Tag: cupcakes

Expand your horizons

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, family, friends, local fun, movies, quest for the best, tweens

Looking for something fun to do with your kids this weekend? How about a movie and a cupcake? That’s what my daughter and I did today and we had a great afternoon.

What to see? That was tricky. There is a dearth of family movies to choose from at the moment.

Do you like movies about nature? Do you like movies about animals? Do you like National Geographic-type programs?  

I don’t, actually. Not much. I usually avoid them at all costs.

Big Miracle is a such a movie, but because it was the only option (and because we missed Glow Bowling) I decided to take my daughter to see it anyway. I brought my knitting, so the afternoon wouldn’t be a total loss. Well, the surprise is this: the movie was great. I loved it, and so did she. It’s a love story, but on many different levels. There was, of course, the usual man-woman relationship love, but also:

  1. The whale parents’ love for their child
  2. A grandfather’s love for his grandson
  3. Everyone’s (eventual) love for the whales

I liked it so much that I was motivated to write this, to persuade you to go see it.

After that, I was in such a good mood that we went to get a cupcake from Somethin’ Sweet. Jen mentioned that she was working on a new cupcake: Peach Cobbler. Hello? It was totally a day for breaking out of my rut, because I almost always will choose a cupcake that has chocolate of some sort  in it, but this time I went with the Peach.

It was a good decision. 🙂

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So, see a movie that you wouldn’t normally see. Eat a cupcake that isn’t chocolate. Better yet, share both with your tween!

All things cupcake

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, friends, local fun, Midlife Crisis, quest for the best, restaurants
PB&J cupcake (CFB)

My friend Charlotte asked me a question today: ” Who has the best cupcakes?” On the surface, it seems an easy enough question, right?  Wrong! I tried to apply my “Keep it simple” philosophy to this question but found I was not able to.

I mean, come on!

So here goes my attempt to answer this question:

  1. Cupcake Fetish Bakery, Main St. in Sanford. which has the best variety and most interesting flavors. Hello, The Elvis? Peanut butter, banana and bacon? Plus Tiramisu, Pink Lemonade, Drop Kick Murphy, Chocolate Kahlua…and I’m barely even getting started here. Plus the store has a little window into the kitchen so you can watch the actual cupcaking process as it happens! And the inside of the shop is decorated with cute cupcake paraphernalia that gives it a very fun atmosphere.
  2. The Village Cupcake, Kennebunk. Owner Kristy Douglas was recently at the Keys to the Kitchen in Kennebunk to giving out cupcake decorating tips. She also brought along some mini cupcakes to sample. SO GOOD! Kristy sells her cupcake wares from her home so if you want to pick up a cupcake on a whim, this will not be your cupcake go-to person…I don’t think. Call her though; maybe she does keep some on hand for when the whimsy hits. Also, they have many interesting flavors (amaretto, hel-LO) and are open to creating new flavors at your request (Green Tea cupcakes? You betcha!).  They also offer gluten-free cupcakes. 🙂
  3. Tulips Cupcakery, Portland. These cupcakes can be purchased at Kamasouptra in Monument Square; check the website for other locations to buy. They describe themselves as  “from farm to cupcake”, since they are inspired by and use local, seasonal ingredients in their recipes. If you are a person who loves strawberry cupcakes with strawberry frosting but doesn’t want any of those annoying strawberry chunks in the batter–you like ’em smoooooth–then these will be the answer to your strawberry cupcake prayers.

This post covers the above 3 businesses because they are the first 3 that came to mind!  Apparently, I’ve never met a cupcake I didn’t like…

🙂

Of course, cupcakes made at home or by friends are really the best of them all!

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Cupcake Fetish Bakery Grand Opening!!

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, local fun, quest for the best
Amy and Jen from CFB

Amy and Jen have been selling cupcakes and other small baked goods for a while now at their new bakery: Cupcake Fetish Bakery at 883 Main Street in Sanford, but Saturday was a special day: the official Grand Opening celebration.

They set up a three tiered table that was adorned with an assortment of mini cupcakes which were not only delicious…but they were also so cute!

In addition to the generous offering of free bite sized cupcakes was a plate of mini cinnamon buns with icing to sample. It was a smorgasbord of sweet baked treats!

When we arrived at around 2:30PM the little shop was packed with happy people: men, women, children, all with their tummies filled with yummy cupcakes. Amy came out with another tray of Snickers cupcakes after hearing someone say, “Oh! They got the last one!” People were sitting and chatting at the tables. Kids were bargaining with parents over how many cupcakes they could sample and buy. The common denominator: the smiles that people smile when their sweet tooth has been satisfied...big time. 🙂

“I’ve been baking all day!” Amy said, smiling as she restocked the case. Jen was busy helping us with important decisions. Which cupcakes? Should we get a few whoopie pies? Yes! Thank you, Amy! Thank you, Jen! We appreciate you both!

Reasons to go to the Cupcake Fetish Bakery today:

  1. Your husband is in a funk and needs cheering up
  2. You’re in a funk because yoga teacher made cupcakes for the class…the class that you couldn’t get to.
  3. Your (amazing!) daughter got a 103 on her spelling test and a 106 on her science test and you want to celebrate.
  4. It’s someone’s birthday and you want to give them a little something sweet.
  5. The cupcakes (and everything else) at the Cupcake Fetish Bakery ROCK!!!

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Thank you, Amy and Jen, for opening your lovely little shop. We hope your business is supremely successful and that you are keeping us in cupcakes (and cinnamon buns and pupcakes and coffee cake and whoopie pies and muffins….) for a long, long time. 🙂

P.S. Maybe you could sell those bite sized cupcakes too? We LOVED them!

Cupcake Bakery in Sanford

by Karen, posted in (it's all about the) food, baking, fitness, friends, local fun, quest for the best, tweens
Coconut Bunny cupcake (one of the "Groupies")

I was returning my books at the library this weekend, two of which happened to be about cake baking, when one of the staffers said, “Have you tried that new cupcake bakery in Sanford?” “There’s a new cupcake bakery in Sanford??” I asked (of course, she had me at “cupcake”). She did a little research for me and discovered Cupcake Fetish Bakery, 883 Main Street in Sanford.

An hour and a half later, we were there. It’s in a little group of stores next to Get Fired Up! The parking lot is just before the shops, and if you see St. Ignatius St. on your right, go back! You’ve just passed it.

When you enter the shop, the counter is on the right, but if you look to the left, you’ll see Amy the baker through the window, plying her craft. Jennifer will take your cupcake order, which you can get boxed up to go, or you might choose to sit at one of the cute little tables (as my daughter Izzy and her friend Madi did)  in the shop.

Our choices today were a Chocolate Dream Warrior cupcake with pink vanilla bean frosting, a MegaDough cupcake (complete with chocolate chip cookie on the top and cookie dough hidden inside!), and a red velvet whoopie pie. We took a Coconut Bunny cupcake and a traditional chocolate whoopie pie home with us. All were excellent.

There are different items every day, but not all of the menu items are available every day, so check out their Facebook Page to find out what they are offering the day that you are going. They categorize the cupcakes as “Groupies”  and “Rock Stars”… hmmm…wonder what that’s about?

Note: the menu states that they will close early if they sell out!

After the bakery? An hour of Wii Just Dance 2 to work off the goodies. 🙂

Verdict: worth the trip.

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