Super delicious birthday cookies

Over at The Awl a few weeks ago, Jolie Kerr told us how to make margarita cupcakes with tequila shooter toppers! Those are pictured below, and apparently, very popular. She writes:

The recipe for margarita cupcakes is built around a white cake mix with a whole bunch of add-ins. Normally I wouldn’t advocate for the use of boxed cake mixes because, really, how hard is it to mix together flour, sugar, baking soda and salt? That’s pretty much what a cake mix is, but also are you really going to trust that the fine folks at Betty Crocker aren’t cutting their cake mixes with laxatives and baby powder? Right, do it yourself, if only to ensure that your cake mix is as pure as possible and the DEA isn’t going to bang down your door to confiscate your Sachertorte.

For the sake of this recipe though, it’s fine to use a boxed mix and here’s why: This is not the simplest cake to make. It's not hard, it's just got a number of steps and also? We’re hardly talking about fine pastry here. We’re going to shoot tequila off the tops of these cupcakes, so I think we can all agree to relax our standards a bit.



And Village Voice food blog Fork in the Road lets us know about a New York margarita cupcake coming up from Robicelli's:

Robicelli's will be hawking its latest cocktail cupcake -- or caketail -- creations at Joe the Art of Coffee locations February 21 and 22 in honor of National Margarita Day.

Robicelli's Partida Margarita Cupcake is a lime cake infused with Partida Blanco tequila and lime butter cream, and garnished with candied lime zest and Maldon flake sea salt. The Angry Mango Cupcake is made with chili-spiked Partida Reposado tequila and topped with mango butter cream and a sweet-salty jalapeño slice.

See robicellis.com for more information and to keep up with their innovative new flavors.

These beautiful cupcakes transcend Valentine's Day. They're all from the Flickr account of Sweet Scarlet Cakes & Cupcakes - go there to see lots more beautiful cupcakes.

These love cupcakes are from the Facebook page of Zoey Cakes in Baldwinsville, New York - you can reach them through that page.

These look delicious! Chocolate mini cupcakes, topped with marshmallow frosting, dipped in chocolate, covered in sprinkles, by wynk on Flickr.

Yes, it's a Valentine's Day onslaught...of hearts!


Almond cupcake with cherry jam center and chocolate buttercream by Sugar Daze Cupcakes of Paris (via Flickr).


And this chocolate cupcake from Sweet Vegan Dublin (via Flickr).

Valentine's Day cupcake fun from Bay Area (California) custom cupcake company Cupcakes To Die For, via their Facebook page. "Free delivery to Fremont, Union City and Newark." They've got Ruby Woo and Red Hots cupcakes today for the holiday.

Aren't these rosebud cupcakes perfect for Valentine's Day? You can find out how to make them from our friend and food blogger Diary of a Mad Hausfrau, who can also be found on Facebook. Via Flickr.

Cassie Murdoch over at The Hairpin tells you exactly how to make these last-minute Valentine's Day cupcakes, and all you need are:

Cupcakes
Vanilla buttercream frosting
Red food coloring
Powdered sugar for sprinkling (about 1/2 cup)
Kitchen sieve/strainer (the smaller, the better)
Cardboard
Ruler
Scissors/X-acto knife
Tinfoil



Visit The Hairpin for detailed instructions on how to make them - and Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

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.

Kickass Cupcakes of Somerville, Massachusetts (via Facebook) is catering to the cynics of the world on Valentine's Day with these "I Hate You" and other Valentine's Day cupcakes...we'll obviously be bringing you lots more Valentine's Day cupcakes on this big cupcake-related holiday, but thought we'd share these too. Visit www.kickasscupcakes.com for more information.



And for the more traditional romantics, here are some of their Red Velvet, Champagne Bubbly Cupcakes and Chocolate Dipped Strawberries cupcakes:

Fresh off their win on Cupcake Wars on the Food Network, Old Towne Orange, California bakery The Perfect Circle Cupcakery is baking up some Valentine's Day cupcake flavors. Images via their Facebook page, where you can go to learn more about their holiday offerings, including red hot velvet. Click here to check out their other seasonal offerings, so you can be ready when they serve Caramel Bordeaux and Tiramisu cupcakes.





White chocolate raspberry cupcakes: "White cake with a fresh raspberry surprise inside and white chocolate frosting with fresh raspberries drizzled in white chocolate on top!"


Coconut bliss cupcakes


Buttercup cupcakes: "Decadent Peanut Butter cake studded with chocolate chips with rich Valrhona chocolate frosting and topped with a Peanut Butter Cup!"

The Perfect Circle Cupcakery
165 N. Glassell St.
Old Towne Orange, CA
714-997-CAKE
info at tpccupcakery.com

These cupcakes are by Sale, UK's Jellytots & Dollymixtures via their Flickr account. You can also find them on Facebook.


"A vanilla cupcake filled with a bavarian cream centre. Topped with a chocolate fudge frosting, a bavarian cream filled shoux pastry profiterole and dark chocolate drizzle."


blueberry waffle cupcake

And we couldn't forget Valentine's Day - here are the special cupcakes they're offering, including on spelling out "I Heart You:"




a closeup on this chocolate one! "a rich chocolate cake filled with delicious caramel. Topped with a chocolate fudge frosting, a single Rolo and chocolate curls!"

Jellytots & Dollymixtures
185 Cross Street
Sale, United Kingdom, M33 7JG
louise at jellytotsanddollymixtures.co.uk
Phone: 0161 637 2199

These Valentine's Day cupcakes are by sweetkiera on Flickr - my favorites are the XO ones on top!

There's no further info on it at this time, but in August you'll be able to buy a Martha Stewart 2012 cupcake wall calendar. Just went up for pre-order on Amazon.

Speaking of Martha Stewart and Valentine's Day, click here to watch her show Josh Turner how to make meringue and raspberry cupcakes.

And click here to find out how to make the beautiful handwritten Valentine's Day cupcakes with chocolate glaze pictured below.

From the blog Happy Homemade Cupcakes come some pink flower cupcake bouquets for Valentine's Day.

These Valentine's Day cupcakes are by Cupcake(s) by Cookie based in Pakistan, via their Facebook page.

Little hearts and conversation heart red velvet cupcakes for Valentine's Day by Saucy's Sprinkles - go there for more!





This was the cupcake I wanted to show you, cause I love the juxtaposition of a tiny heart atop a snowy cupcake, but I couldn't download it from Flickr - do check it out!

Last Thursday, we had a meetup at Everything Frosted in Chinatown (105 1/2 Mosco).  To celebrate Chinese (Lunar) New Year, there were special flavors including green tea, taro, black sesame and red bean. Chef/Owner John Wu studied under White House Executive Pastry Chef Bill Yosses. He was kind enough to save some cupcakes for us and take a picture with the group.



Everything Frosted doesn't have any seating but it is right across the street from Columbus Park in Chinatown, which is perfect for a spring day. Check out the Facebook Page for Everything Frosted.

Valentine's Day is coming up and I've been stumped on what kind of cupcakes to make. I am definitely making my favorite red velvet cupcakes but that seemed a little too obvious.

Something with strawberries seemed like a good choice...but I'm completely repulsed by strawberries, I hate the smell and the taste, and since I wanted to eat a cupcake I had to re-think my idea.

I came to the conclusion to toss some Valentine's Day sprinkles into some vanilla cupcake batter and bake, top with a classic vanilla buttercream, and garnish with more heart sprinkles. You can read a little more about them and see more photos by clicking here or just skip below for the recipe.

Valentine's Funfetti Cupcakes
Adapted from Cakespy

Makes about 12 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoon butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 whole egg plus 1 egg white, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds scraped from 1/2 vanilla bean)
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
Heaping 2 tablespoons valentine's sprinkles

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a cupcake pan with paper liners.

In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. In a stand mixer, cream the sugar and butter until well combined, about 3-5 minutes. Add the egg and egg white, one at a time, beating on low until just incorporated.

Add vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk in two additions, ending with the flour mixture. Fold in sprinkles.

Fill cupcake liners about 2/3 full. Bake for about 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream
Adapted from My Baking Addiction

1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
4-6 tablespoons heavy cream or milk

In a large mixing bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Slowly add confectioners' sugar and continue creaming until well blended.

Add salt, vanilla, and 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk. Blend on low speed until moistened. Add an additional 1 to 3 tablespoons of heavy cream or milk until you reach the desired consistency. Beat at high speed until frosting is smooth and fluffy.

Special for Valentine's Day, from Vero Beach, Florida's Classy Cupcakes, via their Facebook page, come their Stud Muffin cupcake:



"This is a sweet and salty cupcake filled with marshmallows, walnuts and chocolate chips... then topped with a dark chocolate ganash and pretzels!"

Today's other flavors are: Cinnamon Pecan Crumb Cake, Lemon Sunshine, Strawberry n Cream, Peanut Butter Cup, Chocolate Strawberry, Classy Chocolate, Vanilla Bean, Marble and Red Velvet.

And on February 20th, they're hosting a special event from 4 to 7 pm:

Classy Cupcakes will be creating an incredible display of cupcakes for the reception... A Sea Turtle cupcake cake surrounded by individual cupcakes with other sea life and coral reef! You must buy tickets in advance at Majestic theater or online at www.cinemaworldonline.com $25 adults and$10 for kids under 18! This fundraiser will benefit the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Research Development Fund! Hope to see you there!

Classy Cupcakes
712 21st Street
Vero Beach, FL, 32960
classycupcakes at comcast.net
772-563-0110