You Little Cupcake Necklace by Corrina Smith

You Little Cupcake Necklace

by Greenriverstudio

I Love My Little Cupcakes!

by Greenriverstudio

Lots of Yummys
by Greenriverstudio

Yummy Cupcakes
by Greenriverstudio

Little Yummy on a Chain
by Greenriverstudio

These sweet silver and gold cupcake necklaces were personally designed and created as wearable art by Corrina Smith of the United Kingdom. After taking an 8-week class in jewelry-making, Corinna became passionate about the craft. She's spent the past three years studying Jewellery Making and Metalsmithing to expand and develop her skills.

According to her website, CorrinaSmith.com, the inspiration behind her whimsical creations comes from the arts and childhood memories. Cupcakes represent a mother's love and a reminder of happy times when play and a cupcake evoked joy and smiles. In her cupcake jewelry, Corrina has created comfort food for adults.

You can view an expanded photo gallery of Corrina's diverse line of jewelry HERE. It's available for sale online through ETSY. The Green River Studio store will reopen on August 23rd.

O.C. Divine Desserts Cupcake Special: Two for One!

Divine Strawberry Cupcakes

Photo by Divine Desserts Etc.

Now through Sunday, August 16, 2009, Divine Desserts in Laguna Niguel, Orange County is offering a cupcake discount to subscribers of Greer's OC newsletter. Buy one cupcake and get one FREE! Be sure to mention "Greer OC."

What a deal! Divine Desserts has lots of yummy cupcake flavors. Choose from your favorite cupcake standards: Red Velvet, Vanilla, Chocolate and Strawberry. If you're in the mood for something special try the Cookie Dough, S' Mores, Chocolate Chip Mint, Apple Cinnamon, Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip or Oreo Cake with Marshmallow Frosting, among others. Divine makes their own brand of Ice Cream Cupcakes; a perfect way to cool down in the summer heat. I love Divine's Key Lime cupcake. But, I may have a new favorite once I try the White Chocolate Raspberry.

Cupcakes are $3.00. A shot of buttercream is $1.00. Divine also sells cupcake apparel and some hard-to-find Fluff cupcake accessories. Divine Desserts Etc. is located in the Plaza de La Paz Center (between CVS Pharmacy and Henry's, ) located at 27261 La Paz # G in Laguna Niguel. They're open until 6 PM on Friday. Weekend hours are 10 AM - 5 PM. For more information check the website DivineDessertsEtc.com or telephone 949.305.3355.

Co-owner Todd Lewis was in the store when I visited shortly after the opening. Todd was extremely personable and eager to share upcoming cupcake flavors and plans in the works for Divine. It was a wonderful cupcake day!

TOAST Bakery in West Hollywood

Vanilla Vanilla Cupcakes

Black and White Cupcakes

Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcakes

Carrot Cake Cupcakes


Be prepared for a long wait to be seated

TOAST Bakery on Third Street
West Hollywood

All Photos by Zen Cupcake via iPhone

See that cute little cupcake sign that says, "Welcome! Please wait to be seated"? During the weekend you could turn to stone before you get a seat at TOAST. I kid you not. This place was packed every time we drove by. By chance we snagged a parking spot three blocks away and decided to walk over and try the cupcakes. After waiting for what seemed an eternity, (45 minutes) we entered the eatery to gaze at the cupcakes. TOAST has lots of cupcakes, but apparently not a lot of help. I stood by the bakery case taking photos and even wandered behind the counter hoping someone might notice me. Not a glance. You'd have to set yourself on fire to get any attention at this place.

At one point a guy did ask me if I was looking for something. Jokingly, I said, "Cockroaches. I'm the Health Inspector." With a straight face he responded, "You'll have to wait and speak with the manager." Well, I set the record straight and asked to buy a cupcake since we wouldn't have sit-down service in this millennium. I pointed to my selection and Straight Faced Guy picked up a pair of tongs and extricated my cupcake from the bakery case. Looking around for a dish to no avail, I solved that problem by extending my palms to take possession of my long awaited cupcake and asked how much I owed. Straight Faced Guy: "It's on the house."

Okay, the cupcake was a freebie. That certainly compensated for a 45 minute wait in the heat. Not. Anyway, I'm over it. My choice was a peanut butter and chocolate cupcake. Honestly, I really enjoyed it. It was an old-fashioned kind of cupcake. Fresh, dense, moist cake with thick-rich-peanut butter-flavored buttercream frosting. Truth be told, these are not pretty-painstakingly-frosted-decorated-designer-gourmet-upscale-sculpted-stylish-chic cupcakes. This is a cupcake you want to eat, not gaze at lovingly. In fact, they look like someone baked them at home and brought them to work. TOAST serves full size cupcakes at a good old price of only $1.95.

If you want a homemade cupcake at a bargain price TOAST is the place to go. Be prepared for the frustration of trying to find a parking place in the same zip code and expect a longer than usual wait for seating. By the way, TOAST does not take reservations.

Children's Day Cupcakes by lesmuffins

Kit Dia del Niño
by lesmuffins

Kit Dia del Niño: a jugar!!

by lesmuffins

Kit Dia del Niño:
Muffins de Vainilla listos para decorar!!
by lesmuffins

Kit Dia del Niño: a jugar!
by lesmuffins

This cupcake ensemble is happy and playful. It's part of a photo set celebrating "Agosto es el Mes de los Niños." Roughly translated, August is the month of the children. In Argentina, the second Sunday of August is the official day of Children's Day.

In keeping with the spirit of the holiday, Les Muffins created a cupcake-decorating kit especially for children. Ready to eat mini "muffins" (cupcakes), squeezable tubes of brightly colored frosting, cupcake decorations, cupcake toppers are included with an apron and headscarf (bandana) for the head baker. The photos are quite striking and beautifully styled.

Les Muffins baked cupcakes, muffins and cookies in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Exotic sabores like hibiscus, passion fruit, coconut, and dulce de leche are part of their cupcake menu. Cupcakes have made quite an impact in Argentina. Buenos Aires is a cosmopolitan city with a culture deeply rooted in European influences. It's surprising to see an "American" trend like cupcakes develop an active cupcake/baking community like All You Need is Cupcakes!, Dots Cupcakes!, lulú cupcakes, Dulce Alicia Cupcakes, Rouci's Cupcakes and Slatkos Cupcakes! in that part of the world.

Another reason to admire this cupcake kit is Hello Kitty. She certainly caught our eye atop a couple of the brightly colored cupcake toppers. Hello Kitty is another example of a contemporary icon with universal appeal. Cupcakes and Hello Kitty rule!