FIFTY ONE?!?!?

Just got word from Kati over in Moorestown, NJ. If you are in the area tonight, you will not want to miss what is going to be a HUGE Iron Cupcake event. Visit her blog, Kati's Kupcakes, for all of the details. I wish her MUCH LUCK in her first challenge!

Hi Sandy!
I have to tell you that I now have FIFTY ONE bakers for tonights IronCupcake:Moorestown--I can't believe it!! I also have about 25 corporate sponsors and many auction items from Philadelphia sports teams like signed Hockey sticks, pucks, and posters; cooking classes donated at SUR LA TABLE, etc. The outpouring of support has been amazing. I am having proceeds go to a great charity in our area called Alex's lemonade Stand Foundation (pediatric cancer charity which aids sick children and families). Our great green furry Phillie Phanatic, mascot to our beloved 2008 World Series Phillies baseball champs will also be there!!) I'll take pix and tell you all about it!! THANKS SOOO MUCH FOR ALLOWING OTHERS TO BE PART OF THE IRON CUPCAKE CHALLENGE TEAM---U r the BEST!!!! hugs xoxo

Coming August 1st!

Introducing Miss Cupcake…

Miss Cupcake is made from only the freshest materials to produce pure confectionary deliciousness. With a variety of flavours, she can delight even the pickiest of cupcake connoisseurs. She is also loyal and friendly and rarely bites back. Take her home today and start enjoying your new life together.

Designed by olive47 and produced by Dreamland Toyworks.
Suggested Retail cost :$10.95
see http://www.dreamlandtoyworks.com for retail locations

Another Good One!

Yo Quiero Cupcakes!

From Fort Collins Coloradoan:

Cupcake and Pearl, two 13-week-old female Chihuahuas, are ready to begin the next chapter of their lives.

Rose Carroll, a co-founder of Animal Rescue Connection in Greeley and Foster Home, who has been caring for the puppies over the past three months, explains their ‘pawing’ future.

“I have not found permanent homes for them yet,” she said. “But, I am set on having them adopted together.”

The puppies were rescued from a plastic trash bag that had been tied at the top and found inside a trashcan at Windsor Lake near Birch Street on April 20. The puppies were less than 12 hours old.

Three Windsor residents made the startling discovery.

After three months, the puppies have a clean bill of health.

“The puppies are doing great,” Carroll said. “They are doing very well. They are very sweet and loving.” Stacie Stocks, a practice manager at Mountainwood Pet Hospital, agreed.

“They are doing absolutely awesome,” she said. “They are beautiful, really cute and living a real nice life. They play together and are just real sweet. They are like little rays of sunshine.”

The puppies have been spayed, vaccinated and micro-chipped. The asking price per puppy is $150.

“To get all of the vaccinations, people would spend a lot more doing it themselves,” Stocks said. “Upwards of easily $500 each.”

The money from the adoption will go to help fund future spaying and neutering of animals at ARC.

The process to adopt the adorable puppies is quite extensive.

Interested ‘adoptive parents’ will need to fill out an application and begin the adoptive process. Anyone interested in adopting Pearl and Cupcake should go online at www.animalrescueconnection.org or contact Rose Carroll at rose@animalrescue.connection.org.

Save a Buck, Earn Good Karma!

This just in!!!

$1 OFF $5 TICKET!!! August IronCupcake:Milwaukee challenge!!! Just bring a school supply item with you to donate to the COMMON HOPE supply drive to benefit impoverished children and families in Guatemala. http://bit.ly/UoBLp

Big Damn Cupcake

This past weekend, Cakes.com succeeded in creating the World's Largest Cupcake. Just a week ago, I was speculating about what exactly qualified as a LARGE cupcake. It seems that the authorities on the matter, the Guinness Book of World Records, approved the cupcake as the biggest in the world, and will add it in the 2011 book.

The cupcake weighed 150.7 pounds, measured 12 inches high and 24 inches wide. Compare that to a regular-size cupcake that tips the scales at a whopping 2 ounces... It took 13 hours to bake, 24 hours to cool, another 2-3 days in the freezer to help it release from the pan, and then it had to thaw for another day before it could be iced - with 60 pounds of icing! There was also 15 pounds of fudge filling inside the tasty treat. The feat was completed at the Mall of America near the new Nickelodeon Universe indoor theme park, and was made in honor of the 10th anniversary of Spongebob Squarepants. There was also an additional 4,000 cupcakes given away free to all on lookers.

So, when you are planning your own record breaking cupcake, think twice, 'cause that is a whole lotta sweet!

IronCupcake:Milwaukee SUMMER FRUIT with Outpost Natural Foods

So sweet is the taste of fresh berries, juicy peaches, tart cherries and decadent pineapple. Nothing could be better than mixing that delicious taste with our favorite cupcakes! Join us for the IronCupcake:Milwaukee SUMMER FRUIT challenge with our local business partner OUTPOST NATURAL FOODS.

Summer isn't over yet, so lets invade the patio, toast some drinks with friends old and new and get our fruity cupcake on!

BEGINNING THIS MONTH!
$5 ticket gets you tons of awesome cupcakes, one beer ticket, entry to a variety of raffle prizes and one dollar from every ticket will go to this month's charity, MILWAUKKE HABITAT FOR HUMANITY. Plus, as always those yummy dollar burgers from The Irish Pub.

$1 OFF $5 TICKET!!! August IronCupcake:Milwaukee challenge!!! Just bring a school supply item with you to donate to the COMMON HOPE supply drive to benefit Guatamalan orphans.

The July challenge will take place on MONDAY, AUGUST 17th at 6 p.m.

As always, all bakers should pre-register at IronCupcakeMilwaukee@wi.rr.com.
Only the first 20 bakers will be able to register. First come, first served.

As always, everyone is welcome!

IronCupcake:Milwaukee
SUMMER FRUIT Challenge
Monday, August 17, 6 p.m.
The Irish Pub
124 N. Water Street
Milwaukee's Third Ward


IronCupcake:Milwaukee is sponsored in part by our friends at CakeNCrumbs.com!

ICM:Vegan & Gluten-Free - Try It, You'll Like It!

Monday nights IronCupcake:Milwaukee Vegan a/o Gluten-Free challenge was a huge success. Our cupcake fans got to taste over 15 different cupcakes. From vegan to gluten-free and a few cuppies that were both! While this theme tends to shy some folks away, it also introduced a new crowd of IronCupcake fans...and we welcome everyone!


Thanks to our new friends from CakeNCrumbs.com (left), tonight was the first night that we crowned a winner for Best Presentation.


Deanna and her Wonder Woman cupcake (above), a flourless chocolate mouse cake with cream cheese frosting and fresh raspberries (gf) took home the PRESENTATION prize. CakeandCrumbs.com provided her with an assortment of decorating tips and bags, as well as a shaped cake pan to thrill a little choo choo fan in her life in the near future.

It turns out, Deanna is quite the Wonder Woman in her real life as well. She was featured today in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for working with the Downtown Business Improvement District to help breathe new life into downtown Milwaukee by recruiting businesses to take up shop in our awesome downtown area. You Rock, Deanna!


The winner of the BEST TASTE prize, a generous $35 gift certificate from our hosts, The Irish Pub, was Emily and her luscious Banana Split Cupcake (v). A vegan banana cupcake swirled with pineapple and topped with vegan buttercream, chocolate ganache, salted pecans and of course a cherry on top!

Our local business partner was Beans & Barley and they were kind enough to provide awesome prizes for some of our bakers and for raffle to all in attendance. Their partner's pick of the night was the Chocolate Zucchini cupcake (v) by our longtime friend, Susie!


This was also the first time that we charged for entry to the event, and due to the awesome generosity of Milwaukee's cupcake fans, The Autism Society of Wisconsin was sent a donation today for $113 dollars.

For the record, it is ALWAYS alright to enter a vegan, gluten-free or any other special diet style cupcake into any of our challenges. We are equal opportunity cupcakers!

Next Challenge:
SUMMER FRUIT with partner OUTPOST FOODS
Monday, August 17th
6 p.m. @ The Irish Pub
$5 ticket – includes one beer ticket, lots of awesome cupcakes and killer raffle prizes; PLUS and $1 from every ticket goes to Habitat for Humanity of Milwaukee! AWESOME!

Special thanks to Jim Harris for shooting the terrific cupcake photos featured in this post.

1 year and counting...

ICM: Vegan a/o Gluten-Free - TONIGHT!!!

Woo! Tonight is ICM Vegan/Gluten-Free challenge. There are 18 different cupcakes being created around Milwaukee...waiting for us all to nibble on and enjoy. We have awesome raffle prizes and drink specials and the Irish Pub's killer dollar burgers (for the meat-eaters). $3 to taste/vote and a portion of the proceeds go to the Autism Society of Wisconsin.

The Irish Pub
124 N. Water Street
6 p.m.

SEE YA TONIGHT!!!

I <3 New York!

Hello! Coolness Alert! If you check out the article in section WK1 in the New York edition, paragraph 22, you will find your favorite, No One Puts Cupcake in a Corner, mentioned! In the article, Foie Gras Palates, Hot Dog Pocketbooks, author Frank Bruni examines the shift to cheaper "gourmet" fast food as the economy forces folks to push away from the table of extravagant higher-end foods.

But is it a cupcake?

If it looks like a cupcake, does that make it a cupcake?
Metal Floss magazine (one of my favorite non-food titles) poses just that question as it reports on the recent attempt in London's Covent Garden neighborhood.
"200 eggs, 110 lbs of sugar, 35 blocks of butter. Mortared together brick-layer style."
Some of you may remember Duff's attempt at the Mall of America last summer. Turns out it was disqualified for just that reason. It was pieced together, and thus not REALLY a cupcake. Just a regular cake, masquerading as a cupcake. Check out the whole article at MentalFloss.com. Thanks to reader Ruby Bleu and to my mom for bringing this article to my attention.

Way Better Than Being Paris Hilton's BFF!!!

SPRINKLES BFF CONTEST!

When Sprinkles reaches 100,000 fans on Facebook, they will randomly choose a BFF to win an all-expenses paid trip for two to visit the world’s first cupcake bakery in Beverly Hills! Sprinkles’ BFF will dine and have a bakery tour with Sprinkles Founder and Pastry Chef, Candace Nelson, stay at the Beverly Wilshire, a Four Seasons Hotel, and enjoy free cupcakes each day, including a 4MYBFF message box which has yet to be released in stores! We’ll send you home with 12 Sprinkles Cupcake Mixes – including Spice mix which will debut in Fall 2009 – and a Sprinkles Cupcake Tray so we can be at your special occasions all year just a like a BFF should!

Prize Includes:
+roundtrip airfare for two within the continental United States
+hotel accommodations at the Beverly Wilshire for two nights
+$500 gift card to cover meals, transportation and even a little shopping in the heart of 90210

To enter, simply become a fan of Sprinkles!

L'Amore!!!

I ALWAYS LOVED THIS! Had to share!

Mahnahmahnah!

Thanks John, I needed this!

27 = Young and Awesome

Damn, I feel old. Cupcake clothing mogul extraordinaire, JOHNNY CUPCAKES, is 27 today.
TWENTY SEVEN.
When I was 27, I was questioning my career, considering a move
from San Diego to Wisconsin, and in no way a success, at anything.

Happy Birthday to an incredibly talented guy!

Costa Mesa, CA Cupcake Eatfest!

My girl Julie and her buddy, Colette, did their own little cupcaking adventure in Costa Mesa, CA this week. She wrote to me to share about it and I decided to share it with you as well! Thanks Julie, for covering the Orange County cupcake market for me until I get a chance to try it myself! As for the photo of Julie...well, I snagged it from her own blog, so I take no responsibility for the embellishments! (She really is a cute girl if she would get that hair problem under control.)

Colette and I hit 4 cupcake shops in Costa Mesa, CA. French's Bakery (some good, some yucky, but only $2 each and the Mexican chocolate one ROCKED.) Then vegan place next door (Sunflour Natural Bakery?) which I think Vegans can kiss my big white butt (sorry to be so rude Ma Ploy but really? Life without butter? I think not.) Anyway, they had a coconut cupcake and we bought one for a fair comparison and I had to apologize to the freaky vegans everywhere because it was pretty good. Definitely not light and fluffy the way cupcakes should be - more dense and grainy, like a muffin, but still very tasty. Then to SusieCakes. Pretentious, overpriced, but decent cupcakes. (But really those people who won't let you take pictures inside their shops need to get over themselves.) Then to another bakery that didn't have cupcakes but had fancy other desserts so I stocked up on French Macaroons because they are my new favorite sweet.

A "Wee" Bit Adorable

Hedgehog and Hegehogette Cupcakes, originally uploaded by Sharon Wee Creations.

The super-talented Sharon Wee has just posted tutorial on her blog to make these incredibly cute little Hedgehog and Hegehogette Cupcakes. Check out her site at www.weelovebaking.com.

Martha, Martha, Martha!

Why is it that every time Martha publishes a book on a topic she is suddenly saving the genre, reinventing it, taking it to an all new high? I know, I know, she is uber talented. She has a creative staff working for her that is larger than some university campuses. Greg Morago of the Houston Chronicle recently did a review of the new book and proclaims that she has singlehandedly saved the cupcake trend. While I, myself, think it is a good book, so are a lot of the 25 other cupcake books that are sitting on my bookshelf right now. I'm just saying...why is it Martha that is proclaimed the savior??? There are many other premiere cupcakers out there, yet to have their book, yet to have their fame. Ladies (and gentlemen), you know who you are.

Cupcakes By The Dashboard Light

Another excuse to head back down to Chicago. This one is compliments of the NYTimes.com:

In New York, Los Angeles or Miami, the Meatloaf Bakery could have been doomed. But in Chicago, fan clubs tend to form around ventures that cater to the quirky and carnivorous (see: The Publican). With wit and creative layering, the owner, Cynthia Kallile, presents eight versions (and a daily special) of cupcake-shaped meatloaf topped with icing in the form of a side dish (mashed potato, pasta, roasted veggie).

Not only does it require some sensory dexterity to see a cupcake and accept the taste of garlicky meat, said meatcake eater must also be able to order things like No Buns About It and the Mother Loaf with a straight face. Loaf-a-Roma is a base of beef and Italian sausage laced with sun-dried tomatoes, basil and gooey mozzarella and topped with a three-inch swirl of angel-hair pasta marinara. A paean to wing-eating and beer-slurping Bears fans, Wing and a Prayer layers ground chicken, celery and spicy wing sauce under a thick “icing” of buttery blue cheese. For the confused vegan, Kallile crafts a mixture of lentils, cheese and brown rice topped with roasted peppers. If you can say “Yentl Lentil,” it’s yours. Welcome to Chicago!

Meatloaf Bakery
2464 North Clark Street

(773) 698-6667
www.themeatloafbakery.com

ICM - Vegan/Gluten-Free - Making a Difference

As IronCupcake:Milwaukee grows, so does the event and what we can accomplish with it. Beginning with our July event, the VEGAN a/o GLUTEN-FREE challenge with our partner Beans & Barley; a $3 donation will be requested to taste/vote. In return, a portion of every donation will be shared with a local non-profit organization. This month, in honor of my long-time friends, Jason and his son Noah and Joe and his son Corey; this months donation will go to the Autism Society of Wisconsin. It is through my friends that I learned of the benefits of a gluten-free/casin-free diet for autistic children.

As always, we look forward to tons of fun, and how great that now we have enough people attending our events that we can do good in our community as well!?

See you July 20th!

IC:E_011_Summer Berries - We Have a Winner

SUMMER BERRIES were the sweet surprise from our IronCupcake bakers. The variety of creations were gorgeous and tempting and made me want to eat every last one! But when all the votes were listed and fed to the random.org list randomizer it was Cassie at How To Eat a Cupcake and her Not-So-Blue-Berry Cupcake that takes home the prize. From her flickr post: Purple is the new blue in this not-so-blue-berry cupcake topped with blueberry Swiss meringue buttercream!

Before the fall colors blow in, the June prizes will be arriving to her door in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Sweet!

The June ETSY PRIZE-PACK is from artists:

• A sweet cupcake ID bracelet by INSANEJELLYFISH, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5021935
• A groovy linocut piece from BLOCKHEAD PRESS http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6108705
  
• a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery, http://www.acupcakery.com/
  
• PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5243382, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, http://www.fiestaproducts.com, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, http://blog.hellocupcakebook.com, JESSIE STEELE APRONS http://www.jessiesteele.com; TASTE OF HOME books, http://www.tasteofhome.com; a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM http://www.upwithcupcakes.com/. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers, http://www.1800flowers.com .

Random.org results and a complete list of entries can be found at the 011_SUMMER BERRIES archive. To view a complete explanation of the voting procedure, visit http://www.ironcupcakeearth.com/2008/12/new-voting-procedure-for-iron.html

Lucky Girls!

AmyGwenMart, originally uploaded by amynxdx.

The other night, at the No Doubt show, in addition to being an incredibly FABULOUS concert; Gwen was the hostess with the mostess when it came to her adoring fans. At one point in the show, she called 2 girls up from the front row onto the stage for a picture. And shut up! Here it is, those lucky girls posted it to flickr! Keep in mind that Gwen took this shot with one hand while hugging the girls with the other. Could Gwen be ANY MORE BEAUTIFUL??? I am soooo jealous.

Big Gay Cupcakes for EVERYONE!

Everyone knows I love big gay cupcakes. And so do the folks at Cupcake Royale in Seattle. In honor of June's Pridefest celebrations, they created this sweet gay cupcake gear - shirts, buttons and stickers! Buy some and they'll donate money to Lambda Legal. You get to look crazy hot in your new duds. They get to keep fighting the good fight for equality on a national level. And we all get to feel good about ourselves. Everybody wins!

Cupcake Royale / Verite Coffee
2052 NW Market Street
Seattle, WA 98107
206-782-9557