Sprinkles Cupcakes plans to open 3 more locations according to their website. Passionate Sprinkles fans will now be able to find them in:

New York – February 2011

San Diego – La Jolla – Fall 2010

Washington DC – Georgetown – Fall 2010

Recently Sprinkles opened 2 new locations, a store in Chicago and another in Houston. While they’ve started with a single Beverly Hills location, by this winter Sprinkles will now have 10 great and yummy locations across the U.S.A.. Now isn’t it wonderful to know you can reach out and find a cupcake just about anywhere as you go about your day? We think this is terrific news!

Currently Sprinkles has locations in:

Beverly Hills

Chicago

Dallas

Newport Beach

Phoenix – Scottsdale

San Francisco – Palo Alto

This sophisticated and scrumptious cupcakery is known for using the best ingredients and making yummy cupcakes. Popular at parties, galas and special events – Sprinkles has many celebrity friends that enjoy their cupcakes.

With 10 stores soon to be open, we wonder what the coming year will bring for Sprinkles? Will they open more stores in other great locations? Or create bigger stores in the locations they have now? One thing is for certain – with Sprinkles you can always count on yummy cupcakes ideal for that party or treat to brighten your day.

(c) photo by Michael Lorenzo

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Did you watch this week’s fun episode of Cupcake Wars on Food Network TV? If not, you missed a lot of cupcake fun and sweet surprises.

Four cupcake teams from bakeries around the country competed to bake yummy cupcakes for a glamorous red carpet charity gala for Children Mending Hearts/Women for Women in Hollywood. Suite 106 Cupcakery was the winner! The excitement continued during the episode as the teams began by baking a single cupcake, then three cupcakes and then more….finally to make 1,000 cupcakes on a custom designed stand for their cupcakes.

Sisters Christiana and Rebecca Grammer, co-owners of Suite 106 Cupcakery in California won the July 20th episode with their sweet and touching cupcakes. With flavors reminding everyone easily of childhood tastes and memories – and sweet drawings from Christiana’s daughter making the cupcake stand artistic and creative – her cupcakes were chosen as the winner. With buttermilk cupcakes, espresso and chocolate cupcakes and other sweet treats – they easily won the judges hearts (and taste buds!)

The biggest challenge was baking 1,000 cupcakes in 2 hours. Fortunately, they had 4 additional helpers to frost and bake cupcakes and also to build the customized cupcake stand. The cupcake stand featured artwork by Christiana’s daughter. With hearts and butterflies, it easily connected with the Children Mending Hearts charity, as their symbol is a butterfly. The charity gala was held at the Peter Fonda theatre in Hollywood, California.

Their cupcakes have been eaten by celebrities such as Ben Affleck, Alyssa Milano, Jimmy Kimmel and Chad OchoCinco.

Missed this fun episode? Don’t worry…it will be re-broadcast on Sunday, July 25th! Check your local listing for the show time. Enjoy the fun and yummy Cupcake Wars…we know we are!

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There are so many cupcake stores now open around the US and given the reports that cupcake stores are bucking the financial downturn and continuing to spring into life there must be an increasingly difficult problem for these new owners. What do you call the cupcake store?  The problem is not much easier for cupcake blogs! So I thought I would list the ones I like best!

My fave cupcake store names are:

• Crumbs – Delivering happiness
• Little Bird Bakery – Delicious baked goods with a personal touch
• Butch Bakery - Butch it up, Buttercup
• Two Little Red Hens – An American bakery
• Kick Ass Cupcakes – Our cupcakes really kick ass!

and my favorite blog names are:

• The Cupcake Activist – Fighting for the cupcake cause
• Cupcake Rehab – Beating batter and people with whisks since 2007
• Eat cake be merry
• Velvet Crumbs – A touch of old school baking
• Cake Batter and Bowl

What are your favorites?  Do you know of ones that are better than these?

Also don’t forget this afternoon is the second part of our summer cupcake idea post!! See Part 1 here.

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This week CNN reported on cupcakes and cupcake bakeries especially for guys. What a great idea!

There’s Butch Bakery in New York that has been open now for 9 months. You won’t find a single “cute” or pink, frothy cupcake around. Lots of yummy cupcakes available made with guy type of ingredients like beer, bacon and pretzels. We can see a lot of guys going for cupcakes like those!

At their website you’ll see the sloagan “Butch it up, These ain’t your Grandma’s cupcakes Buttercup.” Everything about the Butch Bakery is fun, unique and totally guy!

The Butch Bakery cupcakes look masculine, with a thick layer of frosting under a chocolate disc. The chocolate disc has a pattern that is manly – perhaps a camo, plaid or houndstooth pattern.

This New York bakery has 6 of their 12 cupcakes that have alcohol is an ingredient. Customers definetley get a sense there is alcohol in them – its not just a hint or a whisper of it in the cupcake.

Here are the Butch Bakery flavors. We got them from their website and just had to share!

Rum & Coke. A rum soaked Madagascar vanilla cake with cola Bavarian cream filling. Sounds rich and delicious.

Mojito. Rum soaked lime cake with mint white chocolate ganache. What could be better than a mojito you can bite into?

Home Run. Peanut butter cake with banana Bavarian cream & crumbled bacon. We know you don’t have to be a baseball fan to enjoy this unique treat.

Beer Run. Chocolate beer cake with beer-infused buttercream topped with crushed pretzels. Perfect with a cold glass of….beer!

Sidecar. Brandy soaked lemon cake with an orange & white chocolate ganache filling. Mmmm, we have to say these all sound delicious!

B-52. A kaluha soaked Madagascar vanilla cake with Bailey’s Bavarian filling. Rich and sweet without being “girly” sweet.

Campout. Graham cracker cake with marshmallow filling and milk chocolate ganache. Reminds us of camp, camping or sleepaway camp.

Big Papi. Cinnamon spice cake with dulce de leche filling. Sounds spicy and rich, the perfect finish to any meal or day.

Old Fashioned. Orange soaked whisky cake with lemon curd filling. Great flavors and a delicious cupcake.

Driller. Maple cake with crumbled bacon and milk chocolate ganache. Somehow this reminds us of a breakfast with all the fixin’s. What could be better?

Jackhammer. Chocolate cake with chocolate hazelnut filling and hazelnut buttercream. Rich, sweet and perfect flavors to go together smoothly.

Tailgate. Caramel cake with salted caramel swirl with vanilla buttercream.

Owner David Arrick is a former attorney who was laid off in 2007. At 40 he decided it was time for a career change. He wanted to do something with cupcakes – but also wanted to do something that wasn’t typical. We think his guy themed cupcakes are rather unique! His cupcakes offer delicious flavors and lots of fun – perfect for that Super Bowl party, birthday or other guy themed celebration.

The Butch Bakery today ships cupcakes across the world. They sell their cupcakes online and bake from a commercial kitchen.

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Photo by Steve Early of The Virginian Pilot

So last weekend we brought you information about Butch Bakery, and while they had manly cupcakes for manly men, this week we go one step further.  Women who use power tools to make cupcakes!

Jillian Huschke from Carolina Cupcakery in Hickory, certainly gets my respect!  She is shown above using a power drill to mix her butter icing.

So what is going on?  Normally you would use a beater right?  Well owner Dawn Eskins admitted that they did used to use beaters, but after burning up several hand mixers, they got serious introducing the power drill.  The issue is that the butter once refrigerated would get too hard, plus using a drill, saves time reports Samantha Koon of The Virginian Pilot.  Kylie Hulett who has been employed by the store for two years, says “she would likely buy a power drill first before an ‘old fashioned’ hand mixer for her own kitchen.”

What do you think, are you ready to take on the power drill in your kitchen?  I think I would be a bit worried about holes in my bowls and benches!

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NYC’s love affair with the cupcake may have first began with TV show ‘Sex and the City’, showing their characters Carrie, Miranda, Charlotte and Samantha getting cupcakes at popular Magnolia Bakery. Today according to The Wall Street Journal, the cupcake bakeries are doing well in the recession.

While other areas of the labor market have gotten smaller in June, the restaurant and bar industry did improve. A large area of this growth is cupcake bakeries in the NYC area! Who knew that our favorite tasty treats could be counted on for economic relief?

Sprinkles Cupcakes will open their first New York City location this year. Other cupcake bakeries, from chains to independently owned cupcake bakeries are increasing in size, staff and seeing other growth.

One of the great things about cupcakes is it is a simple indulgence for so many to treat themselves with. While most have had to give up larger indulgences – a $3 treat is something easy for many to enjoy often. Even if you’ve had to give up the $50 or $100 treats in your life, that sweet and yummy $3 cupcake is still well within reach. And we know that everyone deserves to treat themselves every once in awhile.

A cupcake bakery is also a business that is lower cost than many other businesses to start. The initial investment to start your own cupcake bakery is much lower than for other types of businesses. It seems there are many reasons a cupcake bakery would be appealing to both business owners and those who love cupcakes.

It is very interesting to see that cupcakes are doing so well during the recession. While other businesses are having a challenging time – these sweet treats are so successful and seem to be recession proof.

Enjoy that sweet cupcake – as it seems to be the ideal treat for today’s times. The perfect indulgence for today and everyday!

(c) photo Ashley Teets

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You get cupcakes such as ‘Rum and Coke’, ‘Sidecar and Driller’ and the ‘B-52′ which is a Kahlua soaked madagascar cake with Bailey’s bavarian filling!

Intrigued? You should be, as David Arrick’s website promotes “these ain’t your Grandma’s cupcakes”, but really I had no doubt of that.

During the U.S. recession, David Arrick lost his job as a Wall Street Lawyer and faced with the lifestyle change, had to switch from eating in expensive restaurants to cooking at home.  He then simply combined his new love of baking and his vision of filling a hole in the market – the lack of manly cupcakes.

He says in an article by Michelle Nichols on Reuters Africa that “I saw that cupcakes were hot and cupcake businesses were thriving, but they’re all very feminine and pink.  A lot of them are frilly with jelly beans and sprinkles”.

As a result he established the online Butch Bakery with 12 manly flavored cupcakes, delivering to the New York area!  There is no doubt he is loving this business, his website is littered with quotes and one liners like ‘Butch it up, Buttercup’ and ‘Where Butch meets Buttercream’.  I especially like their ‘Butch MAN-ifesto‘ which states “Our objective is simple.  We’re Men. Men who like cupcakes. Not the frilly pink-frosted sprinkles-and-unicorns kind of cupcakes.  We make manly cupcakes. For manly men.”

Later this year, Butch Bakery plans to open a store in Manhattan, and I cannot wait to see how they choose to decorate it!  It is somewhat surprising though to note, that despite the levels of testosterone in this business, that 95 percent of their clients are women!

And check in tomorrow for the rest of our Cupcake News, including cupcakes and hockey.  Is there any frontier that the cupcake will not boldly go forth and conquer?

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Remember the ice cream truck of our childhoods? So did a fellow cupcaker, inspired to create her own on-the-go cupcakery!

Oakland, CA residents have a very sweet way to get cupcakes on-the-go – from the Cupkates truck! Kate and her husband created Cupkates, a gourmet cupcake truck that serves yummy cupcakes in a wide variety of flavors. According to the EastBayExpress.com, try Carmel Salt, S’Mores and Double Chocolate to name a few tempting cupcake flavors.

Cupkates is the Bay Area’s very on-the-go cupcake shop. You’ll find it in Oakland, Berkeley and Emeryville. How convenient when you’re craving something sweet, to know that the cupcake shop is literally “just around the corner” bringing you that great cupcake.

Could this cupcake truck be starting a new and unique cupcake trend? If so, we think it is a very exciting one! The thought of sweet cupcakes available right in our neighborhoods. Why it is just like the ice cream trucks of our childhoods. Hearing that “ding ding ding” of the ice cream truck and knowing you could get an ice cream. We’re certain the cupcake truck will have the exact same appeal.

What new cupcake trends have you excited? Lots of fun and unique things are being done with cupcakes today. What do you think is the coolest, latest thing done with cupcakes? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

(c) photo Chris Purcell

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(c) photo Fernando Mengoni

Chicagoans are in for a sweet treat that just doesn’t come along all the time: a cupcake eating contest. According to ChicagoNow.com, Bleeding Heart is an organic bakery that is opening their third and largest location at Lincoln and Southport Avenues. At this very location, they’ll have a community café. So to celebrate the Grand Opening, they’re holding this fun and unique cupcake eating contest you just won’t want to miss!

The cupcake eating contest is open for both children and adults. It starts at 2 p.m. on Saturday. It is timed, so enjoy those sweet treats – quickly! Prizes for “most creative eater” from the delicious gourmet burger place Kuma’s Corner and also the tattoo shops, The Alley and Taylor Street Tattoo.

The Bleeding Heart Bakery is home to lots of yummy cupcakes, including “Plain Jane chocolate raspberry” vegan cupcakes, “Fancy Schmancy ginger mint mojito” cupcakes and other sweet and unique treats. The bakery offers gluten-free, soy-free and other types of treats that are sure to please distinctive palates or those with allergies or other needs.

What a great contest! Good luck to all of those Chicago cupcake lovers!

Source: http://www.chicagonow.com/blogs/redeye-wrigleyville/2010/07/wrigleyville-biz-spot-bleeding-heart-bakery-coming-soon-to-lakeview.html

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Get ready for more cupcake fun and reality TV show antics with TLC’s latest show! DC Cupcakes begins this Friday, July 16th at 10 p.m. EST. It is a six-part series that follows sisters who are also business partners that own Georgetown Cupcake. Georgetown Cupcake is a small cupcakery that according to TLC’s site has become a “sweeping success.”

Sisters and partners Sophie LaMontagne and Katherine Kallinis own Georgetown Cupcake. This series will take us through their days as cupcakery owners. Watching them make pretty and yummy treats for parties, celebrations or even those who walk in craving something sweet. We imagine that owning a cupcakery must be so much fun! It will be great to watch this series and see all that goes on at Georgetown Cupcake.

According to the TLC site, the sisters began baking with their grandmother as toddlers. They first baked a cake for their grandfather’s birthday, a vanilla cake with chocolate frosting! Grandma taught them how to bake the very best way, by letting them imitate what she did in the kitchen. The sisters do not have formal training and credit their grandmother with teaching them about cooking and baking. They opened Georgetown Cupcake together on Valentine’s Day 2008. At the time, the cupcakery was the city’s only cupcakery – and it grew to great popularity. Today they bake more than 5,000 cupcakes daily and send cupcakes across the country.

How exciting to watch the growth and development of a cupcakery in this fun TLC reality show. Especially for cupcake lovers and “foodies” a show like this is truly one-of-a-kind. You can count on DC Cupcakes to give you lots of behind the scenes tips for what it is like to own a cupcakery or even a bakery – and perhaps some cool cupcake baking tips. Reality show fans will likely tune in for the (hopeful) drama and antics these shows are known for.

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