Red Velet Cupcakes (Part 2)

Hello Cupcakers!

My recent foray into the world of Red Velvet Cupcakes prompted some debate between Sarah and I about how they are made. I argued that it was simply the red food coloring and an extra dose of vanilla that gave the red velvets their distinctive taste and color. Sarah argued that it was beets.We decided to go to the best source for our information: Wikipedia.

Here is the Wikipedia page for Red Velvet Cake.

We discovered that it is actually the addition of coco that gives Red Velvet cake its unique flavor. 

And for those that are brave enough to try it/ have access to a oven, here are a couple of red velvet cupcake recipes: regular and vegan. (The link to the vegan cupcake recipe also explains how to use natural food coloring to get the red that gives these cupcakes their name.)

Good luck with crafting a beautiful Red Velvet Cupcake! If you make some, please e-mail us a picture at atlantacupcakeguide@gmail.com!

Peace, Love, and Cupcakes,
Lizzie

ALERT: Man Spotted in Cupcake!

So I was driving somewhere the other day and tuning into the radio. The people on the show were talking about a subject dear to my heart...you guessed it, cupcakes!

Sample Man Cupcake

Specifically, they were talking about a man that one of the people on the show had seen on the side of the road dressed as a cupcake! They were talking about how they felt so sorry for this poor guy and anyone else who has to dress in those ridiculous costumes in order to draw business. They were talking about how silly it was that he had to dress up as a cupcake, and I agree...he probably did look a bit ridiculous!

Hearing all this hype made me think, would I want to dress as a cupcake? Lizzie is planning on being a cupcake for Halloween and I think there is a cute way to do it. But I'm not so sure I'd like to be in the shoes of the guy above!

Check out some of these cute ways to pull off a cupcake....see, it can be a good look!

Red Velvet Cupcakes from Kathryn (Part 1)

Hello cupcake lovers!

So I have a story to share about some cupcakes that Sarah and I were given recently. One of our hallmate's had a birthday and her mom made her some red velvet cupcakes. She knows our love of all things cupcake, so she decided to share a couple with Sarah and I. My response to this act of generosity was skepticism because I do not like red velvet cupcakes even though they are one of the most popular cupcake flavors. But to do my duty as a cupcake connoisseur, I tried the red velvet cupcake.

The heavenly chorus burst into song, the earth stopped moving, and I can officially say, "I'm a believer!"

This was seriously one of the BEST CUPCAKES EVER. The icing was perfect, the cake was delicious. There are no words.

So a big thank you to Kathryn and her mom (who graduated from Agnes Scott the same year as Sarah's mom and is also a teacher)!!! I am forever grateful to being shown the light of a good red velvet cupcake. (Sarah liked her's too, but her cupcake revelation wasn't quite as earth shattering as mine.)

Stay tuned for part 2 when I explain what red velvet cupcakes are made of (sugar and spice and everything nice, of course!)

'Til next time,
Lizzie

Carolyn's Cupcakes

Hey friends!

We have an exciting cupcake shop to share with you: Carolyn's Cupcakes! This place was AMAZING! We loved every thing about it, but specifically:

• They had parking!
• They have a super cute store with awesome decorations!
• They make colossal cupcakes!
• Organic coffee!
• Their cupcakes were goooooooooooood!
• They make vegan cupcakes! (This one's for you, Dani!)
• Did I mention their cupcakes were good? :)

 Don't believe us? Check out this photo evidence:

Pretty Vegan Cupcake!

Colossal Cupcake!

The Grand Entry

Lizzie making an appearance

Um, we need this shelf...AMAZING!

Carolyn's Cupcakes, Decatur, GA

Our delicate cupcakes, pre-consumption :)

Sarah and her fierce Tiger Tail

       Sarah had the Tiger Tail Cupcake. This treat was composed of a soft citrus-flavored cake frosted with a rich, dark chocolate icing. We had not seen this type of cupcake before, but were eager to indulge in this new flavor. It was quite an experience! The cake was moist and had just the right citrus kick to it. Combined with the delicious dark chocolate icing on top, the whole thing was quite a treat!

Lizzie + Fluffer Nutter!

       Lizzie tried the Fluffer Nutter Cupcake and a Chocolate Vegan Cupcake.The Fluffer Nutter was a vanilla cupcake with peanut butter frosting and, as a surprise, there was a marshmallow in the middle! It was a really good cupcake: the cake was moist and it had plenty of icing! The chocolate vegan cupcake was really good too. I almost liked the vegan icing better than the regular icing. It had cute sea turtle sprinkles on top which only added to the greatness of the cupcake. Carolyn's regular and vegan cupcakes come highly recommend from both of us!

Want to check this cupcake oasis out for yourself? Here are the where, when,  and how's:

Location:
2745 Lavista Road
Decatur, GA 30033

Phone: 404.343.1964

E-mail: rob@carolynscupcakes.com

Website: http://carolynscupcakes.com/?page_id=2

Hours: Monday 7:30am - 8pm
Tuesday - Thursday 7:30am - 9pm
Friday 7:30am - 10pm
Saturday 9am - 10pm
Sunday 11am- 8pm

SO CUTE!

 

 I just wanted to share these happy little cow cupcakes!!!

Also, be looking forward to a new cupcake shop review including a vegan cupcake! Coming soon!

Have a good day!

Lizzie

Can You Say Sugar High?

Here's a question for you: 

Choose the following word that most closely means "sugar high":

A.) Tooth Fairy

B.) Giraffe

C.) Colossal Cupcakes

Did you answer C., Colossal Cupcakes....you're right!

Lizzie and I discovered this new cupcake phenomenon this weekend on our latest cupcake adventure to Carolyn's Cupcakes (to be blogged soon!). We were blown away by the size of this beastly cake, and curious how anyone would be able to consume such a monstrosity!

Lizzie and Lauren modeling the Colossal Cupcake Kit in Kroger!

Well, yesterday we went to Kroger for a few items and came across a Colossal Cupcake making kit! As you can guess, we had to take a picture with it! Lizzie and Lauren hopped in with the kit to take the picture. Although we didn't buy the kit, we got a good laugh out of the whole moment.

We also went by the bakery to view their cupcake selection and saw that Kroger bakes Colossal Cupcakes themselves!

So next time you're in for a colossal treat, head to Carolyn's Cupcakes or Kroger to satisfy your sugar need!

Boys, Boys, Boys

Hello Cupcake Fans!

I have a treat for you:

The top picture is from Dudes with Breads Eating Cupcakes. Facial hair and cupcakes together? Too much awesome!

The second picture is from Cute Boys with Cupcakes. The name says it all!

Happy perusing!

Love,

Lizzie

Chocolate Pink

Our next cupcake destination was Chocolate Pink, a shop located in Midtown on Juniper Street. We chose this as our next cupcake gig, as we had coupons for free cupcakes (thanks again LG!). And the temptation to resist free cupcakes was simply too strong. So on Saturday, we hit the road and headed downtown to check out Chocolate Pink.

This was truly an adventure, as neither of us had visited the shop before. We found the shop relatively easily, however, in finding a parking spot, we were not so fortunate! After several laps around the store's surrounding streets, we settled in a parking spot about three blocks away...five miles uphill both ways in the snow for cupcakes, anyone?

We decided to wear our matching lime green cupcake shirts which got us quite a few stares and double takes!

Once inside this cupcake haven, our upset about parking subsided. We were taken aback by the cuteness of this shop. Everything about it was amazing, from the pink-padded booth seating to the silver beads garnishing the columns, and not to mention the cupcakes! 

(A view from the entrance of the shop (Left) and a view of the entrance from our table (Right)). 

We were astonished by their selection and variety of cupcakes; they also had other dessert choices, like cakes or miniature cheesecakes. There was something for everyone. This shop had the most unique flavors of the three we have visited so far, which made it tough for each of us to decide which ones we should try!

(So many cute cupcakes!!!)

After a few minutes of debate, Lizzie settled on the flavor of the month, Watermelon, and Sarah opted for the classy Raspberry Champagne cupcake. We placed our order and spoke with the nicest employee about our blog. We were surprised when she looked us up on the spot and began checking out the blog!

Lizzie ordered a coffee as well, and we settled into a nearby booth to wait for our scrumptious cupcakes to be delivered. The cupcakes were brought out to us on china plates, perfectly garnished with a raspberry drizzle. We were also given a fork and knife to eat them with, how sophisticated!

SO ready to dig into the cupcakes!

 We both tried each others cupcakes first (sharing is caring!) and then we dug into our own.

(The watermelon cupcake (above))

Even though it was good, the watermelon cupcake was not Lizzie's favorite. It had a butter-cream frosting that felt a little too much like butter and the watermelon flavor was really artificial. The cupcake tasted like Bubblicious Bubble Gum, which isn't a bad thing if you're regressing, but I wish I had tasted something different. I definitely enjoyed visiting the shop though! It is a really cute place and I can see why it is so popular! The coffee I ordered was really good.

(The Raspberry Champagne Cupcake (Below))                                                       

Using the fork (how proper), Sarah took the first bite into hers and a smile crept onto her face. It was so tasty! My love for both champagne and raspberries was combined into this tiny delicacy and was absolutely amazing. The cake was moist, the icing was creamy, and the presentation was gorgeous. I was impressed, to say the least! As I continued to consume the cupcake, I discovered a pleasant surprise in the middle; underneath all the icing, there was a fresh raspberry filling! This was my favorite part of the cupcake.

Raspberry Surprise!

Yet again, another amazing cupcake experience! A new place, exotic flavors, and a great vibe made this cupcake escapade a success! We totally recommend Chocolate Pink for all your cupcake needs, whether you are looking for a girl's night out or catering a birthday party, they are your cupcake professionals!

Be sure to check them out!

Chocolate Pink Review Summary:

Who: Chocolate Pink

What: Cupcakes, Cakes, Custom orders...you name it! This would be a good place to take a date, just saying!

When: Tuesday-Wednesday: 10AM-7PM
Thursday-Saturday: 10AM-11PM
Sunday: 10AM-8PM

Where: 905 Juniper Street NE, Unit 108
Atlanta, GA 30309

Pistachio?!

Hello Cupcake Friends!

Mine and Sarah's hall-mate Lauren G. was super duper generous to us recently and brought us a cupcake!

And this was not just any cupcake; it was a pistachio cupcake from Pasta Vino, an Italian restaurant.

Here it is in it's pre-consumption form:

 (The icing got a little smooshed by the box)

Such a good cupcake! It was a cute light green color and the icing was fantastic! The crushed pistachios on top contributed to the perfectly subtle flavor. The cake was dense and really flavorful.

I definitely enjoyed it:

Thanks LG!

Til the next cupcake adventure,

Lizzie

You Can Have Your Piece of Cake (and eat it too!)

Our second cupcake shop visit was a piece of cake to complete...literally!

Right down the road from Agnes Scott, where we attend school is a tiny little bakery called Piece of Cake. This itty bitty nook is always a temptation for students crossing back and forth between campus and the student apartments down the road. Last Saturday, we chose to walk down to this joint to try ourselves a piece of cake and let you know our thoughts!

Walking into this tiny store, we were surprised at the amount of business being conducted for such a small place! We waited patiently in line for our turn to order, eyeing the cupcake variety and attempting to choose which ones would be our victims. Piece of Cake is unique in that they have two sizes of cupcakes, that are not your typical sizes. They have a small, which is about the size of your average one-in-a-dozen cupcake, as well as a large cupcake, which is, well....large!

While we waited, we concluded that we would order three small cupcakes in order to try several of the flavors available. However, our plans changed when we reached the front of the line. They were unfortunately out of the caramel cupcake, one of the three we were hoping to try, so we decided to take a different route and just take two cupcakes.

Sarah ordered one of the weekly flavors, Peanut Butter. Through the glass cupcake container, it seemed a promising choice to both a cupcake and a peanut butter lover. Although nothing special stylistically, the cupcake was appealing in taste. Lizzie had a Strawberry cupcake, which was adorably pink and pretty good!


The woman at the counter packaged the cupcakes and we took them back with us to campus to enjoy, as there is no seating available in the store. We cozied up under the shade of the trees in the Agnes Scott Alumnae Garden and unpacked our cupcake feast.

Sarah took a full bite first to get the full experience of cake and icing. Delicious! The cake was extremely moist and light. Not only edible, but extremely enjoyable! The icing, however, was slightly disappointing. The icing was supposed to be the peanut butter part of the deal; however, it tasted only slightly of peanut butter. It was a nice icing, don't get me wrong, just not completely peanut-buttery! Overall, the experience with my piece of cake was quite enjoyable, although next time I would like to see a bit more flavor in the icing.

Lizzie had the Strawberry, which was good! The cake part was wonderfully moist and the icing was a good cream-cheese based frosting. The flavor didn't taste too artificial, which is a problem that many fruit based cupcakes can run into. I too wished that the flavor of the cupcake overall could be a little stronger.


Our recommendation: try it out! This place is for sure worthwhile. They are reasonably priced, have a range of sizes and flavors, and have multiple locations in the Atlanta area for convenience. We can promise you that we will be going back to have our piece of cake (and eat it too!).

The Atlanta Cupcake Shop Review Summary:

Who: Piece of Cake

What: Cupcakes, Cakes, Custom orders...you name it!

When: Monday-Friday: 9AM-5:30PM
Saturday: 10AM-2PM

Where: Buckhead, Roswell and Decatur locations!
307-A East College Avenue
Decatur, GA 30030

Decorating How-To

I recently came across this youtube user via cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com, and she has some really great videos about how to decorate cupcakes. If I had an oven, I would make this little guy:
   

She has lots of other videos about cupcake decorating and other subjects too.

Enjoy!
Lizzie

SHIRTS!!!

Howdy there cupcake lovers!

Some of you may know that I have a really cool mom whom I affectionately call Moo. She is a delightful and caring person who decided to make Sarah and I a present to celebrate the launch of our blog.

She and a co-worker made these beauties for us:

 

Aren't they amazing? Just look how happy we are! They even have our blog name on the back!(That's the side I'm holding up)

Just thought we'd share a pic of the coolest shirts around!!!


Have a lovely end to your 3-day weekend!

Lizzie

International Cuisine

One may not believe, but the Cupcake fetish is an international phenomenon. I witnessed this firsthand on my recent venture to Europe, where I studied in the Netherlands for five months.

In my multitude of travels, I came across numerous cupcake shoppes and distributors that offered the yummy delicacies in all sizes and flavors. I never thought before that the Cupcake business had spread worldwide, but indeed it had!

One of my favorite memories of cupcakes abroad was on our visit to Ireland. My dear friend Mateja and I had journeyed to Belfast as part of our ten day trip to the U.K. We were staying with a friend of mine, a local, who showed us around the city in her parents' car. I remember seeing the store window advertising delicious cupcakes and thinking, we need to go back!

Later the next day, our friend was kind enough to walk us back to the shoppe, Once Upon a Cupcake, to get a better look inside. We entered and I immediately loved the quaintess of the shoppe. It was very hip and trendy, as it doubled as a milkshake maker. We awed at the various types of cupcakes, some that you would never see in the States. For example, Smarties is a brand of itty bitty chocolates in Europe, much similar to M&Ms (except better!). Anyhow, the shoppe had a Smarties Cupcake, along with many other unique flavors only found in Europe. I was astounded.

A few days prior, we had tasted a yummy cupcake during our 3-day stay in London. A friend of a friend had recommended a local cupcake shoppe in the Notting Hill Market, which we visited (and I must say much resembles the film!). We each ordered a yummy delight at Hummingbird cafe, notorious in the market for its scrumptious mini cakes! The store was super crowded, so Mateja and I had to eat outside. She found the cupcake quite sweet and buttery, as did I, but the experience of cupcake eating in London was quite delightful!

And my favorite place of all was a small hole-in-the wall, Mugs and Muffins, that I discovered in Tilburg, the city in which I was studying. I believe it opened about halfway into my stay in Tilburg. While I never tried one of their cupcakes, I did have a muffin (and coffee!) there, which suited my taste buds quite amiably! I first discovered the yumminess of it all with my friend Maria who had come to visit me, and later ventured back a time or two on my own for a relaxing moment in my own little cupcake oasis abroad!

As you can see, cupcakes are truly a worldwide phenomenon. I think they will take over the world one day, perhaps...!

I would love to hear from you if you have seen any cupcake shoppes in your travels...any suggestions of places I should be on the lookout for next time I venture outside the US?

Cupcakes 101

Hello Friends!

So I was thinking about what to post regarding the Cupcake World at large, and it occurred to me that I should introduce you to cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com, which was an inspiration for this blog and quite possibly one of the most important cupcake resources on the web today!

They post multiple times a day (so you will never lack of cupcake news) and there are numerous cupcake pictures for your viewing delight.

Put them on your favorites list! Right now!

...

Have you bookmarked them yet?

Good!

Enjoy getting to know how awesome the Cupcake World really is, and come back to visit us to get your local cupcake fix!

Lizzie

P.S. Our next cupcake tasting adventure will be Saturday Morning so stay tuned for a rocking review!

Review of the Atlanta Cupcake Factory

Sunday, August 23, 2010


Most people in Atlanta know about the Atlanta Cupcake Factory. There was recently some major distress in the city when the store closed down for a bit after a fire in their store. Thankfully, everyone was safe and the store reopened quickly to much rejoicing. Known around Atlanta and the nation for their stellar sweets, we knew that the Atlanta Cupcake Factory had to be the first review on our blog.

When our schedules all miraculously aligned on Sunday afternoon, Sarah, me, and Maggie, our mutual friend, set off to North Highland Ave to mack on some cupcakes. The Atlanta Cupcake Factory is located in a small strip of shops. Their store is actually pretty tiny for the amount of business that happens there so it was no surprise to find that we had to wait outside for the line to go down before we could go in and feast our eyes on their delicious cupcakes. The store is really adorable and the people that work there are really friendly! They can recommend flavors and speedily get you your chosen cupcake victim. The cupcakes are the perfect size. Not too big and not too small. The amount of icing varies by the flavor. I choose the Sugar Cookie Salted Caramel, Sarah had the Sugar Nutella and Maggie got the Cookies and Cream cupcake.

The Sugar Cookie Salted Carmel cupcake was amazing! It sounds like a really unusual combination of flavors, but it is actually the Atlanta Cupcake Factory's bestselling flavor. I can see why! The cake was the sugar cookie part and though it was good, it was the icing that really made this flavor (and that's not just my icing bias talking!). The salted caramel icing drizzled with caramel and sprinkled with salt was seriously to die for. There wasn't a lot of icing on the cupcake and there didn't need to be, the flavor was really strong. I liked that the icing wasn't very thick. It actually started running all over my cupcake when I got it out in the heat, so it was a little bit messy but so delicious! I highly recommend this cupcake.

A fascination with one of Europe's favorite sweet spreads, Nutella, led Sarah to indulge in the unique Sugar Nutella flavor. An attractive ensemble of vanilla cake topped with a large scoop of Nutella icing, this cupcake was a sweet surprise! While very much a chocolate sensation, one also detected a hint of caramel, thanks to a hidden drizzle of the sweet substance lacing the Nutella frosting. Although biting into this cupcake was difficult and awkward due to its height, the experience was made worthwhile the instant your teeth sunk into it. I enjoyed both licking the icing on its own and eating it along with the cake denominator. My only concern was that the icing was lacking a bit of the true European Nutella flair. However, it was definitely a delicious creation one will surely not regret eating!

Our dear friend Maggie who accompanied us on this trip had the Cookies and Cream cupcake. Cookies and Cream is a classic when it comes to cupcake flavors and Maggie said that what really set this one apart was the yummy cream cheese icing. It was adorably decorated with a mini oreo resting on top of a generous scoop of icing.

I had an unexpected encounter with a truffle at the Atlanta Cupcake Factory. They make cupcake truffles! I had the Strawberry Lemon flavor. It was an inch sized ball of the magical cupcake truffle substance coated in sugar sprinkles. It is definitely not like a chocolate truffle, but it's not like a cupcake either. It's actually really hard to describe what it was, but imagine if icing and cake had a baby... that's what a cupcake truffle would be! Trying one should definitely be on your bucket list.

Overall, a visit to the Atlanta Cupcake Shop is a necessary experience whether you are visiting Atlanta or if you live here. They have cutely decorated, delicious cupcakes that are perfectly portioned and reasonably priced. And they definitely know what they're doing! At their shop or catering, they are pros. What are you waiting for...hop on over to N. Highland and pick one up!

The Atlanta Cupcake Shop Review Summary:

Who: The Atlanta Cupcake Factory
Visit their website for hours, phone number, and flavors of the week. They also have a blog, a facebook page, and a twitter.

What: Great cupcakes of course! And the mysterious cupcake truffle. They cater too! (I've heard from more than one person that they do a really good job at catering weddings!)

When: Tuesday-Thursday: 11AM-6PM
Friday-Saturday: 12PM-7PM
Sunday: 12PM-5PM

Where: 624 North Highland Avenue NE, Atlanta, GA 30306

Thanks for joining us on our cupcake adventure!

-Sarah and Lizzie

Welcome to the Atlanta Cupcake Guide!

Well, hello there fellow cupcake lovers!

Sarah and Lizzie here. We are so excited to start this blog to share our love of cupcakes, more specifically, our love of Atlanta's cupcakes.

The point of this blog is simple: we visit cupcake shops, sample their wares, and tell you all about it. Hopefully, as we put more posts up, you'll know where to go in Atlanta to get the perfect double chocolate butter-cream or where the best mini caramel cupcake can be found.

We will be reviewing a cupcake shop once a week, but in the between time we will be posting about goings on in the cupcake world at large.

You might be wondering who we are, good question! Sarah and Lizzie are seniors at Agnes Scott College on the outskirts of Atlanta. We have been college roommates since our junior year, and share a love for everything cupcake! Sarah's love for cupcakes began as a result of Lizzie's fascination with the miniature delights. She loves baking the delicacies and testing new cupcake recipes, as well as watching some of the great TV shows about cupcakes (Cupcake Wars, anyone?). Lizzie collects anything with cupcakes on them and considers herself to be a semi-expert on icing (the best part!). She hopes to own her own cupcake shop one day, but in the meantime is content to taste all of Sarah's creations!

We hope that you will enjoy this adventure with us as we delve into frosting, sprinkles and a multitude of cupcakes. We are excited that you are joining us for this scrumptious, unforgettable journey!

-Sarah and Lizzie