Cake Byte: Sweet New Stationery by justJenn Designs at CakeSpy Shop!

You already know that CakeSpy Shop is a pretty sweet place.

But it just got even sweeter, with new stationery from justJenn Designs!

Now, in case you didn't know, justJenn is kind of like a sweet soul mate to CakeSpy--the author runs a food (mostly sweets!) blog in addition to running a stationery business. Awesome, right?

Here's a sampling of the sweet designs that you'll find at the CakeSpy Shop:

The Magritte-inspired "Cupcake Crumbs" design (pictured top);

A card to help you declare your bacon love;

Robot love;

and of course, one that pretty much says it all: Thanks for Nothing.

There's also a sweet fill-in series!

...and the piece de resistance, a square pin which you can turn to show your allegiance: pie or cake? (you know the right answer).

Buy it all online here!

Put the Lime in the Coconut: Cupcake Royale Debuts Toasted Coconut Lime Cupcakes for June!

Goodbye forever, May 2010! Hello June, and hello to Cupcake Royale's new flavor of the month: Toasted Coconut Lime. As they put it:

Yeah, we did it. We put the lime in the coconut and baked it all up. Moist coconut cake gets a tart and tangy swirl of real lime buttercream. We finish it off with toasted coconut for a truly tasty tropical treat!

And knowing that June is a big month for dads and grads, they kindly offer some life-lesson cupcake tips for grads:

1.  If you are giving a speech at your graduation, hide a cupcake under someone's chair. At some point, that person will find the cupcake and begin cheering wildly. Hopefully this happens either during or immediately after your speech.

2. If you are still a little miffed about a certain bad grade, give that instructor a cupcake...better yet, a 2-pack! They won't change your grade, but at least they'll know that deep down, you're really a swell kid after all.

3. If your parents are still speaking to you after all the senseless things you've done and all their money you've spent over the past four years, give them cupcakes. This one really goes without saying, whether you are graduating from college or kindergarten.

4. If you are throwing a graduation party, going to a graduation party, or just like graduation parties, order tons of cupcakes from Cupcake Royale. Literally, TONS.

5. Finally, you're graduating! Give yourself a cupcake already, and congratulations from Cupcake Royale! We believe the children are our future, and we believe those children should eat cupcakes.

The Toasted Coconut Lime cupcake will be available for the entire month of June at all four locations; for more information, visit cupcakeroyale.com.

Cake Byte: Sweet New Stationery at CakeSpy Shop!

What's sweet at the CakeSpy retail shop this week? Here's a peek at some of the sweetest new stock!

New cards by The Beautiful Project: Did you know that CakeSpy's Canadian food blog buddy Everybody Likes Sandwiches is also a stationery designer? Well, her designs are just as great as her blog and I'm pleased to have several of her card designs in the store, including the one shown above;

and this sweet veg-friendly scene of soy milk n' cookies;

some sweet Happy Birthday cupcakes;

and some snarky sweetness by way of the statement "even your farts are cute" paired with two gassy little bunnies!

The cards are available online and in the store, 415 East Pine Street, Seattle WA 98122; Tue-Sun, 12-7 p.m.

Cake Byte: Sweet Red Velvet Cupcake Tasting and Newlywed Kitchen Book Signing at CakeSpy Shop!

Lorna Yee says her Red Velvet is more delicious than this one. See for yourself!Red Velvet Cake is delicious--this is a fact. But who makes the most delicious variety of this sweet Southern treat?

As a devotee of the big-as-your-head variety served at Seattle's Kingfish Cafe, I was intrigued when pint-sized foodie Lorna Yee made the bold claim that her recipe (featured in her and Ali Basye's new book, The Newlywed Kitchen: Delicious Meals for Couples Cooking Together ) was even better.

Why not see for yourself? Lorna is going to be making a batch of Red Velvet Cupcakes which will be served at CakeSpy Shop next Sunday--and she'll be around to sell and sign her great new book . And there will be a professional photographer on site--Jackie Baisa, who will have the title of Official Red Velvet Paparazzi for the day.

As for the book? Yes, it's designed for newlyweds, full of recipes and stories to share with your plus-one. But you know what? Even if you're not a newlywed, you'll probably like the way that they eat--the book includes recipes for the Red Velvet cake you'll be tasting, as well as other delicious savories and sweets such as these Chocolate Mudslide Cookies.

Why not join us and eat some cake?

Here are the details:

Red Velvet Cupcakes and Newlywed Kitchen Cookbook signing, featuring Lorna Yee and Jackie Baisa

• Date and time: Sunday, June 6, 12 p.m. til the cupcakes are gone and you've spent all your money on cookbooks and other cool CakeSpy stuff
• Location: CakeSpy Shop, 415 E. Pine Street (near Summit), Capitol Hill, Seattle
• Open to the public! 

Cake Byte: Bakerella's Cake Pops Book Coming this Fall!

Photo c/o Cupcakes Take the CakeGear up your credit cards sweeties, because here's a book you will need to buy: Cake Pops by Bakerella! Released by the always-fantastic Chronicle Books.

Here's the scoop via Cupcakes Take The Cake:

Rachel and I went to Book Expo today, so we haven't been able to post. While at the Chronicle Books area, I spotted a mock-up of Bakerella's Cake Pops book which will come out September 2010. Congrats to Bakerella and we can't wait to get a copy!

CakeSpy and Bakerella have a very special relationship, having bonded over art and then engaged in a sort of back-to-back sweets combat -- and as a result, I can't wait to be the first on line to buy her book at my favorite book store and--natch--get it signed when she comes to town!

Read more on Bakerella's site!

Cake Byte: Suspect and Fugitive Art Show and Presale!

Dudes. Dudettes. Are you ready for some serious awesome?

Well, I want to tell you about the artist of the month for June at CakeSpy Shop: Kris Garland! Where pop culture meets punny food art, you'll find Kris's work, culminated in this show entitled "Suspect & Fugitive".

Here's the 411:

"Suspect and Fugitive" is a companion show to the 365 blog (suspectandfugitive.com) of the same name. All pieces in the series are composed of suspect (questionable) and fugitive (nonarchival) materials. Kris Garland, the artist behind the blog, has been making nonarchival pieces since 1996 when she learned that she enjoyed silk screening with nail polish. She has since moved on to working with food items as that is what she typically keeps in the fridge.

Happily, though the works in this collection are made in part with food, they're made to last, on archival paper and framed!

Now, there will be an artist reception in the store on Thursday, June 10, from 5-8 p.m.--but if you want a preview of the awesome, check it out--here is a preview (and pre-sale) for several of the items that will be on show!

The show will be up all month at CakeSpy Shop's retail location at 415 East Pine Street, Seattle WA 98122; open Tue-Sun, 12-7 pm.

OK, here's the info on the art!

"Country Time Liz Lemonade", Tina Fey as Liz Lemon made from pink Country Time lemonade and acrylic on paper, 11"x15", $175 (pictured above).

"Beety White", Betty White made from beet juice on paper, 11"x15", $175

"Berry Tyler Moore", Mary Tyler Moore made from raspberries, strawberries and acrylic on paper, 15"x 22", $200

"Blue Ball", Lucille Ball made from blue food dye and acrylic on paper, 15"x 22", $200

"Dill Bert", Bert made from dill and watercolor on paper, 15"x 22", $200

"Coffee Coffy", Pam Grier as Coffy made from coffee on paper, 15"x22", $200

"Tropical Ponch", Eric Estrada as Ponch made from tropical punch Kool Aid and acrylic on paper, 11"x 15", $175

"Frankenwine", Frankenstein made from cabernet sauvignon on paper, 11" x 15", $175

"Soy Boy", Bat Boy made from soy sauce on paper, 11" x 13.5", $175

"Cinnamona Lisa", Mona Lisa made from cinnamon and watercolor on paper, 11" x 15".

Cake Byte: New Art up at CakeSpy Shop!

So, sweeties, I have some bad news.

The original "Scenes from Capitol Hill" series of mini paintings I did for CakeSpy Shop is nearly 75% sold out! That means you missed out on many sweet original paintings, including the three pictured below, which are all now owned by people other than you:

But you should know that I'd never say something mean like "sucks to be you"--especially since happily, I have good news, too. I've done some replacement pieces which are now up in the gallery, including, but not limited to:

But if original art isn't your thing and you want some sweet stationery, why not check out these totally sweet new Toasties Getting Toasty while toasting marshmallows notecards?

And believe it or not, that's not all. There's even more awesome coming to CakeSpy Shop next month: a show featuring work by Kris Garland entitled Suspect + Fugitive! It features pop culture icons made from...well, largely food! For instance, "Dill Bert"--that is, Bert, made of Dill--pictured below left.

Here's the 411 on the upcoming show:

"Suspect and Fugitive" is a companion show to the 365 blog 
(suspectandfugitive.com) of the same name. All pieces in the 
series are composed of suspect (questionable) and fugitive 
(nonarchival) materials. Kris Garland, the artist behind the 
blog, has been making nonarchival pieces since 1996 when 
she learned that she enjoyed silk screening with nail polish. 
She has since moved on to working with food items as that 
is what she typically keeps in the fridge.

Artist reception: Thursday, June 10, 2010, 5-8 p.m. at 415 E. Pine St., Seattle WA 98122.

The items still left in the Capitol Hill Series are available online here; the Suspect and Fugitive artwork (and cards and prints) will be available in the store starting June 1!

CakeSpy Shop + Bluebottle Art Gallery, 415 E. Pine St., Seattle; open Tue-Sun, 12-7 p.m.

Cake Byte: Sweet Surrender Cupcake Recipe Contest

Totally sweet--a chance to win some sweet prizes and insure your cupcake-flavor legacy! Here's the 411 on a totally sweet recipe contest brought to you Sweet Surrender, a Boynton Beach, FL-based bakery!

Do you have a recipe for the tastiest cupcake out there?

Sweet Surrender is searching for a new cupcake to add to its menu of delicious, made-from-scratch cupcakes and will award the creator of the winning recipe with 10% of the first month’s sales of the cupcake sold at Sweet Surrender Cupcake & Cookie Café in Boynton Beach, Florida. The winning cupcake will also be named after the creator!

THE CONTEST

All of the entries will be reviewed by Sweet Surrender owners Mick and Rosemary Tynski. The baking duo will select their top two recipes and make them for the café’s Grand Anniversary Celebration on Saturday, June 19, 2010. Free samples of the two cupcakes and score cards will be given out to guests, who will judge each on:

• Visual Appeal
• Moistness
• Flavor

The cupcake that scores the highest overall will be the winner!

RECIPE RULES

We hold our cupcakes to the highest standards and request all recipe submissions follow these guidelines:

• May not contain trans fats or artificial flavors
• Must be made from scratch entirely (no premade mixes or frostings)
• One entry per person please
• All entries must be received by June 4, 2010

SEND IT TO US!

Please email your recipe to Recipe@SweetSurrenderBoyntonBeach.com and include your name, mailing address, phone number, email address, name of recipe, separate ingredient lists for frosting and cupcake batter and complete preparation/baking directions.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The two semi-finalists will be notified via email or phone no later than June 16, and the winner will be notified no later than June 22.

Just like our own fine-tuned cupcake recipes, we will not disclose the contents of any recipes that are sent to us, including the winning recipe.

By entering a recipe, each contestant agrees that if their recipe is selected as the winner, the recipe will be used by Sweet Surrender exclusively and the winning contestant may not give or sell the recipe to any other business for resale. In addition, the winner may not publish the recipe on any website or in any publication.

By entering a recipe, the creator guarantees that it is original, however, Sweet Surrender cannot be held responsible for recipes submitted that are not original.

Stalking Sweetness: Secret Cupcakes by Joe Randazzo in Seattle

CakeSpy's newest Seattle cupcake crush? Joe Randazzo. This adorable baker-student-caterer-overall renaissance guy doesn't have a storefront, but his cupcake presence is definitely growing in the Emerald City, what with his cupcakes soon to be available at PoDog (for what PoDog would undoubtedly refer to as a "post-wiener sweetie") and undoubtedly more accounts to follow.

And happily, he was kind enough to drop by the CakeSpy Shop with a surprise delivery of two of his cupcakes recently; having tasted them, I can attest to their magic and fully endorse his entry on to the Seattle cupcake scene.

So what makes his cupcakes so special?

First off, the cake itself. Chocolate cake can be a strange beast, having a tendency to err toward extremes--either too dry or too moist (moist being good, damp being bad). This cake somehow managed to be moist and buttery without coming off as excessively heavy--this cake is no mere frosting vehicle, it has merits on its own.

And then the frosting. 

As you can see, it has magical, cartoon bubble-heart creating powers.

Joe Randazzo's cupcake frosting is a sophisticated sort, more buttery and less crunchy than a typical American buttercream, but silky and luxuriant and utterly mouth-filling with its rich flavor. It's a subtle sweetness, so I might say that these are more suited for adult palates than say, for a children's birthday party, but that's just fine, because I don't like to share with children, anyway.

Cupcakes by Joe Randazzo, coming soon to Capitol Hill; in the meantime, stay updated with his sweet goings-on via Twitter.

Cake Byte: CakeSpy Shop Grand Opening Party Tonight!

What can I say other than you're gonna feel really bad if you miss this awesomeness? It's been given shout-outs by the Stranger, Joey Veltkamp, and Capitol Hill Seattle--just to name a few! There will be many new Capitol Hill-themed paintings, and cupcakes from Trophy Cupcakes, too!

Please, do drop by from 5-8 p.m.! 

Shop Location: 415 E Pine Street (near Summit), Capitol Hill, Seattle

More details can be found here!