Pink Princess Pastry, LLC Wins Small Business Success Prize!

Congrats to Kayisha Thompson, owner Pink Princess Pastry, LLC, and member of NYC Cake Decorators, whose essay "How I Started a Successful Cake Decorating Business" won first prize in Balboa Capital's Small Business Success Contest!http://www.balboacapital.com/how-i-started-a-successful-cake-decorating-business/#prettyPhoto. Check out Kayisha's website: http: //www.pinkprincesspastry.com
Sweet!

Little Sweet Cupcake!

Your cupcakes look spectacular but do they taste as good as they look? Learn professional techniques that will take your scratch baking to a new level. The class will be suitable for beginners and all those cupcake foodies and bakers who would like to develop their baking skill set. Cupcake Baking 101 will begin in April 2013.  All supplies included, cheat sheets and original recipes. For further information, contact Dina.

Smile!

Sachiko (center) and her students from NYC Cake Decorators Meetup!

Crumbs Bake Shop's Heavenly Cupcakes!

When I need a sweet fix and I don't have time to bake my own cupcakes or needle my friend Lynn to give me some of her scratch cupcakes, I just must have a Crumbs cupcake! They are fresh, soft, and full of flavor that it's hard to stop at just one confection!

These yummy Crumbs' dark chocolate cupcakes are food for the soul and remind me so much of my school days when mom packed cupcakes into my lunch box.

When I can't make up my mind on which flavored cupcake I want, I just purchase Crumb's cupcake sampler. I get two samplers when company is expected. The cupcakes are always a crowd favorite. I especially love the red velvet and devil's food.

Trending: Cupcake and Cookie Texture Tops!

Photos courtesy of Country Kitchen Sweet Art.

I'm crazy about cupcakes and cookies and love to experiment with new ways to decorate and embellish. What's really cool is that the texture tops are adaptable to cupcakes and sugar cookies! I can unleash my creative juices or get neat instructions and seasonal ideas from Country Kitchen Sweet Art:

Delicious and decorative way to embellish your sugar cookies with poinsettia, wreath, and ribbon cookie texture mats.

These scroll cookies are so elegant, they can be used for gifting, bridal shower favors, and a host of other special events! To take them over the top, I might "paint" them with edible gold or silver dust.

Get the kids into the holiday spirit by using food safe markers to decorate your sugar cookies and help them create their own cookie bouquet!

Imagine serving or gifting red velvet cupcakes embellished with these fondant roses! Country Kitchen Sweet Art's Cupcake texture tops make it possible to get professional looking results!

Not sure how to use the texture mats? Not a problem. Check out the tutorial on the Country Kitchen Sweet Art's website. {Scroll down the page for instructions}.

Cinco de Mayo Free Cupcake Printables!

Happy Cinco de Mayo!  If you are still looking for cool ideas for your cupcakes, why not consider several free printable cupcake topper designs from Love Ceative Blog!

May 2012 Cake of The Month

This gorgeous couture cake was designed by member Marcia. Marcia is relatively new to cake decorating and looks for opportunities to improve her skills and push her creativity.

Baking & Cake Decorating Garage Sale!

These delicious cupcakes were made by member Roseann.

Looking for some cool cake stuff? What better way to get a bargain than to travel up to 107 Oak Hull Road, Ithaca, New York 14850  this Saturday from 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. for a great cake decorating garage sale!  There will be tons of baking and cake decorating items from a former wedding cake business: vintage Wilton books, molds, separator plates, figurines, tools and more.  Any questions or directions contact Donna at 607-591-0999.

Cute Cupcake Stands!

Etsy's Sweetly Sweet shop offers these really cute Alice in Wonderland inspired printable mini cupcake stands for about $6.50 each. If you are crazy about cupcakes, you should browse their shop. They have everything cupcake from cupcake toppers, to printable cupcake invites and labels.

Cupcake ATM's?

These cute confections were created by member Christina Andrews, owner, Wonderfully Made cakes.

Need your sugar rush in the wee hours of the night? Sprinkles cupcake bakery is planning to roll out it's first 24-hour  automated cupcake dispenser on March 9th in Beverly Hills, California. Eventually, Sprinkles plans to have the cupcake ATMs installed at locations throughout the nation.

GO GIANTS! Superbowl Cupcake Tutorial

Spring Fling Cupcakes!

I went to Michael's today and saw some really neat things in the cake decorating aisle. Wilton has come up with some cute and relatively inexpensive spring cupcake wrappers. I bought a set of the picket fence cupcake wrappers to grace some cupcakes I plan to make for an garden party on Saturday.  

Like these cute cupcakes? Wilton has the instructions on their website. Really easy to create too!

Member Spotlight: Sachiko's "To Die For" Cupcake Toppers!

Member Sachiko Windbiel's garden themed cupcakes take the cake! Sachiko, originally from Japan, graduated from a vegetarian cooking school three years ago but her true passion is playing with sugar.

Besides turning out delicious and fabulous cupcakes at her shop Mimi Cafe Union, Sachiko also makes exquisite cupcake towers  and toppers to show them off.  You can order cupcake toppers and cupcake towers on her website or her online store at  Etsy.

Cupcake Biz 101

If your dream is to open a cupcake shop in your area do your homework and crunch the numbers before you open shop. According to a recent article on MSN Business on Main,  7 Businesses NOT to Start,  the cupcake shop concept may be over saturated, and therefore difficult to make a profit.

However, there are many who still believe that you can never get enough of a good thing. Think out of the box and consider selling your treats on a truck or bike instead of a traditional brick and mortar shop.

World's Largest Bake Sale Moments

It's a beautiful day for a bake sale and, while sadly I couldn't make it to the sale today, intrepid member Lynn arrived early to the Sale. There was a Sandra Lee sighting and Emeril sighting but, no Duff.

By the time the doors opened the room was literally packed wall to wall with foodies and cupcake enthusiasts. However, Lynn managed to fight her way to Amy DeGiulio's cupcake table. Amy, owner of Sugar Flower Cake Shop, and friend of NYC Cake Decorators, runs her custom cake business on the principle that fresh, local, and seasonal ingredients make the best tasting cupcakes and wedding cakes in New York City. Amy uses honey cultivated from NYC rooftop apiaries, and organic milk from Milk Thistle Farm in New York. Lynn snapped up  Amy's pomegranate and honey cupcakes--yummy!

Amy is also noted for her sugar flowers, hence the name Sugar Flower Cake Shop. Amy is currently scheduling sugar flower classes in her new shop to share her love of sugarcraft with others.

After saying goodbyes to Amy, Lynn just couldn't decide on which other delicious confections she should try. It was a difficult job, but she was more than up to the challenge.

Alas, Lynn had to leave before she was able to see Duff, but enjoyed the bake sale just the same. Although the event wasn't truly the world's largest bake sale [in size], it certainly had the world's biggest heart with proceeds going to the Food Bank of New York.

Register NOW for Cricut Cake's Online Classroom!

Is your Cricut Cake machine still in the box? Join Cricut Cake online classroom and learn how to make cupcake toppers and embellish your cakes tomorrow and Thursday, March 31, 2011. Best of all, it's FREE! Space is limited, so register now!




If you are still experiencing trouble after you take the online classroom instruction, consider joining member LaTasha Powell as she walks you through the mystery of Cricut Cake at her 3hrs Cricut Cake workshop scheduled for May 15, 2011 in NYC. Bring your Cricut Cake machine to the clinic and gets hands on help! For more information contact Dina at nyccakedecorators@yahoo.com.

Chocolate Easter Bunny!

This sweet chocolate bunny created by Andie's Specialty Sweets is just waiting for a home. Purchase a dozen hand made chocolate bunnies at andiesspecialitysweets virtual shop on Etsy or use the design as inspiration for your own sweet confection.

New! Easter Peeps Cupcake Liners

For the newbie cake decorator or cupcake foodie, Fancy Flours is selling cupcake liners in brilliant spring colors fit for your best Peep cupcake ensemble this Easter.  Fancy Flours also has a neat tutorial on how to create this sweet confection.

Nifty Cupcake Baking Cups at Bake it Pretty!

Red Victorian StayBrite Baking Cups sold at "Bake It Pretty" are a new product that is foil lined to ensure that cupcake liners stay vibrant after baking. They are so sturdy that you don't even need a cupcake pan.

$10,000 Cupcake Challenge!

Your creativity with cupcakery could win you $10,000 in the Jelly Belly $10,000 cupcake challenge. For more details and to enter visit The Jelly Belly $10,000 Cupcake Challenge.