Washington, DC's Hello Cupcake (no relation to Tulsa's or Tacoma's) will open Monday, August 25th at 1351 Connecticut Avenue, NW.
Design Cult got a sneak peek:
With the opening of Hello Cupcake, proprietor and head baker Penny Karas has brought together what she describes as 'two separate but interconnected ideas." First, as the bakeries motto suggest, this is 'a sophisticated twist on a an old-fashioned classic', meaning that all the ingredients are top quality, and in most cases organic and locally grown. Many of the inventive flavors are geared towards a sophisticated palette. And rather than the slathered on icing with sprinkles you grew up with, these cupcakes feature artistically piped icing with an array of carefully made confectioner toppers.
But the level of sophistication and modern style does not stop at the little cakes themselves, but is extended to the bakery's interior as well. As Karas suggests, this is "also a modern take on the concept of a bakery." The idea behind the interior of the bakery, designed by Karas' architect husband, Bill Bonstra of Bonstra Haresign Architects, is that the retail space read more as a boutique, such as small jewel shop, than a bakery.
And they're hiring! Go here and click on the link to find out about becoming their next Pastry Chef/Baker, Prep Chef, Cupcake Artist (um, coolest job title ever!), Assistant Manager and/or Shift Manager, Customer Service/Cashier or Barista. They also promise to offer cupcake decorating classes in the fall.
See their daily flavors here (but where's Monday?)
Location
1351 Connecticut Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20036
Just south of Dupont Circle, across from the Metro
Hours
Tues-Thurs 10-7
Fri-Sat 10-9
Sun 12-5
Telephone
tel:202.861.2253
fax:202.861.2254
Email
info@hellocupcakeonline.com
Wednesday, August 20, 2008
Hello Cupcake opens August 25th in Washington, DC
Buns, Ireland's first cupcake bakery
Well we have been out of the Irish cupcake loop! Thanks to the blog little birds eat, which posted the photo below, we found out about Buns, which bills itself as "Ireland's First Cup-Cake Bakery" and seems to be a custom/home-based business. Living in New York, we have no idea if that's true, but we'll take their word on it for now.
from the Irish Times:
Home-made by Kildare based baker Paula Coyne, these luxury cup-cakes come in ten tantalizing varieties, among them Hummingbird, Butterfly and the deliciously decadent double-choc buns.
Perfectly presented and decorated with the likes of edible flowers, coconut dusting and fresh cherries, they are free from artificial preservatives and colours, packed instead with lashings of natural, fresh naughtiness.
Even the packaging is both wholesome and pretty, with a half-dozen coming in recyclable cardboard boxes tied up with ribbon.
Our answer to the cup-cake craze that swept the US, thanks to the likes of New York's Magnolia bakery.
Fun flavors include:
Hummingbird Buns
Spiced banana and pineapple cake topped with cream cheese frosting and decorated with a pineapple flower.
Butterfly Buns
Vanilla sponge cake topped with fresh cream and decorated with a butterfly, dusted with icing sugar.
Lemon Drop Buns
Tangy lemon cake iced with a zesty lemon butter-cream and decorated with a pretty flower.
Coffee Nut Buns
Pecan and Walnut Coffee cake iced with a coffee butter-cream and topped with choc coated nuts.
Snowball Buns
Zesty coconut sponge topped with marshmallow icing and dusted in coconut.
Cupcake wedding proposal
This is truly heartwarming - congratulations to the happy couple Jay and Robin!
"Groom-to-be: My love is like a Lyndell's cupcake," Gatehouse News Service
Somerville residents Jay Bell and Robin Rubenstein went for cupcakes on their first date in May 2007. Then they discovered Lyndell’s and became regulars there. Cupcakes have since become a special part of their lives.
As they walked past their favorite bakery one recent Saturday, imagine Robin’s surprise when she saw a marriage proposal - “Will you marry me Robin?” - written across six cupcakes in the display window.
After Robin read the cupcakes, Jay led her inside, knelt down on one knee and proposed to her. Lyndell’s staff and customers applauded as Robin accepted and Jay slipped a diamond ring on her finger.
“Lyndell’s has the best cupcakes around so it was an obvious choice,” Jay said.
Robin has been a Lyndell’s customer for five years and Jay followed after she introduced him to the wonders of the local bakery. “We’re really big fans of their cupcakes,” he said. “We go in every two to three weeks to get a few cupcakes there.”
Read the rest of the story
Happy Book Day to The Naked Truth author Marvelyn Brown
I often try to explain to people how cupcakes have taken over my life, and they don't quite seem to grasp how they really have.
For instance, I went to author Marvelyn Brown's blog to get the details about her book reading in NYC tonight (6-7:30, Hue-Man Bookstore, 2319 Frederick Douglas Blvd.), and lo and behold, there she is, celebrating the release of The Naked Truth: Young, Beautiful, and (HIV) Positive. I'm just about to read this sure-to-be-inspiring memoir (read more about it here), and hope to get to see her speak. Do check out her blog and website if you're so inclined - and watch out for an interview with her about her favorite cupcakes, and where this one was from!
Guava cream cheese cupcakes
from blogger bitchincamero - click through for the recipe!
Guava and cream cheese. Some people reading this will probably think I’m crazy, but it’s really an amazing combination. Every day after school, my grandmother would layer soda crackers with a slice of guava paste and a little cream cheese. Sunday mornings my grandfather would deliver fresh-from-the-oven Cuban pastries filled with guava and cream cheese. And on the 4th of July, the guava and cream cheese empanadas were the first to go. They just feel right together.
So when my parents and their friends decided to celebrate their 33rd wedding anniversaries with a 70’s Party, I volunteered to make cupcakes for dessert. My special guava and cream cheese cupcakes, to be exact. In keeping with the groovy theme, I tried out a tie-dye look on the frosting, but I’m not sure how successful that turned out. Mostly, they looked confused. Some were yellow, some orange, some a swirly combination of the two. They may have been a little ugly, but they were darn tasty.
If guava paste weirds you out (it shouldn’t!) or if you can’t find it, you can substitute any kind of chunky fruit preseves. Just fold some orange marmalade, apricot preserves or strawberry jam into the batter just before you bake the cupcakes. The fruit makes is the perfect compliment to the cream cheese icing.
More on the Sprinkles vs. Famous Cupcakes lawsuit
Eater LA recapped the whole Sprinkles vs. Famous Cupcakes lawsuit, and also linked to Ryan Gile, Las Vegas Trademark Attorney, who makes me wish I had finished law school so I could chime in here with some legal knowledge. Gile writes:
However, Sprinkles was able to overcome the PTO’s two refusals to register the design on the Principal Register (a non-distinct configuration refusal and an ornamental refusal) by changing the basis of the application to Section 2(f) and providing evidence that the mark had acquired distinctiveness (i.e., customers had come to associate the dot design with Sprinkles). Sprinkles’ "nested circle design" for "bakery goods" was registered April 3, 2007.
While a quick view of Famous’ website didn’t reveal any particular appropriation of Sprinkles’ “dots” that I could see, Famous, which has its own unique group of flavors (here), does offer its customers the choice of various “toppers” on their cupcake. Is Sprinkles claiming that no other cupcake makers can put any kind of candy heart or other design in the center of a cupcake?
Famous Cupcake's Toppers
In a separate matter, we can report that AliBeth Cakes changed their name from SprinkleSprinkle after being contacted by Sprinkles. Sprinkles public relations spokesperson Victoria Stein of Sprinkles told us via email on February 27, 2008:
As for SprinkleSprinkle, we had several conversations with the owners in which we asked them to change their name, emphasizing the likelihood of marketplace confusion. We even offered them the opportunity to keep the name for a transitional period (given that their business is still in its infancy and they haven't yet invested in the brand). Unfortunately, they rebuffed all of our offers, so after trying to resolve the situation amicably for some time, we were left with no other recourse in order to protect ourselves. Trademark owners have a legal obligation to take steps to avoid future customer confusion arising from others using misleading names. As you know, we sell our cupcake mixes in 6 locations in the New York metro area and are looking to open a NY location in the near future.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Don't forget to VOTE - for us!
Here's another reminder about our panel proposal for SXSW - just create an account, then log in, give our panel 5 stars, and you're done! (Though if you want to leave a comment there, we won't stop you.) We thank you in advance! Once our panel is a go (I'm using my creative visualization techniques), we'll have more details. Also if anyone is in Austin, I'll be going there for Thanksgiving, so feel free to drop me a line at cupcakestakethecake at yahoo.com as I plan to sample as many Austin cupcakes as I can.
If you like this blog and like the sound of free cupcakes, please do us a huge favor and go vote (give 5 stars) for "Nom Nom Nom: The Secrets of Successful Foodblogging" as a 2009 South by Southwest (SXSW) Interactive panel. The Panel Picker is now live, through August 29th, and the panels are chosen by who gets the most votes. If ours gets picked, we'll be giving away free cupcakes at the panel!
But it's also a chance to discuss issues of relevance to food bloggers (and potential food bloggers): How do you turn your love of food into a blog and business? How do you score international press and go on shows like The Martha Stewart Show? How do you handle freebies? How do you build a loyal following? These and other fascinating questions will be answered...but first we have to get in!
Here’s the official description:
What does it take to build a successful food blog? From niche single-food specific blogs like Cupcakes Take the Cake to broader blogs like Midtown Lunch, we’ll share the secrets of making readers hungry for more and attracting press and advertisers. Free cupcakes.
Panelists include (this may change slightly, but hopefully will stay as is):
Rachel Kramer Bussel (Moderator) of Cupcakes Take the Cake
Nichelle Stephens, Cupcakes Take the Cake
Zach Brooks, Midtown Lunch
Hunter Walker, Editor-at-Large, Digital City (formerly Associate Editor, Gridskipper)
Cathy Erway, Not Eating Out in New York
Please tell your friends, family, readers - anyone and everyone, vote for our panel. If you're a fan of this blog, please take a few moments to go vote for us. And if you'll be at SXSW, do say hello. I for one plan on checking out Hey Cupcake's Airstream Trailer. Thank you! If you can't figure something out about the voting process or have any questions, email us at cupcakestakethecake at yahoo.com - again, deadline is August 29th!
More frosting than cake
Or at least, it seem piled just as high in this photo by Flickr user susiepie - from a cupcake shop in Charleston, South Carolina
Orlando and Tampa bakery reviews
Cupcakes Take the Cake reader and Spartanburg Herald-Journal reporter Michelle Reynolds visits cupcake bakeries in Orlando and Tampa, Florida and reports:
The first one we went to was Sweet! by Good Golly Miss Holly, which is very new and has a not-so-great name. The cupcakes there were extra large and very attractively decorated. They also had some fun and unique flavors - Dulce de Leche (caramel with a lot of cinnamon flavor), Cookies N Cream, Key Lime and Boston (like a Boston cream pie). However, I found the cake to be way too dry, and the icing hard and also dry - very disappointing. I took some pictures of their cupcakes, however, and plan to keep their designs in mind.
The second bakery, The Cupcake Spot in Tampa, was much more promising. I could tell when we walked in the door at 4 p.m. and much of the cupcake case was cleared out that this place was going to be good. This place also had some unique flavors - the Elvis (banana cake with peanut butter icing and a little chocolate dollop), Butterscotch Babies (butterscotch cake with vanilla icing and butterscotch chips) and the Fuzzy Berry (strawberry cake with vanilla icing and coconut on top). They also offered tiny sample cupcakes of a key lime flavor, which was very good and also reassured us that this bakery had much better cake than the last. Oh, and then there was the way-cute guy at the counter … but I digress.
When we dug into our cupcake sampler boxes later, we were very impressed: The cake was moist, the icing was soft and tasty, and the flavor was good. I had red velvet, Elvis and butterscotch, and they were all good. My one qualm was with the chocolate icing and cake. I can't put my finger on what it was, but it didn't taste like real chocolate to me.
And! She included a s'mores recipe and others - her cupcakery visits inspired her to bake her own. That's one of the best things about cupcakes - you can bake them, buy them, or both! The recipes are from (see our interview with Krystina Castella here) Crazy About Cupcakes, and here's the one for the Tropical Lime cupcakes pictured above (photo by Mike Bonner).
Tropical Lime Cupcakes
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs, at room temperature
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 to 3 teaspoons lime Jell-O (optional)
1 cup sour cream
2 tablespoons lime zest
2 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime juice or lime concentrate
Green and yellow food coloring (optional)
Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows)
Graham cracker crumbs, for garnish (optional)
Lime slice candy, for garnish (optional)
Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Insert liners into 2 cupcake pans.
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time to creamed mixture, beating 1 minute after each addition.
In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, salt and Jell-O, if desired.
Add the dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, alternating with the sour cream. Mix until completely integrated. Add the lime zest and lime juice. Mix the batter for 30 seconds. Add food coloring until desired color achieved.
Fill the cupcake liners three-quarters full. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean or with only moist crumbs.
Cool cupcakes completely on a wire rack.
Cream Cheese Frosting
One 8-ounce package cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract (optional)
In a medium bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth.
Slowly sift in the confectioners' sugar and continue beating. Mix until lumps are gone. Add vanilla and lemon extracts and mix until incorporated and frosting is a spreading consistency. Taste for sweetness, and add more sugar if desired.
Spread icing on cupcakes. Sprinkle graham cracker crumbs on top, if desired. Top with a piece of lime slice, if desired.
Recipes adapted from "Crazy About Cupcakes" by Krystina Castella
A review of Georgetown Cupcake
image via my sushi spoon
Blogger my sushi spoon reviews Washington, D.C. bakery Georgetown Cupcake:
When it came to taste, I was underwhelmed. Don’t get me wrong — they’re satisfying enough and good for a cupcake fix — but they are just your run-of-the-mill cupcakes, and I was expecting more for the absurdly high price of $2.75 each. I tried four types of cupcakes: chocolate3, vanilla & chocolate, strawberry banana, and chocolate ganache (clockwise in photo above). I liked the vanilla & chocolate best, followed by the chocolate ganache, chocolate3, and strawberry banana.
Each cupcake had a good amount of frosting on it — not too much and not too little. The frosting also tasted pretty good. Smooth and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness. I enjoyed the chocolate ganache very much. It was a little odd though because when I bit into the cupcakes, the tops came off from the bottoms really easily, which made for a messy cupcake-eating experience. Not a huge deal but just a little weird and off-putting. The bottoms of some of the cupcakes were also a bit dry for my taste.
Read the whole review here
Georgetown Cupcake
1209 Potomac Street NW - corner of M Street and Potomac Street
Washington, DC 20007
202-333-8448
Monday Closed
Tuesday - Friday 11-7pm
Saturday 11-9pm
Sunday 12-5pm
MochaChilliCino cupcakes for Iron Cupcake: Earth
If you didn't already know, Iron Cupcake is upon us! There are over 100 members - want in on it? Sign up by tomorrow, August 20th! All the details are at the Iron Cupcake site.
For Iron Cupcake: Earth, blogger Cupcakerycupcakes made MochaChilliCino cupcakes! photos via Flickr
What's a MochaChilliCino cupcake, you ask?
Mochachillicino cupcake: a chocolate buttercake filled with a chocolate-chilli mousse, topped with Kahlua buttercream and garnished with a marscarpone flower and chocolate-chilli covered coffee bean.
It looks like this on the outside:
And this on the inside: (what she rightly calls a "dissection shot")
She writes about the whole process (and gives the recipe), but here's part of it:
Once the cakes had cooked and cooled, I filled them with a generous amount of mousse. These were then iced with a Kahlua and espresso buttercream. As we have our own shop, it is a real bonus having access to Real Coffee. Many a short black makes its way into my cakes and frostings! A very strong coffee made at home will also do the trick though, so don't be put off trying the recipe. As I decided against cream in the mousse, I thought that a small amount of marscarpone as a garnish would complement the cake. Marscarpone is of course a key ingredient of tiramisu and its cool creaminess adds texture and provides something more neutral for the palate. The final touch was to add a choc-chilli covered coffee bean to each marscarpone flower. I simply dipped the coffee beans from our shop into Lindt's chilli chocolate (I've been desperate to use it for something) and although fiddly, they are yummy (although probably not quite hot enough for me). Next time, I'd just use really good quality chocolate coated coffee beans from Josophan's chocolates, even if I have to forego the extra chilli touch.
Rolling Stones Birthday Cupcakes
Birthday cupcakes for a huge Rolling Stones fan. She said the cakes did give her satisfaction, sticky fingers, and she managed to eat the frosting in forty licks...
Vanilla cupcakes, vanilla buttercream, decorated with handmade fondant decorations and red glitter
Free frosting shot at BabyCakes NYC this weekend!
From the latest BabyCakes NYC newsletter:
BabyCakes NYC is Turning 3!
To help us celebrate our anniversary, come knock back a frosting shot with us (on the house) this Saturday and Sunday from 12pm–6pm. One per customer, please.
For those who don't know what a frosting shot is, see our posts:
Behold, the frosting shot!
Frosting shots in the news
The frosting shot heard round the world (with a frosting shot recipe!)
My first frosting shot
photo by Larry Crowe for The Associated Press
And the winner is...
The winner of our Life's Too Short to Frost a Cupcake contest is...
vipheathr who is reading:
I finished the Twilight series and moved on to Harry Potter. :)
Congratulations! And to everyone else, you can read the excerpt in our earlier post and buy the book from Amazon.com. And stay tuned for more contests and an interview with author Rosie wilde.
Flickr Talk!
What I love about our Cupcakes Take the Cake Photo Pool on Flickr is that not only can you find amazing photos and amazing bakers over there, you can also find informative discussion. I'm going to periodically post links to the topics that are on the minds of our Flickrers:
Keeping cupcakes cool in hot weather
In need of tall cupcake boxes
Large orders of cupcakes--batter help
Research--cake boxes
Problems with making Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting
Monday, August 18, 2008
Time Lapse Photography of Cupcakes Baking!
Seems there's an entire Flickr pool of time-lapse photography videos. Pretty cool.
Remember, CTTC readers, we'd love to have you post not just photos but also videos to the Cupcakes Take the Cake Flickr pool.
Cupcake Week Returns This Week
It's August 18, but it feels like March since Martha Stewart's Cupcake Week is re-airing starting today. Check your local listings to see Allison, Rachel and I at the top of today's show. Yay!
A really fun cupcake
A cupcake at a bridal shower...looks like she's enjoying it!
from Flickr user Carolyn Coles
Summer fruit cupcakes
Summer fruit cupcakes by Flickr user .m.e.c. - moist vanilla cake with lush vanilla frosting and topped with blueberries, a piece of nectarine, or a cherry
The Baltimore Snacker on The Baltimore Cupcake Company
photo by Flickr user jwiv
Blogger The Baltimore Snacker reviews The Baltimore Cupcake Company:
There are pros and cons. The pros to BCC: the cupcakes that I got - both from their "truffle" line - were very good. I got two ($6 total), one with chocolate icing with a dollop of peanut butter frosting on top of that, and one of pink vanilla icing. Again, the cupcakes I had were delicious, and not dry. I also like the changing variety in cupcakes - chocolate, raspberry, vanilla, key lime, etc. On the con side: $3 for a cupcake? I could get a much fancier (though somewhat drier one) at Whole Foods for that much, though Whole Foods' frosting, while fancier, is arguably denser and more sugar-shock-inducing. And even though I didn't experience this, I've read a few comments and posts elsewhere that suggest that they run out of some of their best cupcakes fairly quickly. So all in all, I did like it. It is a tasty cupcake, though a fairly plain one. No it doesn't have to be fancy. But at $3, you expect it to be a little more zhuzh'd up. Oh, they also had tiny coconut cupcakes for about $1.50 or so. I would go back, though I tend to buy a few cupcakes at once. At $3 a pop, I probably will just go back once in a while.
