Looking forward to the Holidays

It's the first of December. I love the holidays. Ok, I don't love the angst, the pressure, the busy-ness, or the crowds at the mall, but I do like snow, and cocoa, and tasty foods with the people I like the best. I've started edging toward holiday cupcake flavours this past week, and so far we have this:

And that is a Ginger Binge cupcake. A spicy gingerbread cake, studded with bits of candied ginger, and (with thanks to Isa, Terry, and VCTOTW) lemon frosting. For some reason, until I saw their gingerbread cupcake, i never would have thought of lemon and ginger as a good flavour combination, but I tried it out and wowee-zowee, it's great!
And I have to admit, i prefer this cupcake to gingerbread men...even if i can't dunk it in my teacup.

Punkin' Pie Cupcakes

Okay. I went and got my camera, so now I can share some (poor quality) photos with you once again. First up is my Thanksgiving-y offering. Pumpkin pie stuffed, y'all!
You know, I can never get blogger to put pictures in the order i want them. That's my friend's hand with a cutaway shot: It's a vanilla spice cake with a real creamy pumpkin pie centre baked in, and topped with swirl of whip cream-esque vanilla buttercream. Oh and of course, a sprinkle of cinnamon sugar!

Cupcakes on the March!

New Developments and a missing camera

Ok. So, I have been making some tasty, tasty shitake recently. But my camera has been hiding at my friend's place since hallowe'en. And maybe I'm wrong, but...posting about food just isn't the same without photos to back 'er up. So you'll have to wait for my Pumpkin Pie Stuffed Spice Cups, I'm afraid...
In other developments, the Kupcakery and I are getting an upgrade. I'm going back to school part time to study decorating for real, so that I can add special occasion cakes to the mix. I could probably make a nice looking cake now, but I want to know enough technique to keep my wedding layers layered. After that, this place is going to be a business in earnest. There will probably be a website change, and I'm hashing over the thought of another name...I'm not sure if I like my name as my quote-unquote "brand" or not.
I'll keep you posted. And more blog as soon as I find the camera!

Blog derailment!

Hi folks. I know I should be hiding my face in shame for not keeping up with my mofo commitment, but I'm just gonna be upfront about it. My life has suddenly...um...kicked things up a notch. I've barely had time to breathe, let alone bake. I do have an assortment of ingredients awaiting my tender care though, so there will be more posts in the near future.
I love my "real life". It just makes me really busy sometimes.

The Sultan's Pomegranate Cupcake

The Sultan has a vicious case of the Mondays.
What this actually means is that I had a very long day and instead of having the time to bake all my arsenal for the next week, I have to resort to looking for a picture of cupcakes I made a while ago. These are dark chocolate and pomegranate cupcakes that I made as a more "sophisticated" holiday treat last year. These very rich and grown up tasting--dense chocolate cake, then a layer of pomegranate jelly, covered by a layer of chocolate ganache, and topped of with a sprinkle of jewel-like pom seeds.

Shots are on me!

Ok, no. I am not buying all y'all free drinks. But I offer you a boozy bite.
This is a Rum'n'Raisin mini cupcake. I like my rummy cupcakes really rummy, so I keep them bite-sized to prevent drunken cupcake fiascos. Rum and rum-soaked raisins are both in the moist, dense cake, topped with rum buttercream and a single drunken raisin up on the top.

Incidentally, you've probably noticed by now that I use mostly vegan buttercream as my frosting of choice. It's versatile and dagnabit, it's delish! I do top cupcakes with glazes and ganaches too, but I have to admit that buttercream is what you're going to see the most around here.

Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake Off!

So, I know I technically don't have to post on weekends for this veganmofo thing. But 31 days of cupcakes has a way better ring than adding "less weekends" to it does.
Besides, today is an awesome day! In honour of world Vegetarian day, the Toronto Vegetarian Association is having a vegan bake off. Last year I was a runner up, and it really inspired me to kick my baking up a notch.
My offering this year is my Lumberjack's Breakfast Cupcake.
Now, the thing you need to understand is that this cupcake began as a joke. Omni's have been on this insane kick lately where they'll put bacon in, or on, anything. Really anything. My boyfriend came home one day talking about chocolate chip and bacon cookies. And I thought...that is the least vegan thing I've ever heard. But it sounds awesome.
I admit, i used to really like bacon, back in the pregan days. And the idea of something sweet, with something salty and crispy? Aghghghgh... (that's me making Homer Simpson's drool noise.)
So I decided to see if there was any way I could possibly make this vegan acceptable. Really, i was just thinking of mixing sweet and salty, but then someone mentioned on the ppk (post punk kitchen)forums that bac-o's are vegan, and my idea came to life. A little like Frankenstein's moster.
I have to admit, i don't expect to win any prizes for this. It's a bit wierd by most people's standards, and I don't find bac-o's the prettiest topping, but I promise you, this is the most amazing flavour combination. Salty, sweet, crispy, and yet soft and moist. Think of it as a really good breakfast. Coffee cake, real maple syrup buttercream, and yep, "bacon" bit topping.

Who wants cookie dough?

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes!!!
Yes, I know that I'm evil. These are made either chocolate or vanilla, and then stuffed with and topped by my evil secret recipe cookie dough frosting. Okay, it's not really a secret: it's vanilla buttercream, whipped together with a batch of real chocolate chip cookie dough until it's light and fluffy enough to top a cake with. It's one of my favorite frostings, because it isn't ridiculously sweet, and the chocolate chips give it a bit of subtle crunch.
Check out the delicious innards!

Day 1- Pink Lemonade

Welcome to the first of my VeganMoFo posts...also affectionatly known as 31 days of cupcake. By the end of the month, it's going to look like a frickin' Baskin Robbins around here...except with less dairy and more cupcakes. And I promise, no repeats!
My first cupcake of the month is Pink Lemonade. It's a vanilla-lemon flavoured yellow cake on the bottom, with lemonade-y pink buttercream frosting(with real lemon zest and lemonade in it!) swirled on top, and finished off with a curly lemon twist.
I should have warned you. I am by no means a pro photographer. And sometimes I just click away with stuff all over the counters...this is an at home bakery! So please ignore the occasionally less than stellar backgrounds(chickpeas, anyone?) I'll try to pretty things up a bit for future posts.

Gearing up for Vegan MoFo

No, that's not at all obscene, so clean out your dirty mind. VeganMoFo stands for October, the Vegan Month Of FOod. It's an annual blog event where vegans from all over the interwebz commit to doing a blog post about delicious vegan food every day for a whole month. This is my first year with a blog/website, so Kelly's Kupcakery is going to be joining in this year with (drum roll please) ...31 Days Of Cupcakes!

So, I'm already doing some advance baking to be ready. I'm also getting my entry ready for the Toronto Veg Association's 2nd annual Totally Fabulous Vegan Bake-Off, with takes place on October 2nd (which is also world vegetarian day!). So tune in starting October 1st, for your daily dose of cupcake!

Kupcakery in Cabbagetown=Amazing!

I had a blast doing a cupcake sale in Cabbagetown, with much thanks to my friend Kate and her family for giving me a space to operate, and kindly ferrying me and my 10 dozen(!) cupcakes across town last saturday. It was a huge success, with every last cake sold, and loads of positive feedback.
The only downside of the day (well, aside from the fact that i got a bit of sunstroke from standing out in the heat all day)was that my camera's battery died, so I didn't get any photos myself. However, a few different people took pictures and my card with promises to share later. The photo at left is from David O, and I thank him very much, especially because it's lovely!
I ended up with seven flavours on offer, and the first to sell out was the one I just invented and least expected--Lumberjack's Breakfast. It's a coffee-flavoured cake with real maple syrup buttercream...and "bacon" bits. I really wanted to try a vegan spin on the "bacon on everything" craze that's been sweeping the omnivore food scene, and it came off better than i could have hoped, with a sweet/salty/soft/crunchy combo that...um...may make me gain a few pounds, and happily.
A huge number of people have asked where my shop is located...if you're one of them, for the time being, it is located right here. All my cakes are small batch baked in my home, until such time as I can command enough of a following to open up a wee shop of my own. JUst call or email, and I'm at your cupcake command!

The Kupcakery at Cabbagetown Arts and Crafts

Fall is swift approaching, and my broken toes are all healed up, so in the whole spirit of "back to school" time, I am also back to cupcakes! And to celebrate, I am having another street sale, as part of the Cabbagetown Arts and Crafts Festival on this Saturday, September 12. My friend Kate has kindly volunteered a space in her parent's drive at 404 Wellesley St. East, and I have approximately 10 dozen+ cakes baked. I'll be there all day, until I sell out. (After that, I'm going to visit the Vegetarian Food Fair at Harbourfont Centre--you should check it out too!)

Flavours for the day are: Classic Chocolate, Classic Vanilla, Strawberry Jammies, Blueberry Jammies, Cookie Monster(Oreo), "Minty" Stuffed, and an all new flavour, Lumberjack's Breakfast. There will also be Kupcake Kebabs, and Rum Raisin Boozy Bites.

The weather is supposed to co-operate, and I'm looking forward to a full day of cupcaking. I hope I see you there!

I suppose i should start giving people details..?

Wouldn't you say it's high time i start posting things like prices and flavours on this informative (yeah right) web site?
Here are some details for folks who want them!

Cupcakes:
$13 per 1/2dozen
$25 per dozen

For larger orders, contact me and we'll talk. :)


Flavours :
Classic Vanilla
Classic Chocolate
Orange "Creamsicle"
Berry Jammies (Strawberry, Blueberry, Raspberry)
Chocolate Minty Stuffed
Chocolate Nutty Stuffed
Chocolate Orange Stuffed
Banana Split
Peanut Butter & Jelly
Pink Lemonade
Oreo Cookie Monster
Coo Coo 4 Coconut
Rosy Posy (rosewater)
Rum 'n' Raisin
Lumberjack's Breakfast (coffee, maple, and "bacon" bits)

(and more to come)

My Left Foot

...has three broken toes on it. A stupidity/soccer related accident. Not a big deal, but it means that I won't be baking for the next week. I should be back to it by July 30, because the pros say I should be walking again by then. Watch for a new fun development around then, awesome details to follow.
Hint: Mobile cupcake shop.

Cowanation Picture Post

Spiderman takes a break from saving the city and eats cupcakes.
"smile everybo---ooh! Is that cupcake for me???"
This kid's parents do not approve of his toothbrushing technique.
I am so glad I went and got one of these cupcake display rack-thingies.
She ate the top off this kebab so fast that i seriously have no idea when it happened.
Coo-Coo for Coconuts. I had no idea people liked coconut so much, or a would have made an extra dozen.
The girl on the right came back three times. Also, I dig her hat.
I think he liked it. His mouth was a bit full, so all i really heards was "diff murff iff muRRf rurf."
PB&J. The lighting is lousy, but they tasted amazing.
Kupcake-Ka-Bobs! Woo hoo! Proof that everything is better when you put it on a stick.
Look at all the adorable cupcake eaters at my cupcake sale!
These chicks rock. Especially the one on the right, she's very serious about her cupcakes.
Classic Vanilla and Chocolate Cupcakes. And my vintage piggy bank to hold my change and survey the lay of the land.
The set-up. Before i even managed to take any pictures, almost a dozen cupcakes were gone! That's why there are only 3 Coo-Coo for Coconuts at the front left of the table.

Doesn't that look like fun? The actual post about the 14th annual Cowanation event is below!

Cowanation Cupcake Sale

Cowanation--It's a street long yard sale, wrapped up in a party, wrapped up in...a cupcake. With a nice side order of community spirit. I decided that this year's event was a perfect time to take my cakes out and see what people had to say. Turns out, they said a lot of amazingly nice things, things like "delicious" and "adorable" and "vegan?"...and also, "Can I get your business card?" Now, that's a bit of a story, but the part that matters is that my business cards weren't ready on yard sale day, even though my food was. So I handed out my email and phone number on a few scraps of paper, and told a few people to come back and just beat on the door if they wanted to. So now I'm planning a little door-to-door flyer expedition on my street, just to be sure everyone can find me for real. Especially the nice lady who was interested in me doing some baby shower treats for her, which sounded like fun.
So, on to the days treats: I had cupcakes in Classic Vanilla, Classic Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Jelly (yes, thats a peanut butter cupcake with grape jelly filling!) the considerably more popular than expected Coo-Coo for Coconuts, and the brand new crowd pleasing invention, Kupcake-Ka-Bobs. A Kupcake-Ka-Bob, for those who weren't lucky enough to get one before i completely sold out (shocker! 10 dozen cupcakes in under three hours!), is a bamboo skewer of yummy individually iced mini cupcakes. The last two went to a pair of toddlers riding in a little red wagon, which was so perfect it made me nearly die of cuteness.
Much thanks to all my friends and neighbors who made Cowanation such a totally fun and successful day for me, I had a total blast and found the confidence that I can build a business out of my love of cute-as-heck food objects. Also, thanks to all the people who let me take photos of them enjoying tasty cupcakes!

ps. I'm still fighting the battle of me vs. blogger when it comes to photos. it looks like rest of my cowanation pictures may be a seperate entry for now.