Cake Push Pops

Picture from mycakeschool.com

Lately it seems like Cake Push Pops (aka Cake Push Ups) are everywhere. What a fun way to eat cake, right? It's a layer of cake, then frosting, then cake, a filling, cake, and frosting again. Oh, and don't forget a cute garnish on top. With the fun Cake Push Pop containers, you push the cake up from the bottom until you get to the last bite. No forks required. I can't wait to make my Andes Mint Cupcakes into Cake Push Pops.

You can find Cake Push Pop Containers online, here. Also, check out the wonderful Cake Push Pop tutorial at My Cake School. Want to see more Cake Push Pops? Click here.

Cupcakes Made "Oprah's Favorite Things 2011" List

I absolutely love Oprah's Favorite Things list that she puts together each year. This year was no exception, even though I am sad I didn't get to watch her give it all away on TV. She has a lot of fabulous things on the 2011 list that also includes two cupcake items, check them out: 

Baked by Melissa "In Chocolate" Miniature Cupcakes

www.bakedbymelissa.com

$25 for a box of eight

Oprah says "A perfect hostess gift, these miniature cupcakes come in flavors like Cinnamon and Cookie Dough. They're also - ingeniously - doused in chocolate." 

Feeling Smitten Cupcake Bath Bombs

www.feelingsmitten.com

$10.50 ($8 if you use the code OPRAH)

Oprah says "I love these calorie-free bath bombs, which come in scents like Mellow Mimosa and Mint Condition and fizz with essential oils and Dead Sea salt when you drop them in the tub."

You can find the complete list in O Magazine and online. While you're online, don't forget to enter to be one of twelve lucky winners that will win all of her 2011 Favorite Things.

Starbucks Holiday Petite Treats

Two new holiday petite treats are now available at Starbucks. They aren't cupcakes, but they both include frosting and cake. They have a Chocolate Creme' Whoopie Pie which is two small chocolate cakes with buttercream frosting in between. They also have Peppermint Chocolate Brownie Cake Pop which is chocolate cake mixed with buttercream frosting and candy cane pieces and then dipped in white chocolate and rolled in more candy cane pieces. I had the Peppermint Chocolate Brownie Cake Pop today and it was festive deliciousness on a stick. It was so yummy.

Fun news! You can buy a DIY kit to make Starbucks Peppermint Chocolate Brownie Cake Pops at home. Click here for more information.

Cupcake Popcornopolis

Do you love popcorn? Do you love cupcakes? Well, you are in for a treat, Popcornopolis has Cupcake Popcorn. It is so delicious and sweet! I love it! Like their website says, it's like biting into a delicious cakey, creamy, vanilla cupcake with plenty of icing... and lots of colorful sprinkles.

I found my bag of Cupcake Popcornopolis at Harmons, a Utah grocery store chain. You can find a store that sells it near you by clicking, here. Or you can order online, here (if you order soon enter the code get25off for a 25% discount).

Love At First Bite

On our way to Yellowstone National Park last weekend we made a stop in Idaho Falls, ID to visit a cupcakery called Love At First Bite. I am so glad we made the stop - it is a darling gift shop with speciality fine foods and candy. They also have a huge case with cupcakes, cake truffles, hand dipped chocolates, and more. 

We bought a chocolate cheesecake and a Red Velvet cupcake. Both were divine. The frosting on both was absolutely delicious. The Red Velvet cupcake was one of the best I have had. The frosting was a really rich cream cheese and wasn't overly sweet. The chocolate cheesecake was a delicious chocolate cake with graham cracker crust. The topping was a chocolate ganache with a cream cheese frosting and chocolate chips.

We also bought chocolates and cake truffles that were beyond yummy. I loved everything about Love At First Bite and can't wait to visit again.

The Sweet Tooth Fairy On QVC

If you want some of the best treats Utah has to offer then you must tune in to QVC this Sunday, July 24, at 8:00pm EST. Megan Faulkner Brown, owner of The Sweet Tooth Fairy, will be on during the "Christmas in July" Gourmet Holiday Food Show selling her famous Cake Bites. Seriously, they are the most decadent, delicious bites of sweetness in the world.

Don't forget to become a fan of The Sweet Tooth Fairy on facebook to find out all of the latest happenings.

Cake Pops DIY Kit by Bakerella

Angie Dudley, author of the best selling cookbook, Cake Pops, and creator of the very popular wesbite, Bakerella.com, has a new Cake Pops DIY Kit coming out later this year. This kit will make it easy to make your very own cake pops at home. It comes with a booklet with step-by-step instructions, clear cello bags, cake pop sticks, gift cards, and ribbon to wrap 48 cake pops. The kit also comes with five new cake pop designs!

To get your hands on the Cake Pops DIY kit, you can pre-order it, here. Also, if you don't have a copy of Bakerella's Cake Pops cookbook, you can order it, here.

Cupcake Truffles

Do you love candy and cupcakes? Well, now you can have both with these adorable Cupcake Truffles from the super cute New York candy store, Dylan's Candy Bar. They are handmade gourmet truffles made with Callebaut Chocolate and filled with rich flavored ganache. Dylan's Candy Bar also have Vanilla Cupcake Pencils and Red Velvet Cupcake Taffy. Just checking out their website will make you a kid in a candy store with bright eyes and a huge smile no matter what your age is.

You can see my last blog post about Dylan's Candy Bar, here.

Frosting Shots

Do you ever just crave frosting, not the whole cupcake? There are several cupcakeries that just offer a "frosting shot" for a dollar or two. Most offer a variety of flavors to choose from and serve just the right amount in little sample cups. I recently heard a rumor that Sprinkles Cupcakes sell frozen frosting shots (see picture above). Doesn't that sound delish? I need to plan a road trip to Scottsdale, AZ just so I can try one out for myself.

If you want a shot of frosting but don't see it on the menu at your local cupcakery, just ask. Some offer them but just don't have it on the menu.

Utahans can get their frosting shot fix at The Sweet Tooth Fairy.

PB Cupcakes, White Chocolate Cupcakes, and Cake Pops

This weekend I played around with cupcake recipes and made a couple of new fun creations. I made peanut butter cupcakes using the Andes Mint Cupcakes recipe (click for recipe). Instead of adding Andes Mints into the batter, I used peanut butter chips and topped the cupcakes with a whipped peanut butter frosting. If you like eating peanut butter straight out of the container, this cupcake will satisfy your biggest PB craving. They were so peanut buttery. 

The whipped peanut butter frosting is; 1/2 cup peanut butter, 1/2 cup of butter, and 1 cup confectioners sugar. Mix the peanut butter and butter together and then add the confectioners sugar 1/4 cup at a time. Whip until light and fluffy.

I also used the same batter and added white chocolate chips instead of Andes Mints. I made a butter cream frosting, but should have used a white chocolate frosting like this one. I frosted the cupcakes using a new technique I learned watching Cupcake Wars. I put the tip (size 807) right in the center of the cupcake, not quite touching the cupcake, and then squeezed my frosting bag without moving the tip. The more you squeeze, the farther out toward the edge the frosting goes, until it's a perfect round circle and just the right amount of frosting. I really loved the way they turned out.

And I made Cake Pops using my Bakerella cookbook. I made the Basic Chocolate Cake Pop recipe, dipped them in pink melting chocolate, and then added mini white nonpareils. Don't they look like the new Starbucks Cake Pops? They were very time consuming, but so worth it. My husband said they were amazing.

After all of that I am going to take a couple of weeks off from baking and just enjoy treats from a local cupcakery.

Free Cupcakes!

It's Starbucks 40th Anniversary and they are celebrating with FREE CUPCAKES and other petite sweets. If you stop by your local Starbucks between 2 and 5 pm on March 10-12 and purchase a drink they will give you one free Starbucks Petite treat (while supplies last).

The Starbucks Petite's include a Carrot Cake Mini Cupcake and Peanut Butter Mini Cupcake as well as Cake Pops in Birthday Cake (shown above), Rocky Road, and Tiramisu.

Utah Cupcakes At The Oscar's!

Today while watching Megan from The Sweet Tooth Fairy on QVC she announced that Cake Bites were going to be in the swag bags for the stars at the Academy Awards tonight. Can you believe it? They have really hit the big time! They have been on QVC twice and also featured on Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart Weddings, and Outrageous Kid Parties.

Back to QVC, The Sweet Tooth Fairy was on earlier this month for the first time and is already a top rated seller. She was invited back to be "In The Kitchen With David" today and David couldn't say enough good things about Cake Bites. The 2200 orders of Cake Bites (36 per order) she offered today sold out within five minutes.

By the way, the episode of Outrageous Kid Parties that features The Sweet Tooth Fairy will re-air tomorrow night (February 28) on TLC (Look for the Disco Pirate Party).

I know I talk about The Sweet Tooth Fairy A LOT. And I know I follow her where ever she goes. That doesn't make me a stalker, right? I'm just very much in love.

Utah Cupcake News Flash

Tune in to QVC this Sunday, February 27, to see The Sweet Tooth Fairy In The Kitchen With David. She was invited back because her cakebites were such a hit!

NOTE: Don't worry if you missed it - you can purchase these amazing treats on QVC's website or on The Sweet Tooth Fairy's website.

Cake Bites/Candy/Balls/Pops Are Everywhere

Cake bites/candy/balls/pops are little bites of cake and frosting mixed, smashed, formed, and then dipped in chocolate to make a heavenly treat. They are actually really easy to make. You can find recipes for them in several cookbooks, including Bakerella's Cake Pops. You can also find the recipe online by just doing a search for 'cake pops' or 'cake balls'. I personally am addicted to The Sweet Tooth Fairy's Cake Bites. She has perfected this tiny treat and I absolutely love them.

This past weekend I was out and about and found two new cake bite/candy/balls/pops cookbooks that have hit the shelves. Also, I went to one of my favorite markets and they had Cake Candy made by one of my favorite bakeries in Salt Lake City, Cakes de Fleur. I bought a little two pack, one chocolate, the other M&M, and they were delicious! This market also carries sweets from another Utah baker, Schmidts Pastry Cottage. They had Cake Balls and they were literally the size of a baseball. They were huge! I haven't tried them yet, but I do plan on doing so.

So, if you don't feel like making your own tiny cake treats just check your local bakery. They are all the rage right now and everyone seems to be selling them.

I Heart The Sweet Tooth Fairy

The Sweet Tooth Fairy sells my favorite cupcakes in the Salt Lake Valley. It doesn't even matter which flavor because they are all amazing. The cake is so moist and the frosting is so thick and delicious. From my favorite flavor, pumpkin chocolate chip, to my husband's favorite, Sweet Potato Pie, they have a favorite for everyone. They don't only sell cupcakes; they have cakes, cookies, brownies, and other sweet treats.  

The picture above are of their cakebites and they will CHANGE YOUR LIFE. They are tiny bites of cake dipped in chocolate and they are divine! I am truly addicted. 

The Sweet Tooth Fairy now has several Salt Lake locations. Check out their website, friend them on facebook, and go by and pick up one of the best cupcakes you'll ever taste.