{ Couture Cupcakes for Christmas}

Today I have a guest! 

The post is written by Joy for a collaboration with "My Dog Ate My Blog"

Enjoy their post!

Oggi ho un nuovo ospite!

Il Post è scritto da Joy per una collaborazione con "My dog Ate My Blog".

Spero vi piaccia!

It's a cupcakes week!!!

God cupcakes, could you get anymore popular?! The all-too-cute food has become the bell of the dessert ball over the past few years. Designer cupcake stores have been popping up in urban centers all over the country, inviting passers-by to shell out multiple dollars for the gourmet treats. And, these ain’t your grandma’s cupcakes—no icky too-sweet frosting on top of boxed cake mix here.

Teacake Bake Shop, a Gourmet Cupcake Store in the San Francisco Bay Area

On a structural level, cupcakes are sort of a designer’s dream; the small “canvas” allows for creativity and innovation, without the unwieldy-ness of larger desserts, like cake. The small product lets bakers experiment with variety, too—no need to worry about screwing up a 6-layer cake because your cayenne-red velvet recipe didn’t pan out. Couture cupcake stores have caught onto this fact—Sprinkles, which claims to be the world’s first cupcake bakery, has over a dozen flavors, including gluten free and vegan varieties.

These couture cupcake stores have certainly influenced what cupcakes people are willing to try whipping up at home. Check out these beautiful holiday cupcake recipes yourself. Or if all that eggnog in your belly has slowed you down, you can order a holiday giftbox online.

Here are some beautiful, delish cupcakes to try out this holiday season. Whether you love to bake, or you’d rather just have them come in the mail, we’ve got you covered.

Berry Holly Cupcakes

Via The CupcakeRecipes.com

These little guys are simple, yet sophisticated. The ingredient list is short, but they’ll taste classy due to the almond flour and extract. Here’s your chance to give fondant frosting a go on a small scale, if you’ve never tried it before.

Red Wine Cream Cheese Cupcakes

Via TheCupcakeRecipes.com

If you’re feeling indulgent, you can’t go wrong here. These bite-sized cakes contain both alcohol and cream cheese, which is something that I can truly get behind. They are a bit more complicated that your regular cakes, but the payoff is big. Definitely a crowd pleaser and a great treat to bring with you to holiday parties. Top with red and green sprinkles for that holiday touch.

SAS Holiday Cupcake Collection

Maybe you’re feeling a little lazy this holiday season. No shame in that. You can order the SAS holiday cupcake collection online, and have them at your doorstep in time for your holiday party. The dozen cupcakes will cost you $32 and contain such exquisite flavors as peppermint Schnapps buttercream frosting and eggnog and gingerbread cake.

(Joy Paley is a culture and science writer from Berkeley, California. She is a guest blogger for My Dog Ate My Blog and a writer on accredited online colleges for Guide to Online Schools)

it's seems we all love cupcakes!!!!

And you?