Cupcake Cruise!

Via CCTC.

What: Cupcake Cruise to Bermuda

When: August 19-26, 2012

Where: Aboard Celebrity Cruises’ Celebrity Summit to Bermuda

Cost: TBA

Obviously this is way in advance but cruises take planning, besides which, if the site is up and posts are being made, then I'm obligated to repost! Currently you can email the folks in charge here to be added to a mailing list so you're kept up to date as details come out.

Spring Cupcake Crawl

What: Walking Tours Manhattan Spring Cupcake Crawl

When: Sunday on March 13, 11AM

Where: Billy's Bakery 184 9th Avenue (bet. West 21-22 Street)

Cost: $5 donation to help feed the hungry

From the event page:
Join us for a Cupcake Crawl on Sunday on March 13, for the best cupcakes in Chelsea and Greenwich Village. Purchases are optional.

We’ll start with Billy's, an experienced crowd pleaser. Then we’ll head to Amy's at Chelsea Market, a top baker who never disappoints. Next stop is Cupcake Stop, started with a truck now a store. And lastly Magnolia Bakery, the grandmommy of them all.

Meet our tour guide with the red ball cap saying Walking Tours Manhattan on Sunday March 13, at 11:00am at Billy's, 184 9th Avenue, bet. West 21-22 Street.

Walking distance is 1 1/4 mile, tour lasts 1 ½ hours.

Strawberry’s Sports Grill Offers Cupcakes in Douglaston, Queens

Via Grub Street.

Strawberry’s Sports Grill
42–15 235th St.
Douglaston, NY
718-517-8787

Its true! Cupcakes are on the menu at Daryl Strawberry's newly opened sports grill and are selling for $4.95 a pop. The dessert menu also includes bourbon flavored pecan pie, deep fried Twinkies, banana pudding, chocolate fudge brownie sundae, and milk shakes.

Balthazar Bakery Now Serving Cupcakes

Via Grub Street, Cupcakes Take the Cake, and Lunch Studio.

Balthazar Bakery is now serving cupcakes! They cost $4.50 a pop.

Crumbs Opens in Brooklyn

Via Brooklyn Heights Blog.

The Crumbs at 109 Montague (between Henry and Hicks) is officially open.

Free Cupcakes and Vibrators this Week!

Via NYC The Blog.

What: In the Flesh Erotic Reading Series Summer Sex/Sex on the Beach Night

When: Thursday, August 19th, 8-10PM

Where: Happy Ending Lounge
302 Broome St.
NY, NY

Cost: FREE, 21+

4 waterproof vibes will be given away at the event, along with free Baked by Melissa cupcakes!

Let's Make Cupcakes at Cupcake Kids Kitchen

Via Cupcakes Take the Cake.

What: Let's Make Cupcakes. Everyone loves cupcakes - come learn how to make our fall-favorite carrot cupcakes from scratch and decorate them to our hearts content.

When: Saturday, Sep 25th
10:45AM - 11:45AM: 2-4 yrs, with caregiver
9:30AM - 10:30AM: 5-8 yrs, drop off

Where: Cupcake Kids Kitchen
109 W 27th Street

Cost: $50 (for either class)

Enrollment is limited and spaces are likely to fill up fast, so sign up ASAP.

Cupcake Hatred Article from Slate

Via Cupcakes Take the Cake, Via Slate.

The article is titled "Against Cupcakes", and the ladies over at CTTC make the excellent point that all these articles do is make more business for these cupcake bakeries by giving them free publicity. They also provide some pro-cupcake articles. So in honor of yet another anti-cupcake piece, this is your excuse to go out and buy a cupcake!

Crumbs Opens New Location Not Far from Old One

Original image can be found here.


Via Westside Independent.











Crumbs
350 Amsterdam Ave (76th)
New York, NY 10023
212 712 9800

The new Crumbs is located inside the Harrison on Amsterdam between 76th and 77th and has replaced the former location one block south.

Cupcake Article in the WSJ

Original photo can be found here.














The article is called New York City's Cupcake Economy, and says that cupcakes are a "legitimate driver of the city's economy". They even go so far as to quote someone who says that (after an entire decade) "This could be a fad, or not".

Or not guys!

Cupcakes and Corsets

Original photo can be found here.


Via Cupcakes Take the Cake.
















What: The Eulenspiegel Society's Cupcakes and Corsets

When: Saturday, July 17, 2010. 10PM-3AM

Where: Paddles (NSFW Link)
250 W26 st (Basement)

Cost: $25 for TES members, $35 for everyone else

21 and over, no photography permitted. Visit the TES website for more info (possibly NSFW).

From the site:
Quick-lace yourself into your best corseted finery and race to Paddles on this night because there will be FREE CUPCAKES!!! Once the cupcakes are gone, they are gone, but the corsets will remain! Well, we will save some cupcakes for you, but only if you enter a sultry and sensual cupcake eating contest for the prize of a 1-year TES Membership. Tight-laced corsets and waist-tightening pastries abound in this magical meeting of two great loves!

Etsy Cupcake Craft Night with Cupcakes Take the Cake

What: Cupcake Craft Night at Etsy Labs in DUMBO

When: July 19, 2010, 4-8PM

Where: Etsy Labs DUMBO
55 Washington St, Suite 512
City/State: Brooklyn, NY

Cost: FREE

There are only 9 spots left so you should RSVP ASAP.

Cupcake Picnic Coverage

Saturday was the Cupcakes Take the Cake Cupcake Picnic in Central Park. 100 people RSVP'd, but only about 40 showed up. Apparently the forecast of rain after 6PM was enough to scare more than half of the people into not coming out for an event that ended at 4PM. Wusses.







But the people who did show up were awesome, and there were lots of homemade and store bought cupcakes!
















There were sangria cupcakes made by Nibbles by Nora. They were very good, with a very unique taste.
















Cupcakes by Cupcake Cafe.
















To the left: Lemon and blueberry cupcakes by Cupcakes by Joy.
















Candy cupcakes! There were Milky Ways and another candy inside the cupcakes.
















These are my apple pie cupcakes, in their usual mode of transport: a pizza box. The photo was taken by CTTC and can be found here. Ignore how ugly they look, I promise that they taste great ;)




















And then, there was chocolate wine.
















And jazz music too! A really nice coincidence. The band is called The Park Foundation, but that name will most likely change soon. The guy on the drums had four of my cupcakes, I was very flattered.
















I also met a sweet couple from Long Island, the wife Jamie is a self-described cupcake enthusiast with a website- Creative Cupcake Recipes.

There were lots of extra cupcakes (way more than we had last year), so many of us were wandering around the park, convincing people to take some (how I met the band). One couple who took some of my cupcakes happened to be from London- my first international tasters! I was very happy they liked em.

There are some more pictures up on the CTTC Meetup group and on their Flickr. Sign up so you know about next years picnic!

Review: Revisiting Little Cakes in Whitestone

Little Cakes
14-33 150st
Whitestone, NY 11357
(718) 746-1020










Hours:
Monday & Tuesday-closed
Wednesday - Friday 12PM-8PM
Saturday & Sunday- 10AM-4PM

Overall rating out of 5:



I was surprised and flattered when Christina, owner of the new-ish cupcakery in Whitestone Queens commented on my blog to tell me she revised her recipes based on my opinions! So two weeks ago I made my way out there once again to taste her revamped creations, and to actually introduce myself. I'm quite shy unless I'm angry about something, so I had to work up the courage to say hi. But Christina is super friendly and we ended up chatting about how much Queens kicks ass (oh yes it does, all you naysayers).

I did get these cupcakes for FREE (the first time I've ever gotten free baked goods as a result of my food blogger status!), and as I've seen other bloggers do, I'll take this moment to state that my review and opinion was in no way effected by the freeness of said cupcakes ;)

First up: vanilla!














The vanilla cupcakes are definitely way less corn muffin-like than they were the first time I tried them. They now have the consistency and taste of a traditional cupcake. What I like about Christina's cupcakes are that they're more dense than your usual cupcake. Don't get me wrong, light and fluffy has its place, but a heavier cake helps balance out the sweet frosting. A good cupcake!

The lemon cupcake:














Oh my, lemon is not my flavor. It feels like I'm eating cake soaked in Pine Sol, and its no reflection on this specific cupcake (which I swear practically squished with freshness from my first bite). This is my first lemon flavored pastry ever, I've avoided them up until this point because I'm not a fan of lemon flavored things. The cake has more of a hint of lemon, the icing is what packs the punch.

The coffee cake cupcake:














I really wanted to like this cupcake, but its seems to be difficult to put together. So I still think this cupcake needs a little more work. The crumb is more evenly distributed, but it falls off the cupcake when you bite into it. Its also less like the top of a crumb cake and more like pure brown sugar grouped into clumps. I liked the taste of the first version better, the crumb part just needed to cover the entire top of the cake instead of one side. I don't doubt that this is more difficult than it sounds, but I think its worth pursuing, because I don't think I've seen a coffee cake cupcake being offered anywhere else!

The red velvet cupcake:














The cake is too heavy and dense and still has too much cocoa powder for my taste. I completely avoided the frosting cuz, you know, cream cheese! One day I will convince the rest of the world that cream cheese icing doesn't do red velvet cakes justice ;)

The chocolate cupcake:














There are walnuts in this cupcake! I love walnuts and chocolate together. Very dense cake. I usually don't eat chocolate on chocolate. I...have issues with chocolate. Our relationship has been on the rocks for many years now. The chocolate flavor isn't too intense, which I prefer. An overall enjoyable cupcake.

The bedrock cupcake:














I find that Fruity Pebbles and cake usually go well together, and this cupcake is no exception. I love the candy like taste the bits of cereal give.

The rainbow cookie cupcake:














I've saved the best for last! The frosting is so much better since its been changed! The frosting is now more fudge like, with a deeper, more rich chocolate taste. You can see the difference in color when compared to the old frosting right away. I feel like the flavors work in harmony now. And as always, the cake itself is delicious, filled with almondy goodness. I pretty much inhaled this. If you go to Little Cakes, this is the cupcake you must try.

I hope Christina isn't upset with my (totally untrained and non-professional) opinions >_< A 3/5 means I definitely enjoyed the items I ate, and that I think other people should go and enjoy them too!


Related posts:
Review: Little Cakes in Whitestone
Cupcake Shop Opens in Whitestone

Bill’s Bar and Burger Now Serves Cupcakes

Via Grub Street NY.

Bill’s Bar & Burger
22 Ninth Ave. (nr. 13th St)
New York, NY 10014
212-414-3003

They now serve cupcakes! This weeks flavor is red velvet with cream cheese icing and chocolate sprinkles. Follow them on Twitter to get more updates on the current flavors being offered.

NYC Cupcake Crawl

Via Pulse JFK.

What: NYC Cupcake Crawl

When: June 6th, 11:30AM-1:30PM

Where: BabyCakes NYC
248 Broome Street
(212) 677-5047

Cost: $10, purchase of food is additional.
Tickets can be purchased here, or you can pay in cash at Babycakes when you arrive.

From the site:
The four locations we will visit on this tour are:
* Dessert Club, 2 of their best-selling cupcakes are red velvet, and s’mores.
* Butter Lane, voted most popular, chocolate cupcake w/ vanilla French butter cream.
* Sugar Sweet Sunshine, highly-rated favorite for best of category title.
* BabyCakes, try the Carrot with creamy vanilla frosting, a vegan bakery.

NYC Cupcake Crawl is a new dessert tour every month for only $10. This food tour will go to a different neighborhood to explore it's food and sights, or a theme tour, pairing one or two desserts. Purchase of foods are additional. Visit all the food shops and purchase only the items you want. Tour is 2 hours, and is a little over 1 mile.

Cupcake Craft Night at Etsy Labs in DUMBO

What: Cupcake Craft Night at Etsy Labs in DUMBO

When: Monday July 19th, at 4-8PM

Where: Etsy Labs DUMBO
55 Washington St, Suite 512
Brooklyn, NY 11201

Cost: FREE

RSVP here.

From the site:
Cupcakes + Crafts = Fun! On July, 19th . We're doing arts and crafts at Etsy Labs in Brooklyn. Think of it as summer camp! Come and make cupcake cards, buttons, and other cupcake crafts. Let your mind run wild and create cupcake creations of any kind! Supplies are provided, though you are welcome to bring any special papers or fabrics to incorporate into your projects.
Cupcakes Take The Cake will be providing cupcakes to EAT as inspiration.
Craft night starts at 4PM but goes to 8PM, so feel free to come after work.

8 Cent Cinnabon Cupcakes

On May 18th between 11AM-8PM, the first 888 Cinnabon customers who have this mobile coupon text to their phones will get a cupcake for just 8 cents. Offer valid at Cinnabon's Penn Station location only.

Review: Little Cupcake Bakeshop

Little Cupcake Bakeshop
9102 3rd Avenue
Brooklyn, NY 11209
(718) 680-4465










Items ordered:
Cookie dough cupcake
Apple crumb muffin
Pistachio ice box cake slice

Cost: slightly over $6

Rating out of 5:
Items are rated individually- see below!



Rating out of 5:



I have no love for this cupcake. Nothing here tasted like cookie dough, such a disappointment. The frosting was creamier than Magnolia's, but still not good. The cake could have been fresher.




















Rating out of 5:



Another disappointing pastry. It was dry and mostly flavorless. This looks so much better than it tastes.







Rating out of 5:



I don't know how they could do something so right after getting two other items so wrong, but the pistachio ice box cake was delicious. Its heavier than whipped cream but lighter than a mousse. I felt it could have used more actual cake to balance out the strong pistachio flavor and creamy texture. There were even real bits of nut in here, I'd come back to this bakery just for this item.

Butter Lane Expands

Original photo can be found here.

Via EV Grieve.

Butter Lane
123 East Seventh Street,
New York, New York 10009
212.677.2880





Butter Lane will be expanding to the vacant building next to their store. They plan to use the space for birthday parties, wedding showers, classes and the like.