Pink Champagne and Raspberries

When I think of Pink Champagne all I can think about is the movie Breakfast at Tiffany's. I've never seen the movie and I have no idea what the movie is about, but I know Pink Champagne plays a role in the film.  I've never had pink champagne, but I do know that I like the white kind so I figured that I'd probably like pink one just as well. When I started thinking of new ideas for cupcake flavors I decided to try a Pink Champagne Cupcake. I googled the idea I came across alot of different recipes. Some from scratch, some from a box mix and decided to stick with my usual and go with the scratch recipe that I found.

I came across a website that first struck me with the images of a beautifully designed Pink Champagne Cupcake. Then I started reading. This website was started in 2011 with hopes of raising awareness and funds for cancer research. I encourage each of you to go this website and read more about it. It is amazing all of the stories and recipes that are posted there.

I went ahead and did an inventory of the recipe and found that I had all of the products in my pantry to make these cupcakes, but of course decided to change it just a little. Here's the recipe that I used. It was adapted from Intoxicated Cupcakes by Kate Legere. The recipe said that it makes about 20 cupcakes. However, I ended up with 30 standard size cupcakes.

Pink Champagne Cupcakes with Raspberry Buttercream Frosting

For the Cupcakes
6 large egg whites (save 3 yolks)
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
5 ounces (1 1/4 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 1/2 cups sugar, divided
3 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
2 2/3  cups all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup Pink Champagne

4 drops red food coloring (optional, but it does make it pink)

For the filling
1 - 1.4 oz package instant vanilla pudding mix (try the white chocolate for a whiter center)
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup Pink Champagne

For the buttercream
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup fresh red raspberries

1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
1-2 tbsp Pink Champagne
4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven at 350, line cupcake pan, set aside
2. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites and cream of tartar until soft peaks, then slowly beat in 1/4 cup sugar.  Beat until glossy stiff peaks, but not dry.  Set aside.

3.  In a mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the egg yolks, vanilla bean paste and red food coloring and beat well. 

4. Sift the dry ingredients together.  Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture, alternating with the Pink Champagne, mixing well after each addition.

5. Fold in 1/3 of the egg whites to lighten the batter.  Fold in the remaining egg whites carefully not to deflate the egg whites.

6. Use an ice cream scoop to fill the prepared cups.  You want them about 3/4 full.  Bake for 16-18 minutes until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.  They should not be brown on the top.  Springy.  Cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and cool completely before filling.

7. Combine the filling ingredients together and whisk for about a minute until smooth.  Refrigerate until set, about 5 minutes.  Place in a piping bag or a zip-top bag.

8. Remove a core of each cupcake. I just used a sharp knife to carve out a cone shape from the top of the cupcake. Keep the cored piece.  Fill each hole with some cream filling, and replace the cored piece, gently pressing down.

9. For the buttercream, in a bowl of an electric mixer cream the butter, and vanilla.  Mix on low speed, until well combined. Increase speed to medium and beat for 1 minute.

10. Add the sifted confectioners’ sugar slowly on low speed.  Beat for 1 minute, scrape the sides, and slowly increase the speed to medium. Add in the raspberries and continue mixing until they are mixed well into the frosting.

12.  Spread or pipe on cupcakes. 

Here is what they look like on the inside. A nice fluffy cupcake, filled with a creamy vanilla champagne center and topped with fresh raspberry frosting, what could be better than that!

 I wish I could capture in pictures just how good these cupcakes are. When they came out of the oven it was like a time machine for me, it took me back to a time when my mom worked at a local bakery. The smell of the cupcakes was exactly what the bakery used to smell like. I'm wondering if Mr. Daniel used champagne for anything??

A Change of Pace

So I've been thinking for a few weeks about changing the format of this blog a little bit. I've done alot of reading and research lately and I have this feeling that I could be adding so much more to these posts than I am. Well today's the day. I hope you like what I'm going to be doing with the Cups by Kim blog and I hope that you will continue to come back and check in!

I got a new recipe book for Christmas, Taste of Home Baking. As I sat and looked through the amazing recipes the other day, I decided that I was going to try to make all of the recipes in the book. Then I started thinking, maybe I should do some savory recipes too, instead of just cupcakes and sweets (not to mention it's getting a little rough on the waistline here in the Campbell household. Although now as I read back through this, I'm thinking this first recipe isn't to great for the waistline either.) So instead of sticking to one cook book, after being inspired by Julie & Julia, I'm going to make and post as many recipes that I can in the coming year. Anything that sounds good to me, my family, and you, my readers. I'm going to be taking inspiration from some of my most favorite websites and blogs, as well as some of my own personal family favorites. I'm starting today. I know that it's not 2012 yet, but it's close enough, and I had the time today!

I was looking on Pinterest today and came across a tantelizing picture of fried pickles. Now, for those of you who have never tasted these amazing creations, I have to say, TRY THIS AT HOME!! I have tried a few different restaurant's fried pickles and I have to say Hooter's deep fried pickle chips are my favorite. I'm not too impressed by the atmosphere, but hey, I like bar food just as much as the next person, and if I have to see scantaly clad women in short orange shorts to get my fried pickles then I guess I have to do what I have to do. It's not usually too difficult to convince my husband to go either! Until today that is. Now that I know how to make these at home, no more short orange shorts just for pickle chips!

Here's the recipe I used, but I had to change it a little bit to use what I had on hand. Instead of whole Dill Pickles I used a jar of Dill Pickle Chips.

Ingredients
1 jar Dill Pickle Chips (any brand)
1 cup beer
2 eggs
1 -2 cups flour
canola oil or Crisco
salt and pepper, to taste
garlic powder, to taste

 Directions
Place enough oil in a large skillet so that the oil is about 1-2 inches up the side of the pan. Or use a deep fryer if you have one. Heat the oil to 350 degrees F.
Drain Pickles in a collander. Set aside.
In a mixing bowl, whisk the yolks and 3/4 cup beer. Season the mixture with salt,pepper, and garlic powder.
Whisk in enough flour to form a batter. If the batter is too thick add the remaining beer to thin the batter.
Using tongs, dip pickles one at a time into the batter (I actually put all of my pickles in the batter and mixed them around with my hand) and then place in the heated oil.
Fry pickles for about 2 minutes on each side.
Place pickles on a plate lined with paper towel and season with salt. Serve with Ranch Dressing, Buffalo Sauce, or Ketchup.

Drain the pickles. Try to remove as much of the moisture as possible. They will coat better.

Whisk together eggs, beer, seasonings, and flour.

Melt oil in your pan. Heat to approx. 350 degrees. You want about an inch of oil in your pan.

Dip your pickle chips in the batter. Your batter should be a tad bit thicker than this, I added too much beer. Oops!

Place your pickle chips in the hot oil.



Brown on each side about 2-3 minutes or until golden brown.



Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel.



Serve with Ranch Dressing, Buffalo Sauce, or Ketchup.

 These pickle chips were so good! Like I said, I think my batter was a little too thin, but that didn't stop me from enjoying every little bite!

Well there's my first of many new recipes for 2012. I want to wish all of you a very Happy New Year!! Please be safe and like I said before, check back for new adventures in the Campbell Kitchen!!

A reflection of 2011

I can't believe that another year is almost come and gone. It seems like yesterday that we were just starting 2011.This year has been full of ups and downs for the Campbell family. We've had people come into our lives that we never even knew existed on this great Earth and we've had people depart that we know some day we will see again. It's been a year of new beginnings with the inception of Cups by Kim and it's been a year full of firsts with baby Sophie, who now isn't so much of a baby, but more of a 23 year old trapped in an 18 month old body, and with big brother Aiden starting into 1st grade and Cub Scouts.

I wanted to take this opportunity to tell everyone who has supported me and my business Thank You. I couldn't have gotten this business to where it is without all of you. Your support, kind words, honest opinions, and cupcake cravings have helped us start what we feel is going to be an amazing business. I hope that as we start this new year that we can look to the future with the thought in mind, "what can we do next?" It has long been a dream of mine to do something creative. I never even considered my "creative" intuition to be about a business. But now I see just how important this is to me, and again, I couldn't have done it without you.

I pray for health and well being for all of you as we venture into the great unknown together. And I pray that each day brings something new and exciting for all of us. Each day is a new beginning and the opportunity to change your life and the lives that you encounter.

I feel this great need to change the world. To do something meaningful. To give back. To make a difference. How to do it? I'm not quite sure, but I know that God will show me. He will keep me pointed in the direction that only He knows I need to be going and I just have to trust Him.

This has been a scary, exciting, nerve wracking, lack of sleeping, tears shedding, feet hurting, back breaking, kind of year, but I wouldn't have changed it for the world. I'm turning in a new direction, things may start to look a little different here, but I am still going to be posting things about the cupcake business and creations, but I'm also considering adding to this blog. I'm thinking of adding some recipes and personal experiences to this and I'm hoping that you'll come along with me.

Okay, enough of the sappy thank you's! Now onto the fun stuff!! As many of you know, I have started doing Cake Pops. Well someone approached me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I had ever done Cake Pop Bouquets. At that point, I had never even considered doing bouquets, in fact, about 2 months ago I had all but given up on the cake pop idea all together. I knew that all of the beautiful pictures online and in magazines had to infact be those little green styrofoam balls dipped in chocolate. There was no way that with the laws of gravity that a ball of cake and icing would stay mounted atop a 1/2 cm white popsicle stick. It just wasn't possible. That's until I came across Mighty Morgan at http://mightydelighty.blogspot.com/  I know I've mentioned her before, but I just have to say it again, if it wasn't for her detailed explination of this art, I wouldn't be on here now posting this! So anyways, back to the bouquets, I have kind of now mastered the art of cake pops and decided that, "Sure! I can do bouquets. No problem!". As some of you know, I have done fruit bouquets in the past so I figured it couldn't be too much different than that, and right I was! These turned out so cute! I secretly hope that everyone decides to order one of these because they were so fun to do and turned out so well!!

So as we end this year with some tasty, fun creations, may I be the first to say,

Merry Christmas 

 Happy New Year, and

may God Bless You

from

Cups by Kim!!

Just taking some pictures

I know how most of you like to look at this page and see what I've been up to. Well today I decided just to post some pictures of things I've been working on. It's been a crazy weekend so far, but for now, it's break time. Well, at least until tomorrow night then it starts all over again! So here's what I've been up to!



Vanilla Cupcakes topped with Royal Icing Sugar Snowflakes



Lemon Cupcakes topped with Giraffes

It's a Barrel of Monkeys

Chocolate and Lemon Baby Shower Cakes

More Monkeys

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes with Soccer Balls



Vanilla with Spiderman

 So that's about it. Oh, and more cake pops!

Chocolate Reindeer Cake Pops

And finally a Vanilla Snowman Cake Pop that I'm proud of!

Okay, now I'm finished! Well I hope all of you have a great week! I'll be back next week!!

How about some Pie & Dinosaurs

Yeah, I know that doesn't go together, but that's how my week has gone this week. It's Thanksgiving and I have been blessed with two Mom's who enjoy cooking and let me be part of it, one of them from birth, one of them by choice. I have learned over the years to listen to everything they tell me about cooking and also about life. You remember those teenage years when nothing they said made sense. You thought you knew more than them, besides how could they know what it was like to be a teenager. Now it warms my heart to stand beside them in the kitchen and relive memories I had as a kid. Both of my Grandmother's have gone to live in Heaven, but both of their houses bring back some of the fondest memories of my childhood. One Grandmother was always cooking and I spent many days and nights at her house, the other Grandma liked to have fun, and the days and nights spent at her house were less frequent, but none the less special. I remember the smells, the tastes, even the feel of their hands. It's amazing how a smell in a grocery store can take you back 25 years. This week all of these things have come rushing back to me. I spent the day in the kitchen with my mom and my 18 month old daughter. I kept thinking the entire time about Sophie and how these are the moments that have made me who I am, and that I'm shaping her life just like my mom has done mine. It was so very special to have those moments, both with Mom and with Sophie, and I can't wait for those many more years of memories to be made.

Sorry, I'm digressing a little bit, I guess just feeling a little thankful for everything that I have. So, back to Pie and Dinosaurs. A friend of mine contacted me a few weeks ago and asked me to do some cupcakes for her grandson's birthday. If I haven't said it before, I'm saying it now, I love doing cupcakes, especially for little kids! I love the look on their faces when they see them for the first time, it just warms my heart. So I agreed to make cupcakes for her. One thing, they had to be Gluten Free. You see little Austin who is turning 3, has Celiac Disease. I had made gluten free cupcakes before, but not by request from someone, basically because I just wanted to see how they tasted (and they tasted pretty darn good). So this was the week. I had the cupcakes baked, and was ready to start decorating. She asked for blue & green decorated cupcakes and told me that he liked Dinosaurs. So after doing the Monster High cupcakes last week I decided to do the dinosaur ones basically the same way. Here's what we ended up with.

I made Gluten Free Chocolate and Gluten Free Strawberry.  They are iced with Vanilla Buttercream and topped with Royal Icing Discs. Now that I have learned this technique, I am totally using it for everything!! (thanks Mighty Morgan!) So the Dinosaurs were a hit!

Now, onto Pie. I have been contemplating what I'm going to do for my upcoming Christkindle Market at The Winery at Versailles. When I called to get info about it the lady told me it was a German Christmas market where you can find all kinds of unique and special gifts for your home and for friends and family. Hmm. Unique?  Are cupcakes unique enough? That's what I keep asking myself. So I've been researching different things to do with cupcakes (hence the sudden influx of cake pops). So today I started looking into this again, and came across something a little different than cupcakes. Pie. In a jar. Yep, that's right! Baked right in a jar. Well I couldn't resist that so after raiding my pantry for pie filling, canning jars, and calling everyone in my family trying to find my Grandmother's Pie Crust recipe I settled with one I found online and got to cooking. I decided to start with a few to see just how difficult they were (from the sarcasim sensed in the blog post I was reading, I wasn't really sure how well this was going to turn out!) I mixed up the crust, cleaned the jars, buttered the insides, filled them, carefully tried to make dough tops like they so elequently had done online, needless to say mine didn't end up looking anything like theirs, and in the oven they went! As they were baking I kept thinking to myself, these don't look so great. I sure hope they taste better than they look. Out of the oven they came, bubbling over with cherry pie filling goodness. I could hardly wait for them to cool before diving in to see how they tasted. All I can say, is I think I have added pie cups to my menu!! They were amazing! Not too pretty to look at, but I didn't really care!! I can work on that part!

Don't they look like they are just oozing with goodness!! Oh believe me they are!!

So that's my week so far. From Dinosaurs to Pie it's been a pretty good week. I have had a great time with my family and friends and tomorrow is another day full of cooking and spending time with my family. I hope all of you have had a very Happy Thanksgiving! See you next week!!

Frosty the Snowman

I figured after my last post that I had this cake pop thing figured out. So it's time to experiment! I used a white cake, buttercream frosting, and white chocolate to create Frosty the Snowman cake pops. I saw a picture online similar to these as cupcake toppers and decided to do it as a cake pop instead. This was one of the first few that I did. He didn't turn out quite as good as I had hoped, but I figured for a first time, at 10:00 at night, with a 6 year old hovering over me they looked pretty decent. Besides, the girls at work that sample them really don't care what they look like! I'm sure there will be many more to come!!

Isn't he cute with his little scarf blowing in the wind!

Keep checking back, I've got a few more cake pop ideas in mind!!

Ta Da!!!

It's finally happened! I've finally gotten something to work that I have been struggling with for months! I've tried and tried and tried with no success. It's been a long, messy, chocolatey road, but finally it worked! I present... The Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Cake Pop!!!  TA DA!!!

 Now I have to give credit where credit is due. I wouldn't have succeded at this without a new website/blog that I came across last week while trying to find decorating ideas for some cupcakes I did recently. The writer of the blog is known as Mighty Morgan at http://mightydelighty.blogspot.com/  Her creations are amazing! To say the least! She has done some cake pops recently from candy left over from Trick or Treat so I decided to try the same. And what an amazing idea! Following her direction I decided to take on cake pops one more time. And with much success! I'm so happy that these turned out, I'm almost tempted to make some more just to start decorating them! I just have to show you some more!!

I was trying to make Rudolph and his reindeer, however, I realized I did not have any pretzels for antlers. So next time, you'll have the Reindeer too!

 

So now it's time for me to start raiding Aiden's candy bag and see what else I can come up with! I can't wait to see, and taste!

When Opportunity Knocks

I can't believe it's been almost two months since I last posted on here. Obviously alot has been going on. After having a very successful year at the Sidney Farmers Market I decided to take some weekends off and spend it at the toddler gymnastics class at the "Y" with Sophie. This past weekend was my first big weekend back at it. It never fails, you hope and pray for busy weeks, and nothing, but then you know you have a busy weekend coming up and everything hits all at the same time! I have been planning this past weekend for the Sidney Charity League Christmas Bazaar for 6 months. I had no idea how many cupcakes to plan for since I had never been to the Christmas show before. From what everyone told me, it's huge and I should plan on a very large crowd. So with a little bit of help I prepared 26 dozen cupcakes. Yes, 26 dozen, that's 312 cupcakes! I thought that I was ready, had everything planned, had time to get them all prepared.

Then the phone rang. It was Wednesday afternoon.

You see I had gotten information about a Christmas Show at The Winery at Versailles and had called and planned on setting up for the show December 3rd. Little did I know that phone call would lead to an even greater opportunity. Later on that day I got another call from The Winery, asking if I make cakes or tortes. If any of you know me, you know that I do not do cakes! In fact I'm horrible at them! Just ask my husband. I regretfully told the lady this and figured that would be the end of the conversation. Not the case. They had a dinner event planned for Friday and Saturday night and their dessert caterer had cancelled on them. They needed 65 Chocolate Tortes by Friday night. Did I mention I don't do tortes or cakes. To my surprise she asked me if I would be able to do Chocolate Torte Cupcakes. Well I must have been delusional because I excitedly replied, "Absolutely!" "No problem at all"! Friday?! You mean this Friday? Two days away Friday? The Friday that I have 312 cupcakes to get ready?! Yep! That was the one! I replayed the conversation in my head as I Goggled "Chocolate Torte Cupcakes". Yes, I use Google for everything! I found 5 different recipes. For someone who has never had a Chocolate Torte, this was taking a shot in the dark. But as a great friend of mine always says, "What could go wrong?" I was ready, I could do this. I've got 24 hours to pull this off. Oh yeah, did I mention I had to have them ready by 7:00 am on Friday morning? And I have 312 cupcakes to have ready for Saturday? I can do this.


The chocolate cupcake part I was comfortable with. I can do cupcakes, no problem. It was the chocolate mousse filling I was concerned with. I consulted my mom, and proceeded with what I thought was going to work. Who knew that making chocolate mousse was such a time consuming process. I finished the first batch and thought to myself, "Boy, I hope I don't have to do that again anytime soon." Little did I know that I would be doing it all over again 30 minutes later when I was 6 cupcakes short of chocolate mousse filling. There actually was a point where I thought I may be able to scrape enough off of the already done cupcakes to put it on the 6 that were still naked. That's just how tired I was at that point. It was 11:30 pm on Thursday night. Did I mention that I had to have the cupcakes ready at 7:00 am the next morning, have myself ready for work, have Aiden ready for school, and have Sophie ready for the sitters by 7:00 am too? And it's 11:30 pm.  It's going to be a long night! So I got my 2nd batch of mousse made (definitely not as good as the first) but it will work. I dressed the cupcakes and was still considering at 1:00am Friday morning how to top them. You know how you get a brilliant idea in your head. You can picture it, and then when you try to do it, it just won't work? Well that was me at 1:00am Friday morning. I had this awesome idea for what to do on top, and when I did 4 cupcakes and realized it wasn't going to work, I gave up. Now what? I compromised with a simple top and finished up the 66 cupcakes just before 2:00 am. I went to bed thinking, this is all happening for a reason. I wouldn't have been given this opportunity if it weren't supposed to happen. I knew that getting my name out there, especially through a very well known business, was important if I wanted this business to continue. I figured even if I get a few calls out of this it would be worth it. I tucked my cupcakes into their boxes and off to bed I went. Four hours later, I was up, dressed, kids ready, cupcakes packed and delivered. I thought to myself, that wasn't too bad :o)

So now it's a waiting game. My business cards were given out to 65 new people. Let's just hope that those 65 people make the long night all worth it!

There's a saying, "No rest for the weary." Ultimately means that no matter how tired or overworked you are, you must keep going to persevere. Definitely the definition I'm living by!

Oh, and yes, I got the 312 cupcakes done for Saturday and the 3 dozen Monster High cupcakes done for Sunday. So now, it's time to rest. At least until the phone rings again!!

The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake has been Crowned!!

As all of you who follow this blog know, a couple of months ago I was chosen out of 700+ people to participate in the search for the ultimate vanilla cupcake recipe. Well after a few good tries it has finally come to an end with what I and 65% of the 50 Explorers feel is The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake! When I first started with this project I was skeptical that we would ever come up with a cupcake that I would deem the best of the best. You see, I'm not really a vanilla cupcake fan. Give me a chocolate, strawberry, red velvet or any other off the wall flavor and I can't turn them away. But vanilla is different. It's the plain jane of the cupcake world. That's what I used to think, until Round 3 of The Ultimate Vanilla Challenge. The minute I took the pan of Round 3 cupcakes out of the oven, I was sold. The appearance and smell alone was unbeliveable. They were a perfect little domed confection, speckled with vanilla beans, that smelled amazing. It was all I could do to wait for them to cool long enough to eat one. And after the first bite of warm vanilla heaven there was no turning back. The texture & taste were like no other vanilla cupcake I had ever tasted. As far as I'm concerned these cupcakes needed no stack of icing to make it taste or look better. They were PERFECT! After reporting back, Stef finally realized that there was no way to satisfy and get 80% of people to agree on anything, so at that point we re-evaluated where we stood and she decided that 65% was a pretty fair assessment of goodness. And I would have to agree!

So what's the next step. It's your turn! If you're the type that likes to bake and try new things then I highly recommend trying this recipe, but I have to say, follow it exactly as it is written, and be careful to fill the liners just a little over half full. If you don't it changes the whole outcome of the cupcake. If you're not the baking type then call me or email me and order some of The Ultimate Vanilla!

This was an absolute amazing experience. I feel like I have become friends with Stef without ever meeting her. She has changed my cupcake business in so many ways, and has been so great at providing information about all things cupcake. I hope to continue the friendship we have created online and I hope that she will continue with the new and exciting cupcake recipes that she has shared with all of us. You can check out her blog at http://www.cupcakeproject.com/ for The Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake recipe and many other amazing food and cupcake creations!

Menu for Saturday, September 17, 2011

With the Summer Season winding down and only 4 more weeks of the Farmer's Market left, a slight sadness is coming over me. Now what do I do? Where do I go? Will people still want my cucpakes in the winter time? All of these are questions I continue to ask myself. I'm working on a few options for the cupcake business and I just hope that the winter will be just as good as the summer has been. If anyone has any suggestions for selling my cupcakes, please let me know!!

And now, on to the cupcakes!!

Menu for September 17, 2011

Vanilla Vanilla

Black & White

Cookies & Cream

White Chocolate Strawberry

Triple Chocolate Fudge

Peanut Butter Perfection

Red Velvet

"Pup"Cakes

Canine Carrot

Barkin' Bacon

And, Our newest flavor creation...

The Tailgater

A sweet cheddar cheese & beer cupcake topped with cheddar and bacon cream cheese frosting and a chocolate covered almond football. The perfect addition to any game day festivities!

Come out the the Sidney Farner's Market on Saturday from 8am - 12:00 noon and check out all of the fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, crafts, and cucpakes!! Hope to see you there!

Angry Birds Round 1

So I've had a friend ask if I could do Angry Birds Cupcakes. Without hesitation, I say, "Sure, that's no problem at all!"

Here's the first round of trials. I think they turned out pretty goood for a first time. I have some cleaning up on them to do, but I think they are going to be too cute sitting quietly on top of cupcakes!!

Weekend Menu

Here we are, only 8 more weeks of the Farmer's Market left. So far it has been a great season, and I think it's only going to get better!

I've had so many people ask me on Saturday mornings, "so do you have...", or, "are you going to be making...?" So this week was customer's choice. I asked everyone to send me a message and let me know what they would like to have at the market this weekend. Well, here's the list...    nothing... To my suprise I didn't get any messages. But you know what, I think that means that there are so many favorites that they didn't know which ones to pick!  So this week I put together a few of the weekly favorites and threw in a couple of new flavors!

Here's the menu for August 6, 2011

Vanilla with Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream
Guinness Chocolate
Orange Dreamsicle
Blueberry Swirl
Rhubarb Crumble
Blue Velvet
Peanut Butter with Vanilla Buttercream or Chocolate Buttercream
and our newest favorite,  Chocolate Pistachio Cream!

I hope to see all of you at The Sidney Farmer's Market tomorrow morning!!!

Price Change Effective August 1, 2011

After careful consideration and shopping around, I have decided to increase my prices a bit effective August 1, 2011. After today, all standard size cupcakes will be $1.50 each or $18.00 a dozen. All of my miniture cupcakes will remain at $5.00 a dozen. Any special decorations including fondant and gumpaste decorations will range from $.50-$1.00 per cupcake depending on the design. Any orders that are currently on the books and have been quoted will remain at July prices and will not be affected by this price change. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me at any time at cupsbykim@gmail.com

I want to thank each and every one of you for your support and inspiration on this crazy journey of mine!!

The Quest Begins!!

Quest for the Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake

I was recently selected to be one of 50 volunteers in the quest or the ultimate vanilla cupcake recipe. Out of over 700 world wide applicants Cups By Kim is now a designated "explorer" in this project. I begin today baking Vanilla Cupcakes from a recipe created to be the ultimate vanilla cupcake. The entire cupcake is from scratch and is ready to go in the oven. So what does this mean for you, other than Cups By Kim having the very best of the best vanilla cupcakes? It means I need taste testers! I have been instructed to have people try the vanilla cupcake recipes that I have been given and then report back the response and suggestions. I'm looking for volunteers to try these cupcakes. If you're interested either send your name, email, and phone number to cupsbykim@gmail.com and title the email Cupcake Volunteer. Or if you come out to the Sidney Farmer's Market July 23, 2011, stop by the Cups By Kim booth and give me your info and I'll hand you an Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake! It's as easy as that! Let's work together to find the Ultimate Vanilla Cupcake Recipe!!