Scout Vintage Collective

I have had the amazing opportunity of meeting and getting to work with Sara, the owner of a store in Golden Valley called Scout. She has incredible vintage and up-cycled pieces of anything you can imagine. Sara does: Interior Design, Estate Services, Wedding Consultation, Rentals, Photography Staging, Consignment, Custom Design, Build, Stitch, Paint & Up-Cycle. In other words, she does it all!

Scout is located in Golden Valley at 8016 Medicine Lake Rd. Scout is open Thursday-Saturday 10-6pm and Sunday from 11-4pm. You can find Scout everywhere! Pinterest (sugarSCOUT), Facebook (Scout Vintage Collective), Twitter (@SCOUTmn) , and most importantly her Etsy Shop (Sugar Scout). Find her "Like" her and fall in love with everything that is Scout Vintage Collective.

I met Sara through a great friend of hers, Sher, who asked me if I could do vegan cupcakes. Everywhere she tried didn't do them. But she read my article in the Sun Sailor from the wonderful NellieBellie and asked me if I would try. Of course! I made vegan and gluten-free chipotle cinnamon chocolate cupcakes topped with vegan chocolate buttercream. Sher loved them and brought them to Sara. Sold! 

Amy's Cupcake Shoppe cupcakes are now available at Scout! I bring in a few flavors each week starting Thursday and you can buy as many as you'd like! And you'll leave Scout with amazing vintage pieces and a pretty blue cupcake box. So excited about this amazing opportunity to have my cupcakes in a store! One step closer to my very own brick and mortar shop. Lovin it! 

Farmers' Market Amazingness

I love being at the Minnetonka Farmers' Market. I have gotten to meet so many amazing people and they are loving my cupcakes! I have been doing three main flavors each week and then mixing up the other three with new recipes. Salted caramel has sold out every time. I even made more and it still sells out! And today, death by chocolate was the first to go. 

A few of my favorite moments from tonight: watching a return customer come to the market, b-line for us, buy six cupcakes (because her family was crazy about them) and then proceeded to leave the market. Ha! Love it! Another man came to our stand and bought a Ginger Peach cupcake. And then came this, "Is she single? The one that made the cupcake. Cause if she can bake that well I need to see if she's single". So funny!

The last couple weeks I have actually had a chance to walk around and meet a lot of the other vendors, besides my neighbor Dale the egg guy (if you need organic eggs, he's got em). There is such a great variety including produce. I think I have bought from almost everyone so far! I even got some fresh mojito mint leaves from a vendor for some delicious blackberry mojito cupcakes for next week.  

I will have to start keeping track of hilarious things happening at the market. If you haven't had a chance to stop by, I highly suggest it, for the cupcakes of course, but also the rest of the amazing vendors. They have also had live concerts in the amphitheater starting after the market! Eat cupcakes and listen to great music with the fam.  

The market is every Tuesday at 14600 Minnetonka Blvd, Minnetonka from 3-7pm. Here are a few pictures from today. See you soon! 

Flavors of the day

My fridge that works like a dream. My hubby is the best!

Box display for buying lots of cupcakes at once, and mugs for all my VIBs! 

My beautiful little lady even came to visit me! 

Sun Current Newspaper

I'm so excited to be in print! My great friends Janel and Lanet over at www.nelliebellie.com have written a wonderful article about Amy's Cupcake Shoppe! In case you weren't able to pick up a copy of the paper yesterday, here it is for your reading pleasure. I'm so honored to have them write about me and my new business adventure. And to be published in my hometown newspaper! So great. A big thanks to everyone's continued support. I love seeing new and return faces at the Minnetonka Farmers' Market. If you haven't stopped by to try some cupcakes, don't worry, I'll be there through the end of September! Here is the article from the paper. Enjoy! 

Summer Giveaway!

I have paired up with the lovely Mara-Mi in Stillwater to bring you my summer giveaway! My mom, daughter and I stopped in to the store when we were at the MN Blog Meet and fell in love. I have never seen such beautiful stationary. I loved everything I feasted my eyes on. Coffee, beautiful treats and all the amazing stationary. Candles, journals, thank you cards, diaries, beautiful papers, they have it all. Now you have a chance to win one of their beautiful journals!

See details below on how to enter, and the winner will be shipped their journal! Best of luck to you and happy shopping on www.mara-mi.com

First Farmers' Market

Tuesday was my first time at the Minnetonka Farmers' Market, and it was crazy, amazing, and definitely a learning experience! I was nervous because I have never done a farmers' market with cupcakes before. I have done one with my dad in past years, but it was not even close to the same. Nervous? Yup. Prepared? Yup. Sorta. 

Open and ready for business!

I started out with almost 13 dozen cupcakes and was hoping to have not much leftover, or to hopefully sell out. I had the truck packed with everything and thought I was ready for anything. And then it poured on us. And then the tent leaked and rained on us inside the tent. And then there was a wind that almost blew all of us out of the parking lot. My little five pound weights for each corner of the tent were, the least to say, inadequate. 

I wanted to leave out packaging so people were able to see they could buy lots of cupcakes at once, but it was raining inside the tent and the wind was too fierce. So I made due. No packaging or frills, just cupcakes in a wonderful fridge. My husband came before work with a tarp and tied the tent to the truck so we wouldn't all blow away. It worked fantastic! And we were dry. By the end of the night the sun had come out, there was a live band and I had sold about 11 dozen of my cupcakes! For how crappy the weather was, we all felt pretty good. And most of us had dried off by the end of the market. 

My lovely little fridge to keep all my cupcakes nice and cool!

Even though it was crazy, it was a great learning experience. I learned what I needed to bring for packaging, how to improve the stability of my tent, and that people really liked my cupcakes. This coming week I will be making six flavors of cupcakes, and if the weather is looking nice, I'll be making lots more cupcakes. 

I will also be making my rounds at the beginning of the market and checking out all the other vendors. I was by myself most of the market, so I wasn't able to venture out. This time I will! I have also started an email list for those who would like to join. I'll be sending a newsletter each week before the market to let everyone know flavors, and any specials happening each week at the market! I'm so excited for my next market, and feel even more prepared this time. Minnetonka has so many fun activities for families planned, I love it. Live bands and entertainment each week and hopefully better weather from here on out.  

Farmers' market perks ;)

Thanks so much to everyone that came out to visit and all those supporting me! Loving it all! Hope to see you all at the market at least once this summer. You have lots more weeks to come!

MN Blog Meet in Stillwater

I had such a great time at the MN Blog Meet put on by Nellie Bellie. I have never been to Stillwater and I loved it! We met at Teddy Bear Park and had a great discussion about social media and everything that goes with it. When to use certain social media outlets, and when they just wouldn't make sense.

Thanks so much to Chrissy for teaching us all about Pinterest, and group boards, which I never knew existed. Definitely going to expand my social media presence and get the Amy's Cupcake Shoppe name out there.

Janel and Lanet did an amazing job with planning everything for the day. Caleigh had a blast in Teddy Bear Park with gramma. After the social media chat we went touring the city and our first stop was Mara Mi for some coffee and a cookie. I. Love. Mara Mi. I could've spent hours in there looking at all the beautiful things and drinking coffee.

So next time you are in Stillwater, take at least a half an hour out of your day and head to Mara Mi, get a coffee and enjoy the beautiful stationary and so much more. After Mara Mi, we walked around a little bit more of the city, and of course stopping at Cooks of Crocus Hill. Caleigh wanted all of the spatulas. We also made a stop at Tin Bins, and then had to be on our way home. 

Bringing my cupcakes and macarons for everyone to try was a big hit. Loved watching people take photos and then post them. The surprise on people's faces when they tried the macarons was so much fun. They would take a bite and then their eyes would light up. Ooooh! These are gooood! Love it. 

We had such an amazing time and I really appreciate all the connections I was able to make. 

Realizing that blogging isn't as hard as I think it is, and that there are hard working moms and ladies out there doing amazing work. Thanks again to Nellie Bellie for putting on the event and can't wait for the next one! 

The beautiful Lanet in charge of caffeinating everyone.

The table to deliciousness for breakfast. 

My new journal and diary from Mara Mi. Let the creative juices flow!

I love how the store is set up. Very open and comfortable.

Caleigh holding my new swag bag.

Berry macarons filled with marshmallow, whipped cream, and salted caramel buttercream

Just one of the few different kinds of cupcakes for the blog event. S'mores of course!

Fox 9 News Morning Show

I am so incredibly thankful for the opportunity I got this morning! Being on the morning show with two great anchors Leah and Cody! I was so nervous to be on TV, let alone be on TV promoting something so near and dear to me. My cupcake business is growing and growing and my networking is paying off! I received a message from Cody on Twitter letting me know if I email one of the producers of the show, I may be able to get some air time, but not guaranteed. So i did! A week later I got a response and we set a date! 

I baked cupcakes and macarons to display during the show the day before and I was ready and raring to go this morning. I'm not usually a primp and proper kind of girl, but I did hair and make up to get ready to be on TV. Props to people who do that every day, seems like a lotta work, but definitely worth it! 

I got to the studio, cupcakes and macarons in hand, and super nervous! I met with a few people after I had set up in the kitchen and everyone was really great. Not many people around on a Saturday morning at 8:00. Then I was briefed on everything that was going to happen and then I got to meet Cody and Leah! Great, amazing people. I was nervous, and then I met them, and I wasn't nervous anymore. I knew I would be able to chat with them, and really get my message across about my business. 

Originally we were all going to frost and fill cupcakes together, but we were having so much fun chatting, time got away from us. Oh well! We had a great time and they loved my cupcakes and macarons. I had a huge response on my website and even had a few orders come in right away. So excited! I am so thankful for the incredible opportunities coming my way. Stay tuned for all the fun happenings and here is the video from today's morning show! Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=767608249936584&l=4590273630515452381

All set up and ready to go!

I'm not a biscuit maker, but you gotta try these!

So, I'm not from The South, but I do love a good biscuit! My mom found a recipe for biscuits that just seemed a little too good to be true. There were only two ingredients, heavy cream and self-rising flour. Equal weight of each. So obviously we had to try it. And, it was delicious! Big fluffy biscuits with a nice golden brown crust on the top. 

These two ingredients. Equal weight of each, which ended up being 1 lb 1/2 ounce of each for me. Preheat the oven to 500, yes, 500 degrees. While your oven is preheating kneed the dough 5-6 times. Make sure you don't over mix the dough. Cut them into the shape you desire, spray a pan and voila! Soon to biscuits! Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until golden brown.

Here they are! The little golden yummyness. Fresh out of the oven. Add your choice of topping, butter, honey, jelly, or whatever else you put on your biscuits. 

They even have a baked in guide where to split them! You're welcome. 

No messy crumbs or flakes. Simple biscuits in minutes. Yup I'll be making these again! Try them and let me know what you think! 

Practice, practice, practice

I have been making cupcakes and baking for many many years. Like 20 years. Yowza! Yummy cupcakes, cookies, bars and all the things that you bake when it comes to Christmas time. I've done pumpkin rolls, drop cookies, stained glass cookies and all the others. I. Love. Baking. I also love trying new things. Almost every cake I see is covered in fondant and is adorned with fun characters or flowers of some kind. 

I have done a few wedding cakes, but they were covered with buttercream. Delicious, amazing buttercream. There is something very beautiful about a cake covered in messy buttercream. But, I can't ignore all the fun character cakes, and the beautiful flower cakes. So I have been watching You-Tube and practicing everything! Like everything else; of course, it's going to take practice. But, I have to start somewhere. 

Looking on Pinterest I also became slightly obsessed with purse cakes. How much fun are those?! Just like a real purse. Beautiful and full of personality, just like their owners! I was watching a video on You-Tube and she was making little individual purses in minutes. This made everything seem so much less daunting. Yes, it's cute, but could I actually make something like that in less than 5 hours? Yup. she did it in a six minute video! Minus the baking of the cake of course. And then I watched more videos on making gum paste flowers. The first video I watched was 27 minutes long. Yikes. I'll never be able to make flowers. Next video? 4 minutes! Perfect! I can do this! It's like riding a little roller coaster of emotions, but I'm a woman, so I know how to handle those.

So, video after video I soaked up all the information I could and started playing. I've got fondant and I've got gum paste. Once you understand the medium you are working with, you feel like a ninja. Master of your craft. You can conquer anything! Pretty much the same feeling when I'm holding a glue gun. You can make anything with a glue gun. Just look on Pinterest. 

So, here are my adventures in gum paste and fondant for the day! With more practice I'm sure I will make more intricate flowers and venture into fondant characters. Little by little I will get there! 

Homemade and Handcrafted

What's the difference between my cupcakes and heading to the store and picking some up? Mine are all homemade, and handcrafted. Every filling, cupcake and frosting I make from scratch. No boxes, no pre-made anything. I have learned to make things from lemon curd to pastry cream. We tap our maple trees and make maple syrup from the sap. I use that maple syrup in my cupcakes. We are also going to start brewing our own beer soon. I will for sure use our home-brewed beer in some cupcakes and create new fun flavors!

All of my ingredients are the best of the best. I love being able to tell people exactly what is in each of my cupcakes; from memory, because the ingredients aren't complicated. Fresh fruits and fresh ingredients are what make my best cupcakes. And to top them off? Natural ingredients. Lime zest or lemon zest. Chocolate shavings or homemade chocolate sauce. Fresh raspberries or blueberries. Nothing artificial or tons of sprinkles will be on the top of my cupcakes (unless it's for a special order of course). 

I love using ingredients that you wouldn't normally see in a cupcake. Hibiscus, blood orange, lavender, green tea, chai tea, black cocoa, and goat cheese. You will find all my flavors in the menu section, but my favorite thing to do is come up with new flavors! Mangoes are coming in to the stores and sound like a great place to start for a new flavor, or rhubarb! 

When you taste a cupcake that is handcrafted and made with love you can tell the difference. I love making cupcakes. I love creating little culinary masterpieces for people to savor and enjoy. A new experience in cupcakes. 

Fresh lemon cupcake filled with homemade lime curd and topped with lemon juice and zest buttercream. Garnished with a lime and lemon zest curl.