Zoobilation 2009! BEST OF THE BEST WINNER!

Last night I worked our booth at the Zoobilation 2009 event (this year's theme was "A Night On Dragon Island"...logo pictured above made entirely out of cupcakes freehand by Cara- a BIG hit). We had so much fun and WON AGAIN. Last year, we snagged "Best of the Best" for our Red Velvet Elvis cupcake. This year we entered our Kimodo Keylime Cupcake and took home the blue ribbon for "Best of the Best" again. Thank you to the entire staff....especially GiGi, Jackie, Cara, and Sam (and Double Down and the Big Ragoo) for all of their hard work to make the night a huge hit! I loved the Tiki Huts which are made from giant cupcakes. The girls actually put hula skirts on Snow White and one of the dwarfs which made people laugh all night. I also must say that we had a few drinks and some amazing food from many of the seventy restuarants and caterers present. We met so many nice (and drunk) people who share our enthusiasm for good free food!

We are so thankful to be a part of such a prestigious and charitable event. Thank you, Indianapolis Zoo!

Sweet Press!

We received a nice write up from the infamous Cupcakes Take The Cake blogspot based on my recent post of Cara's cutie kitty and monkey cupcakes. Check out the sweet press at: http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/search?q=flying+cupcake Thanks Rachel and the entire blogging team at http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/ !!!

Popped into the bakery this morning and found decorator extraodinair Cara boxing up these cute kittens/monkies for a kiddos birthday party. I love the tooth on the cat! Meeee-owsers indeed!

Thank you, Keegan and Henry!

They still love to come in and act like its theirs....and I guess to some extent it is. My kids have been absolute troopers. As a single (although not for long) parent and sole owner of two local businesses, my kids have had to make a lot of sacrifices which were usually not of their own choosing. Early mornings sitting at a bakery table eating an uniced cupcake waiting for me to finish my morning baking and take them to school only to pick them up at "after care" and head back to the bakery for another wait while I cleaned up and closed the shop down.

This pattern lasted several months last year when I had to let go of several employees and found myself solely in charge of the place. Not one to rely on others for much, I took over what I should have been doing all along and got the bakery in a better place for all. Unfortunately, during these months Keegan (9) and Henry (7) were dragged along for the ride- rarely complaining and always happy to be with mommy. Now THAT's unconditional love. So, to that end...The Flying Cupcake Bakery is theirs. Thank you very much, Keegan and Henry! Have as much as you would like!

Photographs taken by the VERY talented Janet herself of Janet Payne Photography here in indianapolis. Visit her website to see her amazing photographs at www.janetpaynephotography.com.

Extreme Makeover: Home Edition in Indianapolis

What an amazing event to be a small part of. We were approached by the producers of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to be one of their sponsors for the "wrap party" for cast, crew, and volunteers this past weekend. All were VERY exhausted after a week of non-stop work rebuilding an Indianapolis home for the McFarland Family. The show is scheduled to air in the two-hour season finale on May 17th. You can follow how the week unfolded at http://www.estridgeextremedream.com/blog/?feed=rss2

For our very small part, we donated over 500 cupcakes to the wrap party held after the big reveal on April 4, 2009 at the Indiana Historical Society. Special thanks to Kate and her big sister Jenny for hosting The Flying Cupcake Bakery table at the event. We heard we were a BIG hit! We are proud to continue our support of local charities in an effort to keep our commuinity proud and strong! A very special thank you as well to GiGi and Jackie for their very long Saturday preparing for the Makeover party!

Last night I "worked" the The Flying Cucpake Bakery booth at the Methodist Health Foundation's 22nd Annual Art and Antiques Show. We donated 500 cupcakes for the preview party at the State Fairgrounds! We set up this super cute booth complete with a plug/ mannequin from Girly Chic Boutique (the one not breathing with the bakery t-shirt). Come in and check out our new bakery tees...super fun! I met so many new folks plus saw loads of old friends- all for a very good cause. Check out their website at: http://www.methodisthealthfoundation.org/. We donate over 5000 cupcakes every year to causes such as this one.

See us soon at the 2009 Zoobilation event....read all about it at http://www.indyzoo.com/! We can't wait for that night....last year we won "Best of the Best" for our Red Velvet Cupcake. Game on....

Black Bottom Cupcakes by The Flying Cupcake Bakery

Be sure to "sprinkle with love" before baking what has become the most requested variety of cupcake at The Flying Cupcake: the rich decadent chocolate Black Bottom Cupcake.

MAKES 4 DOZEN

For the chocolate mixture:
6 cups flour
4 cups sugar
1 cup baking cocoa
4 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups water
11/2 cups vegetable oil
4 tablespoons white vinegar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
For the filling:
36 ounces cream cheese, softened
11/2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 cups semisweet chocolate chips
To make the chocolate mixture: Combine all ingredients and beat until smooth and well blended. Pour mixture into liners in cupcake pans. Fill each half full in order to leave space for the cream cheese mixture.
To make the filling: In a mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add the sugar, eggs and salt; mix well. Fold in the chocolate chips and blend. Using a spoon, scoop 2 tablespoons of filling into each cupcake liner, adding to the chocolate mixture. Each cup should be filled almost to the top. Place in 325-degree oven for 22 minutes or until firm to the touch on the top. Let cool on wire racks and serve.

More pictures from months past....I love decorating for the holidays. We have the Easter holiday ahead and you can expect more adorable and creative decor from our expert staff as usual. I love the vintage flair present in every freshly baked treat!

Valentines Day was our busy day in the bakery ever- seriously EVER. We had a line out the door (literally) all day long. Thank you to all wonderful lovies who popped in to get your sweeties a cupcake treat for Valentine's Day. Nothing says love like a special hand-picked, scratch made cupcake from The Flying Cupcake- or at least that's what my kids tell me. Of course, they say it daily so I will bring treats home! After a year and half, I am finally onto them.

The Official Launch of my new blog for The Flying Cupcake Bakery! Welcome all! The Bakery is located in Indianapolis, Indiana...in the heart of the Midwest. We love all things rich, delicious, sweet, and cupcake-ey (is that a word?). Since customers ask us about recipes, baking tips, and decorating ideas all of the time, we thought the best way to respond is to post on a shiny new blog. ENJOY!