When the Cupcake Crumbles...

Unfortunately, not all of the bakery visits go according to plan...

   Sugarbaby's Cupcakes

 Sugarbaby's Cupcake Boutique claimed to be the first cupcakery in Houston, and I was quite excited to visit. It was much to my dismay that I discovered the boutique closed for business. 

A letter from the bakery owner revealed that the store closed it's doors due to family obligations after serving Houston for six years.

 Frost Cupcakes

 

 The original trip to Frost bakery led to much confusion. After speaking with Frost manager, I hurried to the bakery. Little did I know that I had the wrong address- the location I first visited was the one that had just begun the process of moving!

 

Celebrity Cupcakes

The beautiful outside appearance of Celebrity Cupcakes sure led to great expectations. However, due to misread store hours on my part, I was unable to actually eat a cupcake from Celebrity Cupcakes. A true disappointment!

A lot can be learned even through mishaps and changes of plans... one thing is for sure- next time I will be more careful to double check my information!

Craving Some Crave Cupcakes

Crave Cupcakes. . .

A good way to satisfy any sweet tooth!

Crave Cupcakes offers 10-15 flavors of cupcakes per day. Cupcakes are baked throughout the day to guarantee freshness. 
Leftover cupcakes are donated to charity at the end of the day. 

Delicious cupcakes are not the only thing Crave has to offer:

Beautiful Displays.

See all the freshly baked cupcakes.

Unique Atmosphere.

Watch the bakers through the glass.

Friendly Staff.

Crave's motto: "We Care."

Crave now also serves cupcakes for those with special dietary needs: 

-Vegan

-Gluten Free

-Sugar Free 

Be sure to stop by and give them a try! Crave Cupcakes is open 8am to 8pm on weekdays, along with special weekend hours. 

Check out Crave Cupcake's Website here: https://www.cravecupcakes.com/

The Cupcake Cowgirls

Nothing screams Texas like the name 

"The Cupcake Cowgirls!" 

 

The bakery was opened in 2013 by Rebecca Clanton, The Food Network's 2012 Cupcake Wars Champion.

 

The Cupcake Cowgirls offers a variety of flavors each day of the week. Cupcakes are cooked daily in store.

Snickerdoodle and Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes

 Indecisiveness led to the purchase of not just one cupcake, but two.  Both the Snickerdoodle and Lemon Raspberry cupcakes were full of flavor, very moist, and were quite yummy!

With it's rustic Southern charm, The Cupcake Cowgirls bakery is the perfect addition to the Spring, Texas community!

Next stop- Frost Cupcakes!

Round two of cupcakery visits: 

Frost Bake Shoppe!

 

 Frost Bake Shoppe is locally owned and operated by local Woodlands resident Terese Yates.

It is claimed to be the first cupcake bakery in the Woodlands area. 

There are now two locations open in the Houston area.

 




 The Frost Experience

Upon walking into the shop, I was greeted by two smiling faces behind the cupcake counter.

I stared at the cupcakes for a while. . . but it didn't take long for them to convince me- Strawberry it was!

Soft, moist, and super delectable! The cupcake measured up to expectations, and the sweet frosting was definitely worth naming a bakery after.

Frost cupcakes are baked daily in store.

12-15 varieties of cupcakes are available per day, as well as cookies and brownies.

"We believe everyone deserves the sweetest things in life." -Frost Bake Shoppe

 

Cupcakes- Gigi's Bakery Edition

Today I had the privilege of visiting Gigi's Cupcakes located in The Woodlands!

• Gigi's Cupcakes was first opened on February 21, 2008 in Nashville, Tennessee by creator Gigi Butler.

  • Gigi's Cupcakes has since become a franchise. There are currently over 100 stores located in 23 different states. 

The Daily Routine

-Each Gigi's location bakes fresh cupcakes each morning.

-There are over 10 cupcake flavors offered in store each day.

-Gigi's Cupcakes in The Woodlands sells anywhere from 250 to 500 cupcakes per day; sales vary based on factors such as the day of the week, season of the year, and the weather.

  Meeting the Owner

-Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Gigi's owner, Anna Keller.
-Gigi's Cupcakes of the Woodlands is one of 5 that her family owns.
-The biggest order she has received at once was 2,000 mini cupcakes.
-Valentine's Day is the busiest day at her stores, over 3,000 cupcakes are sold per location.

 My Gigi's Experience

After a long debate, I decided upon four flavors: 

-Cherry Limeade
-Chocolate Salted Caramel
-Scarlett's Red Velvet
-Hunka Chunka Banana Love

   

I was delighted that each cupcake was very moist and rich in flavor. All were delicious, but Cherry Limeade took the number one spot in my book, closely followed by the Chocolate Salted Caramel. 

  

What makes Gigi's Cupcakes unique?

Gigi's Cupcakes offers cupcakes made only from the freshest ingredients, and they are always made daily!

 Be sure to check them out: http://www.gigiscupcakesusa.com/

 

 

 

Need Cupcakes, Will Travel

Houston, here I come!

This cupcake baker is ready for phase #2 of thesis research! 

For the next week and a half...

I will be visiting, touring, and interviewing managers and owners at cupcake bakeries across Houston.

• Why Houston?
• There are lots of bakeries in a fairly concentrated region
•  Choosing a city outside of AR will allow for comparison of bakeries from different states 

•  What's the mission?
• Visit bakeries and gather information and photos
• Blog about each visit to log the journey and share my research

And it's all thanks to: 

The Schedler Honors College at UCA URGE Grant

And So the Cupcake Adventure Begins

A cake box, a tub of icing, one excited college student, and her mentor. The secret ingredients to the perfect thesis have just been revealed.

So today starts my cupcake journey. I've made cupcakes before, of course, but this time is different. These aren't just any cupcakes—these are thesis cupcakes. With this being said,
 let the baking begin!

Lesson #1: Preheat your oven.

     We followed the directions on the back of our cupcake box, quickly mixing up the vanilla batter. After evenly scooping batter into the cupcake liners, I realized my first beginner's mistake—preheating the oven before making the batter would save quite some time!!!

     However, it wasn't too long before my first batch of cupcakes was out of the oven and cooled. Now it was time for the fun part! Decorating cupcakes to make them look like fancy professional cupcakes could be compared to decorating canvases, right??? If so, then I knew I had this handled.

Lesson #2: Let your cupcakes cool before icing.

      What’s a girl supposed to do when the cake is too soft and ends up crumbling as you try to spread on the icing? My first suggestion would be to let the cupcakes cool completely so they don't crumble as easily. If you absolutely can’t wait, just add a few more globs of icing, some mound of sprinkles, and surely no one will notice!!!

 Lesson #3: You can never have too much icing.

      How much icing is too much icing? I would say that's a personal preference. Some bakeries pipe icing on high, while others have less of a tower on top of their tasty treats. My opinion? There's no such thing as too much.

Lesson #4: It's easier to darken icing than to lighten it.

     Our last little adventure of the day led me to add pink food coloring to our icing to give it a little more flair. I found out the hard way—it's way easier to darken the color of the icing than it is to make it lighter. 

One baking session down, many more to go. I am a girl on a mission—a mission to bake the best cupcakes in my town… 
or at my college, at least.

The Cupcake Thesis

A college student writing an undergraduate thesis on cupcakes- who would have thought?!

First things first: Who am I?

I am. . .

•  Erin Leonard, an Honors College Senior at the University of Central Arkansas 
•  Pursing a Bachelor’s degree in Health Sciences with an Interdisciplinary Minor 
•  A cupcake lover and a self-proclaimed cupcake connoisseur
•  Writing a thesis on cupcakes 

Meet my Mentor. . .

• Celia Harkey, an adjunct instructor at the University of Central Arkansas 
• Registered Dietitian teaching Nutrition and Food Science courses
• Focused on all things food including those special treats like cupcakes 

Second is best: Why Cupcakes?

I chose cupcakes because…

• I have a passion for baking, especially baking cupcakes
• I wanted to learn more about cupcakes and the cupcake industry
• Cupcakes have always been my favorite desserts

Third time’s a charm: What’s the game plan?

This thesis will cover. . .

• The history of the cupcake: from the beginning to present
• The cupcake industry: Boom and Bust?
• Baking your own cupcakes: the process of learning how make homemade cupcakes appear professionally made

So what’s the purpose of this blog?

Three words: Pre-Thesis Progress Tracker.

I intend to use this blog to keep track of the steps I take along the way to becoming a true cupcake connoisseur. Join me in my quest to write the perfect thesis as I learn to make cupcakes from scratch, visit various bakeries to learn the business perspective behind the sweet treats, and find out the history behind these delectable desserts.