Snow Cone Cupcakes from Your Cup of Cake

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Don't be jealous, but I'm going to Hawaii this summer!!! 

I can't wait!

Do you know what the #1 dessert is in Hawaii? (Hint: It's not cupcakes) Snow Cones! Well, I don't know that for a fact, but come on, don't snow cones always remind you of Hawaii?!

Your Cup of Cake posted a recipe for Snow Cone Cupcakes. They look exactly like snow cones, but are actually cupcakes! These special cupcakes are baked in souffle cups. Then they are topped with 3 different colors of frostings and rolled in sprinkles. Super cute! You can find the recipe and instructions here. Aloha!

Hapa Cupcakes Looking for Help for Storefront

Last fall I introduced you to Hapa Cupcakes, an online custom-order bakery located in Orange County. What makes them so unique is the type of cupcakes they make: alcohol-infused.

Their dream is to open a storefront and they are using gofundme as a way to do it. Right now they are trying to raise $20,000 to make their dreams happen. If you'd like to help them, you can donate on their fundraising page here.

Rumor has it they will also be on Cupcake Wars on June 30. I always love to see local cupcake shops on the show. Good luck to Hapa Cupcakes!

Serious Eats Shares their Favorite Cupcake Recipes

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Serious Eats released a list of their 12 favorite cupcake recipes. Their favorites include Kaleidoscope Cupcakes, Yellow Squash Cupcakes, and Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes. Yellow squash?...that sounds intriguing. You can check out the slideshow and recipes here.

Kit Kat Cupcakes from Me and My Pink Mixer

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In honor of the end of my favorite show "The Office," here's a line from an episode:

Give me a break

Give me a break

Break me off a piece of that

Fancy feast!

Coincidentally, Me and My Pink Mixer posted a recipe for Kit Kat Cupcakes. These cupcakes are made with a devil's food chocolate cake mix (yay for easy!). They are topped with vanilla buttercream and garnished with crumbled Kit Kats. Yum! 

I love topping my frozen yogurt with Kit Kats, so I'm sure cupcakes would be even better!

Review: Deanna's Gluten Free

Last weekend my husband and I drove to Escondido to spectate Stage 1 of the Amgen Tour of California. I know cycling isn't a big deal in the United States, but my husband and I are BIG fans.

It was an especially hot day (way over 100 degrees) and these guys rode 100 miles with 20,000 feet of climbing. That's a tough athlete!

Leave it to me to find cupcakes at a professional bike race. My husband got us passes to the VIP booth, which was catered by several food companies, including Deanna's GNI Bakery. (I later found out GNI=Gluten Not Included.) I couldn't help but grab a few mini cupcakes "to test for the blog." I tried a red velvet and chocolate one. There's no way I would have known they were gluten-free. The cake was dense and moist, and the frosting was smooth and surprisingly not melted in the extreme heat. So delicious!

Deanna's Gluten Free Store is located in Escondido, CA, but you can also find select items at Ralph's grocery stores and other locations listed here.

Deanna's Gluten Free Store

2250 S. Escondido Blvd., #110

Escondido, CA 92025

Return to Kara's Cupcakes

Earlier this month I traveled north for the Divas 1/2 Marathon in San Francisco, CA. I was there for work, but decided to run the race too. I'm not trained for 1/2 marathons right now, so this turned out to be a fun race....which means I wasn't so strict about what I ate before the race.

I was planning on stopping by Kara's Cupcakes in the city when we went in, but instead I stumbled across a new location in Burlingame, CA. It was meant to be!

I picked up a few minis so that I could try several flavors. The flavor I wanted the most, my favorite from last time, was Banana Caramel. Sadly, they were out. Instead I got Kara's Karrot, Raspberry Dazzle, Vanilla Chocolate, and Chocolate Velvet.

I remember how delicious the cream cheese frosting was, and it didn't disappoint me again. The Karrot cupcake was delicious, as well as the Vanilla Chocolate. The raspberry one was the biggest disappointment, as the frosting had no flavor and had the consistency of Crisco. My favorite of the night was one of my favorites from before: Chocolate Velvet. The chocolaty frosting was silky, making it perfect for not being too intense. 

I was a little surprised that the minis were $2 each. That seems a bit high for a mini. The regular-size cupcakes are $3.25, which is more reasonable. 

The only thing better than eating cupcakes is eating cupcakes with friends.

Kara's Cupcakes

1309 Burlingame Ave.

Burlingame, CA 94010

All-Frosting Cupcakes from Cupcake Project

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Cupcakes made entirely of frosting?! This is one jump beyond the frosting shot!

Cupcake Project posted instructions for creating your own frosting-only cupcakes too! Even the cup is made of frosting! 

They started with an edible chocolate cup, filled with mocha cream cheese frosting, and topped with Bailey's Irish Cream buttercream frosting. Sounds dreamy! And of course you can use any kind of frosting your heart desires, but Cupcake Project posted recipes for their frostings here.

New Book: The Secret Lives of Baked Goods

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Jessie, aka "Cakespy," has released her second book -- The Secret Lives of Bakes Goods: Sweet Stories & Recipes for America's Favorite Desserts. What is this book about? Jessie has "put her sweet-sleuthing skills to work uncovering the fascinating histories and tastiest recipes for America's favorite sweets, including whoopee pies, chocolate chip cookies, Baked Alaska, and New York cheesecake. From romantic musings on how desserts got their names to sugar-fuelled scandals, these classic recipes and photographs are guaranteed to offer food for thought and leave you with plenty of room for dessert."   

The book is available from Amazon for $16.86.

Happy Mother's Day

Sunday will be my second Mother's Day. Last year my little guy was actually just a little guy. Now he's not a baby anymore...he's a toddler. When did the transition happen?

Motherhood is wonderful and is nothing like I imagined it would be. I love my little Desmond, no matter how big he pretends to be. I would say that Mother's Day would only be complete with a cupcake, but all I really want is a big kiss and hug from my "baby." Happy Mother's Day to all of you mothers out there!

Bridal Shower Cupcakes

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It's wedding season! And I found more adorable wedding dress cupcakes. This one is from [desi]gn cakes & cupcakes. So simple, yet so elegant. 

Sweet & Saucy Shop Now Offering Pupcakes

As if Sweet and Saucy Shop could get any better. Now, they offer "pupcakes" at their Newport Beach cupcake shop. Pumpkin will be so happy to finally get her own cupcakes (instead of trying to swipe mine). Although, they look good enough for me to eat too!

Race Rewards

You know me and my race rewards. My all-time favorite race to do (Oceanside 70.3) happens to be just a few miles from my favorite cupcake shop -- Elizabethan Desserts. Makes for great motivation for a half-Ironman. My only disappointment was that there were no sugar cookies. BUT I managed to cleaned out the shop by taking the last 20 cupcakes. Hey....they are good and I knew my family would enjoy too. Thanks Elizabethan Desserts!

Wedding Dress Cupcake Cake

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I've seen a lot of cupcake cakes, but this is my favorite one by far! This wedding dress cupcake cake was designed by Frosted Bakery in Cortland, NY.