Super delicious birthday cookies

I stopped by Spot Dessert Bar in New York's East Village yesterday and got their special Valentine's Day raspberry cupcake, with two cute little heart cookies on top, and their vanilla lemon yuzu cupcake. Both were delicious, and I couldn't get enough of the yuzu lemon-filled cake, or the glitter on the raspberry one. They've got cupcakes packaged specially for Valentine's Day (see below) and a festive atmosphere and I have to say, it smelled divine in there - more buttery and cozy than I can ever remember. See more in this Flickr set. Spot is part of Seamless Web and Delivery.com, and can be reached via spotdessertbar.com or at 212-677-5670.

At least once a week, I see an article or blog post proclaiming that something is "the new cupcake." It's ridiculous, and kindof dumb, because why does something have to be "the new" anything, other than to draw traffic and make up crazy food trends?

Also, cupcakes are not in competition with other baked goods. Lots of us like them all! So to prove that all our desserts can get along, here are five photos of cupcakes with other desserts on top of them! And, incidentally, a lot of these desserts (hi macaroon and whoopie pie!) happen to be ones that are constantly pitted against the cupcake.


mini coconut macaroon cupcakes by obliviousfire on Flickr:
"White mud and raspberry cupcakes with raspberry-cream cheese frosting and mini coconut macaroons"


a mini whoopie pie on top of a cupcake by baking blogger The Lone Baker via Flickr, inspired by this painting


two kinds of cookies in one, plus a Valentine's Day theme! These are by the wonderful Etsy custom cupcake maker death by cupcake via Flickr

And with these you get a bonus, because they are actually filled cupcakes:




mini donut on a cupcake - I took this at Frosting Bake Shop in Walnut Creek, California, it's their Homer Simpson cupcake!


mini pumpkin pie on a cupcake, by blogger The Frosted Cake N Cookie, via Flickr: "pumpkin spice cupcake with cinnamon cream cheese icing. fondant pumpkin pie slice."

This is like a mashup of today's Super Bowl teams, the Packers and the Steelers, plus Valentine's Day and gingerbread latte cupcakes for no other reason than I thought they looked gorgeous. And Samoa Girl Scout cookies because I know Girl Scout cookies are always a hit with our readers (as, I imagine Girl Scout cookies are all on their own, but combining them with cupcakes and...bingo!). Those, according to Man Bakes Cake on Facebook, will be back on the menu soon. All by custom cupcake company Man Bakes Cake via their Facebook page, where you can contact them for ordering information or email martinez_rudy at msn.com and tell him you heard about Man Bakes Cake from Cupcakes Take the Cake.




Super Bowl cupcakes


"'Gingerbread Latte' Cupcakes created for DINNERfix at CULTUREfix NYC. Gingerbread Cake topped with Coffee Buttercream, Cinnamon, Dulce de Leche and Mini Chocolate Chips."


Valentine's Day conversation heart cupcakes


Samoa Girl Scout cookie cupcakes - stay tuned to Man Bakes Cake on Facebook to find out when they'll be on the menu again!

One of the best things about being a cupcake blogger is that you start to notice that cupcakes are everywhere, not just at bakeries. They're at the movies and at theaters. One of the worst things is when you find out too late that you've missed a cupcake opportunity. I skipped the concession stand when I was at Berkeley Repertory Theater recently, and therefore apparently missed out on the cupcakes they sell. From their blog, in a post called "Confessions of a concessionaire: a delicious dilemma" by Kate Vangeloff, in which she opines on the cupcake options provided by local bakery Love at First Bite (which I have been to):

We received a new shipment of cupcakes in which there were two, yes, two cupcakes that would have fulfilled my own personal visual requirements to earn a “Cookies & Cream” flavor designation. This new development shocked me, as I was unable to identify the new cupcake as anything other than “Cookies & Cream: Version 2.0.” Being inquisitive by nature, I did some internet sleuthing, and I am proud to announce that I have solved this cupcake mystery.

On the left of exhibit A, you will find the true Cookies & Cream cupcake, notably marked by its rakish, Oreo-crescent chapeau. On the right, you will find what Love at First Bite calls their “Mud Pie” cupcake—a devil’s food chocolate cupcake topped with whipped mocha frosting and Oreo crumbs.

Here’s to knowledgeable cupcake consumption for all!


photo via Berkeley Rep blog

It was my first visit, and I loved the design of the theater (I was there to see The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs, which I highly recommend), so I will definitely be back, with my first stop being the concession stand!

I got into using kettlebells, a type of weight that I think originated in Russia, through our former blogger Allison. They are fun to work with, and so I was excited but a little surprised to see these kettlebell cupcakes by Zoey Cakes of Baldwinville, New York, on their Facebook page. Just goes to show, you truly can personalize cupcakes in any way at all!



They also made these wonderful-looking cookie-topped cupcakes as well as hi hat cupcakes! I like how the wrappers on the cookie ones add a little zing to the overall image. If I were eating one, though, I'd take the cookie off and dip it into the frosting.




hi hat cupcakes!