Want a free St. Patrick's Day Jameson infused frosting shot today? Head to Swirlz in Chicago

And if you're there from 12-1 you can join our cupcake meetup, where Swirlz (705 W. Belden, Chicago) is serving up 2 dozen free cupcakes! They have vegan and gluten-free cupcakes too! Our next meetups are March 25th in Brooklyn at Baked and April 7th in Seattle at Trophy Cupcakes. Visit swirlzcupcakes.com and Swirlz' Facebook page for more information.

3 cupcake meetups, 3 cities: Chicago (tomorrow, St. Patrick's Day!), Brooklyn, Seattle

Our next 3 meetups are happening tomorrow, March 17th, at Swirlz in Chicago, March 25th at Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and April 7th at Trophy Cupcakes in the Wallingford Center in Seattle! Hope to see you there. Details below, no RSVP needed. Email us at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com if you have questions, and if you're hosting a cupcake meetup in your city, let us know and we'll spread the word.


Guinness and Jameson cupcakes (gluten-free and vegan cupcakes will be available, first 2 dozen cupcakes are FREE, so come early)
Swirlz Cupcakes meetup
March 17, noon-1 pm
swirlzcupcakes.com
Facebook


Baked meetup
359 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn
March 25, 2-4 pm
bakednyc.com
Facebook


Trophy Cupcakes meetup
April 7, 11:30-1 pm
(aka, the day hi hats go on sale!!)Wallingford Center, 1815 N. 45th Street, Suite 209, Seattle
trophycupcakes.com
Facebook

Swirls does St. Patrick's Day: Thin MInt and Guinness Jameson cupcakes and meetup on Saturday!

We are having a meetup this Saturday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day from noon-1 at Swirlz, 705 W. Belden, Chicago! Looking forward to it, especially their special flavors, Thin Mint and Guinness Jameson, for sale March 16 and 17 only! Swirlz offers gluten-free and regular cupcakes and also does custom orders. Follow Swirlz on Facebook and visit swirlzcupcakes.com for more information.






mango coconut cupcakes (not related to St. Patrick's Day, but sounds like a fun flavor)

Want a free cruise to Bermuda? Start spreading the word!

We are gearing up for August and our big Cupcake Lover's Cruise to Bermuda, a one-of-a-kind event, and are looking forward to meeting many of you and learning about cupcake decorating from bestselling cookbook authors Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, creators of the famous high heel shoe cupcakes, getting recipe development advice from Baked owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito, and the master baking class by Robicelli's owners Allison and Matt Robicelli, as well as a private cupcake party on the beach and other special events.

I wanted to remind you that you can join us on our cupcake cruise for free. If you refer 15 people, you cruise for free! Details are below, and if you're interested , make sure to email info at cupcakecruise.com or call 800-828-4813 (Hartford Holidays, the travel agency we're working with) and tell them you're going to be referring people so they can put your name into the system. Make sure people give your name when they call to put down their room deposits. You can also contact them if you have any questions about the cruise or this promotion. If you're part of a book club, neighborhood group, mailing list or other social group and are interested in cruising with us, encourage your friends who might want to join to get in touch. For those in New York City, do join us Sunday, March 25th from 2-4 pm for cupcakes and cruise talk at Baked, 359 Van Brunt Street, Red Hook, Brooklyn, for our monthly meetup.

Help Us Promote The First Ever "Cupcakes Take The Cake" Cruise and You Could Sail With Us For Free*!

We are very excited to host our first ever Cupcake Lovers Cruise, and we would like to give anyone willing and able to help us promote this cruise the opportunity to sail for FREE*

Simply agree to distribute flyers, e mails or any other information pertinent to the cruise to your customers, friends, family, neighbors and if a minimum of 15 cabins get booked through your efforts, you & a guest will cruise with us for free!

We will supply you with flyers for distribution as well as assist you with email or websites campaigns you may wish to create. We will keep track of those you refer and let you know when you have reached your 15 cabins! Many of our guests are hosting their own Cupcake Cruise Parties to promote their efforts. We will supply you with Cupcake Cruise Party invitations that you can send to friends, family & customers and if you are in the NY/NJ area we are happy to attend and help you! We will design special dollars off promotions for you to offer during your party!

* Port charges, government taxes and fee's and gratuities will be extra. For Bermuda itinerary typically $390 per person total

Oreo, Cat in the Hat and Chicago cupcakes by Swirlz, plus our meetup is there March 17th

Swirlz Cupcakes in Chicago celebrates the 100th birthday of the Oreo cookie with a special Oreo cupcake, today only, featuring Chocolate or Vanilla cake, filled with vanilla buttercream, layer of chocolate ganache and oreo chunks, vanilla buttercream swirl and finished with a dip in Oreo pieces, and also recently made Dr. Seuss Cat in the Hat and Chicago 175th birthday cupcakes. We're hosting a meetup at Swirlz, 705 W. Belden, on Saturday, March 17th (St. Patrick's Day) from non to 1. Get there early; first dozen cupcakes are on us! No need to RSVP. Visit swirlzcupcakes.com and Swirlz on Facebook for more information.

Brooklyn meetup alert: Eat cupcakes and learn about our Cupcake Cruise at Baked in Red Hook March 25th!

Mark your calendars for our next cupcake meetup, 3 weeks from today at Baked in Red Hook, Brooklyn, 359 Van Brunt Street, from 2-4 pm. Eat cupcakes with us and learn more about our Cupcake Cruise to Bermuda, from August 19-26, 2012, featuring Baked owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. You can take the B61 bus from Atlantic Avenue. Check HopStop for the best route from where you are. Bring cash/credit/debit cards for cupcakes and refreshments. Join our meetup group here to find out about our latest events and follow Baked on Facebook. Below is the official description of the recipe development class they'll be teaching:

Recipe Development Seminar
Cookbook authors and bakery owners Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito will talk about recipe development. Much like food writing, recipe development is taking what inspires you and telling a story with food. They will talk about the importance of reading cookbooks, tinkering with recipes and being inspired by ingredients. Recipe development seminar will also cover testing ideas, scaling up, making notes of what works, and finding the personality in each recipe.

Dr. Seuss cupcakes for sale at Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle, plus cupcake meetup April 7th!

Happy birthday, Dr. Seuss! That would be today, March 2nd, also the release date for the movie The Lorax. Lorax and Dr. Seuss inspired cupcakes are on sale from today through March 11th at Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle! Via their Facebook page. Visit trophycupcakes.com for more information. Also, details are coming soon, but I'm hosting a cupcake meetup on Saturday, April 7th at 1 pm Trophy Cupcakes in their new party room at their Wallingford location!

Trophy Cupcakes' Oscar cupcakes

Update: Details coming soon about the Seattle cupcake meetup! Trophy Cupcakes in Seattle is getting in on the Oscar cupcake action with these star-studded cupcakes. The other cupcakes below are some with cute decorations and a collaboration with Kate Spade Seattle. See trophycupcakes.com for hours and locations and their Facebook page for the latest news. For more information on their new party room, click here.

So much fun at Georgetown Cupcake, plus gluten free lava fudge gooeyness

We had so much fun at yesterday's meetup at Georgetown Cupcake in SoHo! Owners Katherine and Sophie were there working so we got to meet them, and we tried lots of flavors, including peanut butter fudge, strawberry (which was amazing and a definite favorite among us), lava fudge, black and white, red velvet and carrot. Here's a few photos; proper review coming as soon as I can.

I wanted to highlight the fact that they not only sell a beautiful gluten free cupcake, gluten free lava fudge in this case, but that it was delicious, with that liquidy chocolate oozing out from the inside, a very fresh cake (as were all of them) and delicious frosting. I hope it doesn't offend anyone who can't eat gluten, but when I like a gluten free cupcake, it's usually those where I can't tell the difference, and in this case, I couldn't at all. I didn't do a side by side comparison but I did also try a regular lava fudge and both were great. Visit georgetowncupcake.com and stay tuned here and at our meetup group for our next NYC event. I'll be hosting a Chicago cupcake meetup at Swirlz March 17th from noon-1; free cupcakes for the early birds (first dozen).

Georgetown Cupcake sisters and DC Cupcakes stars Katherine Kallinis (left) and Sophie LaMontagne (third) with Nichelle and me




gluten free lava fudge cupcake




carrot cupcake


lava fudge cupcakes


peanut butter swirl cupcakes


assorted: red velvet, chocolate on vanilla (I think this is called chocolate birthday?), black and white, strawberry

Raspberry red velvet chocolate ganache Oscar cupcakes for pre-order at Swirlz

Swirlz Cupcakes in Chicago has a new flavor, raspberry red velvet, for the Oscars, and are taking pre-orders through this Friday, February 24th. Specifically: "red velvet cake, filled with raspberry chocolate ganache, topped with cream cheese buttercream, dipped in chocolate, finished with a (raspberry) Framboise liqueur flower." Call them at 773-404-2253. And come to our meetup at Swirlz on March 17th, noon to 1, at 705 W. Belden, the first dozen cupcakes are on us! The ones on the bottom were their Valentine's Day cupcakes. Visit swirlzcupcakes.com and their Facebook page for more information.

Big yellow taxi New York cheesecake cupcake at Georgetown Cupcake SoHo

I'll post later about how much I loved the new Georgetown Cupcake SoHo (see Stacie Joy's post about launch party), and more details about their blinged-out mixer, but a short post for now about their cheesecake cupcake, one of many flavors they sell. Below are details about Sunday's meetup there from 2-4 pm. One thing I love is that they have different flavors daily. I've circled the ones I want on the handout they give you, so I know when to come back for which ones. I have a feeling I will be back very often (like today, tomorrow...) because there are so many I want to try! Georgetown Cupcake, 111 Mercer Street, NYC. Visit georgetowncupcake.com for more information.





The cheesecake was good, though I'm not really a cheesecake fan, so a true cheesecake lover could tell you more. I liked the way it looked and it was smoothy and creamy. I bought this one ($2.75) mainly because I liked that it was New York specific. It was a bit crumbly, and had a graham cracker crust on the bottom. I'm not sure what the disk on top was made of but it was very sweet; edible, but I'd say leave it for decoration. If you like cheesecake, I recommend this; they also had cheesecake cupcakes with Broadway street signs on them.

Cupcakes Take the Cake Meetup
Sunday, February 19, 2-4 pm
The famous Georgetown Cupcake from the DC area has just opened a location in New York City. We are going to eat cupcakes, meet people and have fun. Georgetown Cupcake is in Soho at 111 Mercer Street between Prince & Spring Streets. Please bring cash/credit/debit card as cupcakes are a la carte. The Cupcake Meetup will be from 2PM-4PM.

You can get to the bakery by taking the R to Prince Street or the 6 to Spring Street.

And yes, the meetup page says we're full, but feel free to show up and join us, and make sure to join our group so you can keep up with all our wonderful plans. And everyone is welcome on our Cupcake Cruise August 19-26, 2012, from New Jersey to Bermuda! More details on that coming next week.

Sex and the City cupcakes for the end of New York Fashion Week, plus Chicago cupcake meetup March 17th

New York Fashion Week ends today, so here's some fitting Sex and the City and high heel cupcakes, from Chicago's Swirlz Cupcakes for a custom order. Speaking of Swirlz, I (Rachel) will be hosting a short but sweet meetup there on Saturday, March 17th, St. Patrick's Day, from noon to 1! First dozen cupcakes are on us; after that, you buy your own. Swirlz promises some special holiday treats and they also have plenty of gluten free cupcakes. Looking forward to meeting our Chicago readers (I'm in town very briefly, for a family wedding), 705 W. Belden Avenue, Chicago. Via Swirlz on Facebook. Visit swirlzcupcakes.com for more information.

Georgetown Cupcake Comes to NYC: Soho Launch Party

 

I have to hand it to the folks at Georgetown Cupcake, they really know how to throw a party!

The new space, at 111 Mercer Street between Prince and Spring Streets in NYC's Soho is just gorgeous. Lots of pink, plenty of sparkles. And a crystal-covered stand mixer in the window. Pink, of course.

I had another job to rush to, so I only had time to say hi to the beautiful and sweet ladies of TLC's DC Cupcakes (the sisters behind Georgetown Cupcake)

Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis

...and try a mini cupcake:

Salted caramel. Delish.

Sophie and Katherine sent me off with a goodie bag, including a signed copy of their book, The Cupcake Diaries: Recipes and Memories from the Sisters of Georgetown Cupcake and a box of adorable NYC cupcakes.

The new shop opens this weekend, and I urge you all to go over and get your free cupcake. Or, you can join Cupcakes Take the Cake at our upcoming Meetup at the shop on Sunday, February 19, 2012 (details forthcoming).

You can see the entire set of images here.  Thanks for inviting me, Georgetown Cupcake, I'll be back. And soon, at minimum for that salted caramel cupcake.

Oh, and congrats to Stephanie in California, who won our recent Georgetown Cupcake giveaway. She reports that her cupcakes arrived this morning in perfect condition, after being shipped cross-country. Excellent.

Mahalo, Hawaii, for all the delicious and beautiful cupcakes!

I'm at HNL (Honolulu International Airport) and while I could easily stay another week, I have to get home, and then get to Milwaukee for the last Iron Cupcake Milwaukee. Mahalo (thank you) so much to everyone who made me feel at home in Honolulu and whose cupcakes I got to try. I will be back, for sure. These gorgeous and delicious flower cupcakes are by custom cupcake and cake pop maker Sweet as Sugar, who you can find on Facebook. You can reach them at info at sasugar.com or 808.294.4803 and find out more on their blog.

Lemon lime loveliness and donuts atop mini cupcakes by G.I. Cakes

I've been busy being on vacation in Hawaii so I haven't had as much time to blog about all the fabulous cupcakes I got to indulge in and the wonderful people who came out at our meetup, but I will in full this week, plus will be working on interviews with the many wonderful bakers I met, and I already am planning a return trip to Honolulu, maybe in November for my birthday.

Some of the cupcakes that most impressed me were the lemon lime mini cupcakes by G.I. Cakes. I love lemon curd, and these were the perfect mix of sour and sweet, with little candies dotting them. I kept bringing people over to these and saying "You have to try this" and delighting when they enjoyed them as much as I did! The donut mini cupcakes were also utterly adorable and delicious; I've seen and eaten donut cupcakes, but never mini ones. Also the minis were perfect for a party like that because it allowed us to sample more flavors (I ate 2 of the lemon ones though!). They can be reached at getsome at gi-cakes.com or 808-691-9122, and you can follow G.I. Cakes on Facebook and @stayfrosted on Twitter.

Li Hing Lemon, Angry Gorilla and Banana Split cupcakes by Brandon Cakes in Honolulu, Hawaii

Brandon Cakes brought what I think were the biggest cupcakes to our Honolulu cupcake meetup. They were majestic looking, as I hope you can tell from below. I'd never had nor heard of Li hing* and it was interesting, a very strong taste that took some getting used to for me, but I liked the lemon cake and frosting (and the Li Hing lemon cupcake got rave reviews from several attendees). I preferred the banana split, which had a light, spongy filling, and a good combination of flavors and textures. I ate so many cupcakes I had to take some home, and those are a bit of a blur in my mind so I can't tell you much about the angry gorilla, but it's part of a whole line of alcohol-based cupcakes Brandon Cakes sells. All of Brandon's cupcakes were gobbled up fast. If I have time during my last 3 days, I will try some more but I have had such an amazing time in Honolulu, I'm already plotting when I can come back!

They're based in Kailua and do custom cupcake and sell their cupcakes at Food Company on Tuesdays and Thursdays (The Enchanted Lake Shopping Center, 1020 Keolu Drive, Kailua, HI). You can find out more at brandoncakes.com and on Facebook and @brandoncakes on Twitter and contact them for fastest service by phone or text to 808-780-3505 or by emailing sales at brandoncakes.com. You can also email kuhpkeyk at gmail.com to get on their email list for flavor updates.












inside the banana split cupcake




me with Brandon

*Once again, some info from Wikipedia, this time on Li Hing:

Li hing mui is salty dried plum. It was made popular in Hawaii by Yee Sheong, who in early 1900, had began importing Li hing mui and various other preserved fruits from China to Hawaii. The Li Hing Mui craze was started by Yee and flourished with the company he founded, Yick Lung. It can be found in Hawaiian and Asian markets. It has a strong, distinctive flavor, and is often said to be an acquired taste, as it has a combination of sweet, sour, and salty taste. It has also been described as tart, and even tangy. Originally from China, the name "li hing mui" means "traveling plum". "Li hing" is "traveling" and "mui" is "plum."

Sriracha hot sauce on a bacon cupcake? We tried it and liked it! Hot and sweet!

At our Honolulu cupcake meetup on Tuesday, I challenged podcaster, blogger and all-around awesome guy Doc Rock to put Sriracha hot sauce on one of Annie Cakes Irish bomb cupcakes, and he did! Here's what happened:


the cupcakes!


preparation


hot sauce cupcake happiness

He loved it so much that I felt compelled to try it myself:



After I added that much Sriracha, someone told me "It's not ketchup!" I'm used to spicy food so Ithought I was prepared, but that first bite was pretty hot. I tasted mostly the hot sauce, but then soon after the cake's sweetness caught up with me. Her chocolate cake was very rich and sweet and wonderful, the way a chocolate cake should be, and that made this one-two punch of spicy and sweet that was amazing. You can experiment with differing amounts of hot sauce but this would be great with savory cupcakes or ones that are rich and intense like these bacon cupcakes.

One warning: If you're at an event like a cupcake meetup, I recommend eating your hot sauce cupcake last, so that you can fully appreciate all the other cupcakes. I saved mine until I was ready to eat non-cupcake food, and it was perfect, almost like a reverse dessert, the savory/spicy/sweet thing you eat when you're done with purse sweets. Maybe someone can incorporate hot sauce into a cupcake?

Want some of Annie Cakes' amazing cupcakes? Contact her at anniecakeshawaii at gmail.com and visit her Facebook page.

For those who don't know about the wonder that is Sriracha, here's some info from Wikipedia:

Sriracha (Thai: ศรีราชา [sǐrātɕʰā]) is a type of Thai hot sauce, named after the coastal city of Si Racha, in the Chonburi Province of central Thailand, where it was first produced for dishes served at local seafood restaurants.[1] It is a paste of chili peppers, distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt.[2]