Happy Spring!

Happy Spring people! Yay! We made it! 

I should leave it at that, I don't want to get overly excited and jinx it- there is still a chill in the air and I've not yet placed my Winter boots in the closet, from which they cannot make another appearance until at least the last week of November. I've gotten overly excited about the impending warm weather and started eyeing my bbq- is it too early? I feel somewhat weak admitting that the Winter took the best out of me, but I'm certainly not alone. How do I know? Because of all the happy people filing into the bakery with smiles on their faces, jackets unzipped and regular shoes on their feet- regular shoes! All of whom are more excited every day about the promise of long, warm days, flowers and green!

So, lets toast the arrival of Spring with something yummy, shall we? We're bringing back a favourite of mine from last year. Something about looking at these little gems just makes me feel happy- probably because of the way they look: 

These cupcakes really do pack a punch, there is something seriously magical about the batter- with chopped up maraschino cherries throughout and the sweet, lovely taste of almond in every bite. I absolutely love  maraschino cherries, so much in fact, that when I was young, I considered them as an important part of a fruit filled diet. I'd never thought adding maraschino cherries to a cupcake batter would be so life changing. But, trust me, its a good lesson learned. We've topped these little lovelies with a (teal blue) vanilla frosting and a whole cherry on top. Why teal? Why not!? 

March!

February was quite lovely, wasn't it? despite the absolute freezing cold, lack of sunshine and all the snow, it was still just great. The Winter Olympics helped get me (and, I'm guessing most Canadians) through the slump of knowing that we're still in for at least another 6 long weeks of Winter weather. Also, there was a nice break at the end of February when the sun emerged and melted enough snow that I was able to emerge from my house without Winter boots on (although, I promptly changed my mind. It's still Winter, after all). The mild weather and bare sidewalks didn't last long, but knowing that we are officially "in" the month that Spring begins really helps brighten my mood.  

So, here we are. It's March. It's still -20 and it snowed yesterday. But Spring starts in 2 weeks! 2 weeks, people! Let's celebrate, shall we? How about celebrating with a cupcake? How about with our feature cupcake flavour for March? 

I get deja-vu every time I write a post for March. We've done the same delish cupcake now for years. It's become one of our signature flavours- people call and order it up all year round, but I'm so happy when we have it for the whole month straight, and I can snack on it any time I feel like. It's also the most perfect cupcake to celebrate the other reason March is great- St. Patty's day! 

In case you're new around here, this month (and every March), we're featuring a Guinness cupcake- yes, a cupcake with Guinness in it. The darkness and dryness of the stout really compliments the chocolate in the cupcake nicely. We top this charming little fellow with a cream cheese frosting spiked with a veeeery generous amount of Baileys. 

So, swing by the shop and pick one of these coveted little gems up- Let's celebrate the impending arrival of Spring!

Happy February!

In the time it will take me to write this post, about 5 centimetres of snow will fall, add that to the other 10-15 centimetres that has already fallen, and you get a nice reason to hunker down and get cozy. Seriously people, I haven't spent this much time in socks and sweaters in years! We've been under an almost constant cold weather alert for weeks, and the snow just keeps coming! All this being said, we can handle this. We will get through it. We are Canadians. Spring will come- until then though, ignore everything on your "to do" list and really try to enjoy the coziness that results from all the snow and cold. My favourite way to enjoy this time of year involves my couch, a blanket, Downton Abbey, tea and cupcakes.

Newsflash! Valentine's day is less than 2 weeks away. Have you gotten your sweetheart something yet? How about something sweet? How about something from us?! Luckily, we've got you covered with tons of yummy stuff for Valentines day. Even better? We've got a killer feature cupcake this month, guaranteed to get you through this snowy, freezing cold, windy cozy February.  How about a Passion Fruit cupcake topped with a dreamy and delicious chocolate whipped cream? What if I told you we took this amazing cupcake to the next level and added a passion fruit curd filling? Yes- we did. Yes, it's delicious! This cupcake tastes like a decadent dessert, but is so light and fresh with the whipped cream on top and the punch of fresh, tangy curd in the middle. I'm hoping you can pick some up at sometime this month, if the snow stops for long enough to let you outside to run up to our shop. If not, stay on your couch... we deliver!

Happy New Year!

After a great Christmas and a fabulous break, I'm glad to wish all of our customers and friends a very Happy New Year!

How was your holiday season? Ours was jam packed; we made a record number of gift boxes & baked a record number of cookies!  I wish I could give you an exact number our hard working bakers pumped out this year but we lost count. After the craziness of our holiday orders, we were able to take a nice. long. break. We closed up shop and relaxed!

It's hard to believe we've only just begun the Winter season.  Let's keep our eye on the prize (Spring!) and stay in hibernation mode.  We can help keep you in a nice, cozy, pajamas-all-day state of mind (cupcakes are a great hibernation food!).  Our feature flavour this month is guaranteed to put a smile on your face. I could just mention that it's got Nutella in it, and that would likely win many of you over. You'd say something like "you had me at Nutella!"  But I'm not stopping there.  It's a banana cupcake- just so you know, our banana cupcake is the best thing ever. I'm a BIG banana cake/bread fan, and I'm not quite sure how all of the banana flavour gets into one little, perfect mouthful, but it does! Hidden inside of the banana cupcake is a little surprise dollop of Nutella. The whole delicious thing is topped off with an absolutely fabulous Nutella buttercream. You really couldn't get yummier if you tried!

Resolutions, Schmesolutions! It's already January 14th! Which means you only have 17 more days to enjoy one of these little nuggets of deliciousness. Better start eating now!

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!