For this weekend's LA Cupcakes MeetUp the gang and I went back up to Studio City, well North Hollywood according to their website for some Famous Cupcakes, literally that's their name.
Made with organic and all natural ingredients their cupcakes are $3.25 each and come in eight different flavors. Their Hot Chocolate Cupcake (chocolate bottom, vanilla icing) was quite moist and my favorite pick for this shop with their gooey Red Velvet in a close second, the other girls also liked their Peanut Butter Chip and Cookies N Cream cupcakes. Their Va-Va-Va-Nilla though wasn't sweet enough for me, maybe because it's organic and not full of the bad but yummy stuff I guess; it also had a hint of cinnamon and was more like a muffin than a cupcake.
The store was very minimalist with funky Pinkberry-like lights. The highlight for this shop though is that they make adorable but expensive famous cupcake bouquets that mix in decorations and flowers along with arranged cupcakes. They deliver to all 50 states and you can also order online. Since Famous Cupcakes is a franchise, you'll probably start seeing them pop up all over, they are currently in OC, Chicago and San Diego and coming soon to Houston.
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Before having cupcakes this little piggy had a lovely brunch at Cravings in West Hollywood with celeb bloggers PopBytes, CandyKirby and NinjaDude.
LA Blog Network
"easy, light, and a refreshing voice in the over populated blogging world... my guess is Tara will have a long list of loyal readers."
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LA Cupcakes: Famous Cupcakes
BabyCakes Baking Company
My LA Cupcakes MeetUp group headed out to Torrance today to visit BabyCakes Baking Company. This cupcakery came recommended by one of our members that live near the shop and it was a great choice. A bit far out out for some, but the only cupcake shop in the south bay.
At BabyCakes Baking Company everything is made from scratch daily using all-natural ingredients and you can tell just by looking at how organic and homemade their cupcakes look, not artificially colored either. Almost like muffins with a slight glistening of icing on top. They also make sugar-free and gluten free cupcakes every Wednesday and Saturday to accommodate special dietary needs.
In addition to their everyday flavors, they offer up to four to five daily specials. All of their flavors are available in mini size BabyCakes as well. They also bake a variety of yummy cookies, brownies and other goodies and people love their gourmet Italian coffee (I stuck to skim milk though).
The owner's name is Khryste Langlais and she opened her shop up only four months ago with the help of her husband who works there on Saturdays too. Note that they are closed on Sundays. Khryste says she started baking when she was only twelve and hasn't had professional training, just a home baker with some inventive recipes.
My favorites were her German Chocolate Cupcake that was so rich I couldn't finish it, plus her tart and sweet Zesty Lemon cupcakes and her light Strawberry cupcakes with fresh strawberry butter cream that was super light and fluffy that I had to order it just seeing how whipped it looked behind the glass. Other interesting flavors included the Apple Streusel with real apples inside, the dark vanilla bean cupcake and the Italian Orange made with corn meal, olive oil, white wine and a fresh orange zest but no icing. Really unique and not too sweet, I really enjoyed these cupcakes. One member commented that she liked how the shop seemed to be aimed for adults instead of children. I'd definitely come back to try their other specials.
The shop itself was simple with old family photographs on the wall and pink and white stripes painted vertically.
LA Cupcakes: Mrs. Beasley's
Founded in 1978, Mrs. Beasley's is popular for their fresh baked muffins, cookies, brownies and cakes sold via their mail order catalog, website and multiple retail stores througout Southern California. Three years ago though the bakery started making "gourmet cupcakes," says store manager Maridel Castro.
My bi-monthly LA Cupcakes MeetUp group headed to their Brentwood location in the charming Brentwood Country Mart (like a tiny Grove/Farmer's Market) last week. Their cupcakes are labeled "gourmet" according to the big sign on their window. They sell for $3.00 each, minis only $1.25 and include flavors like apple pie, blueberry, cherry, chocolate ganache and lavish lemon. I was surprised by their amount of choices and colors, considering they are more popular for their cookies than cupcakes. The icing on each cupcake is piled high (less so on the minis), but according to their tag line "it's all in the frosting." Although I'm not big on too much icing each flavor's icing tasted differently instead of the same whipped cream taste on all. Thus, the icing on the cherry and strawberry cupcakes tasted like strawberry and cherry and were quite good. The vanilla cupcake bottoms though were a bit dry or more like a real cake, however their chocolate bottom cupcakes were moist and tasty especially their orange chocolate sherbet cupcakes (my favorite). Other group members appreciated that the cake in the peanut butter cupcake tasted like peanut butter as well as the icing. Not the best cupcake shop in L.A. but I was pleasantly surprised by the pretty shop and tasty icing. It's especially perfect for gift basket giving and when you're at the nearby market.
We were also told that stars like Kelly Preston and Jamie Lee Curtis have been known to stop by. In fact, the manager said they usually get a celeb in each weekend after lunch.
My Little Cupcake
My Los Angeles Cupcakes Meetup Group headed to My Little Cupcake in Studio City this past weekend.
I had heard mixed reviews and I think in the end we were still mixed. The strawberry cupcake was very moist and we all liked that it had real strawberry bits inside. The other cupcakes though were a bit dry or at least not as moist. Besides their big cupcakes they also sold mini ones for only $1.00, which is cool. Their Hi Hat cupcake is interesting, it has a marshmallow on top and the entire chocolate cupcake is dipped in chocolate. Other members liked their red velvet cupcake, Bugs Bunny (organic carrot cake) and their Reese's one. The owners come from Israel and say they have been around for a year and a half now, but baking for four. There are tables outside, but it was a windy day and their balloons tied to the chairs kept hitting us. (Photos). One of our newer group members, Laura, also designs cakes, you can check them out at Cakes by Mom.
Oh, and I wore my new cupcake ring (I'm obsessed!) from SorryImLate.etsy.com. Thank you PulpSushi for tipping me off about the online store
PS: Top 50 Los Angeles Blogs -- guess who is number 10!?
Also, pretty please vote for me as Best Lifestyle blog in the Glam Network Awards. Thank you!
PPS: I just rode the elevator with actor Grant Show from Melrose Place. His hair was a bit longer and he looked tan and comfortable in jeans and a tight dark tee. He's looking older, but sexier too. I had jumped into the elevator just as the doors were closing and nearly collided with him. As I did, I was like, "he looks familiar." Then it came to me as we rode the next few stories together. He was talking with another guy, his agent/publisist perhaps?
A little bit of this and a little bit of that
During our Texas/Louisiana road trip we sampled some new tastes, treats and drinks.
LA Cupcakes: Cake and Art
LA Cupcake MeetUp member and baker, Kody, invited my group to his shop Cake and Art in West Hollywood. The bakery is 32-years-old this week and is all about custom cakes and great designs. They can also put any company logo or picture on a cupcake and are soon doing 200 Oscar cupcakes for an Academy Awards party with photos of the nominees and their films on them. Oh and they make "pupcakes" for dogs and provided Dryers ice cream cupcakes for Ellen's audience recently.
Besides making us special MeetUp cupcakes, Kody provided us an insiders look at his bakery, some free milk and fruit to dunk into a chocolate fountain. He even let us decorate a cupcake and showed us how to make florets. When I went to top mine with sprinkles, I commented how I hated that most would roll off, so Kody gave us a tip, when you are applying sprinkles spritz some water from a spray bottle from a distance and then apply the desired sprinkles and they should stick and not just roll off.
The cupcakes were massive and moist, reminding me of our recent visit to Crumbs bakery and like those, Cake and Art also had a lot of inventive flavors. One member said these were moister though. My absolute favorite was the Key Lime Cupcake, with key lime curd inside and lime frosting on top, it was just tart enough. Another favorite was the seasonal Pumpkin Spice, which tasted like pumpkin pie with cream cheese frosting. I also tried their special cherry blossom, with whole cherries inside, which reminded me of a fruity muffin with frosting--Zendi was a fan of it. Their most popular selling flavors though are their Red Velvet with chocolate bits inside and their traditional vanilla Birthday Cake Cupcake. I didn't get to try the Chocolate Ecstasy, but was impressed with the gold splashes on the frosting made from melted edible gold. Silver flecks were also on the Cherry Blossom.
The store itself is fun and not haughty, but very West Hollywood with photos of stars and the cakes that were designed for them, which included Dolly Parton, Jenna Jameson, Rod Stewart, Cher, etc. The entrance has an enticing sign that reads, "Diva's Welcome!" and leopard pink swirly stools are available for seating inside.
Our event was mentioned over at Cupcakes take the Cake!
A great cake recipe is important for tasty desserts, but having the artistic inclination to decorate and design them as works of art is even cooler! From birthday cakes to Easter desserts and Christmas foods, fun cakes and goodies can be incorporated into any holiday or event. But who wants health foods when you can have cakes and cupcakes!
LA Cupcakes: Big Sugar Bakeshop
Today we had our first LA Cupcakes Meetup Group of 2008. We once again headed to Studio City (I miss that show by the way) the first time we went was to try Leda's and this time we were sampling the treats at Big Sugar Bakeshop (12182 Ventura Blvd.).
They have daily cupcake specials including, Pure Vanilla, Belgian Chocolate, Red Velvet, Double Coconut, Hummingbird, Lemon, Ice Box and more. Instead of using butter cream, they make their own light whipped cream icing, which I liked since I'm not big on sweet icing. They also had sample minis available with fun sprinkles on them. Although I'm usually a vanilla fan, my favorite here was their Icebox Cupcake, which is chocolate cake with chocolate ganache on top and whipped cream inside, which kept it from being too rich. We also tried a free sampling of their doughnut muffins, which are icing-less cupcakes with cinnamon and sugar, which the guy members seemed to like most.
This shop looked quite different in the inside given it's more vintage look rather than the ultra modern boutique look popular with other cupcakeries. Owners Mary and Lisa said they couldn't pull off the modern look with their young kids running in and out all the time. They also mentioned they are working on incorporating recipes for those with food allergies and vegans. Inside their store are a lot of cute gift items and nick nacks, I especially loved their selection of aprons and almost bought a cute cupcake apron (below), but already have a girly apron picked out for my bridal shower registry.
(more photos)
The great holiday cupcake swap
In celebration of the holidays my LA Cupcakes MeetUp group had a cupcake swap, where everyone bakes and brings enough cupcakes for those attending and then receives a cupcake from each person. Thus, getting a whole new assorted batch of cupcakes to sample or take home. I also put together three prize packs for The Best Cupcake, The Best Decorated Cupcakes and The Most Unique Cupcake (flavor or otherwise).
Now as I blogged before, I'm not much of a baker. I can cook, I just can't bake. However, I think I made a pretty good Red Velvet cupcake. Granted I bought the cream cheese frosting and found a holiday wreath design online to emulate, but it still took a good deal of time and attention--the main things that I do not like about baking in the first place. I tried though to incorporate the tips I learned during the baking class that I took though, like putting a cookie sheet under my cupcake tray to spread the heat evenly. In the end my cupcakes were nice and moist although I'm not sure how "red velvet" they ended up tasting, probably could have used some more cocoa powder. Here they are:
I was pretty proud of the outcome, until I saw everyone else's cupcakes. The following two won the best decorated cupcakes, the first is a lively chocolate garden, the second group is by Gigi Cakes (which we all thought was store bought until she revealed she frosted both the peppermint mocha and ginger spice cupcakes herself.)
The Best Cupcake went to Alexis' peppermint cookies & cream batch (recipe is on her blog):
The Most Innovative went to sampling of mini Horchata cupcakes and there was also a Jack Daniel's frosted cupcakes that I thought was pretty original too. Best presentation easily went to Charity from Wholesome Cakes who brought her organic meringue whole wheat vanilla filled cupcakes in a basket and placed them in plastic cups and arranged them like a sweet tooth's dream bouquet.
Fun holiday cupcakes are a great gift idea. You can even make your own holiday gift baskets complete with baked goodies and gifts. A fruit basket is also a unique holiday gift that people will really appreciate. And of course no Easter baskets are complete without some sweet treats!
LA Cupcakes #8: Hotcakes Bakes
For our most recent Los Angeles Cupcakes MeetUp we headed to Hotcakes Bakes, which is near my condo in Mar Vista at 4119 South Centinela (@ the corner of Washington Blvd). I actually biked there and carried back my goods in my bike's wicker basket. I still can't get over the idea that I was able to bike anywhere in November in just jeans and a t-shirt. Crazy!Anyway, being a local shop and not as popular as the other bakeries we've visited this year, I wasn't sure what to expect. I had driven by their cute outside sign ever since I moved to the area in May, but had yet to go in. Well, it was worth the wait and I'm psyched to have a good cupcake place so close to me. They also do cakes and are known for their macroons.
The group consensus was that these cupcakes were nice and light with flavorful icings that didn't bog down the tastes buds. The frosting on their strawberry cupcakes is amazing. I'm not the biggest icing fan and usually have to wipe some excess frosting off, this time however, I was wiping up the icing on my plate with my finger. The taste reminded me of those strawberry shortcake ice cream bars my local Dominc's ice cream truck would sell when I was growing up. The english toffee was also a good one and although I'm not a maple fan, the other group members liked thier fall spice cupcake. Oh and I didn't get to try the coconut, but heard some good feedback on those too. Cupcakes are $2.50/each.
Another plus was that this cupcake shop could actually house our group attendees and were also kind enough to give us trays of samples. See below for photos:
Patty cake, patty cake, bakers man
Since I spend so much time eating cupcakes, I figured I should also learn out to make them, outside of a box mix that is. The opportunity presented itself in the form of a private cupcake baking and decorating class offered via L.A. Foodies+! and taught by pastry chef/owner of Gormandise Desserts, Clemence Gossett.
We started the class with a chocolate cupcake recipe and while that was baking we moved on to a vanilla bean recipe. When they were both in the oven, we learned how to make a chocolate ganache and unbelievable meringue buttercream frosting. We filled both the chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with the ganache and learned how to apply the buttercream like a pro.
Tips that I learned:
- If your cake recipe comes out too dry, add an extra egg yolk next time for added moisture
- You don't have to mix a batter to death, in fact it's OK to have some lumps
- It actually matters when you add certain ingredients
- Keep all ingredients at room temperature
- When adding flour and milk, begin and end with the flour
- Also place a cookie sheet/pan underneath your cupcake trays so that the bottom of the cupcake's don't burn
Chocolate Cake Recipe (I'm usually a vanilla person but this was really good):- Bring to simmer 1lb butter and 2 cups water. Cool and add 1 cup cold water and 1 cup cocoa powder
- In a large bowl, whisk together 3 1/2 cups flour, 3 3/4 cups sugar, 2 tsps baking soda and 1/2 tsp salt.
- Pour butter mixture onto dry ingredients and mix until smooth with a wooden spoon. Whisk in 4 eggs and 1 egg yolk. Add 1 cup sour cream.
- Bake at 350 until knife comes out clean.
Oh and I almost died laughing when Clemence asked the class, "Anyone ever bake a baked Alaska?" I almost responded, "No, but has anyone ever baked Tollhouse cookies?"
More photos from Abby
Yearning for batter days
During When Tara Met Blog's last LA Cupcakes MeetUp at Crumbs bakery, Lauren Schick from UCLA's newspaper--The Daily Bruin came to interview me about the cupcake trend hitting Los Angeles. Below is the resulting interview that hit today. I'm quoted quite a bit in it and at least I don't sound as trite as I did in past interviews.
Yearning for batter days
Lauren Schick
Published: Wednesday, October 31, 2007
A hopscotch jump from Rodeo Drive, the young and posh wait 30 minutes to shell out $3.75 for a bite-sized childhood treat. Three blocks away, a grown man orders a glass of milk to accompany his multicolored sugary snack while a group of students leaves the shop with a 12-pack for a study session on campus.
Los Angeles’ sweet tooth is craving cupcakes and never has a blast from the schoolyard past tasted so good.
“The stores are cute, the cupcakes are cute and there’s a childhood-like (quality) to it that everyone remembers,” said Tara Settembre, a journalist, blogger and public relations executive who moved to Los Angeles from New York City, where the cupcake trend took off at Magnolia Bakery around 2000.
Settembre started the Los Angeles Cupcake Meetup Group, where
people can munch on cupcakes and meet new people at different local cupcake stores.
“Coming out here I missed not having all my girlfriends going out for
cupcakes because it’s so traditional in New York. ... So I thought I’d start this group, have cupcakes and meet people,” Settembre said during the group’s seventh meeting at the newly opened Crumbs in Beverly Hills.
Outings among friends that were common at local coffee shops are now becoming increasingly popular at cupcake shops such as Sprinkles Cupcakes, Yummy Cupcakes, Dainties and SusieCakes, which have sprung up in Los Angeles.
“I think (cupcakes are) really popular because it’s a cake that, literally, you can hold in your hand, and you get the entire package and it’s relatively inexpensive,” said Evan Aldrich, a second-year mechanical engineering student, who frequents Sprinkles Cupcakes at least twice a month. “It’s a very L.A. thing to do, like Pinkberry.”
But Krystina Castella, author of the cookbook “Crazy About Cupcakes” and former UCLA Extension professor of product design, was one of the first to recognize and capitalize on the trend. She sees a bigger cultural picture to the cupcake frenzy that has caused its popularity to spread. “People are staying younger longer; they’re getting married later and having kids later. Before ... people got married in their early 20s and they were immediately adults and now people have an extra 15 years or so to be kids themselves. That’s why the flavors (can be) adult but at the same time it reminds you of being a kid,” Castella said.
Still, the incredible success of cupcakes in a health-and-diet-conscious city like Los Angeles has been an unusual surprise.
“That’s part of the reason that I didn’t know if cupcakes would be very popular here, but obviously they are, and there’s a lot of different recipes that are vegan or low-fat,” Castella said. “It depends on the
recipe, but the average cupcake recipe in my book ... is about 250 calories, which is the same as a Nature Valley Granola Bar. It’s one of those things that you’re willing to splurge for.”
As the trend adapts to its new locale, Los Angeles manages to make its mark on the cupcake.
“You’ll see a lot of places doing all-natural ingredients or the mini-sized cupcakes. I didn’t see mini-sized cupcakes in New York. Out here, they want even smaller than a cupcake,” Settembre said.
With over 10 specialty cupcake shops in West Los Angeles and Santa Monica, some wonder if the trend will last or if the taste of cream cheese frosting will soon go stale.
“I think there will stop being so many (cupcake shops) but I don’t think it will go away. I mean, cakes haven’t gone away,” Settembre said.
Similarly, Castella is optimistic about the near future of the miniature indulgences. “I think it will last a couple of years and ... there will be a few that climb to the top and become franchises. ... I think they’ll stay but I don’t know if they’ll always remain at the top of the excitement list,” Castella said.
Amy Berman, owner of Vanilla Bake Shop, one of the newest L.A. bakeries, isn’t concerned about the longevity of the cupcake trend. “Everybody likes sweets. People may not necessarily want a huge cake or a slice of it and have to deal with a fork and knife and plate. But (cupcakes) are just easy. They’re sheer convenience and indulgence,” Berman said.
Adults and children with soft spots for the spongy and sweet now have plenty of variety to satisfy their palates. But, for those who in true L.A. fashion are ready to move on to the next big fad, Castella offered her hint to the next phenomenon in kid food gone adult: Popsicles.
LA Cupcakes #7: Crumbs
For the 7th LA Cupcakes Meetup we were invited to
The first thing I noticed when entering the shop though was the huge sizes of the cupcakes on display. I’m also a fan of diverse flavors and Crumbs did not disappoint with large cupcakes for $3.75 in varieties that included key lime, blueberry cobbler, pina colada, banana split, cookie dough, Boston cream, caramel apple, pistachio, hostess, carrot cake, fluffernutter and so many more.
Later the owner, Harley Bauer, introduced himself and so generously wow’d us all further by giving our group 20 free regular sized cupcakes to try. So with a handful of forks, napkins and drinks, the 18 of us headed to a nearby outside seating area in front of a Wells Fargo to try them all. Overall, everyone was saying that Crumbs was now their favorite stop yet and I found it hard to disagree after eating the creamy, massive and inventive cupcakes. It seemed that people especially liked their pumpkin and raspberry swirl.
Harley also mentioned that they plan to open a total of five Crumbs stores throughout the
I brought home some leftovers for Raphael and he said they were the best ones that I've brought back since starting the group and considering that all he had this time was some crumbs (no pun intended) and half eaten cupcakes, that's pretty impressive. I need to go back and try the key lime and pina colada (more photos).
Which bakery in your area has the best cupcake dessert recipe? Oftentimes the best cup cake recipes come from bakers who love sweets and know how to make great treats. The biggest cupcake lovers even turn festive cupcakes into traditional Christmas food!
Cupcakes For a Cause
National Cupcakes for a Cause Week is October 15-21, and participating bakeries across the U.S. will be proceeds from the sale of their cupcakes to help support CancerCare for Kids. The newly opened Crumbs in Beverly Hills, which is our next LA Cupcakes MeetUp stop, is participating as are shops from all over (full list).
Also, for every friend that you send a free virtual cupcake/e-card to, $1.00 will be donated to CancerCare for Kids. You also get to design your own e-cupcake, which is fun. Over there ---> is the official red velvet When Tara Met Blog cupcake.
Now if only I could eat it.
I'm also busy saving the pink Yoplait lids that equal 10 cents per seal for breast cancer research. Right now California is #1 with the most lids collected and Texas is #2.
PS: Here's a photo of my office mates all dressed in pink to show our support and fundraise money for Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Check out my retro boots.
LA Cupcakes #6: Leda's Bake Shop
For my LA Cupcakes MeetUp group's sixth stop (we're now at 132 members!), we headed out to Sherman Oaks to visit Leda's Bake Shop. There we found mini cupcakes ($1.50 each) similar to the ones at Vanilla in Santa Monica, however these were much better and came in more flavors and with cute hand-made sugar fondant decorations on top.Unlike the new comers that we tried recently, this shop has been open for over two and half years now and offers vegan cupcakes, which I thought I'd surely detest, but the Red Velvet vegan mini cupcake was surprisingly, sweet, moist and delicious. They do not use artificial red dye though, so although it tasted like red velvet, it didn't look it.
I also sampled their yummy lime coconut, which had a layer of lime curd underneath the icing and bits of coconut inside the cake. I tried their passion fruit cupcake too, which tasted like a yummy drink. Another one that I ate was the chocolate raspberry, which although I normally like in a chocolate bar, I found it to be just OK in cupcake form. I think I'm biased though since I prefer vanilla cake generally. Lastly, I brought home the Dolce de Leche for Raphael who quickly devoured the treat with no complaints.
Overall, everyone raved about the vegan red velvet, the chocolate chocolate chocolate, the espresso and of course the cute designs and mini sizes. One member commented, "The minis are the perfect size to assuage any feelings of guilt!" Oh and the bakery’s Blondie bars and chocolate chip cookies were yummy too, in fact several members purchased to go bags (more photos).
Yummy Cupcakes
For the 5th spot on my Los Angeles Cupcakes Meetup group we visited Yummy Cupcakes in Santa Monica, just across from the 3rd Street Promenade and near another cupcakery, Vanilla, which we attended two meetups ago.
We eagerly tried Yummy's cupcakes to see if they live up to their name and happily found that they did. I think it is now in our top three LA shops so far (Susiecakes, Dainties and now Yummy). Zendi, our group's photographer and red velvet taster raved about their cocoa red velvet cupcakes and I enjoyed their special rocky road cupcake complete with nuts, marshmallows and chocolate whipped frosting. Their trademark Yummy Cupcake with chocolate cake and pink butter cream frosting and chocolate sprinkles was a popular favoriteamongst the group too.
What I loved most about this unpretentious shop is that it has a lot of unusual flavors, 125 to be exact. They have about 10 of their regular flavors always available like Happy Day (vanilla), Yummy, etc. and then four different varieties for purchase each day like Pink Lemonade, Chocolate Raspberry, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Rocky Road, etc. All are baked from scratch every morning and all day long by their talented pastry chefs who hold the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu diploma. According to their site their cupcakes are made using top quality real ingredients such as whole milks, creams and buttermilks, Callebaut chocolates, fresh fruits, juices and zests, California creamery butter, Madagascar Bourbon and Tahitian vanilla bean and ranch fresh eggs. No lards or trans fats. They also have a shop in Burbank.
The owner Tiffini Soforenko came out to talk to us and turns out she the recipes are hers and that she owns the shop with her mother and husband. The store is also very kid-friendly with little chairs and tables that can be rented out for cupcake decorating birthday parties--too cute! I want one, is what I was thinking. They are also going to be adding a make your own cupcake sundae bar, where people can, yes, make their own cupcakes and pick cereal toppings, etc.
For more photos check out the events page here.
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You can find countless fitness equipment at a fine exercise equipment store. The treadmill is the best equipment at home for working ladies and older people, using this daily can keep you very fit and active. While exercising you should have a water bottle with you. Besides using trampolines for exercise many children use if for fun and playing. Various expensive but best exercise equipment sale deals are offered on different websites for gym owners and people with special fitness interest.
Dainties Cupcakes
For the fourth stop on my Los Angeles Cupcakes MeetUp group we headed to local catering company turned cupcake kitchen, Dainties, in West LA on Santa Monica Blvd. This spot was the winner of Best Cupcake by Los Angeles Magazine's Best of LA 2007 listing.
It was hard finding the place though because it's literally a pickup station out of their catering kitchen and hidden behind a shopping center. I circled around a few times thinking I had the wrong address. So unlike the other shops that we visited so far this isn't about the cutesy store and experience, but is more into serving the goods.
According to the boxes, "it's all about the cream" since all of their cupcakes are cream filled. Personally the icing, cream inside and on top is what I liked best here. They have 10 varieties available each day and include flavors like New York cheese cake, banana, strawberry, caramel and vanilla bean all topped in a thick chocolate ganache with cream on top. These cupcakes are more like cakes, a harder cake part than some places. Because of the fresh whipped cream, one of the shop's owners, Susan McAlindon, recommends that her cupcakes be refrigerated and says they can last for two days in the fridge. She also graciously greeted our large group of sixteen which overwhelmed her place and gave us some free samples. My favorite being the "Stupid Chocolate." The group though seemed to really like her banana cupcakes as well, but I didn't end up ordering one of those so I can't say.
Because there was no place to sit, we made the best of it and ate outside on a concrete wall and on some folding chairs that Zendi had in her car. She says Dainties is her favorite cupcake bakery so far and that she is going back for more. 
Here's the owner with LA Cupcake member, Valerie, who was a hit with her own cupcake designed t-shirt available at her CafePress store (I might buy her apron). 
Vanilla Bake Shop
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Vanilla Bake Shop recently premiered in Santa Monica just near the Promenade. I had been eagerly waiting for it to open its doors since I first noticed it during my commute to work. I had known that it was going to be a cupcake shop just by the name and cutesy design that read "coming soon." Since the shop opened it has been publicized in a New York Times article and featured on Daily Candy LA.
In regards to the decor, LA Cakecake MeetUp member Evan of CupcakeFetish.com said that the place "can be best described as the bastard lovechild of David Bowie from Labyrinth and Barbie." With cotton candy pink walls, damask wallpaper, white chandeliers, and dark wood floors, he had a point. I especially liked that they had shelves of old fashioned clear jars filled with fine baby blue, green and yellow sprinkles.
It's trendy and their offering of baby cupcakes 3 for $5 are uber-cute and just the right size to allow you to try some of their many flavors. Using Belgian chocolates and farmers market ingredients; they make cupcakes like Meyer lemon raspberry and banana chocolate chip in regular and baby sizes (some even come stuffed with filling!). I had ordered six cupcake babies and a glass of low fat milk to wash them down with. The group consensus was the Old Fashioned, Red Velvet and Mocha were among the favorites.
Baker/owner Amy Berman kindly and enthusiastically came out to speak with our group. She shared her story of how she went from catering to opening her own shop. Originally though she worked in entertainment as a PA on the hit show Will & Grace. Apparently she baked cupcakes for the cast and crew as a Christmas gift for everyone and later decided to quit her job and pursue what she loved—baking! It's a cute story and she seemed to charm the group as much as her shop did.
For more photos from the event click here, otherwise we're off to try Dainties next and will report back.
PS: I was recently in my office's elevator with Bobby Brown and I had no idea, I even chatted with him in the elevator lobby. My coworker was the one to enlighten me, he also snapped a photo. My bad, call me Captain Oblivious. Meanwhile when I think of Bobby Brown I think of this.
LA cupcakes meetup take two
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
For my second LA Cupcakes Meetup Group organized event, we headed to SusieCakes in Brentwood. The turn out was bigger and we stayed munching on cupcakes for over an hour. SusieCakes specializes in an array of sentimental dessert favorites, which conjure up the sorely missed flavors and aromas of childhood. Each cupcake ($3) was filled with frosting and ranged from Mint Chocolate, Mocha, Lemon, Marshmallow, Strawberry, Vanilla, Chocolate, Red Velvet and Peanut butter.
I think the consensus was that the Red Velvet was moist and the best some have had and the Strawberry cupcake, which tasted like strawberry shortcake was the second favorite. I also liked their traditional vanilla cake with a blue butter cream frosting. So far this is my favorite cupcake shop out here.
Owner Susan Sarich also came out to briefly talk to our group, which was very nice. She also complimented my new cupake tote.
Our next stop in August is at the new Vanilla cupcakery in Santa Monica.
Here are some pics:
The first LA cupcake meetup group
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Taking inspiration from Nichelle in New York City, I decided to start a Los Angeles Cupcake Meetup Group. We have 27 members so far and our first event on 7/7/07. I figured we'd start with the most famous cupcakery to the stars--including huge fan Katie Holmes-- Sprinkles, which bakes up 20 mouthwatering varieties including pumpkin and peanut butter and chocolate.
The shop itself is very cute and efficient, not romantic looking like Magnolia's, but more organized and sterile like the Rickshaw Dumpling Bar in Manhattan. I ended up purchasing their Dark Chocolate cupcake (too much frosting and too rich) and two vanilla cupcakes (nice, but had better). Each cost $3.25 (yick!) and of course came with sprinkles on top, which was both fun and messy. The best part of this shop is that it's in the heart of Beverly Hills and the cute branding and logo, otherwise I look to discover better LA cupcake eats at future meet-ups.
Here are some photos:
LA cupcake member, Kody, brought some of his own homemade cupcakes from Cake and Art, which were almost too beautiful to eat (see below). He offered to have our group tour his shop sometime in the future, yay!
Surprise Muffins
Saturday, January 13, 2007
While doing a mini Star Wars marathon on Saturday (we watched the 3rd and 4th one) I made some Surprise Muffins. They are muffins with, surprise, jelly inside of them. Take a look, I used my heart shape silicon cupcake pan.
They are pretty easy to do, here's the recipe:
Surprise Muffins
Yield: 12
Oven: 400 degrees
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup oil
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract (I used almond this time)
2 cups flour
3/4 cup of Jelly/Jam any flavor (I used blueberry, grape and strawberry, since that was what I had in the fridge.)
Heat oven to 400.
Line 12 muffins with paper liners or lightly grease
In large bowl whisk the egg, milk and oil and then add and mix dry ingredients. Do not over stir though it should be slightly lumpy.
Fill muffin cups about 1/2 full, then drop 1 teaspoon or desired amount of jelly or preserves in the center of each. Add remaining batter to each muffin cup, over the jelly to fill area.
Bake 25 minutes until golden brown. It is common to have some of the jelly leek out.
Remove from pans immediately. Best served while hot. Enjoy!