Jodi from FOX 11 taste testing the new & improved Pumpkin Spice Latte'. How'd I do Jodi?
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Vanilla Bean Sundae!
Cupcakes bakery

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This is the last week to order our delicious gourmet cupcakes at $2 each. No limit no date blackouts. Orders must be prepaid. Valentines Day or even a wedding.
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We can make your passion a sweet treat.
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Our customer loves ladybugs & the seahawks. What do you think?
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Cupcakes Bakery & deli...Update to new Kennewick location

I have been remiss at updating my blog.  After two years in our cute little yellow shop we are MOVING.  What an experience it has turned out to be.  Our downtown location with all it's problems was still "home" and a place where our loyal customers and friends could find us. I miss it!  The electrical and plumbing issues are now a thing of the past.  No more tripping over each other and taking breaks in the storage room.  We are growing and going..... on to bigger and better!!!

Our new location will have the three primary conditions for the placement of a successful business....Location, Location, Location!  Our address is (drum roll please!) 5610 W. Clearwater.  That's right, the most traveled street in central Kennewick will showcase our wares.  I am so excited!  Now if we can just get past the permits and the building issues so that I can get to baking. I  would be happy with 2 mixers and an oven, however, the building inspector and the health department are insistent on things like refrigeration and a bathroom. Go figure!  Just give me plenty of electrical outlets and the rest I will leave to those wiser than I.

We have continued to accept special orders and that has kept me somewhat mollified.  One would think that I would have used this time to catch up on things like this blog and experiment with new recipes.  That would have been ideal. The rigors of operating out of a rented kitchen, scheduling bake time and transporting baking supplies has severely crippled my creative flow.  Not to worry I still have some fun new ideas to titillate and tantalize your taste buds, including some fabulous new sandwiches and a much larger selection of Gluten Free products.

Cupcakes Bakery & Deli is alive and well and still taking orders. We are bigger and better. Our phone numbers will not change, 509-582-8200 or my cell 509-302-0364 so keep those orders coming! Cupcakes, that's who we are and what we do!

Pretty in Pink and Gluten Free! I am good!
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I am pretty excited about this cake...gluten free yet no one will know. Taste, texture, size. Perfection! My decorator Jessica did an awesome job.
Cupcakes bakery

We do more than scrumptious cupcakes. Treat your team to a sandwich tray.
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Thank God it's saturday!
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Peanut buttercup cupcakes, the breakfast of champions.
Cupcakes bakery

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'12 dozen cupcakes cooling on the rack. And I am just getting started:)
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Blueberry cheesecake croissa
nt... Oh my!!! Cupcakes bakery

Dark & Rich is my choice...
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Eclairs are done! Yummmm
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Sold out! So sad!
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Cupcakes bakery

We are at Pasco farmers market. Could someone please turn off the wind.
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Batter up!
Cupcakes bakery

In honor of the royal wedding...William & Kate cupcakes.
Cupcakes bakery

Prince William's Groom"s Cake...

Everyone has Royal Wedding fever these days so I decided to check out as much about the 'Royal' treats as I could.  The cake is as hush hush as the wedding gown, however, the baker and the flavor of  Prince William's Groom's cake has been revealed. 

It is really a large cookie rather than a cake.  And does not have to be baked at all.  It is a refrigerator cookie, very chocolaty and very crisp.  I think we will make it tomorrow.

Really love Bakugan? We can do almost anything on your cupcakes.
Cupcakes bakery

Spring is here...sort of

If the thermometer where you live has you confused as to whether it is truly spring, you are not alone.  In many parts of the country this has been the coldest spring in history.  That means planting crops has been delayed and in some instances fruit trees and vines may have sustained damage. What does this mean to our loyal cupcake aficionados?  We have seen price increases across the board on supplies.  We are doing everything to maintain our pricing and still bring you our delicious, mouth watering confections.  What can you do to help?  Buy, buy, buy.  It is no secret that the larger the quantities of commodities that we buy the better the pricing.  So thank you all for your continued support.  And remember that the sun is always shining in our bright yellow shop!

A wee bit of the Irish...

Happy St. Patrick's Day Everyone!  As a child I attended St. Patrick's Catholic School so I can relate to this day with a bit of nostalgia.  Everything is coming up green and my bakery was no exception.  We concocted every kind of green cupcake you can imagine and even threw in a few green roses.  In the deli my cook made white chili, but she drew the line when I suggested a "wee bit of the green" be added to the pot.  Oh well maybe next year. 

What fun..

There is nothing I enjoy more than watching the faces of my customers when they really are enjoying their cupcakes.  What is it about cupcakes that makes the world a little bit more...well right!

I am in create mode now.  I can hardly wait to get in to my kitchen and play with a new combination of flavors.  I am centered around chocolate right now.  I found some terrific raspberries at the local Yokes Food Market and they became the centerpiece (literally) of a rich dark chocolate cake filled with raspberries and topped with white chocolate ganache.  Oh my!!!!

The challenge is to provide my little indulgences and keep my costs down.  Butter, sugar and flour have risen in price more than 7% in the last few weeks.  But for now all is well and I can create.

There's Love in the Air.....

At Cupcakes Bakery & Deli we are really excited about Valentine's Day!  We have new flavors just for the season of love.  What would Valentine's Day be without Chocolate & Roses?  We've got them.  Luscious strawberries dipped in Dark, Milk or White Chocolate, our famous "Queen" Cupcake,  magnificient red velvet cake swirled with our delicious cream cheese frosting and topped with a rose.   Or double dark chocolate fudge cupcakes topped with the best Chocolate Buttercream you have ever eaten. Yum....What's the best way to the your loved one's heart?  Send them cupcakes for Valentine's day!  Call now to schedule something sweet for your sweet 509-582-8200.

yummmmmm

We get so involved with the cupcakes that we sometimes forget to mention our fabulous deli.  Tonight I wanted something good to eat so I threw a lot of greens into a bowl.  Topped it with carrots, sliced cucumbers, peppers, carrots, mushrooms and grated cheese.  To add a bit more protein I used some of our tantalizing BBQ pork, added a touch of Fat Free Raspberry Vinaigrette dressing, and a new dish is born...I call it Peek-A-Boo salad.  There was such an array of things hiding under tasty layers.  Yummmmm.

A picture is worth a 1000 words...

How does one eat a cupcake?  Why one lick at a time of course!  Mackenzie is usually quite talkative except when eating her cupcake.  She finished her cupcake looked at her mom and me and informed us that she will be having her birthday party here next week.  A woman that knows her mind.

 And yes, we do birthday parties.  Decorate your own cupcakes and we take care of the baking, the frosting the decorations and most importantly the clean-up.  Call for pricing and to book your date.

Chai Latte...cupcake that is.

One of our most popular flavors is Chai Latte' Cupcakes.  We added a candy handle and made this delightful tea cup for a little girl's Tea Party.  Have your tea and eat it too....

Not.......quite yet!

We were ready for opening day, however there was still an important hurdle to surmount...the Health Inspection.  Although all the applications and fees had been paid an appointment to be inspected was mandatory.  We had to wait our turn. 

The Tri-City Herald had printed an article about us, http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/609860.html announcing that we would open on June 19, 2009.  Could the newspaper be wrong?   I called the Health Department on the 18th, and whether it was my now well honed persuasiveness  or my copious tears we had our appointment for 8:00 am on the 19th. Hallelujah!  11:00 am Friday June 19th we opened our doors... and closed them at 1:19 PM.  We were sold out!!!  We were also booked for weddings through September of 2010.  We were in business.  Thank You Lord!

Wow.. what a busy day!

I am so sorry that I deprived you cupcake junkies of your sugar high for 4 whole days...while we took a Christmas break.  But you got me.  I have been baking all day and I still wasn't able to keep up.  I am now sitting at my desk in my office/storage room with one foot on the garbage can ( I affectionately call it the file cabinet) how did I get that hole in my sock(?), typing away on my 2nd blog post of the New Year, using not just 2, but 3 fingers.  This blogging really brings out ones hidden talents.

Yesterday I told you a little bit about how we came to be the Premier Cupcake Business and I,  the Cupcake Diva,  in the Tri-Cities, (Pasco, Kennewick & Richland), WA.

Our Farmers market sales were not a large enough venue to support a new business.  What we needed was an economical space to rent that had sufficient equipment to expand our fledgling business.  We needed to bake more cupcakes.

After searching for more than a year, we found our location in Historic Downtown Kennewick. The definition of Historic is old, outdated, barely functional with limited access. Ummmm I guess some could say that is a definition of me.   It was run down, not well maintained and smelled of old grease & dirt from the previous tenant.  Located in a quaint (hidden) little area of the downtown parkade, it was perfect! It was also an opportunity to negotiate with the landlord to work for the deposit and some rent.  Enough to get us in and get us going. 

3 months of stripping, ripping, tearing, cleaning and painting and I realized the landlords negotiation skills were much more finely honed than mine.  We painted the walls, a bright sunny yellow, with red doors and a touch of royal blue. It is always bright and sunny in our shop, no matter how dreary the day, all who enter can't resist a smile. After a name change to better reflect who we are and our logo, the now familiar "cupcakes bakery & deli" giant cupcake in the window we were ready for our grand opening!  Not......

Welcome to Milli's Cupcake blog....

This is the first blog from Cupcakes Bakery & Deli. To begin, a little about how we came to be. I have been following the cupcake craze since 2006.  I was amazed at the popularity of those little cakes.  And even more amazed at the prices they commanded.  I started following several blogs and watching as cupcake stores cropped up from coast to coast. I watched and waited to see who would be first in our community.  Three cupcake businesses were listed in our telephone directory but none answered when called.  The only cupcakes available in Tri-Cities, WA were from large chain in-store bakeries.  Nothing like the gourmet confections that I wanted to bake.

For three years my patient husband listened as I became more and more excited about baking these little treats. I tested,refined and changed every recipe I knew and others that I invented.  My clients at my other business (I own an insurance agency) became my official tasters and chief promoters. After entering an online recipe contest sponsored by Kraft foods,  I received so many compliments and requests for my Banana Split Cupcake that I knew I could do this. So in 2007 with recipes in hand, a minuscule budget and a lot of enthusiasm, husband James and I launched "Milli's Cupcake Frenzy".

Initially, we rented by the hour space at The Pasco Specialty Kitchen.  This is a fantastic way to begin a food business without the enormous capital outlay needed to equip a full bakery or restaurant operation.  The City owns and operates a state of the art certified kitchen.  Management, marketing and even budgeting advice was available to us.  We sold  our goods on Saturday mornings at the Pasco  Farmers Market.  I baked 10 dozen cupcakes to sell  and James made his mouth watering pulled pork sandwiches.  Within a few weeks we had developed a following at the market.  We launched a web site, printed business cards and brochures  and our new and  exciting business was born!