Cupcake Friday: Inspiration Station

Brilliant rhyme, no?  Okay, so maybe it's not such a brilliant rhyme, but due to another mind searingly hot week, for this edition of cupcake friday we'll be talking about places to get inspiration for your cupcakes!  Sometimes it's easy for me to think of what kind of cupcake I want, yet other weeks I have absolutely no clue.  Generally, my inspiration is found through a mix of blogs, books and famous cupcake-eries. If you want to inspire yourself to make some gorgeous cupcake creations, here are my recommendations.

Blogs/Internet

Chocolate Covered Katie - I always use the single serving cupcake as my base recipe for my creations.  It makes the perfect amount, is vegan and endlessly adaptable.  There are also a good variety of inspiring variations on here, not to mention good vegan frostings!

Annie's Eats - This entire blog is a baking inspiration, but I adore her cupcakes.  They are gorgeous, each looks like a little work of art.  I look at this blog when I want to create some impressive, unique and gourmet cupcakes.

Tastespotting/Foodgawker - Just entire in cupcake and prepare to be amazed.  Whatever you want to find a recipe for, you'll be able to find it here.

Books

Dorie Greenspan - Generally, I find all of her cookbooks completely inspiring.  My personal favorite is Baking: From My Home to Yours, though I also really enjoy Paris Sweets.  She doesn't have many dedicated cupcake recipes, but all her cake recipes can be adapted.  The frostings are one of the highlights from this cookbook, they are all rich, decadent and delicious!

Pretty Party Cakes - One look inside this book and you will be in absolute awe about the myriad of ways in which one can decorate  a dessert.  If you need/want to make the most beautiful cupcakes of your life, definitely try this out!  Lots of her recipes call for using rolled fondant, you can either make your own or buy it prepackaged.

Hello Cupcake - Looking through this book originally sparked my desire to get fancy about cupcake making.  They have so many ridiculous ideas in here and even though most of them I would never have a reason to make, they still push me to be more creative with the cupcakes I do make.  And I now know that it is possible to make a cupcake that looks like corn on the cob.  Winner.

Stores

Crumbs - I'm definitely vocal about my love for this cupcake shop!  It's where I find the majority of my inspiration to create fun cupcakes that people will love.  They look appetizing, yet not so beautiful that you can't eat them.  Plus, they strike the cupcake/frosting ratio just perfectly.

Magnolia - When I'm in the mood to make cute and pretty cupcakes I turn to Magnolia.  The colors, the swirl of the frosting, the sprinkles, everything about Magnolia's cupcakes screams lovely.  These are the original cupcake in a way, establishing the classic buttercream and frosting/cake ratio.

Baked - From their interesting flavors, to the brilliant combination of tastes and textures, I always look to Baked if I'm in need of some sophisticated cupcake inspiration.  Their cupcakes may look unassuming, but pack a serious flavor punch, something which I appreciate.  I'm more inspired by the flavors as opposed to the actual recipes of these cupcakes, I may not need to know how to make their cupcakes, but I'm eager to create my own version that looks like it!