The photo above is from my DIY photo shoot for my new website. I’ve been so excited to be working with Derek Hogue on the site design the last few weeks and everything is going great! I should be able to debut it soon, and it’s possible that you might see a pretty cupcake like the one above on the front page of the site.

Aside from that, this weekend was like non-stop cupcakes. The biggest thing of the weekend was an awesome event put on by my friend Kevin. He calls his homebrew operation the MacArthur Garage Brewery (since, you know, he lives on MacAthur Boulevard in Oakland), and he basically held a party where he could serve his beer. He invited Angel Cakes and his friend James who has a pizza truck, called Fist of Flour Pizza. The event was awesome! It was like a private party version of Off the Grid – think food trucks but without the lines! Fists of Flour has an amazing mobile pizza oven that just has to be seen to be believed, and the pizza tasted great. Near the end of the party James busted out a fancy pizza with balsamic reduction, blueberries, and goat cheese. Yum! I had a great time and served up vegan salted chocolate, strawberry, lemon buttermilk, and vegan Mexican chocolate. I  sold out! You can see photos of the event on Facebook.

Then, there was a birthday cake for Natalie, and birthday cupcakes for Charlotte.  And of course, Sunday dinner at my house, which meant homemade cornbread, lemonade, barbeque tofu, and a beet & kale salad. YUM. See, sometimes I cook things that aren’t cupcakes!

This weekend will be just as busy, especially with the Yelp East Bay showcase on Sunday – The Sunset Showdown – an awesome chance to sample a ton of local vendors. Come by our table and say hi!

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for specials & upcoming events (and sometimes free cupcakes)!

Sophie and Carwil, who had a commitment ceremony, are totally an example of this. We ended up with a small gluten-free Mexican chocolate (with chili and cinnamon) cake for their ceremonial cut at the reception, plus hazelnut cupcakes with chocolate frosting, vegan Mexican chocolate cupcakes, and vegan coconut cupcakes.

I chose to design the cake, pictured above, with a little bit of a minimalist style – a thick layer of chocolate frosting in the middle and on top, not completely covered with icing. The design follows the same pattern as the chocolate cupcakes, too, of which, surprisingly, there are no photos. I’m very happy with how it turned out, and you can see an alternate view from the side here.

And I know I say this all the time, but hazelnut and chocolate cupcakes could possibly be my new favorite flavor – thanks to Sophie for the inspiration. A vanilla-based cupcake with ground hazelnuts plus an ultra-creamy chocolate frosting really give a Nutella-esque flavor. Maybe I just need to have a favorite flavor of the month or something, which is only right because I probably eat way more cupcakes than most people.

Otherwise, things are humming along with the Angel Cakes expansion – new postcards and print materials are almost done, new website is in the works, the Cupcake of the Month Club has a bunch of subscribers, and I’m experimenting with new flavors all the time. Look for loads more updates soon!

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Also, I love baking for weddings. If you’re getting married and want to consider cupcakes, check out this page for advice on when and how many to order.

More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for specials & upcoming events (and sometimes free cupcakes)!

These are featured with three different toppings – a chocolate buttercream and a vanilla buttercream (both of which are available in vegan and with dairy), and a German chocolate cake topping – definitely not vegan, though I’m sure I could come up with a reasonable facsimile if I really wanted to. The traditional recipe includes butter, evaporated milk, egg whites, sugar, pecans, and coconut.

I’ve uploaded a bunch of new photos on Flickr, including one of some cupcakes for a wedding tasting later – strawberry and lemon buttermilk. YUM. My friend Lisa has declared the fresh strawberry flavor to be her all-time favorite.

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

This is possibly one of the most fun cakes I have ever made. I got a call from Meredith, who is pregnant, and wanted a cake for a small party to announce the gender of the child. Meredith didn’t even know yet! She came by earlier in the week and dropped off an envelope with the secret inside, and told me not to tell anyone! So, pink cake for a baby girl, teal for a baby boy, covered with white frosting so that all would be revealed when they cut the cake with friends and family. How fun! Here’s a photo of the finished cake. She had sent me to this blog for inspiration, which is one I will definitely be adding to my regular blog reading list. Apparently “Gender announcement” cakes are all the rage – I seriously had no idea, and I obviously try to keep up on cake trends.

Congratulations to Meredith & her partner! She’s also taking these (pink vanilla) mini cupcakes to work with her to make the announcement there.

This weekend I’ve been experimenting with gluten free cupcakes, and have several chocolate batches ready for tasting tomorrow. I will definitely post if I find a successful recipe! I get a lot of request for gluten free baked goods, and I have to say, developing  a gluten intolerance would be my nightmare.

TONS of stuff is going on otherwise! The Cupcake of the Month club is in full effect! Click here to find out all the details, and get your own subscription! Packages start at $18 a month, and I have a limited number to sell – I can really only make so  many deliveries in one day. Finally, we’re hard at work on the new website, and hope to be debuting it at the end of June.

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

These are for a wedding tasting tonight for a July wedding. Have a I mentioned how much I love making cupcakes for weddings? It’s so fun for me, and I love being able to contribute to two people celebrating that they love each other. You can see another shot of the salted chocolate ones here.

I just bought Helen Dujardin‘s book, Plate to Pixel, so maybe you’ll see an improvement in my cupcake photography over the next couple of months. Of course I have to find the time to read it, and I’m kinda of afraid that it will tell me that my dinky Kodak Easyshare camera isn’t good enough… but, we’ll see.

And tons of big announcements on the way! Next week I’ll be unveiling the new Angel Cakes logo, designed by the amazing John Yates. I swear, all my friends are tired of looking at cupcake icons!

Off to deliver these beauties…!

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

I love people who have non-traditional flavors for their wedding. Cream cheese frosting (used on carrot cake as well as red velvet and some other flaovrs) can be a challenge – it doesn’t take color as well (plus some colors look weird with the orange/brown of the carrot cake), and it also will not hold up as well in warm conditions and can’t be shaped into some of the more fancy designs. But they *DO* look great with the classic rose swirl (shown here), or could be awesome with a candied ginger or orange peel garnish – like the ones from Saturday. Though I think that walnuts are a natural accompaniment for carrot cake, for weddings, I recommend at least some of the cupcakes  without nuts to make sure your guests with allergies can enjoy dessert, too.

If you’re getting married and want more information on ordering cupcakes for your wedding, I have a whole page for that. And what else is going on? I’m THRILLED that there are strawberries out in full force at the farmer’s markets now. Maybe it’s time for me to perfect that strawberry-balsamic recipe I’ve been working on.

Along with making all sorts of great treats lately (yellow cake with chocolate frosting earlier this week, carrot cake cupcakes tomorrow), I’m thrilled about how things are moving along for the Angel Cakes relaunch later this summer. We’re finalizing a new logo and beginning plans on an updated website – plus figuring out the final logistics for the cupcake of the month. *Lots* of announcements coming in the next two months.

And finally, I think I want to be a food stylist/food photographer when I grow up. Getting a better camera and taking some classes is on my (big) list of things to do this year!

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

I love these simple cupcakes. A chocolate cupcake with cinnamon and chili, which offers an unexpected spicy flavor.They are easy to make – take your favorite chocolate cupcake recipe and add one teaspoon cinnamon and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder for each dozen cupcakes.  These happen to be vegan, and topped with powdered sugar to not overwhelm the spices. There’s an alternate photo here. I’ll be delivering these to Hesperian later this afternoon.

You know, I couldn’t't even remember the last time I made spicy chocolate cupcakes. When I looked it up on Flickr , I realized it was last August when I made 150 for my friend’s work! You can see them here. Maybe I need to start keeping a log or something, but the photos are really a great way to keep track of what different flavors I’ve made.

There are tons of things going on locally, and all the food events are one of the best aspects of living in the San Francisco Bay Area. I recently discovered Omnivore Books in San Francisco, and they have tons of great readings showcasing the latest cookbooks – which is probably a bad idea if you have too many, like me. Though I have to say, that on the east side of the Bay (where I live), I really appreciate Moe’s Books used cookbook section. Dangerous.

Finally, the rumored “cupcake of the month” plan is in the works – it’s looking like there will be a July debut – I’ll definitely keep you posted.

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

PS – I’m looking for a new commercial kitchen to rent that’s closer to where I live – somewhere in Berkeley, Oakland North or Downtown, or Emeryville. Would love to share with another catering business, or work in a restaurant/cafe during the off hours. Got any ideas? Email me!

These cuties are for Leah, who works at the wonderful nonprofit Exhale, based in Oakland. Exhale is an after-abortion talk line and counseling service and they are one of the leading groups truly advocating openness about why women have abortions, that many different kids of women have abortions, and they should all feel comfortable talking about it – a stance which Exhale has called “pro-voice.” In an emotionally and politically charged arena, providing space for anyone, regardless of their politics, and pushing for greater public space to do so, is ultra important work. I mean, it’s one thing to support a woman’s right to choose, and another to support her during and after that decision.  Exhale did a lot of awesome work around a recent MTV special about women who have had abortion, and you can read about it here.

If you’re in the Bay Area, you can meet the Exhale staff later this month – they are sponsoring a screening of Linsday Ellis’s film, “The A Word” on April 27. Details are here. I’m planning on being there, too.

I made an extra dozen of these red velvet cupcakes  to take over tonight to the send-off party for Chris Crass. A long time organizer with The Catalyst Project, Chris is leaving the SF Bay Area to join his partner in Tennessee. Yay for people moving to the middle of the country!

And, a few random things. First, yesterday I randomly met someone from the new vegan chocolate company, Vegan Sweet Cups.  Can’t wait to try some! And there are tons of cupcakes coming up, including superhero-themed vegan minis! Those are definitely going to be fun.

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

PS – I’m looking for a new commercial kitchen to rent that’s closer to where I live – somewhere in Berkeley, Oakland North or Downtown, or Emeryville. Would love to share with another catering business, or work in a restaurant/cafe during the off hours. Got any ideas? Email me!

The bakesale is sponsored by Chronicle Books and will take place at their store at 680 Second in San Francisco. I feel like there have been a TON of charity bakesales lately, and I asked Chronicle over Twitter if they really felt bakesales made an impact – they said their last fundraiser brought in $3K for the charity – that’s awesome!

A lot of people here in California are freaked out about earthquakes right now. I have a lot of thoughts on this, mainly that the best way to deal with being freaked out is to be prepared. Here’s a nice article from GOOD magazine about how to be ready. And on the same vein, let me recommend Rebecca Solnit’s book, A Paradise Built in Hell: The Extraordinary Communities that Arise in Disaster. Her book is vitally relevant right now, as disasters and crises abound – earthquakes (let’s not forget that the Haiti earthquake was just a year ago), nuclear threat, civil unrest – Conventional belief suggests that in such moments society collapses and people revert to savagery and selfishness. In fact, though institutions often fail in disaster, ordinary people often rise to the occasion with profound creativity and courage. I love this book because it details how resilient our communities are – and this is the message we need right now. Rebecca is also the author of another of my favorite books ever: Hope in the Dark: Untold Histories, Wild Possibilities. And, I have to tell you, she is a fan of cupcakes. And pies.

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More photos on Flickr or in the Archive. Follow me on Twitter or Facebook for special offers & upcoming events!

PS – I’m looking for a new commercial kitchen to rent that’s closer to where I live – somewhere in Berkeley/North Oakland or Downtown/Emeryville. Would love to share with another catering business, or work in a restaurant/cafe during the off hours. Got any ideas? Email me!