Write The Guide » Chicago Cupcake Crawl

Ready for sugar? The Chicago Cupcake Guide makes it easy!

Sep 202010

At long last, version two of the Chicago Cupcake Guide is available! It’s got new, drool-worthy photography, fresh cupcake crawl routes, updated bakery profiles, and information about where to get vegan and gluten-free cupcakes in the city. When you buy a copy, not only will you have the latest information on the Chicago cupcake scene, you’ll keep getting it. That’s right! Cupcake enthusiasts get free updates to the guide for the life of the project.

Get your copy today and start blazing a sweet path through the city’s bakeries! Only $9.95.

Cupcake Guide v2.0 - Rebound & Rally

Aug 302010

Cupcake Crawl Guide Cover

I’ve been down for the count this week with the flu, so writing on the next version of the Guide is a bit behind. I’ll try to make up for it this week and get it out the door some time mid-September. Of course, writing would go a lot faster if I could turn on my inner editor and squelch ideas like Cupcake Crawl 2: Revenge of the Calories. I just need to get it done!

Before I crack down to tweak and edit, I wanted to send out a few teasers about the new guide so people know it’s coming and that it’s going to be awesome. I’ve taken everything I learned from putting out the first guide, improved it, and made it ever-so visually appealing. I can’t wait to get it out to Chicago’s cupcake enthusiasts!

Snapshot of Sensational Bites bakery profile.

So what’s inside? There are 40+ bakery profiles in this version of the guide including new ones from Sprinkles, Sweet Escapes, Bake and Sweet Sensations + even more, 8 cupcake crawl suggestions, and pages of tips and tricks about how to throw and survive the sugar rush. Plus, there are countless new cupcake photos from all your favorite cupcake spots: Swirlz, Dinkel’s, Sugar Bliss, Luscious Layers, More, Beautiful Cakes, etc. I’ve also made notations about which bakeries have dietary considerations for vegans and which cater to the gluten-intolerant.

There’s a lot of sugar in this eBook! Remember, if you purchased the older (less sweet) version of the guide, I’ll send you the shiny new version at least a week before anyone else gets their hands on it. I like to take care of my customers.

More updates to come!

Should cupcakes have frosting?

Aug 112010

I got into a debate with my fellow cupcake researchers about whether or not frosting was a requirement for cupcakes. The bakery we were at had a gluten-free option, but the cupcake didn’t have frosting on top. In fact, it had nothing. My first thought was to include it in the guide, but then I wondered if it really met the definition.

Admittedly, some places have alternate toppings on their cupcakes. More has a lemon cupcake that’s topped with meringue, and Sprinkles has a cinnamon sugar cupcake that’s sans frosting. Are these technically cupcakes? Or are they just tasty dessert impostors?

My feeling is frosting is a must, but I agreed to settle it here. What do you think? Is frosting a requirement for your cupcake?

Upper limits in Cupcake Research? Nah...

Aug 092010

Flourish Lemon Cupcake

Alliance Bakery Strawberry Cupcake

Sensational Bites Vanilla Malt Cupcake

I’ve been busy working on the next version of the Cupcake Crawl Guide, ya’ll! I had grand plans to put out quarterly updates when I first started this project, but honestly there are only so many I can eat before I burn out and can’t make myself go into bakeries. I’m trying to space things out a bit so that doesn’t happen again, but I got super busy on Friday and went to four different spots — Flourish, Alliance Bakery, Sensational Bites, & Luscious Layers. Fortunately, I remembered one of the biggest rules in cupcake research: bring a friend to help eat the cupcakes! (Thanks, Karen!)

Luscious Layers Baileys Cupcake

By the way, the current draft is 60 pages long with 46 planned cupcake profiles. That number will vary as I start to edit and ponder the merits of a place’s cupcake offerings, but my hope is that it gets bigger and not smaller. If you have a cupcake bakery in mind, please let me know. There’s still time to get it in the next version.

Yours in cupcakes,
Tammy