"cupcakes" news and stories

It's time to turn your dulce de leche cupcake into a sticky spider's web, and your gluten-free sweet into a mini Frankenstein. Check out what bakers all over the blogs are doing to play with their food for Halloween.

From bright orange pumpkins to creepy graveyards, the cupcakes at Project Food Blog are over the top.

The Cupcake Blog channels Dr. Frankenstein with their FrankenMonsters.

At Sweetest Kitchen the pumpkin cucakes are dandy, but the creepy spiders steal the show.

The Culinary Institute's take on cobweb cupcakes are frighteningly beautiful.

The hi-hat cupcakes at Bouffe e Bambini sound kind of scary to make, but we definitely want to taste one of these swirly, chocolate-coated beauties.

Cupcakes are being reinvented yet again, this time with wine folded into the batter.

Enjoy Cupcakes, in Solvang and Los Olivos, Calif., deep in Santa Barbara's wine country, has developed about fifty signature recipes that include wine. Olallie Berry Rosé, Meyer Lemon Chardonnay, Caramel Pinot and Chocolate Blackberry Syrah are among the flavors. No wonder this sweet spot is located inside the tasting room for Saarloos and Sons.

In-N-Out Burger, don't be jealous. McDonald's, your Big Mac has no competition here. These are layered chocolate and vanilla cupcakes made from cake mix, and store-bought frosting in mustardy, ketchupy and lettuce-like shades. OK, making a food that looks like another food may not be your thing, but just ask a kid if she wants to make a burger cupcake, and odds are she'll say, "When?" Get the step-by-step guide here.

If you want to make your cupcakes and frosting from scratch, of course, we've got the recipes for you: vanilla cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes, and a rich buttercream frosting. And if anyone has a cupcake-fries recipe out there, bring it on.

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With a warm, exotic note of saffron, filled with a blend of fruit and topped with buttercream icing, golden raspberries and pistachio nuts, this cupcake is as fresh and golden as morning light. Oh, and it's vegan, so blogger norwichnuts created this cupcake recipe with margarine instead of butter.

Saffron is not a spice to go crazy with; just a teaspoon of the threads is more than enough to give the cupcakes an earthy undertone. Too much and they'll be bitter. Fun fact: The stamens from about 150 flowers (the Crocus sativus) are hand-harvested to produce just .035 ounces of saffron. So do it proud.

Become a member of the Slashfood Flickr pool for a shot of having your photos featured in Feast Your Eyes.

The cooking-competition television genre is getting a little sweeter this week. Debuting this week on Food Network is a Chopped-inspired series called Cupcake Wars -- a baker's delight in who can outshine and outfrost each other for a $10,000 cash prize as well as a high-profile showcase event for their product.

Each show starts with 4 contestants and whittles them down to a final two through various challenges. The show taps into cupcake hopefuls from around the country -- some are already established in their field and are hoping to expand their cupcake empire, others are working their way up the ranks and the prize money could seed their first shop.

Gone are the days when these desserts were relegated to appearances at classroom birthday parties. Over the last several years, cupcake culture has become an explosive market, with boutique cupcakeries opening across the country in large cities and small towns alike.