Cake Poll: The Winner!

When it comes to eating cupcakes, the methods of eating them are as eclectic as the creative flavors that can be found at the nation's wonderful cupcakeries. But regardless of the method--from inverting and eating sandwich-style to carefully nibbling so as to ensure a bite of cake and frosting in every bite--it's clear that CakeSpy readers take the art of cake eating seriously. 

But honestly, you already knew that. So who won the awesome suite of sweet prizes? 

The winner, chosen at random, is...Tiffany from Everett, WA! Tiffany admits that she will "eat cupcakes any way" -- however, if given the choice, her m.o. is "to break off the bottom and put it on top to make a cupcake sandwich". Delicious!

Congratulations Tiffany, and til next time...stay sweet!

Cake Poll: How Do You Eat A Cupcake?

Musing over methods of snack-eating is practically an American pastime. There have been ad campaigns centered on how people eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cups; there have been studies on the characteristics associated with various methods of Oreo-eating.

But now, it's time to attack the sweetest treat of all: the cupcake. Tell us how you eat yours in the comment section, and you'll be entered to win a completely awesome prize pack, which will include:

• an original framed piece of CakeSpy artwork: Cupcakes and Zombies!
• a set of Bella Cupcake Couture cupcake liners
• a box of CakeSpy notecards
• a brand-new (hot off the press!) mini notebook featuring Cupcakes at CBGB!
• a pack of cupcake lip balm

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How do you eat yours?

Do you eat it with a knife and fork, pinkies out?

Do you tear it in half and discard the bottom so as to increase the frosting-to-cake ratio?

Do you invert it, sandwich-style, to keep your fingers free of frosting?

Do you eat yours with a spoon, served in a dish of milk?

...Or do you just dig in?

Can't wait to read your responses! A winner will be chosen at random shortly after the cake poll closes at noon (12 p.m. PST) on Friday, May 15.

Cake Poll: Let Me Eat Cake!

Do you love cake?

Do you really love cake?

Do you love cake so much that whenever you're in the same room, you find yourself unable to resist its siren call?

Then certainly Leslie F. Miller's new book, Let Me Eat Cake, is for you. Now, let's get it straight--though the book has a few recipes, that's not what it's about--it's more about the culture of cake, its lure and the lore behind it, baked up full of personal anecdotes and cake stories galore. And--as we were surprised and delighted to discover--there's even a mention of CakeSpy.com!

And you, dear friend, could be the winner of a signed copy of the book. Oh, you want this!

To put your name in the running, simply answer this question in the comments. You can be as literal or as figurative as you like, just be sure to leave your thoughts on this important subject:

What is the best thing about cake? 

The poll will be closed on Monday at 12 p.m. PST, and the winner will be announced shortly thereafter. If you're interested in purchasing the book, click here. Oh, and in case you were interested, the cupcake shown is a Chai Cardamom cupcake from Seattle's Trophy Cupcakes!

Cake Poll: Baked Good Trends!

Spring has sprung, and it's time for another sweet giveaway! 

There will be three lucky winners who will receive one of the following prize packs, complete with CakeSpy pins (shown below) and awesome stationery items with retro cake imagery donated by the cool company 11:11:

Prize Pack 1: A retro cake design notebook by 11:11; a pack of CakeSpy travel buttons; a Cuppie figurine

Prize Pack 2: A retro petit-four design checkbook holder by 11:11; a pack of CakeSpy travel buttons; a Cuppie figurine.

Prize Pack 3: A retro cake design business card / credit card holder by 11:11; a pack of CakeSpy travel buttons; a Cuppie figurine.

This time, we're talking about baking trends. Weigh in on these important issues! Just enter your responses as a comment below and you'll automatically be put in the running for the super sweet prizes! Three winners will be chosen at random, and the poll is open to entrants everywhere. The Cake Poll will close at 12pm PST on Saturday, March 28.

Here goes:

1. Bacon in baked goods: so good or so over?
2. "Designer" cake and baking mixes (for instance, those made by celebrity chefs or famous bakeries)--yay or nay?
3. Salted caramel: totally sweet or way too...salty?
4. Cupcake shops opening everywhere: enough is enough, or room for more?
5. French macarons: delicate delight, or way overhyped?
6. Chilling dough for perfect cookies: is it worth the wait?
7. Savory cupcakes (for instance, meat loaf cupcake with mashed potato frosting): yum or yuck?
8. Whoopie pies as the next big thing: do you agree?

Cake Poll: Love and Chocolate!

How time flies! It's been a while since our last Cake Poll, so we're making up for it by offering a very sweet treat: an original (not a print!) Cakespy watercolor! The watercolor (shown top) will come in a 4x5 inch frame and will go to just one lucky winner. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment with your responses to the below poll, centered around the star of all February sweetness: chocolate! Here goes:

1. Chocolates for Valentine's Day: cute or cliché?
2. The chocolate box: which flavor would you rather leave for others?
3. Milk chocolate: amateur hour or respectable citizen?
4. Chocolate in savory foods (mole sauce, etc): awesome, or awful?
5. Hot chocolate: with or without marshmallows?
6. Chocolate-flavored or scented body products: ooh, or eww?
7. What's your favorite chocolate dessert?

The poll is open for anyone (US and international!) to enter; the deadline is 12 p.m. PST on Saturday, February 14. The winner will be announced shortly after! 

Cake Poll: WINter Wonderland Giveaway!

Halloween and the election are over...whew! And now, we're at the cusp of the sweetest season of the year, that series of two months where we eat copious amounts of delicious pumpkin pie and christmas cookies. That's right--November is the point of do not pass go, do not diet until New Year's.

And in celebration, we're offering a seasonal sweets poll! It's a bounty of five sweet prizes--for five separate winners! The following prizes are being offered:

• One lucky winner will receive a cupcake tote bag from Penguinbot! Love is in the details with this sturdy, durable vinyl tote--it's delicately reverse-appliquéd with an adorable cupcake, with the an inner lining of bright, contrasting pattered fabric. It's an extremely well-made bag which would usually retail for $50 (and would be worth every penny). Even if you don't win, you should probably buy one (you know, to help the economy); you can get one here.
• Two lucky winners will receive Elisa Strauss' new book, Confetti Cakes for Kids. Even without kids, these recipes are super fun and the pictures are amazing to look at!
• Two winners will receive a pack of Cakespy Holiday notecards! Each pack includes an assortment of cards which are guaranteed to make this the sweetest holiday season ever!

What do you have to do to enter? Don't worry, it's easy. All you have to do is answer the following two questions.

1. What is your favorite Thanksgiving dessert?
2. What is your favorite Christmas cookie?

But wait, there's more! If you copy and paste (or include a link to) a recipe for either of your responses, you'll be entered into the drawing twice! That's right...double your chances of winning!

SORRY--THE POLL IS NOW CLOSED!

Cake Poll: Fall Treats!

Sure, the days are getting shorter and cooler, but they're also getting sweeter. Halloween is just around the corner, a sweet kickoff to what promises to be a fall and winter full of pies, puddings and wonderful holiday treats.

And in celebration of all of this sweetness, this month's Cake Poll focuses on fall treats! The lucky winner will receive an original Cakespy watercolor depicting L'il Cuppie being chased by ghosts (pictured top)--looks like they didn't want to share their candy!

How do you enter? Just answer the below questions to be entered in the running! Responses may be entered in the comments section or emailed to jessieoleson@gmail.com.

• Which do you prefer: candy corn or mellowcreme pumpkins?
• Fun-size candy bars: do they make you happy or leave you hungry?
• Trick-or-treaters without costumes: give 'em candy anyway, or turn 'em away?
• Halloween candy-eating method: eat it as fast as you can, or ration it out to last?
• Favorite cold-weather beverage: hot apple cider or hot chocolate?
• Fall pie faceoff: apple or pumpkin?

The fine print: The poll will be closed at 12 p.m PST on Friday, October 17. As usual, the winner will be chosen at random. Entries from the US and beyond are welcome. Your info will never be shared and these questions are solely motivated by our nosy spy tendencies.

....and we have a winner! Our winner was JEAN from New Jersey! Jean entered in our comments section and most definitely prefers Candy Corn! While Mellowcreme Pumpkin may not approve, we were more than happy to see the piece of artwork go to such a sweet home! 

Cake Byte: Cookie Poll Winner!

Someone's weekend just got sweeter--and that someone is Allyson A., from Chicago, Illinois! Allyson's name was randomly drawn in our recent Cookie Poll!

Allyson, whose favorite type of cookie is Oatmeal with Chocolate chips and toffee bits and isn't adverse to a little cookie dough eating (but asks that you please use a spoon and not stick your finger in the mixing bowl!), will soon be the proud owner of an original piece of Cakespy artwork!

Congratulations to the lucky winner, and til the next poll...stay sweet!

Cake Poll: Oops, Make that a Cookie Poll!

It's that unique time of year that summer starts to fade into early fall; the skies are a piercing blue, days are getting shorter, and school's back in session. Even those who are long out of school are not impervious to the allure of this season, nostalgically recalling the excitement newness of a new school year, punctuated by freshly sharpened pencils and maybe a brand new trapper keeper. And what else goes better with back to school time than milk and cookies at the end of the day? 

And so, this month our Cake Poll is not about cake, but rather cookies--and the winner will get the framed original painting, featuring Cuppie and Robot making cookies, featured above! Responses may be entered in the comments section or emailed to jessieoleson@gmail.com.

1. What is your favorite type of cookie?
2. Oatmeal Cookies: With raisins, or chocolate chips?
3. Dunking your cookies: Deliciousness, or a soggy mess?
4. Slice n' bake cookies: Guilty pleasure, or never ever?
5. Jumbo bakery cookies: too much, or just enough?
6. Bar cookies: are they really cookies, or a different category entirely?
7. Which is better: Slightly underbaked or slightly overbaked?
8. Eating cookie dough: so wrong, or so right?

The fine print: The poll will be closed at 2 p.m PST on Thursday, September 4 (we're leaving it open for a week since we hope many of you are avoiding your computers over the holiday weekend!). As usual, the winner will be chosen at random. Entries from the US and beyond are welcome. Your info will never be shared and these questions are solely motivated by our nosy spy tendencies. Of course, if you don't win, you can always buy Cakespy artwork and gear at jessieoleson.etsy.com!

Birthday Cake Poll: The Winners!

The Birthday Cake poll is closed! The response was staggering: between comment and email entries, there were 401 entrants in all. Wow! 

But before getting to the winners, we have to say that it turns out we won big too: we were surprised with a Cakespy anniversary / birthday present for Head Spy Jessie--cupcakes by Naomi Henderson featuring Cakespy artwork (pictured top)! Though she's in Australia and we weren't able to taste them, this sweetness transcends all geographic challenges! (To learn more about Naomi's work, read our interview with her!).

Also, calling all Cake Gumshoes in the Seattle area--if you're around on August 23rd, join us from 6-9 p.m. at Cupcake Royale in Ballard (the home of the giant cupcake pictured above) for an open house celebration for the Cakespy Anniversary and Head Spy Jessie's birthday! Did we mention they'll be debuting a new cupcake flavor for the occasion?

But seriously--enough suspense. Who won the prizes? Here are the names we chose at random:

Winner 1 was Elizabeth from MA, who won the mini original Soothsayer Cupcake Painting. The future is sure to be bright for her if she gets her wish next birthday: either German Chocolate or Red Velvet cake! Hey, why not both!?

Winner 2 was Janis from WA, who won the Hipster Baked Goods t-shirt! The tee will keep her sweet and fashionable as she continues to grow and learn, as in the case of fruit-filled cakes, of which she says the following: "...I am finding as I get older I am changing my mind a bit on the fruit issue. I don't know if it will ever reach the level of sweet surprise, but I will probably make it out of the disappointment category in 10 years."

Winner 3 was Queen of the Click, from Brooklyn, NY. She actually wrote in her response "I hope I win the notecards". Well, that wishful thinking paid off! All of those notes will look super sweet, but not as sweet as her next birthday cake, which she hopes will include cherries, pineapple and cream. Yum!

Winner 4 was Krysta from CA, who also won a pack of notecards! Krysta is a longtime Cakespy reader--and her daughter is a proud owner of original Cakespy artwork! So clearly there's no lack of sweetness in this household, which welcomes birthday pies but just says no to syrupy strawberry filling in their cakes.

Thank you to everyone who participated! If you didn't win, you can always pick up Cakespy gear at the etsy store. And be sure to check back next month for the next cake poll!

Stay sweet!