Periodic Table of Cupcakes

I saw this on Twitter from a retweet from @jje414. It was posted on the Huffington Post site and appears to have come from yet another twitterer who sums it up perfectly:

If only my chemistry teacher used cupcakes to teach me the periodic table perhaps I'd know the chemical behavior of Boron. Then again, my knowledge would be limited to "it's delicious." Which it is. (Via Neatorama on Twitter)

Turning on the Charm!

You know those annoying pop-up ads? The ones that invade your internet surfing...generally, we all click ignore or close 'em. Well, earlier today I was popped up by an ad for Rembrandt Charms. You KNOW when I saw the word CHARMS I had to see if there was a cupcake. Bingo...we have a winner, or winners. Vanilla, Cherry and Blueberry - all available in gold plated, silver, gold and white gold. They also had a muffin charm that certainly qualifies for cupcake charmness as well. Prices vary depending on metal, but these are pretty damn cute and I had never seen them before so I thought I had better share with the cupcake universe!

Thanksgiving in a Bite

Funny Cupcakes: "TV" Dinner, originally uploaded by CupcakesTakeOn.

ICM:BEER Challenge

Our first challenge for 2010...what better than to raise a pint with our friends from BLATZ LIQUOR!

The challenge? Get creative and figure a way to make the perfect combination...beer cupcakes! There are so many different types of beer these days, there should be a million different opportunities!

$7 ticket gets you tons of awesome cupcakes, discounted drink specials, debut of the Moct menu and entry for a variety of raffle prizes. PLUS!!! One dollar from every ticket will go to this month's charity, WISCONSIN BREWERS GUILD.

The January challenge will take place on MONDAY, January 18 at 6 p.m.

We are so pleased about our new space. It will enable us to take IronCupcake to the next level. More space, more fun. Many thanks to Karen Schoenung of MyPartyPlaces.com, who introducted me to Nebi and the gang at Moct. Let the fun begin!

• Special Guest, Lucy Saunders of beercook.com will be onhand working on an article about our event!
  
• IronCupcake:Milwaukee T-Shirts ($20) and Buttons ($2) available. Cash Only. Portion of profits benefit Gilda's Club of S.E. Wisconsin.
• Download your 15% discount coupon to Blatz Liquor, special for IronCupcake bakers!
  

As always, all bakers should pre-register at IronCupcakeMilwaukee@wi.rr.com.
Only the first 24 bakers will be allowed to register. First come, first served. After that, a waiting list will be created.

IronCupcake:Milwaukee
BEER Challenge
with Blatz Liquor
MONDAY, January 18 at 6 p.m.
MOCT Bar
240 E Pittsburgh Ave
Milwaukee's Fifth Ward

IronCupcake is open to all ages, but please keep in mind that this is a crowded bar setting and anyone under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

Free Cupcakes on Black Friday!!!

While shopping you'll need to refuel, mention "cupcake" at Fratellos and receive a free cupcake with the purchase of an entree, then register to win a free gift certificate from Milwaukee's Third Ward. There will be also be free parkingin both Third Ward parking structures (212 N. Milwaukee and 225 E. Chicago) until 5pm on Friday, November 27.

Behold, the Kupkake-Inator!

I have never seen this movie, but local IronCupcaker, Danielle, brought this to my attention over the weekend. Perhaps a hotdog challenge in the future???

Winter on the Way...

christmas cookies, originally uploaded by Cotton and Crumbs.

cupcake vs. robot - fight to the finish

cupcake vs. robot..finally, originally uploaded by dogboneart.

Another awesome design by our friends DogBoneArt!

They're Baaaack!!!

ICM:Christmas Chocolate Joe-Joe's Cupcake with Double Chocolate Peppermint Buttercream by Sandy, originally uploaded by mkecupcakequeen.

You Dropped a Bomb on Me!

The gang at AJBombers has asked me to be a "celebrity" bartender for the evening. In return a portion of the profits will be donated to GILDA'S CLUB of S.E. Wisconsin. My dad is a two-time cancer survivor and I feel that doing anything to help cancer patients along their journey is worth the effort!

Come early, grab a tasty burger. Come later and grab a drink. Or, just pop by and stuff the tip jar. It's all for a good 'cause!

AJ Bombers
1247 N. Water Street
(corner of Water & Knapp)
Downtown Milwaukee

Bundt Kisser

This has been a great year for Kiss My Bundt Bakery in terms of marketing and publicity. They've received many awards and have been featured in a number of magazines and news blogs, including the LA Times.

Kiss My Bundt's founder, Chrysta Wilson, got a publishing deal with Life of Reiley for the Kiss My Bundt cookbook (out Thanksgiving 2009).

Chrysta and the Bakery have even been involved in helping improve the West 3rd Street community teaching business classes, donating cakes to schools and charities, and serving as a volunteer Board Member on the West 3rd Street Business Association.

However, times have also been tough, economically speaking.

The price of commodities (milk, butter, flour, sugar, Belgian Chocolate, etc) has been on the rise, sometimes doubling monthly.

Retail and Wholesale sales have recently been on the decline as our customers (individuals and businesses alike) have decreased their purchases as a result of the economic downturn.

Times are tough. They need our help to keep their doors open and continuing to serve Bundts and the Community.

Visit www.bit.ly/SaveKMB to help them reach their goal.

IronCupcake:SoCal???

OK, where all my CA cupcake fans at?
I am thinking about putting together an IronCupcake fund-raising bake sale/meet-up/tweet-up the week before XMas. Most of you know my family is in CA, and I thought it would be fun to try and get the cupcake crowd in the Los Angeles and Orange Country areas together while I am visiting for the holidays.

I do not have a location or a definitive date yet, but 12/23 is looking most likely. Each cupcaker would bring 2+ dozen full size cupcakes, we would sell them for 2-3$ a pop, hang out and drink coffee, chat and give all monies to the Los Angeles Mission. If you would be interested in participating, I would love to meet as many of you as possible. Please leave a comment or email me. Amateurs and Professional, we want your cupcakes!

Snap Out of It!

Oregon's Moonstruck Chocolatier’s takes on the cupcake – delicious chocolates in four great flavors: Peanut Butter, Strawberry Cheesecake, Sour Cream Fudge and German Chocolate Cake. 4 piece/$13.00

Still Life with Cupcakes - Rebecca Thuss

Wall to Wall Cuteness

Super cute prints for your kitchen or the kiddies room by artist Shari Warren.

Giant Jammies!

Ma Ploy came across these awesome cupcake jammies earlier this summer. She didn't get them for me. Sad. But that's ok, at least she got this fun photo!

Edible Undies???

Looks like Victoria Secret is getting in on the cupcake trend. Cupcakes are all over their undies this winter! Plus, they are giving away a free "panty cupcake" with purchase for the holidays.

EXTREME CHOCOLATE - IronCupcake:Milwaukee's Got It!

Americans consume over 3.5 billion pounds of chocolate per year; almost half of the total world's production. From the looks of things, a huge portion of that chocolate was consumed just last night at the IronCupcake:Milwaukee Extreme Chocolate challenge. The first of many event to be held at our new home, Moct Bar in the 5th Ward. This new space is AWESOME, hip, roomy and beautiful...and it is a good thing, because we had somewhere around 200 people in attendance. It can be hard to conceptualize what 200 people looks like, but Jim snagged some amazing photos that tell the story quite well. It was one heck of a night. Gilda's Club of S.E. Wisconsin scored a dollar from every ticket, and a nice donation was made this morning.


The challenge was to mix chocolate with another ingredient and boy did our bakers bring their A game! Chocolate and basil and garlic, chocolate and sea salt, chocolate and sweet potato, chocolate and rhubarb, chocolate and booze, chocolate and cardamom, chocolate and zucchini, chocolate and fire, chocolate and malt, chocolate and sesame matcha, chocolate and cherry, chocolate and olive oil, chocolate and mint, chocolate and peanut butter, chocolate and caramel, chocolate and beer, chocolate and orange, chocolate and raspberry jalapeno jam...and so much more. You get the idea; A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT OF CHOCOLATE, dammit!


Our partner tonight was Indulgence Chocolatiers and boy, did they let our crowd indulge! Julie brought trays and trays of chocolates for our cupcake fans to enjoy. (She even brought me a little box of salted caramel truffles that I will crack open as soon as this post is done.) As with all of our partners, Julie was allowed to choose her favorite cupcake to present the PARTNERS PICK prize. The recipient? Jenna and her Dare You Cupcakes. "Dedicated to the moment when you mail the landing and live to tell the tale." A rich chocolate cupcake topped with a sweet potato "frosting" highlighted with toasted marshmallow and maple sugar crust. Jenna took home an apron and big box of incredible chocolates for her prize.


The PRESENTATION prize, once again, went home with Erin. She is proving to be a major hurdle for everyone when it comes to a sweet display. Her entry, The Interview, was a dark chocolate cupcake soaked in Bailey's and Kahlua, Irish Cream center and a chocolate espresso buttercream ganache. She constructed a chocolate, gum paste and fondant office display for a fictitious cupcake corporation. The detail was amazing, right down to the teeny tiny little IronCupcake award that she earned from a previous challenge. Erin took home a $25 gift card from Swig Milwaukee.


When it boils down to chocolate, lets face it, who cares what it looks like so long as we get to eat it and fast! On paper, perhaps an unexpected winner, but the crowd spoke and the winning cupcake for TASTE was Natasha's Cupcake Italiano. Personally, I love basil and chocolate. I love basil and anything. But, Natasha took it all a step further with a basil-chocolate cupcake with a honey-roasted garlic cream cheese frosting. The cupcakes were then topped with either a basil chiffonade or a chocolate covered garlic clove - for the adverturesome! THIS IS WHAT IRON CUPCAKE IS ALL ABOUT!!! Bravissimo!!! Natasha took home a $25 gift card from Water Buffalo.


We had SO MANY special guests last night; I want to take a moment to thank Scott from Streetza Pizza, Joe from AJBombers, Mike from Sysco, James Conway Photography, Whitney and Julie from Orchard Street Press, Karen from MyPartyPlaces.com and of course Nebi and the gang at Moct!


Our audience got to take home some awesome raffle prizes as well; including a gift card from Blatz Liquor, an autographed copy of The Teashop Girls by Madison author Laura Schaeffer, gorgeous cupcake garland, an AJBombers gift card, a gift certificate for M's Bar and a $50 gift certificate to Moct. LOTS of prizes this month. Our goal is to only get better from here! Don't miss a slide show of the night's events, below.

The regular IronCupcake challenges will be taking a break for the holidays and will resume in January. In the mean time, there are 2 ways to get your cupcake on...

• On Friday, December 11th, from 530-10, I will be guest bartending at AJBombers. Proceeds from the evening will go to Gilda's Club of S.E. Wisconsin. Please come out and support Gilda's Club and have a brewski and peanut bomb while you are at it!

• One week later, on Friday, December 18th is A Very Velvet Holiday. The massive IronCupcakePRO/MAM After Dark event. From 5-midnight. 8 local caterers and bakeries. Art. Andy Warhol, you get the idea. An amazing time for sure. BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY.
  

• Mark your calendars, the January challenge will be announced right here on December 19th.

TONIGHT IS THE NIGHT!!

Our last regular challenge for 2009; the NOVEMBER's IronCupcake:Milwaukee is EXTREME CHOCOLATE with our partner, Indulgence Chocolatiers.
The challenge? To pair up chocolate with the unexpected, something to tempt taste-buds and wow palettes! Bakers are competing for prizes from Indulgence Chocolatiers, Water Buffalo and Swig Milwaukee.

$5 ticket gets you tons of awesome cupcakes, discounted drink specials and entry for a variety of raffle prizes from Blatz Liquor, M's Bar, MAM AfterDark/IronCupcake:PRO, the Teashop Girls and more. PLUS!!! One dollar from every ticket and a portion of tshirt profits will go to this month's charity, GILDA'S CLUB in SHOREWOOD.

Tonight! MONDAY, November 16 at 6 p.m.

We are so pleased about our new space. It will enable us to take IronCupcake to the next level. More space, more fun. Many thanks to Karen Schoenung of MyPartyPlaces.com, who introduced me to Nebi and the gang at Moct. Let the fun begin!

• NEW LOCATION: Moct Bar
• More Space, No More Overcrowding!!
• Chocolate Tasting from Indulgence Chocolatiers
• Gilda's Club
  
• IronCupcake:Milwaukee T-Shirts ($20) and Buttons($2) FINALLY available!*

IronCupcake:Milwaukee
EXTREME Challenge
with Indulgence Chocolatiers
MONDAY, November 16 at 6 p.m.
MOCT Bar
240 E Pittsburgh Ave
Milwaukee's Fifth Ward

*CASH only, all sales final.

Warm Up to Cupcakes!

Check out these gorgeous greeting cards by Betz White. Hand-felted wool cuppies in vibrant colors. Betz White even has a book, Warm Fuzzies, that gives you step-by-step on how to do them yourselves!! Soooo cute, I just wanna make a huge one and cuddle up with it on a cold winter's night!!

Hit the Jackpot!

St. Louis' KSDK5 reports about the cities newest cupcakery, Top That Cupcakes and Creamery will open inside Harrah's Casino-St. Louis early December. Offering hungry casino visitors the opportunity to top their cupcakes their own way; choosing cake flavor, fillings and toppings..

Top That! This is not just any cupcake shop, customers build-their-own here. The first step is choosing a flavor. "We have sugar-free white cake, regular cake, and chocolate."

To celebrate their opening, they are holding a contest via facebook to name their flagship sweet, a three pounder of sweetness! The cupcake isn't named yet, but Harrah's is having a contest on their facebook page. Just submit your name for the cupcake and if you win, you'll receive 12 of those giant cupcakes. Find their page at www.harrahsstlouis.com.

Just a Swig Will Do!

Every once in a while I blog about a local business, that isn't cupcake related, but awesome none the less. I want to take a quick moment to congratulate Swig Milwaukee on their amazing review by Carol Deptolla in today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. From drinks to small plates and their new larger entree's, Carol seems impressed with everything they have to offer the 3rd Ward. It is great to see a success story in Milwaukee in a time of recession and I send my salute to Joe & Angie Sorge for what they have brought to the area. In addition to Swig, the Sorge's also operate Sullivan's, Water Buffalo and the newest; AJBombers. All fine establishments that you should check out if you have not had the chance!