my passion and I like to experiment with all types of media - especially sugar flowers. I have absolutely no artistic ability but I can create gum paste copies from pictures. Thomas Edison said,"If I try 10,000 times to make something and it doesn't work, I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways not to make it." This accurately describes my sugar flower experiences.

My favorite sources of cupcake inspiration:

Martha Stewart's Cupcakes: 175 Inspired Ideas for Everyone's Favorite Treat

Martha Stewart Living

125 Best Cupcake Recipes

Julie Hasso

Cupcakes
Elinor Klivans

The Artful Cupcake: Baking & Decorating Delicious Indulgences

Marcianne Miller

Crazy About Cupcakes

Krystina Castella




Hello Cupcake! Irresistably Playful Creations Anyone Can Make

Alan Richardson & Karen Tack