Happy Holidays!

It's that time of the year again! Festive ingredients? Yup, were going through tons these days- cases upon cases of butter, big buckets of molasses, cloves, cinnamon... it's all getting pretty heavy rotation around here. As usual, we're getting quite a few drooling customers demanding some gingerbread because they can smell it from blocks away!
Even though the holiday season is especially hectic around the bakery, it's still a great time and we're all happy every day to come to work- the festive spirit really is contagious. It really is the most wonderful time of the year!
All this talk of warm-fuzzies reminds me that I'm especially happy about this month's cupcake features. Every December, we bring back an 'ol favourite and gingerbread has trumped the others again this year. It's moist and spicy. Plus, its oh-so-yummy! Not to mention that it comes with either chocolate frosting or spiced chai frosting. You really can't go wrong!
We're also bringing you a new one this year (because you've all been so good, consider this your Christmas gift!) It's a orange cranberry cupcake with an orange cream cheese frosting. This cupcake is so full of holiday cheer and festive flavours that it demands to be eaten around a roaring fire, with wool socks on your feet and perhaps with a hot mug of apple cider, mulled wine or hot chocolate as an accompaniment.
In other news, we've re-vamped our storefront into a winter wonderland! We've got tons of ideas for hostess gifts, stocking stuffers, teacher gifts and holiday desserts galore! Stay tuned for our holiday menu!

Hello... Mr. Mo-vember...

Just like that. It's November. The trees around these parts are looking pretty beautiful- but a storm blew through last week, leaving some trees in that naked-branch-baron-cold stage. I can't help but think about Winter starting soon. However, lets enjoy November- our last full month of this glorious season!

I don't know if you've heard but it's not just November. It's MO-vember. You may have noticed a lot of upper lips this week looking a little scruffier. By the end of the month, the scruffiness will have transformed itself into a proud, thick moustache! All of this extra hair is not by accident. The growers are raising money for prostate cancer research. Good for them! We really wanted to get involved with such a great cause- but we are, after all, a kitchen full of girls. So, we're doing the next best thing! We're donating 10% of this month's cupcake of the month sales to movember!

But! Wait! I forgot to mention the best part! The cupcake... you may remember this one from way, way back. It was delicious then, and it's still delicious now. It's a chocolate cupcake with a salted caramel cream cheese buttercream frosting. The kicker? The drizzle of caramel sauce on top of the frosting. It's ooey and gooey and the absolute perfect topping for this yummy cupcake. 

A select number of these little guys come with a fondant moustache too!    

They're baaaack....

As usual, I'm a little tardy on the blog post. It's ok though, I'm sure you'll forgive me when you hear that we've resurrected the ol' October favourite cupcake. Remember it? It's a pumpkin cupcake with brown butter cream cheese buttercream frosting, topped with a delish candied nut mix. Can we talk about how much ya'll love pumpkin? I have been answering phone calls for pumpkin pies and pumpkin cupcakes since labour day weekend. When we started making these little gems again, on October 1st, they have taken over as our most popular flavour... they may have trumped our famous red velvet cupcake this past weekend for amount sold! 

Since its already the second week of October, you only have a solid 3 weeks to gorge yourself on these!

We also have lots of other pumpkin-y goodies in stock for Thanksgiving this weekend- cakes, cupcakes, pies and more! Nothing tastes better than Thanksgiving supper polished off with a big slice of pumpkin pie!

A walk down memory lane...

Remember this little gem?

I'm happy to report he is making a comeback this year and gracing our shop with his presence again this September. Maybe you don't quite remember the fine details on this guy from last year. Here is a refresher on this one:

He is an apple cinnamon cupcake. Dense, apple-y and oh-so-moist. There is also a lovely cinnamon frosting on top of the cupcake. BUT, the secret power that this super cupcake has is hidden in the only available hiding spot on a cupcake. It's an oozy, caramely and boozy sauce layered between the cake and frosting. Seriously. It's there and it makes this cupcake unbelievably delicious. Can you see it in the picture? This caramel sauce doesn't soon want you to forget it. It wants you to wake up in the middle of the night and think about how delicious it is. It want's you to ask for it by name next September, and mourn it's passing when this month is over.

Seriously people, have I ever lied to you? 

Plus, what better flavour to feature in September- its apple season guys! Do you know what that means? Pies! Apples are being peeled and chopped as I type this. We will have them all weekend in the shop.

   

Millions of peaches...

Ahhh... mid summer is just about the best time of the year. The lake is the perfect temperature for swimming, the nights are warm and the days are long. All of the best fruit and veg are lining supermarket shelves and bursting out of bins at the farmers market. My favourite part about living in Ontario is the produce! We are so lucky to have tons of hard working farmers all around us, feeding us with the fruits of their labour. It is perfectly acceptable and easy to eat 100% local this time of year... make sure you leave room for dessert though!

This month's feature cupcake is an homage to one of our favourite of the local gems in Ontario- Peaches! You may have noticed them making their 2013 debut recently in your local food shop. This months cupcake is also a props to one of the best desserts around- cobbler!

So, how does a cinnamon peach cupcake sound? We've topped these with a cinnamon buttercream and a buttery crumbled streusel  topping. Yummy! This one is pure Summer comfort food and would be perfectly acceptable to eat with a side of vanilla ice cream- all you cobbler fans already know how that nothing goes with cobbler like vanilla ice cream. Match made in heaven!

Hurry in and try one of these today! We will be featuring these until the end of the month. 

If you like Pina Coladas...

What is the date today? It can't possibly be nearly halfway through July, can it? Sorry- we've been busy! Our first venture in being a 2 store operation has been taking up a lot of time... and we're so happy ya'll love the second shop so much! Our East end customers have welcomed us to the neighbourhood with open arms... our opening weekend was so great, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much!

Since the new store opened, we have been flat out busy with cake orders! Weddings! Baby showers! Corporate events! You name it- we've baked it!  

We were so busy baking, that July 1st just breezed by us... and we didn't have a cupcake flavour in mind (actually, scratch that- we spend alot of time here dreaming up different flavour combos. If anything, there were too many options!) The bottom line is: do not fret! I am here to let you know that we have a fabulous new feature flavour for the month of July.
Maybe you guessed it from the title? I hope you do like Pina Coladas (and, for that matter, I hope you also like getting caught in the rain... especially after the storm earlier this week!) This one is a pineapple cupcake, with a generous douse of coconut-y goodness, topped with a cream cheese frosting that has been seriously spiked with Malibu. This one smells, tastes and looks like Summer!
What is it about the Summer that makes us want to booze up our cupcakes? Oh well, just another reason to love the best time of the year!

How cute are those little parasol sticks? FYI guys, we are making S'mores cupcakes again- they will be around for a limited time- so make sure you get your fill! 

Danforth East is about to get a whole lot yummier...

Firstly, let me say that we have the best customers... seriously. Ya'll deserve award for the support! Yummy Stuff wouldn't be here if we didn't have people from all over Toronto ordering from us. 

For years, we've been catering to customers from the east end. They have faithfully driven across the city to pick up cakes, cupcakes and all manner of treats. They have patiently asked us when we're going to open a location in the east end. Well... a great opportunity has presented itself and Morag sprung at the chance to try a second shop out! 

DECA (Danforth East Community Association) has been working hard at rejuvenating an awesome part of the city. Yummy Stuff has been selected to open a pop up shop at 1938 Danforth Ave... While you're there, stay a while and take a peak around the neighbourhood. There are a lot of exciting things happening in that corner of the city. Our grand opening celebration will be next Saturday, June 15th. Slap on some sunscreen- there is a park right across the street from the shop so you can enjoy your cupcake there. Our hours of operation will be as follows:

Tuesday-Friday 11am-7pm

Saturday 9am-6pm

Sunday 12pm-5pm

If you would like to place an order, please call 416 531 9732 and specify you will be picking up at our Danforth location and we'll make it happen. 

June!

We're already knee deep in June, and, you're probably wondering why I haven't had a single second of free time to squeeze in this little post, telling you- our lovely readers, about our feature cupcake this month. We have been very busy with top secret preparations. If you are a friend on facebook, then you probably heard the news earlier this week. Yummy Stuff is expanding for the Summer and opening a pop-up shop on the Danforth... Yes- it's happening! It's exciting! The doors are opening in 1 week- whoa... we've got some serious work to do!

But for now... let's talk cupcakes. It's June, the Summer is about to start- any second now the humidity will descend, nights will get HOT and ice cream trucks will stop on the street and lure us in. STOP! Don't go to the ice cream truck! This time, get a cupcake that has all the delicious features of a fabulous ice cream cone without the drippy mess... We made a chocolate cupcake with little, minty chips baked right into the cake. The topping is a lovely, minty buttercream frosting. We couldn't resist topping these with mini ice cream cones. Cute and Yummy! 

For the first time ever, I am excited to say we will be serving these yummy little treats at BOTH of our locations for the entire month of June! Stay tuned for our Danforth shop news. 

This one's for Mom...

Last week, while we were getting ready to leave for the day, the bakers and I had a chat that went something like this:

Anna: "What are we going to make for next months feature flavour?"

Me: "I dunno"

Anna: "We should make something that Mom's will enjoy- it's mothers day in a couple of weeks!"

Me: "What do Mom's like? Mine likes everything..."

Anna: "Chocolate!"

Emily: "Also Raspberry. Chocolate and raspberry is a delish combo"  

Me: "Sounds yummy"

Emily: "Also, there should be ganache in it."

Me: "Sounds even better"

This is how we came to the conclusion that this month we would make a cupcake that mom's everywhere would be grateful for. The only other decision to make was where the raspberries would go, and where the chocolate would go. After all, some Mom's like chocolate but LOVE raspberries and some mom's like Raspberries but die for chocolate... So... we made both! All month we're featuring chocolate cupcakes with raspberry ganache and raspberry frosting AND raspberry cupcakes with raspberry ganache filling and chocolate frosting. Here is a list of 3 things I have realized since tasting these cupcakes:

1. Our chocolate cake with our raspberry frosting is my new favourite flavour combo. 

2. The raspberry ganache we are making for the filling is the yummiest ganache I have ever had. 

3. I have an amazing amount of self control. 

We hope your mom loves these as much as we do. I should also quickly note that dads, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, grandparents and friends would also enjoy these a ton! 

Happy Mothers Day!

Happy April!

Happy April! We made it! The Easter rush was filled with so many orders of yummy stuff it makes my head spin... we sure hope the desserts we made for all of you were well received and quickly gobbled up. Hands down, our hot cross buns are fast becoming a Easter tradition/ customer obsession at Yummy Stuff... they literally flew off the shelf on Friday and Saturday. Really, I'm not surprised- hot cross buns are classic bakery treats at their finest, so perfect for Spring celebrating and of course, for Easter!

Anyway, did you come here to find out our feature flavour this month? I have to say, this months cupcake is awesome- why? I could eat this cherry almond cake everyday for the rest of my life, and I would still love it.
 I want to describe my feelings about this cupcake as "a little bit retro"- like circa 1960's. I feel like I've most definitely seen a version of this cake while flipping through mom's old recipe collection. Or, maybe I'm getting a real retro vibe from the look of this little gem. Yes- it's a cherry almond cake with  (turquoise!) vanilla frosting on top. My favourite part of this cupcake is the pieces of cherry studded in the almond-y cake, every bite has a little "pop" of cherry-ness (maybe that should actually be "Cheeriness", because it makes me smile). Pretty please (with a cherry on top) come in and try one? 

PS- how much do you love the new cake stand? It makes everything way cuter, doesn't it? 

Hop to it!

Here we are again... It's nearly Easter Weekend! Yikes! Are you ready? Don't fret, leave the dessert to us. Check out our Easer Flyer by clicking here. You can get in touch with us by calling, emailing or dropping by the shop. Either way, hop to it right away to ensure your treats are ready in time. 

Our shop hours for Easter weekend are as follows:

Good Friday 10am-5pm

Saturday March 29 9am-6pm

Easter Sunday 11am-5pm

Happy Easter!

Yum!

Yikes! Sorry folks... we're a little tardy on getting around to posting this month. I'm blaming it on Spring fever (although, given the weather lately, maybe I'll blame it on Winter blues?) 

Firstly, how happy are we it is March?! How ecstatic is the feeling that daylight savings time has brought us more glorious hours to enjoy the day? Easter is next Week! Spring is here! 

Well, I'm happy to report that we've brought back the Guinness cupcake with baileys cream cheese frosting again this March. This cupcake gets better every year- it also boasts a cult-like following. Many people drive from far and wide to get one of these gems.

Also, because we love you (and, because some people don't like boozy cupcakes) we've made another flavour- one that dreams are made of... Seriously. 

How about a moist, chocolatey, chocolate cupcake with a creamy-dreamy peanut butter filling and a peanut butter frosting? Move over Reese's, there is a new kid in town... and he's delicious! 

So, come on by the shop and treat yourself. Celebrate the season! C'mon, do you even really need an excuse? How many do you think you can eat before the end of March? 

Whoa?! Time Flies!

Poof! Here we are! It's already February 5th.... Yikes! Where does the time go? 

February is a great month. We gently start to shake ourselves out of our Winter-comas. It's also safe to start counting down to March 20th (the first day of SPRING!). To celebrate February this year, we thought we'd shake it up and change things a little. 

Introducing... German Chocolate Cupcake!

 A light-and-sweet, fluffy chocolate cupcake with a pecan coconut topping. That's right, a topping! NOT a buttercream. This topping is made from a top secret mix of deliciousness and then cooked on the stove top until it becomes all gooey and caramel-y, pecans and coconut get mixed in at the end. This is then scooped on top of each yummy chocolate cupcake. Then, I have the hard job of having to look at these baby's all day and not eating them. Please try one? You would be doing me a favour by getting them out of my eyesight. Plus, you will not regret it!

FUN FACT: German chocolate cake is a super popular, retro recipe I always thought was... well, German. But it's not. It's American, getting it's name from Chocolate maker Sam German, who came up with the formula for the sweet baking chocolate traditionally used in the recipe. Who new? 

Another fun fact: June 11th is National German Chocolate Cake day in America. I think we need to have more holidays celebrating desserts!

Happy New Year!

2013 has arrived! Happy New Year to all our fantastic customers and blog readers! After a much needed extended Christmas holiday, the yummy staff are back in the kitchen baking up a storm! How was your holiday season?
Our New Years Resolution is to eat more cake! With that in mind, might I introduce you to our cupcake of the month? Its a malted chocolate cupcake with malted chocolate frosting, topped with a malted chocolate candy- we're calling this one "the whopper"!

Lots of fun new baking is planned for the new year, so stay tuned and we will fill you in!

It's going to be a yummy year!