Butter Lane Cupcake Class TONIGHT

Butter Lane Cupcakes at 123 East Seventh St., New York, NY is hosting a cupcake class tonight and there are two spots left!

Running from 4-6 p.m., email Joe@butterlane.com if you’d like to reserve: first-come, first-serve.

For more information on Butter Lane's classes, Like them on Facebook or click here.

~AnnMarie

It's National Cupcake Day

Happy National Cupcake Day everyone!






















How did YOU celebrate. Tell us here or on our Facebook page.

~AnnMarie

Extra Extra, Read All About IT!!!

BIG CUPPIE NEWS:

The Magnolia virus is spreading and we couldn't be more excited.

My all-time favorite cupcake shop is opening even more branches, according to Eater National:

"In the docket locally is a Magnolia planned for the uptown Bloomingdales (where they'll kill it no doubt), one for Long Island, and one for the Short Hills Mall in New Jersey."

Mmm hhmmm on the "no doubt." What she said.


We reported on this tragedy at Magnolia Bakery earlier this year.

~AnnMarie

Holy Moley

If I weren't on the bride diet (and Nicole on the maid-of-honor diet), I'd get my but over to Flour & Sun Bakery tomorrow and pick me up one of these puppies:

That'd be a chocolate hazelnut nutella cupcake to you.

I'm salivating at the mouth right now.

Then I'd try me out a French Toast cuppie.

Then a Pink Champagne.

A-MAZING flavors goin' on tomorrow! So get over there, send us a pic with a little review. We can live vicariously...

~AnnMarie

Missed Opportunities

So, I've been trying to get my act together and post about this for over a month. Seeing as it's going to be December this week...I figure the time has passed.

But that doesn't mean I can't share a picture or two.

As you guys know, we did a 100 cupcake giveaway a couple months ago on Sumo's Sweet Stuff. After a couple tries, we finally had a winner: Crystal from Crystal's Craft Spot!

Crystal is all the way in Washington State! So you can imagine the challenge this posed to us.

Thanks to this amazing suggestion though, from the equally fab cuppie blog i heart cuppycakes, we were able to get 100 cupcakes all the way across the country to Crystal in great condition. See for yourself!

Crystal requested them for a family Halloween party, so we put together the following for her:

-Vanilla purple monsters (vanilla cuppies with violet-tinted vanilla frosting)
-Red velvet mummies (with cream cheese frosting under white fondant pieces)
-Chocolate spider webs (chocolate cuppies with chocolate icing and a spider web decoration and small plastic spider)
-Ghost stories carrot cakes (with cream cheese frosting and marshmallows) 

So after a very late Wednesday evening in October of blood, sweat and even a few tears, we were able to overnight them on Thursday and have them arrive in Washington on Friday for Crystal's Saturday party.


Looking forward to our next trial...one that's not on the other side of the country:)

Just kidding Crystal! We had a great time!

Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving...

~AnnMarie

I'm ENGAGED!!!!

You know what that means...

Let the hunt for the wedding cuppies begin!

Do You Like Me?

I mean us?

Become a fan of ours on Facebook (yes, I know "fan pages" don't exist anymore but I refuse to tell people to "like" me.

You'll get updates you won't always get here on our blog!

~AnnMarie

French Fry Cupcakes!

Wow. This chic is super annoying, but I couldn't resist re-posting this. A video on how to make French Fry CUPCAKES!

Enjoy:

Sumo Stops By

Hello everyone!

I'm so excited to be blog swapping over here today! I love reading The Road to Sweetness and hearing all about the cupcake adventures! They recently gave away 100 cupcakes on my blog - I'm still jealous!

I'm Sumo, from Sumo's Sweet Stuff!

My real name is Summer, but my husband nicknamed me Sumo when we were dating. (Should I be offended?) Now he's got all of my family, as well as lots of our friends, calling me Sumo. I think Aunt Sumo sounds pretty great, don't you? I live in Utah with my husband, and our two beautiful daughters - Reece & Remi!

Growing up, I never used to be all that domestic or crafty, so I think no one is more surprised than my mom at how I've ended up where I am today! I started Sumo's Sweet Stuff last May as a place to keep some of my crafting projects so that my personal blog wasn't overrun with them. Somehow, that developed into a place to host giveaways, share tutorials, share recipes, and feature fellow bloggers' ideas and blogs! I also use my blog to promote my etsy shop, so if you're ever in the market for some baby girl accessories, come on over! Every Monday is Market Yourself Monday, where you can link up your latest projects, and visit other blogs to get some inspiration!

Here's a little peek at some of the things you can find on my blog:

Zipper Flower Tutorial

Easy (and tasty!) Bon Bons

Feather Wreath

Chalkboard Block

Seasonal Wood Board

Three Tiered Shirts


T-Shirt Dress

Dipped Nutter Butters

You can find something every day of the week at Sumo's Sweet Stuff:

Market Yourself Monday

Tutorial Tuesday

Mouth-Watering Wednesday

Things to Try Thursday

Feature Friday

Showcase Saturday

Sponsor Sunday

Thanks again for having me! I hope to see you all over at Sumo's Sweet Stuff soon!

Cinnabon Cupcakes!

We were just at the Palisades Mall (Nyack, NY) to see an afternoon showing of The Social Network (which was awesome PS!) and were of course immediately taken by the hand upon entering by the intoxicating smell of Cinnabon. Which is conveniently placed just a few steps away from the theater.

And we found this:

They now have cupcakes! I didn't sample, but just thought I'd deliver the news. They had mini and regular sizes available.

Cute frosting on the vanilla ones above, meant, I assume, to resemble a Cinnabon!

Cupcakes and Facebook...takin' over the world!

~AnnMarie

Cupcake Vineyards

Um, hellooooooo!!??!?!?! Why has no one ever brought this to my attention!?!?!

Cupcake Vineyards! Brought to you by Underdog Wine Merchants, it doesn't look like they have much of anything to do with the baked goods other than capitalizing on using the word 'cupcake' and their "shtick" so to speak is that they want to "invoke the feeling that you get when reward yourself,” just as you do with a cupcake.

A co-worker says its both yummy AND cheap! Perfect combination. Looks like they've got a sweepstakes goin' on too, so get over to their Web site to see what it's all about and of course, enter!

~AnnMarie

ps, happy October!!!

pps, anybody ELSE other than my savvy co-worker ever try any of the wines?

Poll Results

Well it seems that public opinion did not sway in any definite direction on this one.

If we were to open up a cupcake truck or cupcake stand, you voted for either Woodbury Commons in NY or the Garden State Plaza in NJ. The Palisades Mall, also in NY, came in last.

~AnnMarie

100 Cupcake Giveaway on Sumo's Sweet Stuff...'til Tuesday!

Our big giveaway is still going on! If you haven't checked it out yet, it's being hosted by Sumo's Sweet Stuff and all who follow the three simple steps will be entered to win 100 of our cupcakes! It will be, not THE, but ONE of our first big taste tests. So be the first to sample our wares. Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Spread the word to all your friends. Click here to see the official giveaway and to check out Sumo's Sweet Stuff.



~AnnMarie

ps, a big happy welcome to all our new followers! I hope you enjoy our cupcake adventure...

Lady Gaga Goes Cupcake

Too cute not to share.

Happy Hump Day:)

We have a winner...I guess

Well...looks like Miss Kelly Lynn is now $25 richer in Farmer's Market Coupons.

Although I'm not sure she can say she was our "winner" exactly. Since she was the only one who entered :(.

Anyway, if our next giveaway, coming up on Friday doesn't get you jazzed, I'm not sure what will!

This one will be hosted on Sumo's Sweet Stuff. So check back there this Friday to see what it entails. (Hint, it involves the number 100)

Thanks again to Community Markets!

~AnnMarie

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Win $25 to YOUR Local Westchester, NY Farmer's Market

OK, so I'm going to just pretend that you guys were distracted by the holiday. So I'm extending the deadline to Sunday, Sept. 12. And I mean it this time! Don't test my patience...


Posting this again, rules haven't changed:

I'm so excited to kick-off our September giveaways, I can't even wait 'til tomorrow. Welcome to our first giveaway ever, courtesy of Community Markets! The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate, good for use at any of their Westchester farmers' markets until Oct. 31. For a full listing of their Westchester markets, visit their site.

Here's how it works:

Leave a comment under this post with where your favorite cupcakes come from (even if it's your own kitchen) and if you shop at a farmer's market, which one? Then make sure you are a follower of The Road to Sweetness (left-hand side of the screen, scroll down...I WILL be checking!), "Like" the Community Markets page on Facebook, and that's it.  Three easy steps:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Become a follower of The Road to Sweetness

3. "Like" the Community Markets Facebook page.

If you've already got 2. and 3. taken care of, even better! I'll leave the post up for one week and on September 7th I'll do a random drawing.

Cross your fingers and good luck!

Tell your friends!

~AnnMarie

DEADLINE EXTENDED: Win $25 to YOUR Local Westchester, NY Farmer's Market

OK, so I'm going to just pretend that you guys were distracted by the holiday. So I'm extending the deadline to Sunday, Sept. 12. And I mean it this time! Don't test my patience...


Posting this again, rules haven't changed:

I'm so excited to kick-off our September giveaways, I can't even wait 'til tomorrow. Welcome to our first giveaway ever, courtesy of Community Markets! The winner will receive a $25 gift certificate, good for use at any of their Westchester farmers' markets until Oct. 31. For a full listing of their Westchester markets, visit their site.

Here's how it works:

Leave a comment under this post with where your favorite cupcakes come from (even if it's your own kitchen) and if you shop at a farmer's market, which one? Then make sure you are a follower of The Road to Sweetness (left-hand side of the screen, scroll down...I WILL be checking!), "Like" the Community Markets page on Facebook, and that's it.  Three easy steps:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Become a follower of The Road to Sweetness

3. "Like" the Community Markets Facebook page.

If you've already got 2. and 3. taken care of, even better! I'll leave the post up for one week and on September 7th I'll do a random drawing.

Cross your fingers and good luck!

Tell your friends!

~AnnMarie

Giveaways, giveaways, giveaways galore!

In order to celebrate the end of the god-awful heat of Summer 2010, and ring in the cool Fall air, next month we'll be bringing you a number of fun giveaways to ease us into that 'back-to-school' mode we all know (no matter what age you are).

We are particularly excited to announce though, that we'll be a part of the Creative Chick Parade, running from Sept. 13-17.

The Parade is a collaboration between 13 different blogs that will be hosting linky parties throughout the week. One of them, Sumo's Sweet Stuff, will be hosting a HUUUUGE giveaway for us! I don't want to spoil the surprise, so check back often from the 13-17 to find out all the details. Don't worry, we'll send out plenty of reminders before then.

For more information about the Creative Chick Parade, click below to visit Sumo's. An awesome blog in its own right we might add! You can also check out her adorable Etsy shop here.




~AnnMarie

Magnolia Truffle Cuppie Falls to its Death off Metro North Train Seat

Somewhere along the Hudson River, N.Y. -- A Magnolia Truffle Cupcake was killed Tuesday night after falling off a seat of a 7:57 p.m. northbound Metro North train, headed to Croton Harmon, NY from Grand Central Station in New York City. Authorities are still unable to determine if the death was accidental, homicidal, or suicidal.

The cuppie was last seen with new acquaintance Rebecca Lynn Goldberg of Tarrytown, NY who was headed home at the time of the incident.

"We met up around 7:54. I needed to catch the 7:57 and I still had to get all the way across the station to Track 36. I had just a minute to select the truffle, a departure from my usual chocolate icing/vanilla cake choice, pay and run to the track," Goldberg said.

Witnesses say they in fact had never seen Goldberg hanging out with the Truffle Cuppie prior to Tuesday evening and that the two seemed to be enjoying each other's company.

"I didn't see it coming," Goldberg said. "I was so thankful to have gotten that far without spilling or messing up my sweater. We even took a photo together to show our newly found happiness."

"Then all of a sudden, splat. I think maybe it was suicide."

Authorities say they are still considering Goldberg a "person of interest" but aren't holding her under any formal charges. Yet.

When asked by reporters if the cuppie had fallen or if she'd pushed it off the seat, she responded calmly and simply with "Yea, I ate it. I liked it too. But I didn't push her. I didn't want to lose a single drop."

If you or anyone you know has any information that can help in this investigation, please leave it here.

Interesting Ingredient Suggestion

While baking, anyone ever substitute butter and or oil for...black beans?

This was a suggestion made by a dear friend, who I trust implicitly. But I'm still skeptical. So I guess I don't trust her THAT implicitly.

I'd like to hear from you if you ever tried it and if your cupcakes/cake, or whatever didn't end up just tasting like...uh, well, BEANS!

~AnnMarie

The Trip to Billy's that Never Was

Hmm...Nicole and I better cover our tracks back to Billy's Bakery before Sept. 15!

If you guys don't remember, Billy's was originally a scheduled stop on this year's Cuppie Tour, before I jumped ship. We've been trying to schedule a day to get back to the Brooklyn flea and also stop there and at Buttercup (the other neglected bakery on our tour). But it's been a jam-packed summer...

Anyway, Billy's is partnering with a pretty cool organization called Baking for Good. This is an adorable online bakery, started by founder Emily Dubner. Fifteen percent of every purchase you make on the site goes to the charity of your choice!

Until Sept. 15, Billy's is offering a back-to-school cupcake designed exclusively for Baking for Good. When you purchase it, 15 % will go to Free Arts NYC, a nonprofit that provides under-served children and families with educational arts and mentoring programs.

Get over to Billy's Tribeca location and pick one up. If you do, take a pic and upload it to our Facebook page!

~AnnMarie

ps, click on the image to read that tiny type better!

Congrats Keavy

Congratulations to one of our cuppie idols, Keavy Landreth, who makes the A-MAAAAZING minnies of Kumquat Cupcakery. I found this video on her blog, which will be playing on Taxi TV (could possibly be already), from NBC's new site Feast. They've been doing mini features with culinary geniuses such as Landreth herself, and calling them "Eat my..."

Here's "Eat My CUPCAKES" Obviously...



Nicole and I can't wait to get back to the Brooklyn Flea to try more Kumquats!

In other KC news, I had heard a while ago that Keavy would now be making the cuppies for Red Velvet: a snobby NYC nightclub that I apparently involves a velvet rope.

Naturally.

But I just read on her blog that the position had actually formerly been held by Baked by Melissa! Baked by Melissa was a stop on 2010 cuppie tour and Red Velvet was in the running for it.

Could you imagine me tryin' to get in there with that massive camping backpack? Now that would have been a sight.

~AnnMarie

We have a new poll

Take a look and vote, it's on the left. How do you guys feel about cupcake trucks and stands?

Vote please!!!!!

Our very own carrot cake cuppies, about to go in the oven:)

~AnnMarie

Keep Calm...

And Eat a Cupcake.

Best advice I ever heard.

Thank you to the Chick for suggesting this Etsy purchase. It will be mine soon.

~AnnMarie

Red Heads

Sent to me yesterday by the Red H'editor. She's got a thing for orange cats. For obvious reasons...

Not sure where these guys came from. Hopefully she'll enlighten us with a comment:)

~AnnMarie

The BIG 3-0

A blueberry cuppie from Flour & Sun Bakery and the smallest, cheapest bottle of Veuve Clicquot, waiting for Marc to get home and kick off his birthday weekend. He'll be 30 years old on Sunday.

He was just a daisy-fresh boy of 27 when I met him. I think...

Ah memories:)

~AnnMarie

Happy Friday

Happy Friday from Grand Central Station.

Fifteen minutes until the premiere of DC Cupcakes...

:(

Yea, so I'm bitter. What of it!?!?!?

~AnnMarie

A Cupcake for Breakfast

Who can ask for anything more?

Arriving at work too late to stop for coffee, or anything else for that matter, I had to resort to the office coffee pot this morning. Last time that thing was cleaned was around 1975.

I stumbled over there a few minutes ago to pour myself a cup of black, as whoever I've been stealing milk from in the mornings has been so rude as to not buy a new container for a few days now. The nerve of some people.

And to my surprise, I found a tray of these beauties :)

And it was GOOD.

Back to work...

~AnnMarie

Foodbuzz Featured Publisher

We are so excited to announce that we are now a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher!

Foodbuzz is an awesome community of food bloggers and we can't wait to get to know their members and share news, tips, recipes and more with all of you!

~AnnMarie

Cupcake Encounters

I've had a few in the past week and thought I'd share.

These big beauties are from Stein's Market in Montvale, NJ, brought in by a co-worker after a successful company event the night before:

Clockwise from bottom left that's a cookies 'n' cream, black and white cookie, red velvet, and classic vanilla.

And the next, which came later in the week, was in celebration of a very special guy. Colleagues both past and present gathered together to raise a glass in honor of Steven Betts, art director/real estate agent extraordinaire. He can design your dream house, then sell it to ya too!

Here he is, posing with the ultimate accessory: a box of a half-dozen Buttercup Bakery cupcakes! Brought to him by yours truly.

Ah, fun co-workers (especially those who share a love for cuppies) make the world go round.

:)

~AnnMarie

A Good Sunday Laugh

How funny is this? Cupcake POOP. I love it :)

~image from the blog Cupcake Project~

~AnnMarie

A Cuppie FLAG!

Wish I had something to order this for :(

From Baked by Melissa, a stop on Cuppie Tour '10. Click on the pic for more info.

If anyone orders one, take a pic and send it to us!

~AnnMarie

The ICE Redeems Itself

So Friday I had to take a personal day because one of the three baking classes I'd signed up for at the ICE (Institute of Culinary Education) was actually during the day, which I hadn't realized. The other two are at night.

Everybody Loves Cupcakes took place from 10-2, led by Chef Loren Banco, and it officially redeemed the school in my book.

So much more enjoyable than Basically Baking I would recommend to anybody who needs to get their cupcake baking feet wet or just looking for a fun experience.

I actually felt like a human being on Friday and was able to enjoy the four hours, which flew by!

The kitchen we were in was much less cramped and Chef Loren was such an enjoyable instructor. He was sweet, helpful, unassuming, and none of his students were afraid to make a move out of fear of being embarrassed by their teacher.

First, we sat around a long table where we reviewed all the recipes. We then split up into teams of just two, which was highly more affective for learning and retention than the larger groups of four we had to work in for Basically Baking.

There were a few recipe options to choose from for cupcakes and frostings, and each team was required to pick two of each to make. My partner and I decided to go with double chocolate cupcakes and peanut butter cupcakes with ganache filling (yummoooooo). For frosting we decided to stick with easy buttercream, and fudge frosting.

This was basically my first foray into frostings. And too my naive surprise I found that they are basically tons of butter and sugar. Oh and a dash of vanilla and salt. How Nicole and I will ever be able to craft healthier frosting I have no idea. But that's a story for a different day.

Chef Loren showed us how to fill and use a pastry bag, and also displayed some decorating techniques! Here was my attempt at icing on our peanut butter cuppies:

I know. I need some practice. Here's a shot of some of our double chocolates:

So I was very pleased with the experience and it's making me look forward to my final class in July, Cupcake Workshop 1.

~AnnMarie