Cupcake Blogs of Note

As part of the multigenre cupcake project I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I ended up reviewing several of my favorite cupcake blogs. If you are new to the cupcake blogosphere, then I recommend you check out these four blogs. They aren’t indicative of all cupcake blogs, but they will give you a good idea of what good cupcake blogging looks like.

Cupcakes Take the Cake

Known as the cupcake blog, Cupcakes Take the Cake is a continually building, comprehensive log of cupcake bakeries and independent bakers. Based in New York City, Nichelle Stevens, Rachel Kramer Bussel, and Stacie Joy take turns updating CTTC with cupcake photos, recipes, critiques, and news bulletins. These bloggers focus quite heavily on cupcakeries in New York and other major cities, but every once in a while, they release a secret recipe for home bakers. Because they are so well known, the CTTC bloggers have been on The Martha Stewart Show twice. Their fame benefits their blog followers since they are able to do giveaways pretty regularly. FYI: I won the book, 1000 Things to Eat Before You Die, by telling CTTC that I can eat three cupcakes at a time if I cut the sweetness with something savory. Overall, CTTC is good for browsing and general cupcake news, but it’s too big to feel personal. I give CTTC 3 out of 5 sprinkles.

How to Eat a Cupcake

How to Eat a Cupcake is my current favorite cupcake blog. HTEAC is a blogger from Virginia that I’ve been following for about a year now. She’s twenty-something and she obsessively bakes cupcakes for fun. Sound familiar? HTEAC started out as a blog that would help its blogger come up with new recipes to make for her family and friends each week for Wing Night. Now her blog has gained a wide audience and her cupcakes are quickly becoming the standard. HTEAC blogs her original and borrowed recipes very carefully with pictures of each step. She’s also really knowledgeable when it comes to adjusting ingredients and their amounts to make each cupcake its very best. Because of her great recipes and easy writing style, I give HTEAC 5 out of 5 sprinkles.

Cupcake Project

The Cupcake Project is a quirky little cupcake blog written by an unnamed blogger. CP is known for its odd flavor combinations and unexpected cupcake recipes. CP provides the blogosphere with such interesting cupcakes as mulled wine, hamantashen, pickles and icecream, toasted ravioli, and oreo cupcakes with a built-in cup for milk. CP usually posts about the special or uncommon ingredient that she’ll be cupcaking a few days before the actual cupcake post. As of this writing, CP’s readers are looking forward to a cupcake incorporating carob, dates, chickory, figs, barley, and almonds. For Thanksgiving this year, I tried out CP’s Sweet Potato Casserole cupcake and it was one of the best cupcakes I have ever made. I love to read about CP’s crazy concoctions, but my budget and location in Maine make my list of wacky ingredients rather short. Because of this drawback, I give Cupcake Project 4 out of 5 sprinkles.

Bakerella

I consider Bakerella the Martha Stewart of the cake and cupcake blogosphere. She makes gorgeously whimsical treats for every season and holiday and then entertains readers with general goodies on the in between days. Bakerella is known for her cupcake pops and even gave a cupcake pop demonstration on the Martha Stewart show last spring. Because Bakerella has such a large blog following, she is able to provide pretty nice prizes for her somewhat frequent contests. In a perfect world, I will win a Kitchen Aid stand mixer through one of Bakerella’s giveaways. :) Until that day, I’ll keep following Bakerella’s blog and learning through her step-by-step photos and explanations. Because of her unmatched creativity and flawless execution, it would be silly to give Bakerella anything but 5 out of 5 sprinkles.

Sidenote: It wasn’t until writing this review that I realized “Bakerella” is a derivative of Cinderella and not Godzilla. I had been connecting the kitchen maven to the city-crushing lizard instead of the rags to riches fairy tale character. Oops. :)

Okay, now go! Go read about cupcakes!