In honour of National Cupcake Week 2011 (thanks Twitter for making me aware of this scrumptious occasion!) we’ve had a sift through our archives and found this well matured post on cupcakes that we originally wrote for Wishpot back in 2009.
We’ve tested (though disappointingly not tasted) the links and all seems to be in working order but no doubt there are numerous cupcake newcomers keen to compete with the old hands so if you know of one, or if you are one, leave us a comment at the end of the post (or better still, a free cupcake!).
All hail the cupcake
My original title was ‘All hail the humble cupcake’ but that just seemed wrong. The cupcake isn’t humble, it’s proud, loud and showy (even if it’s small) and it knows its moment has come.
This delectable triumph of baking has been bumbling along for years in the floury wilderness and you can enjoy endless arguments on the difference between cupcakes and fairy cakes and the exact proportions of icing to sponge (and sparkly bits) required to place them in the correct cake camp… but the fact remains, the cute little cupcake has hit the big time.
The Guardian says so (‘The rise of the cupcake’ Jan 09), The Times says so (‘Cupcakes have gone cool’ Feb 09) and any couple planning their wedding right now absolutely knows so.
But what’s that got to do with ethical weddings? I hear you ask. Two reasons for starters:
1. The cupcake has risen to fame at a time when we’re all more aware of where our food comes from and what goes into it (or hopefully doesn’t go into it when we’re talking battery farmed eggs and artificial colors and preservatives). This means that bakers hoping to compete on the cupcake front should make sure their little beauties are packed full of organic, locally-sourced ingredients and natural colorings only.
2. A few batches of cupcakes – while they may not look as fancy as a professional effort – are much easier to DIY than a huge cake to serve 100+ guests. This option gives you complete control over what goes in and what stays out of the recipe, you can save a few pennies, and it’s flexible – an extra unexpected guest? Chuck another cupcake in the oven!
So, in the cause of investigative journalism, I will now take a tour (though sadly not a taste – at least not for all of them!) of our current top cupcake contenders…
Nice and close to home, I have scoffed 15 of these gorgeous concoctions as a birthday present from one – now very good – friend!
They say:
“Here at the Angel Food Bakery we believe in using the finest ingredients; these include unsalted English butter, Belgian chocolate, fresh fruit and of course we only use free range eggs.”
Their wedding price guide offers:
Cupcakes from £1.75
Stand Hire £20
6″ top cake from £9.95
10% discount on all orders over 20
What’s more, if your wedding is in Brighton & Hove, they’ll deliver and set up the cakes on the day for no extra cost! For further afield, they’ll package the cakes securely for collection the day before.
If you can’t wait to get yours home, you can also eat in – and enjoy a cup of fair trade coffee alongside.
Even closer to home – in my hometown in fact – I can rarely resist picking up one of these as I head down to the beach. They’re calling me through the window!
They say:
“We are a small family run business in sunny Worthing on the south coast of England. All our goodies are home made using quality and, where possible, locally sourced ingredients.
“At Parklife we believe in helping to save our beautiful planet, so we make sure we recycle everything. All our packaging is 100% recycled and 100% recyclable.
“Our coffee is locally roasted and we use fair trade ingredients when we can.”
They cater for weddings of course – just call 01903 207 777 to find out more.
I had the pleasure of sampling several of these scrumptious creations at our own Eco Chic Wedding & Home Show back in March. I have to say, they do go down quite easily!
They say:
“All our cupcakes are individually handmade and tailored to your requirements, using good old fashioned baking techniques ensuring quality and freshness.
We endeavour to promote fair-trade, free range and local quality ingredients where possible, resulting in scrummy, ethically positive cupcakes of your choice!”
Weddings are always a delight so get in touch with them to find out more.
And now it’s off to our fair capital for a company to meet the cupcake artisans…
They say:
“We believe, the better the ingredients, the better the taste to bring to you the greatest tasting cupcakes possible.
“The Artisan Cupcake Company bakes the finest cupcakes in London using only the best organic ingredients for our cakes and frostings.”
Get in touch to get a quote for your cupcake wedding cake!
We’re back to Brighton again for this one – the stronghold of the cupcake perchance? These guys are passionate about vintage so if it’s a delicate, floral, old time feel you’re looking for, give them a call.
They say:
“We make our cupcakes in the morning, and deliver them direct to the Brighton and Hove area in the afternoon. Your cupcakes will be so fresh, they may still be warm when they arrive! Made with organic butter, organic sugar, organic free range eggs and organic flour and chocolate, your cupcakes are as good (and as naughty!) as they could possibly be!
Here at Bumblebee Bakery, our cupcakes are very much inspired by the baking of yesteryear. Our recipes are based on the American way of baking, with lashings of real chocolate, brown sugar and buttermilk. Luxuriously scrumptious!
And our love of all things elegant and vintage means our cupcakes will be lavished in gorgeous pastel shades of buttercream, glittering sugar roses, hand-made dainty sugar primroses and edible pearls.
Your cupcakes will then be carefully placed into a Bumblebee Bakery baby blue or pink signature box, wrapped in vintage ribbon and hand-delivered to your door.”
They also have this to say on the environment:
“Bumblebee Bakery is committed to using locally sourced products where possible. We are passionate about keeping our energy usage and kitchen waste to an absolute minimum. For deliveries to central Brighton, we will always deliver on foot, as our kitchen is centrally located.
Our boxes are made from 90% recycled paper and are 100% recyclable, and our stationery is all made from 100% recycled paper. The ribbon used in packaging our boxes is vintage French ribbon – perfect for any pretty dressing table or sewing box. And if you can, please re-use your Bumblebee Bakery cupcake box around your home. It would make a very glamorous sock drawer!”
Wedding price guide
They would be thrilled to bake your wedding cupcakes.
Bespoke cupcakes are £2.50 each. Minimum order for the bespoke service is two dozen. Delivery price on quotation.
Hopping over to the other side of the Atlantic, we find sweet Debbie and her organic cupcakes.
They say:
“Imagine biting into a gourmet cupcake so moist that it practically melts in your mouth…a chocolate fudge brownie so rich you feel guilty eating the whole thing…a cookie so flavorful and full of dark chocolate chips, that it satisfies your every craving…a power muffin and antioxidant-rich granola so jam-packed with texture and taste you can’t seem to get enough.
Now imagine that these delights contain certified organic ingredients, have no refined sugars, creams or butter, no hydrogenated oils or trans fatty acids, and no artificial coloring or additives.
You need not imagine nor feel guilty anymore. Sweet Debbie’s is proud to present the freshest, most delicious and healthiest home-made vegan desserts, muffins and granola ever baked.
At Sweet Debbie’s, we believe that delectable and decadent treats CAN be good for you. That’s why we use only premium quality ingredients -organic dark cocoa powder, organic fruit, organic spelt flour, heart-healthy grapeseed oil instead of butter, and the all-natural, low-glycemic sweeteners, agave nectar and birch tree syrup (also known as xylitol).
In a dedicated kitchen, we do gluten-free versions of most of our cupcake flavors, brownies, cookies, muffins and custom order cakes. This facility is also nut-free.”
Debbie even got to take part in the ‘Days of our Lives’ Green Week in 2007 celebrating the earth-friendly wedding of Sami and Lucas. She offered up her healthy cupcakes to the cast and crew as an alternative to their usual candy machine!
Well, if they’re so good for me, that’s not really any point in resisting, is there?!
Don’t forget to ask Debbie about cupcakes for your wedding…
Staying Stateside for now, take a look at the sweetest ever Sweet Cakes – gourmet and organic cupcakes, including vegan options.
They say:
“I have always loved baking but I found my true passion when I started making cupcakes. I have perfected my selections because I believe in finding what you do well and sticking to it no matter what.”
Drop them an email to find out what they can magic up for your wedding!
Back on the other side of the pond, somewhere up north (not sure exactly where!), we find The Great Little Cupcake Company.
They say:
“The idea for The Great Little Cupcake Company was hatched as a way of using up the eggs that our flock of hens lay.
Plain cake was never an option. We wanted the most scrumptious, delicious little morsels with the looks to match. So you won’t find plain cakes here – only beautiful ones, wild ones, chocolatey ones, sparkly ones, retro ones, girly ones – in fact every kind of hand decorated cake – except plain.
It goes almost without saying that the ingredients in our cakes are locally sourced / organic / fair-trade wherever it is possible to do so.
We offer a personal service, with individually, handmade cakes to order.
There is always a reason for cupcakes.”
Go for a Cupcake Tower for your wedding cake with cupcakes at £1.70 each. They can coordinate their cupcakes to match your wedding colours.
Alternatively, or as well, treat your guests to cupcake favours at £2.75 each. Individually wrapped in cellophane and tied with ribbon, they can have the names of your guests iced on so that they also serve as place cards! Or how about photos of the bride and groom, or the date of the wedding, initials…
Patronised by the likes of Kate Moss and U2, these are truly the top tier of cupcakes.
They say:
“We founded Primrose Bakery in October 2004 having started out baking for children’s parties, but quickly noticed how well the cupcakes went down with adults! We also couldn’t understand why things you could find in America, France and Australia were much harder to find in England.
We have tried to keep it to simple old fashioned cooking, using good quality, seasonal and well sourced ingredients, as one might use at home when baking for your own children, friends and family.”
They will tailor make wedding cakes and deliver them in London and the South East. Or you can come and collect your cake from them and they’ll pack it up safely for the journey.
Email or phone them to get an idea of prices and to set up a consultation.
And to finish, a trip down to the West Country where we find rescue battery hens helping out with eggy ingredients in the Cakeadoodledo garden.
They say (Cakeadoodledo, not the hens):
“Eating a cupcake should be a joyous experience. So at Cakeadoodledo our cakes are always made freshly to order with the finest ingredients. Vanilla cupcakes contain Nielsen-Massey vanilla extract; chocolate cupcakes are made with Green and Black’s cocoa and the lemons used in icing and the lemon cupcakes are always unwaxed.
“[…]where at all possible we use [our rescue hens’] eggs in your cakes. However, sometimes they decide that they’d rather not lay an egg today thank you and so we buy them. Please be completely assured that we only ever buy free range eggs. No free range eggs – no cakes.”
Call for a chat about their wonderful wedding cupcake towers – colour, decoration, flavour – you name it and they’ll do their very, very best to grant your wish!
And here ends our cupcake tour! I hope you’ve enjoyed it – I certainly have… although I am feeling rather hungry now. Hmm… what could I eat?!
Katie
At the time I thought: what are Chinese lanterns anyway?
EcoLanterns say:
Faye and David got married at Folly Farm near Bristol in April this year and did all they could to make the wedding as local and low carbon as possible.
Wish Upon a Wedding launched in January 2010 with the aim of giving couples facing terminal illness and other serious life-altering circumstances a wonderful wedding or vow renewal day (regardless of sexual orientation).
From 15 September to 31 October, Wish Upon a Wedding is running its second annual Bid Your Wish for Wedded Bliss, an online charity auction offering hundreds of items for couples about to be wed, with many items starting as low as $50.
The Brides Project accepts gown donations from all over the USA, and then sells them at under half the retail costs, with all proceeds going to the Cancer Support Community (CSC).