Sprinkles Twitter Update

Hurry over to Sprinkles right now! The first 25 people to whisper "juicy" receive a free summer strawberry cupcake. Could you bring me one too? I'm stuck at work.

Fourth of July Cupcakes

My favorite holiday is the 4th of July! I love feeling patriotic. I love BBQs. I love not working on a hot, sunny day. I love eating pancakes in the park for breakfast. I love riding my bike to the beach. Of course I love eating cupcakes, but I also love doing that every other day of the year. Here are a few of my favorite 4th of July cupcakes:

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Meringue Bake Shop Giveaway

Blogger Angry Julie is hosting a giveaway for one dozen of Meringue Bake Shop's cupcakes or two dozen mini cupcakes. As much as I don't want to ruin my chances of winning this giveaway, check out Angry Julie's blog post for instructions.

Cookie Dough Pops

Ever since I first made Bakerella's Cupcake Bites last year, friends and family have literally been begging me to make more! I love them too...they are a fun, tasty treat. I've made them a few more times (to rave reviews), but they are so time-consuming to make!

(Cupcake Bite)

Solution: Cookie Dough Pops.

Elyse of Elyse's Confectionery Creations and Risa of Baked Perfection came up with these treats as a spinoff of Bakerella's Cupcake Pops. Instead of using cake, they used cookie dough. Also, these pops are on a stick instead of in the shapes of mini cupcakes, like the Cupcake Bites are. This eliminates a lot of time since you don't have to dip them twice (once in melted chocolate and then in candy melts). These Cookie Dough Pops shouldn't take too much longer than the time it takes to make normal cookies. No cooking involved.


Their first creation is Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pops. These pops use an eggless chocolate chip cookie dough recipe. I've re-posted the recipe below.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Pops

pictured above

1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1 stick butter, softened (it is even okay if it is melting a little)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cups mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Assorted candy melts:
1/2 package white chocolate candy melts
1/2 package chocolate candy melts
1/4 cup light blue candy melts

In a medium bowl combine the flour, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate chips. Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 20) and insert a lolly pop stick. Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Melt candy melts in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.) Gently dip the cookie dough ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered (if your lolly pop stick falls out, just dip the end in the melted chocolate and put it back in the ball). Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

To decorate with drizzled chocolate, place chocolate in a sandwich bag on a microwave safe dish and microwave in 30 second intervals moving the chocolate around between. Using scissors, cut the very tip off the sandwich bag. The smaller your cut, the smaller the drizzle. Use the sandwich bag to pipe the chocolate back and forth over the cookie dough pop until you reach the desired look. Return to styrofoam block to dry.


Their second creation is S'mores Cookie Dough Pops. This recipe is also eggless and contains graham crackers, Hershey bar pieces, and mini marshmallows.

S'mores Cookie Dough Pops
pictured above

1/2 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs, divided
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cinnamon
1 stick butter, softened (it is even okay if it is melting a little)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup chopped Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
3/4 cup mini-marshmallows, halved

Assorted candy melts:
1/2 package white chocolate candy melts
1/2 package chocolate candy melts

In a medium bowl combine the flour, 1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs, salt, and dash of cinnamon. In a second larger bowl, beat together the butter, sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract until creamy. Slowly beat in the flour mixture until smooth. Stir in the chocolate and marshmallows. Roll the mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet lined with wax paper (Should make approximately 20) and insert a lolly pop stick. Chill for several hours or freeze for 15-20 minutes until firm.

Melt candy melts in the microwave per directions on package. (30 sec intervals, stirring in between.) Gently dip the cookie dough ball into the candy coating by holding the lollipop stick and rotating until covered (if your lolly pop stick falls out, just dip the end in the melted chocolate and put it back in the ball). Once covered remove and softly tap and rotate until the excess chocolate falls off. Sprinkle with remaining graham cracker crumbs. Place in a styrofoam block to dry.

Sprinkles Twitter Update

There are two updates today:

sprinklesaddict:

Sprinkles only uses Belgian Callebaut chocolate in its cupcakes. First 50 people to whisper "Callebaut" today receive a free dark chocolate!

sprinklesmobile:

Follow the Sprinklesmobile to MOCA's mobile restaurant row this Saturday night from 5 to 9 pm!

I'm a Winner!

I'm a recovering chocoholic. I used to eat it every day or would feel awful withdrawals. Luckily, I have overcome my battle and can eat chocolate on occasion without any negative effects.

Last week I entered a giveaway on Cupcake Project's blog to win three chocolate bars. And not just any chocolate, but Amano chocolate. Yesterday I was thrilled to find out that I won!

Thank you to Cupcake Project and Amano Chocolate! I can't wait to receive my chocolate bars!

Another Reason to live in New York

Burgers & Cupcakes. Enough said.

Someone has their head on straight. And I'm pretty sure the reason that this combo is so appealing to me is because of the mixture of sweet and salt.

When my friend Ramana first moved here from the Dominican Republic, I took her to breakfast. She couldn't believe that I had chocolate chip waffles and eggs on the same plate. That's just how we do it here in the United States.

For now, I will dream about burger and cupcakes and hope that someday I can visit this magical place in New York (aka: the land of cupcakes)!

Just Spotted Feature!

Check out my feature on Just Spotted! Just Spotted is a blog that shares the best deals, tips, sales, and events in Orange County. I wrote an article for Just Spotted which details my favorite places to get cupcakes in Orange County. Let me know what you think!

Sprinkles Twitter Update

sprinklesaddict posted the latest tweet:

Whisper "triple cinnamon" to order today's secret flavor: buttermilk cake topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sugar.

New Flavors for Meringue Bake Shop

Last month I posted about how Meringue Bake Shop is selling her mini cupcakes at Bliss Yogurt in Orange. Kristin, the owner of Meringue, emailed me last week to let me know that there are two additional flavors added to her already delicious menu.

Coconutty: chocolate cupcake topped with coconut cream cheese buttercream and tasted coconut

Watermelon: green vanilla cupcake topped with watermelon buttercream

Both sound yummy and perfect for celebrating the start of summer!

The Sprinkles Truck is Here!

Finally! I've been reading about mobile cupcake trucks in New York and have been wondering when something like that would be coming to California. I mean, don't we love cupcakes as much as New Yorkers? Well, Sprinkles has decided to become the trendsetter in southern California for this.

The Sprinkles Truck can hold 1500 cupcakes and will sell the cupcakes for $4.00 each, $0.75 more than they cost in the store. You can follow Sprinklesmobile on twitter, where they will announce their planned stops. Their first stop is at The Grove in LA on Sunday at 3:00pm. Unfortunately (or fortunately) I will be at Lake Mead with my father-in-law, but I hope to catch the Sprinkles truck soon.

More Wedding Cupcakes

June brings the arrival of wedding season! And where there are weddings, there are wedding cupcake towers. They are getting more popular every year!


This cupcake tower comes from Cupcakes by Les, a cupcake creator in Utah. It really stands apart from every cupcake tower I've seen before because of the different colors and sizes of the cupcakes. It is the beautiful and from what I read, the bride loved it too!

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Cupcake Kebabs

Aren't these adorable?! They are cupcake kebabs and I can't wait to make them. How do you make them? You can find out here or see the ingredient list below:

• Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla mini Cupcakes
• Strawberry Marshmallows dunked in white chocolate and covered in chocolate cookie crumbs
• Chocolate, Strawberry, and Vanilla Sugar Wafers
  

Alternate items on kebab skewers and you have a great-looking and tasty treat. Of course, you can substitute in any flavor combinations you can think of! This is such a creative idea. Thanks Nora!

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Cupcakes for Graduation

Last week my brother graduated from high school. Like the rest of my siblings, he inherited my mom's sweet tooth. A cupcake was the perfect graduation gift!


I stopped by The Perfect Circle Cupcakery in Orange to pick up a special cupcake for him. I was so excited that there were so many choices! I chose Red Velvet for him and Chocolate Coconut for me. Their new carryout boxes are so cute.

While in their shop, I spoke with the owner about a wedding cupcake order she had just received. I didn't realize that they did wedding orders. Definitely something worth checking into if you are getting married in the near future.


Later that night, when I was about to devour my cupcake, I realized that I have never tried the Red Velvet from The Perfect Circle. And I gave my only one away! No worries, the Chocolate Coconut was still as yummy as I remembered

If you haven't stopped by The Perfect Circle yet, you must try their cupcakes soon. But you can't wait until the end of the day.....sometimes they run out and you will be left with a larger cupcake craving!

How to make Cupcakes Stands

Few people have as much talent as this girl does. I'm convinced there is nothing she can't make herself. I recently came across a post on her blog about how to make your own cupcake stands.


This would be a perfect gift for friends, mothers, teachers, anyone! And they look so easy (and inexpensive) to make. I wouldn't be surprised if a few people I know received one soon.

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Local Cupcake Updates

My favorite SusieCakes has a delicious new flavor available for the month of June. Listen to this: Strawberry White-Chocolate Cupcake...it is a vanilla cupcake with fresh strawberries folded into it and topped with white-chocolate buttercream frosting. I like the sound of that! Looks like I need to stop by SusieCakes in Newport Beach soon!


I recently posted about how Sprinkles Cupcakes is now on Facebook and Twitter. Every day or two they post a code word to receive something special, like a free cupcake or frosting shot. Their most recent post is here. Their last update was Monday morning, so I would check back often because they are due for a new update. Your diligent work may earn you a free cupcake!

Found: Cupcakes in Rome, Italy

I searched far and wide, high and low, and finally found what I was looking for...cupcakes in Italy!! It wasn't until the second to last day of my trip that I found Josephine's Bakery. It was hidden on a small street in Rome. You should have seen the smile on my face when we walked in!


Josephine's Bakery was a breath of fresh air. When I walked inside I was greeted by a display of cupcakes, brownies, cheesecakes, and cakes. I wanted to try everything!


On the day that we visited, Josephine's had three types of cupcakes--vanilla, lemon, and coconut (they were out of chocolate). I bought one vanilla, one coconut, and a mini cheesecake.


When I first started to peel the wrapper away from the cupcake I noticed that wrapper was stuck. Never a good sign. But then I realized the reason why. The frosting was hard. What was going on here? When I took my first bite I realized that even though the frosting was hard, it was good.

I inquired about this to Vanessa, the girl who was helping me. She said that the owner is from England so her version of cupcakes is a little different than America's version. The owner uses royal icing instead of frosting, which is the reason the frosting is hard. This also explains why the wrapper stuck to the cupcake: the icing was holding it in place.

Vanessa also revealed that they use twice the butter in their cupcakes, which explains why the cake of the cupcakes was so moist and delicious. Once I knew this, I took another bite and savored the goodness of the cupcake. It may have been different, but it was delicious!

Vanessa said that most people who come into their bakery don't know what cupcakes are. That's crazy!

If you find yourself in Rome and have a cupcake attack, relax....you can get your fix. Josephine's Bakery is located near Campo de Fiori. Their cupackes sell for $2.50 Euro ($3.75 USD), well worth the cost of finding a cupcake in Rome.

Sweets in Italy

Even though my cupcake search in Italy was not yielding the results I had hoped for, Italy was not short on sweets. Not one day went by without a visit (or two) to the gelato shop.







NEXT: Do I have you in suspense yet? The final results of my cupcake search in Italy coming up!

Review: Dolci Centazioni

Italy is full of pasticcerias. They were my favorite places to visit! Every morning we would stop by a pasticceria (pastry shop) for breakfast. I would pick out two of the most delicious-looking pastries. And then I would spend the next few hours burning off the calories as I rode to our next destination.

Since my husband and I biked though Italy, we came across many towns that were not full of tourists. One of our favorite towns was Faenza. On the afternoon we were there, we stopped in a small pasticceria called Dolci Centazioni.

Of course the first thing that caught my eye was a display of mini cupcakes. Did I really find cupcakes that easily?!

They looked like cupcakes. They were in cupcake wrappers. The real test was did they taste like cupcakes?

Sadly, the answer was no. But they were still good. The "cake" was actually some kind of shortbread cookie and the "frosting" was a dollop of whipped cream on top of a thin layer of chocolate. The good thing about these treats was that they only cost 0.40 Euro each (which is about $0.60 USD). No cupcake in the US would ever be that cheap.

Stay Tuned: the quest for cupcakes in Italy continues...

Free Cupcakes!!!

Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than cupcakes....except for FREE cupcakes! Thanks for the tip from reader Jacqueline, I have learned that Sprinkles is randomly giving away free cupcakes.

When?!

You can find out by checking Sprinkles Facebook or Twitter page. Yesterday Sprinkles posted an update saying:

Need a lift? Whisper "sugar rush" at any Sprinkles store today and receive a free coconut cupcake.

Sorry about finding out a day late. I know that my friend Dave would have loved a free coconut cupcake. Keep checking back often to see when they will have.

NEXT WEEK: Did I find cupcakes in Italy?

LA Lakers Cupcakes at Crumbs Bake Shop

I've mentioned before how I get my sweet tooth from my mom, but I failed to mention that my dad avoids all sweets at all times. I definitely did not get my love for cupcakes from him. For the first time ever, my dad will finally appreciate one of my cupcake blog posts.

Crumbs Bake Shop is currently offering a limited-time cupcake to celebrate the success of the LA Lakers making it to the NBA Finals. These limited edition Lakers Cupcakes are only available from one of the five Crumbs locations in LA and only until the end of the Finals. They are $3.75 each, which is pretty much the same cost as Crumbs other cupcakes. 

The LA Lakers cupcakes are available in two flavors--chocolate with vanilla frosting and vanilla with vanilla frosting. But I hear if you ask nicely, Crumbs will customize any of your favorite cupcake flavors to be a LA Lakers cupcake.

Go Lakers!!! Good luck in the Finals, for the sake of my dad's sanity!

I'm Back!!!

Wow! I am back from my 17-day bike excursion/vacation in Italy and what a trip is was! I was sad to see it come to an end, but really enjoyed experiencing Italy. I was jarred back to reality after a 24-hour period of jumping on trains, shuttles, taxis, airplanes, and finally a car to return safely home last night.

After eating pastries, pasta, and gelato every day, I am ready to resume my normal life again. And I am ready to get back into the cupcake world. Europe hasn't quite jumped on the cupcake bandwagon, but I did have some success with cupcakes in Italy. Pictures and reviews to come soon. Ciao!