Guess Who Called!

A few weeks ago I received a phone call from a production company in L.A. They work with the Food Network and were calling us about a new reality show Cupcake Wars. The gal on the other end of the phone explained that the pilot for Cupcake Wars aired in December and repeated in January. She asked if I had heard about it and I sheepishly replied "no". You see, way back in 2006 when we first opened our little shop I was amazed at how many people asked me about various cooking and baking shows on TV. I had no idea who Bobby Flay was, and had never seen Ace of Cakes or any food challenges. Our family was so busy we never bothered to pay extra for cable TV so we were quite out of the loop with the yummy food scene. I have since seen at least one episode of each of these popular and quite impressive shows, but do not follow any of them on a regular basis. I digress...

Back to the phone call... This sweet young lady went on to tell me that Cupcake Wars was in the process of filming it's first season and that they had heard about The Cupcake Cottage and "hoped we would consider being a part of the show". My immediate internal reaction was: "HECK YEAH! How cool would that be!!! I'm up to a good challenge and new experience...bring it on baby!!" My actual reply to her was: "I'm very flattered, now tell me what all is involved."

She went on to explain what went on in the pilot challenge. Basically, 4 teams were given a challenge to use sweet and spicy ingredients in their cupcakes. Eventually, a winner was chosen and would bake 1,000 of their winning cupcake for a Hollywood event. When I asked her "what would I have to do at this point", she explained that I needed to send (ASAP) a photo of myself, my assisitant, my store, and my cupcakes. This was on a Thursday and we were facing a very busy Friday and Saturday of baking. Making sure we do the very best we can with our baking is our top priority and this was all that popped into my head at that point. I thanked her for calling and told her I would email her with my decision before the end of the day.

It didn't take long for me to face another reality. Did I really want to subject myself to the stress of such an experience? What if I completely bombed on the challenge? What about those cameras?! You know that saying "the camera really likes you"...yeah, I've NEVER been told that! =) Most importantly, I have absolutely no desire to be recognized on a national level. We have a very successful business and prefer to grow it carefully. If recognition comes, it comes, but to actually seek such attention would most likely keep me from sleeping at night. For me, peaceful slumber, and managed stress is far more important than 15 minutes of fame and the enormous demand that could possibly come from it.

So, I emailed my regret and told the Food Network recruiter to feel free to contact me should there be another season. She kindly wrote back that she completely understood and would keep The Cupcake Cottage in mind for future projects. That was cool. =)
I must admit that I did a little searching about Cupcake Wars since and was amazed at how many audition recordings are on YouTube. Clearly, there is a process for being considered and I'm guessing that had I made it thru 'round 1' I would have been asked to send in such a tape. Here's a clip of the actual Cupcake War Pilot and Here are a few auditions...some I really liked and some I found to be 'interesting'. Check them out!

Click: Highlights from Cupcake Wars Pilot episode

and here are some Cupcake War audition tapes: Dippidee ~ Crystal Roberts ~ Girl Veteran ~ TootSweet ~ New York Cupcakes

Want to see even more auditions just search Cupcake Wars on YouTube.

Snowstorm 2010 Epilogue

I cannot believe the last post I made here was regarding our snowstorm 2010 Valentine's weekend situation. I thought I would begin the update with some fun pics from that exciting weather event! These were taken Friday morning, February 12.

In need of a basic phone, that did not require electricity, we made our way to Walmart and were welcomed with this gorgeous parking lot scene at 4:30AM. I loved how the black, wintry sky shows up here!

Once Juaquin and I called customers to let them know we were unable to bake due to the electricity outage we made our way home...taking a scenic route!


Made it home only to learn that we were still without electricty there too!

Valentine's Weekend 2010 will not be one we forget anytime soon.

Effects of a Snowy Wonder!

The fabulous snowfall on Thursday has effected our operation for this Valentine weekend. Here's a quick recap and update for those of you with preorders and those that are just interested in how this is all playing out.

Thurday 11 February: Lots of gorgeous snow fell here in Fort Worth and our shop plugged along as normal. Our electricity at our home near TCU went out around noon that day. We were welcomed to spend the night with the in-laws...I have the best in-laws ever. =)

Friday 12 February: At 4:00 AM I arrived at the shop after driving thru lots of fresh snow. I was hopeful that we had power since a little lamp was dimly shining in our front window. Unfortunately, the power was struggling and there was not enough electrical "umph" to keep phones, appliances, ovens, heat, etc.... on. We were without electricity as were 175,000 people in the DFW area. I called our amazing baking assitants letting them know they needn't come in. The temperature in the shop (around 45*) was dropping quickly and Juaquin had joined me there by that time.

5:30 AM: we ventured to WalMart to get an old-school, $5.00 phone to plug directly to our phone line. We knew we would need to call customers that had preorders to let them know that we would not be able to bake for them that day, and offered to include them with our Saturday orders (should we have power to bake).
The 20+ customers I spoke with were wonderful and very understanding. We hated to let them down, but sometimes things are simply out of our control....like a record breaking snow storm!

9:30ish AM: Juaquin and I drove around our amazingly, wonderful city looking at how beautiful and almost magical the snowfall looked. The streets were quiet, the city was quiet. What is it about fresh snow that makes the world seem reverently calm, still and hushed. We took a few pictures and marveled at the covered tree branches. Simply goregous!! =)

10:30 AM: We ventured to the Alpaca show going on at Will Rogers....chatted with a few Alpaca ranchers. This was something we wanted to go to but knew we wouldn't be able to with the busiest baking holiday our shop experiences in the year. Perhaps it was meant for us to be there after all! =)

11:00ish AM: Went to Taylor Rentals to get a tablecloth for the Reading Rocks event and then went to Ridglea Country Club to decorate a table for Saturday's luncheon that raises money for the I Have a Dream Foundation. This is my second year to participate in this wonderful happening. Click here for Reading Rock details!

We continued to check off and on at the shop to see if Electricity was back on. It wasn't... =(

8:00 PM: Made our way to our home and happy to have electricity back on. I fell into bed ASAP, hoping that power would be back on at the shop for Saturday.

Saturday 13 February 4:00AM: Juaquin drove to the shop to see if electricity was on. He called to tell me it was not. I called my baking assistants to let them know NOT to come in. Reset my alarm for a little more sleep.

6:00 AM: Rolled out of bed, got ready and headed for the shop. Still no power, so gathered my thoughts, and all the preorder information of customers for Friday and Saturday. Waited a bit and began calling customers around 8:30 as not to wake them to early!

9:30 - 11:00: Spoke with customers, left messages, answered the phone.... Shop temp - 41 degrees...brrrrr....

"OH How I'd Rather Be Baking!", became my inner mantra... =(

I needed to contact about 40 customers that had preorders for this weekend. With the exception of 1 customer, every single person I spoke with expressed amazing understanding for the situation. I realize that each of them had special plans for the cupcakes today, yesterday and perhaps tomorrow and I hate letting them down. Many of them reminded me that with a record-level-Snowfall "this was a once in a lifetime event for North Texas". Busy wanting to set things right with our fabulous cupcake fans I wasn't thinking about that cool fact, and I appreciated that reminder!

In the event we get power restored before tomorrow, Sunday 14 February, we will be baking! Yes, for this one and only Sunday, IF we have electricity tomorrow, we will get on with baking the orders we have missed and then some.
For updated information visit our Facebook Fan Page and Twitter

Sometimes....no, wait... A lot of times in life there are happenings that are simply out of our control and the only thing we can do is control how we react to such events.
We deeply apologize that we have not been able to bake our sweet treats these past 2 days and we appreciate your patience.

Cupcake Flags

Some Flag ideas for Valentine's Day

I used the lavendar paper while playing, but any colored paper would look great

Craft supplies + imagination = fun flags!

I first came across custom Cupcake Flags a couple of years ago on the internet and thought they were just adorable. These wee flags have since become a very popular way to personalize a message that can be placed right on top of a cupcake!

The photos above are some I made as examples for those of you out that might want to get a little creative with your next gathering that include cupcakes! It's fun, relatively simple and extremely cute. =)

Here are a couple of links that you might want to explore for further ideas and instruction:

Martha Stewart DIY Flags

Hostess With the Mostess

and you can always just google ~ cupcake flags ~ for additional ideas.

Please note: we do not make or sell these in our shop

New Year brings a few New Flavors

The Cupcake Cottage has some new flavors to add in this new year!

Chai (pronounced Ch + a long i ~ as in tie) : The word chai actually means 'tea' in many parts of the world. Chai tea is a blend of black tea along with spices, and we add a bit of allspice and cardamom.

German Chocolate : Okay y'all, I'm stepping outside the German Chocolate tradition a wee bit here. Let's face it, the signature on German Chocolate is that amazing frosting that includes pecans and flaked coconut. We we will NOT be mixing that frosting. Rather, we will include the pecans and coconut in the traditional German chocolate cake batter and top this cupcake with our delicious buttercream, sprinkled with pecans and coconut!

Vanilla Chocolate Chip : A vanilla cake with semi-sweet chocolate chips sprinkled in the cake. This vanilla cake is different from our regular vanilla in that we use whole eggs and whole milk. Our regular vanilla cake calls for egg whites only, and buttermilk.

Keep an eye on our Flavors page for more new flavors as we introduce them...

Good Morning Cupcake Cottage!

Good Morning little shops!

When I arrive at the shop to bake it is always dark. This time of the year it's a real treat to drive in and see all the wonderful Christmas lights and decorations in shop windows.

I love our twinkle lights, and I especially love the pink Christmas tree in Weddings on the Boulevard window. Waking up is a little easier with such festive December greetings! =)

Hey Cupcake, Thanks!

Fort Worth Weekly Holiday Guide 2009 & Fort Worth Child December 2009

We are always incredibly surprised and grateful when unexpected 'shout-outs' come our way. Last week, while waiting for a burger at a neighboring hamburger spot, I saw the Fort Worth Weekly Holiday Guide 2009 and took a peek. Page 10 featured Holiday Hosting and there we were...pink topped Cupcake Cottage cupcakes and all! Very cool.

Last month, before the Thanksgiving rush, I received an email from Fort Worth Child letting me know that we had been selected as Best place for Cupcakes! We were asked to keep mum until the December issue was released. That is never an easy promise to keep, but we did.

We certainly appreciate such Sweet Mentions and we know that it's all due to YOU! We appreciate our amazing customers for embracing our sweet treats and letting others know about us. =)

December Magic!

December is here again! This month can mean so many things to different people. Considering the economic valley that our country is experiencing, it is likely to be month sprinkled with worry and stress for many. Let's face it, even when we are experiencing economic peaks December can still be a bit overwhelming.

Whatever your tradition...whatever your joy...whatever your stress... December is a great time to simply step back and remember the precious gift of life!

When I taught second grade I began each morning with clear objectives for myself and my students. I verbally expressed those objectives as well as post them on the chalkboard so we could reference our goals during the day. I always ended that daily opening with "Let's make it a great day!" Does that mean all went well each and every day? Absolutely not! However, I am a firm believer that there is one thing we can truly control in this life and that is how we react to everything around us.

If your world is falling apart, I recommend prayer and tears. If your world is going splendidly I recommend the same.

No matter the matter "Let's make it a great December!" =)

Hey Cupcake!

We appreciate it when customers share their Cupcake Cottage experience with us!

One such email message sent to us reads:

"I just love your sweet, delectable cottage! I have attached a pic of my bday experience there. You put a smile on my face!"

Thanks,
Heather

(such sweet messages put a smile on our face too!)

A Cupcake Cottage Birthday!

It's hard to believe that we have been open for 3 years! September 26th marked that 3rd birthday.

This endeavor has been everything we could have hoped for and more. It is proof that hard work, dedication and attention to detail can pay off. The pay off? Earning our way in this increasingly costly world by paying our bills both at home and at our shop, keeping a roof over our heads, food on the table and a chance to squirrel away for our future. Hard work keeps the mind active, and is an amazing, natural remedy for a great night of sleep!

The greater pay off? Meeting YOU! Each and every day we have been blessed to meet some absolutely wonderful people and appreciate your support and encouragement. The Cupcake Cottage will continue to bake our sweet little cupcake treats from scratch for dear Fort Worth!

Halloween + Cupcakes = YUM!

Just after dark, but just before dawn

buttercream ghosts come creeping along...

Yummy Mummies on our delightful double chocolate!

The Cupcake Cottage is gearing up for Halloween!

This marks our 4th year to get a little creative with

our cuppies. If your planning a spook-tacular

Halloween gathering then you may want to include

some festive cupcakes!

Call The Cupcake Cottage for details: 817-732-5670

Transformer Cupcakes!

We've been incredibly busy!!
(and it's not even holiday busy-ness yet)

Here are some cupcakes we baked and frosted to go along with a Transformer themed birthday party. The birthday boy celebrated his birthday last year with Batman themed cupcakes from our shop and mom was back for more this year!

See the black topped cuppies? That's black sugar that will make your mouth an instant black mess when you bite into it. I would never recommend it for a 'grown up' gathering, but they are bound to bring about a "WOW" - "WHOA" and "COOL" factor among little lads!

Zebra Bug!

Cupcakes + Zebra Bugs = Smiles!

The Cupcake Cottage customer may find his or her way to our shop when out walking or biking, but most likely they make their way to pick up cupcakes in a vehicle. This summer when a customer came to pick up her order of babycakes we suggested that she park up front so we could help load the pink boxes in her car.

When she pulled up I couldn't help but grab my camera and ask if I could get some pics of her zebra-bug. Is this not the coolest paint job? It was a gift from her husband. =) I told her that I was surprised I had not seen her 'zippin' around Fort Worth, but she explained that she lived about 45 minutes south of the city. Yes, cupcake fans come from all over for our cuppies and we're glad for that!

Next time your heading south on I-35 keep your eyes peeled for this festive little car. It's bound to make you smile!

Faux Cupcakes!

They look good enough to eat, don't they?

Well they're not!

These are fake cakes and I was so impressed with how they look I

thought some of our cupcake connoisseurs might like to try their hand at making them.

Click here for faux cupcake recipe.

I learned about it from Bella Couture, a wonderful little on-line shop that offers all sorts of cupcake companion accessories.

We Break From Baking

"Every now and then go away, have a little relaxation, for when you come back to your work your judgment will be surer. Go some distance away because then the work appears smaller and more of it can be taken in at a glance and a lack of harmony and proportion is more readily seen."

~ Leonardo da Vinci

Sometimes the greatest thing you can earn is time! One of the goals in having our little business is to work to live and not the other way around. We don't have a mad stash of cash that allows us to randomly close our doors. Rather, we plan so that we can afford to take time for family matters, household chores and rest!

This Labor Day we will be spending time with our daughter in Colorado. It's Parents Weekend at the Air Force Academy and that's where she attends school. Our youngest son will join us, as will Shadow the Wonder Dog (our busy 10 year old border collie)! Maybe next year our oldest son will be able to join too. He started a job shortly after graduating UT in Austin and is learning all about earning that extra time. =)

The Cupcake Cottage will be closed:

Thursday 3 September thru Wednesday 9 September

and will reopen Thursday 10 September at 10:00 a.m.

We look forward to serving you on the many days we are open!

"Charming" Cupcakes!

When customers are planning for a special event and have a specific cupcake vision in mind, we are happy to consider any and all ideas. We may not always be able to create what a customer wants, but 99.9 % of the time we are able to meet the need.

Such was the case last week. We were asked to have our cupcakes used instead of a layered cake for a sweet tradition. I was somewhat familiar with the tradition of charms being placed between layers of wedding cake, but I needed to do a little research for specifics and here's what I learned:
The "cake pull" practice dates back to the Victorian era and has remained popular in the South. Basically, a satin ribbon is tied to each sterling silver charm which is placed, never baked, in between layers of a cake. In our case, we simply placed the charms on the cupcake and carefully piped buttercream over it. The result was absolute bliss!

In case your interested, the charms were from JMcKinley: http://www.jmckinley.com/

Unexpected Gifts!

Don't you just love getting something you had no idea was coming your way?

My first teaching job was at Lakenheath Elementary School in England where I taught second grade. This was a school for children of U.S. military families serving overseas. Many students living on the base were able to walk to school which made our community look like a snapshot of what I imagine growing American neighborhoods may have looked in the 50's & 60's. It was great, and I was often the recipient of 'gifts' collected by my students on their way in.

It was a pretty predictable experience of pinecones, seeds and sprigs of mistletoe in the fall and winter months. What I didn't expect in June were bunches of gorgeous, fragrant roses that were clearly snatched from prized vines. Thorny stems didn't stand a chance against the tugs of determined 8 year olds. After a quick reminder that "growing things should be left untouched" I turned and privately smiled as I placed battered stems in cool water. Unexpected gifts are such a treat!

A few weeks ago I received a package that I did not expect and did not order. I immediately knew that it was from Johnny Cupcakes because it was sealed with an over sized sticker bearing his logo: cross bones under a cupcake. I tore into the box quickly, carefully unfolded the designer Johnny Cupcake tissue paper and found the following:

~ 1/2 Dozen stud Johnny Cupcake logo earrings

~ 3 plastic zipped pouches with 1 Johnny Cupcake business card, 1 circa 1991 Teenage Ninja Turtle trading, 1 lapel button and 1 wrapped candy mint
~ (and) 1 sweet note from Johnny

I wrote about Johnny Cupcakes and his amazing entrepreneurial ways on this blog a while back.

As you can see by his note in the photo, he clearly knows how to channel his energy and creative spirit...and promote his business! Be sure to check out his blog, it rocks!

Be sure to check out his 'baked goods' (aka: custom Johnny Cupcakes Tees and other sweet items)
The unexpected can be so much fun!

"Thanks Johnny Cupcakes, wherever you are!" =)

Cake Personality

Like fine wine, a cake that is baked from scratch will be very different from flavor to flavor. Some cake recipes will bring elements together that result in a moist, springy texture, while other recipes will merge ingredients resulting in a denser, slightly heavy cake. Surprisingly, some taste buds out there are quick to declare that a cake is only good if it is moist. That may be the call of many, but it is not the declaration of all.

I suspect that with 40 plus years of improved box mixes that include added chemicals designed to lengthen shelf life and keep food items from going rock-hard, much of our society has experienced ultra moist cakes so often that the experience of varied texture may seem foreign. A cake less than 'uber' moist may be unexpected and immediately rejected. Sound familiar?

So how does one ‘break on through to the other side’ and give all forms of cake density a chance?
The next time you are about to take a bite of an unfamiliar, but made from scratch, cake consider the ingredients that make up the cake. Remember, we're talking FROM SCRATCH here...no box or pre-packaged mixes. Box mixes will be moist because the market has the majority of our population pegged and is sticking with a formula that sells.

Consider our Red Velvet cupcake. This is, by far, one of our hottest selling and most requested flavors. There are many recipes for Red Velvet. The recipe I grew up with was my mother's and can be dated back at least 50 years. As much as I love baking a full size cake with her recipe, it is not the recipe I use for my Red Velvet cupcakes in our shop. I use a recipe that I found in Southern Living Magazine many years back. Red Velvet is traditionally a dense cake that contains cocoa and is topped with a cream cheese frosting. Unless requested in a preorder, we top our Red Velvet with our buttercream frosting. I won't go into its history here, but when made from scratch, this cake is a solid slice of yummmm!

If you have only experienced red velvet as a moist cake, then it is likely to have been a box mix cake or made from a batter that has been tweaked to satisfy a moist-cake-only palette. I would encourage you to step back about 80 years, before added chemicals were used to 'keep cake moist' and try a variety of different cakes. You can visit our shop, bake something up yourself, or talk Grams into baking a few cakes this holiday season.

Whether you prefer white cake to chocolate or cream cheese frosting to buttercream, I would encourage you to keep an open mind as you open your mouth for a bite of cake! =)

We ♥ America!

Have a safe, restful and reflective 4th of July weekend!

Papas - Blueberries and Peaches!

Earlier this week Elias's mom gave us this picture

with this sweet message:

"We love your cupcakes! Thanks for making them." ~Papa & Elias

That was our 'icing on the cake'! =)

It is always a treat when customers put The Cupcake Cottage on their list of 'places to take visitors' here in Fort Worth. Such was the case with 'Papa' when his darling grandson, Elias, brought him in for cupcakes. It seems this little guy speaks very highly of The Cupcake Cottage in his phone calls to Papa, who lives in Connecticut. I think Elias was thrilled to show the grands one of his favorite places! We are always thrilled to meet friends and family. =)


With summer comes many out-of-town visitors, and the season for Parker County Peaches and Fresh Blueberries! We introduced these flavors last summer and they are back for a couple of months. Keep an eye out for them on the Flavors page on our website. They are both refreshing and yummy!

Fabulous Evening!

Our daughter, Jana (left) with her friend Grace hosted our table

We were striving to bake 500 babycakes for the Best of 2009 Party, but I pushed it a bit and baked 630 for last Friday nights celebration. Hats off to Neda and Courtney for coming in to frost. (and) Thanks to Jana and Grace for hosting The Cupcake Cottage table of cuppies.

Fort Worth Magazine transformed Casa Manana into quite the impressive celebration, and we were certainly happy to be a part of the scene!

Fort Worth Magazine's Best of 2009 Party!

We'll be closed for two weeks, but there is still one way you may be able to get your Cupcake Cottage fix. We will be baking 500+ babycakes for Fort Worth Magazine's Best of 2009! A fabulous summer party that devotes all proceeds to the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Fort Worth.

Click here for details: Best of 2009 Party!

Messages and Deliveries

Scroll down to read the story behind each picture

visit: thecupcakecottage.com

Photo 1

Photo 2
Photo 3
Photo 4
Photo 5
Photo 6
Photo 7

We may not be a cake decorating company, but now and again, if we are able and time allows, we will take your idea and make it a reality!

Photo 1: A customer took last year's Fort Worth Magazine Best of 2008 and created a wedding anniverary destination date. She and her husband visited a Best of lunch spot, Best of walking spot and Best of Cupcake spot! The cupcake message was her sweet idea.

Photo 2: The initials S and N were for a couple's engagement party.

Photo 3: An Enchanted Florist fan wanted to wish them well in their new location on Camp Bowie Blvd.

Photo 4 & 5: A young man called from LA, California wanting to send something special to his mom as she became a United States of America citizen. We delivered this festive box of a dozen babycakes to Arlington. What a thoughtful son!

Photo 6: A call from the Bay Area, California asking us to do something special for a friend's birthday. Another delivery of cuppies!!

Photo 7: Our own son wanted to make that Prom invitation a little extra special and 'sweet'. She said yes! =)

We have made deliveries of cupcakes for customers that call from as far away as Canada, NYC, Pennsylvania, Washington, and California. Delivery rates begin at $20.00 and increase according to the Fort Worth - Dallas destination.

Special frosting costs begin at: $5.00 per standard & $ 2.00 per babycake.