Cupcake review: chocolate graham mini cupcakes, plus cupcakes to match Revlon lipsticks, by Baked by Melissa

Mini cupcake empire Baked by Melissa is expanding fast. It just opened its fifth New York City store, so joining SoHo, Union Square, Grand Central and the Fashion District is the new Upper West Side store, located at 2325 Broadway, between 84th and 85th. From My Upper West Side.

“We’re a family business, and the Upper West Side is a fantastic family neighborhood,” said Brian Bushell, CEO of Baked by Melissa and Ms. Bushell’s brother. “As a business, we’re still a baby, and we feel very lucky to be growing up in New York City.”

Their November flavor of the month is chocolate graham, which I found a fun cupcake for the caramel lover. I'm always amazed at how such tiny cupcakes can actually be filled cupcakes, and at $1 each (discounts when you buy in bulk) they're a bargain. They've also introduced chocolate-covered cupcakes, which are pricier but look like a fun holiday treat; I haven't tried them yet but hope to soon. They also do mail order, and you can get all the details at bakedbymelissa.com.











And some fun from their Facebook page, including a plug from O. The Oprah Magazine for their new chocolate-covered mini cupcakes, which I'm excited to try, as well as some fun custom cupcakes, including ones for Coca Cola, Marc Jacobs and, coolest in my opinion, cupcakes to match some Revlon lipsticks!

Pomegranate Cranberry Cupcakes with Vegan Buttercream!

Just in time for Thanksgiving!

In her post, "Cheering for the Underdog," Bittersweet blogger writes about the fall of the cupcake and how it has become somewhat of a "backup singer" this past year. But she wants to bring back the glory with a delicious mini cupcake--perfect for Thanksgiving.

Pomegranate-cranberry mini cupcakes paired with vegan buttercream frosting:

These look absolutely gorgeous and would be a stunning centerpiece for any dessert table in this upcoming holiday season! Yumbas!

For the full recipe click here.

Is $2.50 too much to pay for a mini cupcake? These Dessert Club ChikaLicious ones were worth it!

I'll be posting more about cupcake prices, thanks to your responses to us on Twitter about how much you'd pay for a cupcake, but wanted to share that while in general, I'd say $2.50 is very high for a mini cupcakes, I paid $2.50 each for these 4 mini cupcakes today from Dessert Club ChikaLicious and they were worth it!


the four beautiful mini cupcakes I bought

Not an everyday indulgence, by they weren't just random cupcakes shrunk down to tiny size. Firstly, they don't have these flavors--banana, strawberry, lychee and green tea--in regular size cupcakes, as far as I know. Secondly, the care and attention that went into the look of them was impressive. I daresay their mini cupcakes looked even prettier than their big ones. I feel like both those things worked in the favor of the mini cupcakes. These were flavors I've rarely seen at all in cupcakes, and not flavors I'd seen at ChikaLicious. They are also, in the case of the lychee and green tea, a little unusual, so perhaps not flavors that people would want to try in larger form, or at least, not everyone. That's my thinking on it.

My general thinking on cupcake prices as a consumer is that I'm willing to try something if I've never had it before, even if the price is something I'd generally consider too high. It also depends on the presentation, delicacy, type of cupcake, and size. Not all "mini" cupcakes are the same size; some are one-bite, two-bite, or multiple bite. Some are filled, some are topped with lots of frosting, some are just mini versions of larger cakes. I think it truly depends on what you're looking for. Often I prefer mini cupcakes and wish more bakeries sold them, even though I'm sure it's more of a pain in some ways to make them. I like them when I'm trying new cupcake flavors or bringing cupcakes to a party; if I can get more minis for the same price, like 18 mini cupcakes vs. a dozen regular ones, I'll choose the 18 because that looks more impressive and they can be passed around more easily. What do you think about cupcake pricing? Let us know in the comments, on Twitter, or at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com and if you sell cupcakes and want to share how you set your prices, feel free to drop us a line with "Pricing" in the subject.

You can find ChikaLicious at dessertclubnyc.com and @ChikaliciousNYC on Twitter.

Speaking of ChikaLicius, look out for them as I talk about them with Gayle King live today 10-11 EST on OWN on The Gayle King Show!


mini cupcakes!




green tea mini cupcake, outside and in


cupcake prices

Cute monster cupcakes and chocolate hazelnut crunch mini cupcakes

These cute monster cupcakes are by Tammie Coe Cakes, taken by me at Cupcake Love-In. I didn't try them, but did try the chocolate hazelnut crunch mini cupcakes seen below, and was told to eat mine "like a shooter." I did and it was delicious! Light frosting, a little crunch, perfect size as it was the very last cupcake I ate at Cupcake Love-In.

Hello Kitty Mini Cupcakes

On my daily tumblr trolling routine I was overwhelmed by the cuteness that are these Hello Kitty mini cupcakes. I mean, come on. Seriously. How can you resist the charming miniature nature that these baby Hello Kittys are emanating?! Did I mention they're made of strawberry cake and decorated with cream cheese frosting? Yeah, there's no doubt in my mind that they are as delicious as they are adorable!

These ridiculously Hello Kitty-rific treats are brought to you by I heart baking!

Live from Scottsdale at Cupcake Love-In: cupcake costume, cupcake photo booth, and cupcakes galore!

A few snapshots from the beginning of Scottsdale's Cupcake Love-In, where there's a photo booth, a kids' cupcake bar, poolside checkin, raffle prizes, mini cupcakes in amazing colors and flavors, and so many amazing-looking cupcakes. (I'm a judge, and am about to go try them.) Full report this week. So happy to be here in the sun and discovering so many cupcake makers! Stay tuned to @cupcakeblog on Twitter because I may Tweet a few images too. I'm in a big rush posting these but if any of these are your cupcakes, email me at cupcakestakethecake at gmail.com with "Love-In" in the subject and I'll add your credit and link.


Cupcake costume!



ballerina cupcakes



peanut butter and jelly cupcakes



lemon tree angel wing cupcakes



rainbow sherbet cupcakes



cupcake photo booth



apple tree cupcakes












candy corn and pumpkin Halloween cupcakes

Chianti chocolate mini cupcakes and recpe link

These Chianti chocolate mini cupcakes are by blogger Sprinkle Bakes, where you can get the recipe and more photos. From the post:

The red wine flavor in the chocolate cake is subtle, so I felt punching up the Chianti taste with frosting was an absolute necessity. I made a simple confectioners' icing with a wine reduction and finished it with a few tablespoons of Chianti strait from the bottle. I've made these twice; once as full size cupcakes and once (shown here) as minis. I loved the minis, and could imagine them lined up on a fancy platter for the perfect sweet bite at a cocktail party.

Chocolate wasted mini cupcakes and recipe link

These chocolate wasted mini cupcakes are for true chocolate lovers, and you can get the recipe from the blog Art of Dessert. They're mini versions of this cake, which was made with Hershey Kisses, Hershey bars, Kit Kat bars, Twix bars, Whoppers and Kahlua! Enjoy!

Cupcakes Inside of Cupcakes

When I first saw this picture I thought, Is this real?  And, fortunately, the answer is yes!  I didn’t know this was even possible! I am definitely trying this the next time I make cupcakes.

These are the Everything Fall Cupcakes made by CupcakeProject.  They’re pumpkin, spiced rum, and maple cupcakes topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and dried cranberries—with brown sugar frosted apple cobbler mini-cupcakes baked inside.  She got the idea from another popular cupcake blogger, CakeSpy, who got the idea from her friend at Bake It In A Cake. 

This is such a creative way to combine flavors.  I can’t wait to try it out.  There are endless possibilities!

Collegiate Cupcakes

Blogger, Full Circle, shares her custom Texas-OU cupcakes from Sprinkles Cupcakes. Click here for more images and a review of Sprinkles' new mini-sized cupcakes available for custom order.