CUPCAKES
Healthy Union Square food destination Hu Kitchen is doing its part to give back during National Heart Month. All of the proceeds from their specialty paleo mini cupcakes, topped with heart healthy dark chocolate will be donated to Harboring Hearts, a charity that provides housing and emotional support to heart patients and their families who have come to New York City from all over the world to await transplants. The mini cupcakes sell for just $1 and help out a great and hearty cause.
Hu Kitchen is located at 78 5th Avenue.
Cupcakes on the go are all the rage these days - first with Sprinkles Cupcakes ATMs, and now with Baked by Melissa's cupcake pod machine. The cupcake dispenser, which resembles a giant gumball machine, made its debut during New York Fashion Week, but those who were hoping to see it gracing city streets are out of luck.
The pod machine is now only available to rent for events, with a 1,000 cupcake minimum for five hours, which fills half the machine. Make a selection between either 1,000 standard variety cupcakes for $4,200 or 1,000 custom cupcakes for $4,300. Up your game by ordering 2,000 minis for $5,000 or $5,200, depending on which cakes you order. Any additional cupcakes go for $1.30 each.
Despite the economy still being in some pretty hot water, we’ve seen some massively indulgent things these last few years. Money and jewels are typical fare, but it looks like baked goods are getting in on the action too. Cupcake shops are posh and cool. Regular sized cakes are so last year. Now to help people satisfy their cravings 24 hours and 7 days a week, famous shop Sprinkles has created an ATM for their sugary treats.
We've written about cupcakes in jars before, the convenience and portability of cupcakes in mason jars is hard to beat. We'll bet there's no other way you could eat a cupcake while driving without getting frosting all over your lap.
So we were understandably psyched to stumble upon Sugar Dame Cupcakes, which uses organic ingredients like organic raspberry jam, fresh pitted cherries, organic vanilla, and cage free eggs, to create fun cupcake flavors like Cupcake Incarceration (vanilla brown sugar cupcake with real Heath Bar toffee and chocolate chips baked in with chocolate buttercream) and Banana Pancake (banana chocolate chip cupcake with REAL ripe bananas, maple vanilla buttercream and topped with a maple drizzle). Sometimes the frosting can overwhelm the cake itself, but with people taking frosting shots at local cupcake bakeries, maybe that's not a bad thing?
Traditional is so cliché! 2011 is all about breaking the rules, so why not start with your wedding? For years we have seen the typical cake, with several tiers and intricate designs with flavors such as vanilla, chocolate or strawberry. Now don't get me wrong, I love this formal masterpiece at most weddings, but lately engaged couples want something new, something edgy. If you classify yourself as the untraditional-type, we have news for you: wedding cake alternatives are the new "must have"! Tons of wedding cake alternatives are popping up everywhere and we've compiled a list of some alternatives and just where to find them in Miami.
I'm sure you all have heard the rumors that pies are the new cupcakes. We here at Joonbug have to disagree! Pies are pies and cupcakes are cupcakes! Nothing can replace a cupcake's soft and pillowy cake topped with a sweet and somtimes surprising flavor of frosting. So we asked the experts in cupcakes, three Miami cupcake companies, for their opinions on this horrible rumor and for what inspires them in the kitchen! Here's what they had to say:
"Silly, silly rumors! Everyone loves a cupcake and while pies certainly are delicious, no one has a birthday pie or a tower of pies at their bridal shower. The cupcake craze is here to stay as long as there are purveyors of cupcakes providing a product that merits someone to go crazy over it." -InStyle Cupcakes
These red velvet cupcakes are the perfect dessert for Valentine's Day. With their rich chocolate flavor, sweet and creamy frosting, and vibrant red cake, the suit the holiday in the tastiest way.
No matter what your plans are for Valentine's Day, these cupcakes are sure to sweeten the day.
This recipe makes a dozen cupcakes.
Red Velvet Cupcakes
Ingredients:
We all agree Halloween is not just for the little ones. Not all of us, however, enjoy being pelted with cheap, sugary, and picked-over pieces of candy. Although, some of you might enjoy dressing up like Strawberry Shortcake and begging for miniature Milky Ways, but who’s judging?
Luckily, D.C. provides trick or treaters of the seemingly more mature persuasion the best of both worlds. You can do all of the panhandling you want this weekend, but there are two establishments that are using the spirit of Halloween to elevate their mouth-watering treats, to the utter adulation of your taste buds.
As we have all learned from Top Chef, it takes a certain kind of training and talent to pull off a great dessert. The world of pastry, confections, chocolate, and sugar is the icing on the cake for any party or special event. The New England Dessert Showcase presented table after table of artfully created treats.
With dozens of vendors from specialized chocolatiers and ice cream makers to established patisiers like Konditor Meister, the exhibits included some of the best of everything. The Brewer's Cow was a popular spot with guests. The Brewer's Cow is all about beer infused ice cream with flavors like Irish Stout, Black and Tan, Double Chocolate Bock, Oatmeal Stout, Ten Penny Beer Nut Parfait, and a seasonal Spiced Pumpkin Stout. Konditor Meister is the standard, having been around for over 20 years, they are a well-established bakery with a portfolio of exceptionally designed cakes. At the showcase, guests were also given a taste (for the eyes and the taste buds) of some of their cakes and smaller tarts and pastries. With completely different roots than the European, more specifically German, traditions that the chefs at Konditor Meister create, Japonaise Bakery sampled some of their refined patisserie. Chef Hiroko Sakan of Japonaise Bakery describes her treats as French with a Japanese twist.
Between fashion week and the nightlife of New York we (the lowly sweet tooths) never really stood a chance. This cupcake movement however has stood too long unopposed in its monopolization of "street sweets". The ubiquitous confections have been taking over the city like a swarm of locust bakers but now they have met their match.
Down in the west village on a stretch of 6th ave. that is curiously barren of many restaurants is BLT Burger, the awkward teenager in the BLT family. The décor is reminiscent of Danny Zuko and Kenickie’s burger joint but instead of your Eskimo pies you will find milkshakes that really deliver the goods. Cold, creamy, luscious and for an extra couple bucks spiked with the booze of your choice, it really doesn’t get much better.
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