bits of my weekend volume 5 (aka the shark cupcake post)

we decided we wanted to make these shark cupcakes from the hello cupcake book for the boy's class. they are learning about sharks.

how hard could it be?

the boy supervised for a while, then gave up and went off to play.

i had to carve twinkies into shark snouts, dip them in warm icing, affix them to the cupcakes, and decorate them.

clearly, the practice shark did not come off as well as hoped.

the teeth, in particular, were wonky.

as i went along it got easier and i figured out better ways of doing things.

here's the shark heads before being decorated. the red mouth is a piece of fruit roll-up.

it took most of the day on sunday to create these. and i have to say they turned out not-half-bad.

i wanted to give up, but i'm glad i didn't.

it was worth it all when i dropped the cupcakes off at the boy's class today and all the teachers gathered 'round and raved about our creations.

if nothing else, for today, the boy is the most popular kid in school.

I really want to do this

CakeSpy recently did a cupcake art installation around Seattle. The fake cupcakes are made of plaster and have cute, encouraging notes affixed to them. The idea is for people to find them and to simply be happy. Cake Spy received a lot of media attention for this. Now they're encouraging other cities to do the same. They even provided a tutorial on how to make the faux sweets. It does look like fun. Anyone want to help?

Just when you thought there were no more "cupcakes saved me from finanical ruin" stories out there

This is an interesting tidbit from the New York Times. I'm not sure how long the NYT keeps their articles live, so I pasted the text below. Thanks, Jean for the tip, who got it from Lucia Perry.


Melissa Bushell lost what she said was a boring job in advertising, started baking, and now seems to have succeeded at the near-impossible challenge of finding something new to do with cupcakes. Hers are likely to be the ultimate recessionproof treats, $1 for one bite of flavorful cake (chocolate, vanilla, yellow or red velvet) with a perky dollop of icing and a garnish like jelly, sprinkles or cookie crumbs.

There are seven varieties of Baked by Melissa mini-cupcakes, including a take on s’mores, another filled with peanut butter and a bright tie-dyed vanilla, her signature. She bakes the cupcakes at Cafe Bari, 529 Broadway (Spring Street) and sells them there, from a window on Spring Street just west of Broadway.

The more cupcakes you buy, the cheaper they are (a dozen are $10; 100 are $70 if you pick them up yourself, $100 if delivered). They can be ordered online for delivery in Manhattan: bakedbymelissa.com, (212) 842-0220.

I've gone vegan!

No, not really. I just tried a vegan cupcake recipe in anticipation of Tuesday's suite party (one of our suitemates is vegan) and they turned out pretty darn great if I do say so myself. The cupcakes include, naturally, no eggs or butter, but they turned out fluffy and delicious, even without the vegan chocolate glaze. The topping is crushed Oreos (Vegan! Who knew!) Even Hubz and the boy loved them. I'll do another batch tomorrow or Monday, but I'm glad to know that the recipe works beautifully.