Where to even begin…..the beginning? So, we got word the 2010 LA Cupcake Challenge was coming up and immediately we began to plot on our flavors and presentation. We originally had an idea to coordinate one of our flavors with The Real Housewives of Orange County. We were able to get in contact with Jo De La Rosa and put our efforts in to full swing. We pitched our idea to her and it didn’t quite fit her personality and who she is today. She was super sweet and we all came up with another idea in order to incorporate a little bit of who she is and combine it with our yummy cupcakes. Thus the “Two Parts,” one part “naughty,” one part “nice” was born. We came up with flavors that we thought were representative of both “parts”.

Our “naughty” cupcake was our chocolate covered strawberry, a rich chocolate cupcake topped with fresh strawberry buttercream, sprinkled with fresh cut strawberry pieces and then we dipped that little sucker in chocolate (although we were running out of time the day of and some ended up with just a dollop of chocolate as opposed to the dip). Our “nice” cupcake was what we call the Vanilla Throwback, which was basically a play on my all time favorite cupcake growing up….rainbow chip. It is a moist vanilla cupcake infused with vanilla bean, topped with our vanilla bean icing with rainbow chips mixed in (ahhh…the memories of my first grade cupcakes). Fun right? Well, we didn’t stop there. Michele from Kitchen Couture who has created a line of aprons to be sold exclusively through our site (*coming soon) designed the cutest apron to go along with our theme…it was of course reversible with one part reflecting the “naughty” side and one the “nice”. Wait, there’s more…Alison from Sugar Cat Studio designed some super cute wrappers for our cupcakes too (1,400 to be exact!!!).

Speaking of the 1,400 wrappers, we also did our trademark toothpick toppers…that’s one for each of the 1,400 cupcakes we made. Let’s do the math here…1,400 toothpicks, double sided= 2,800 cirles that need to be printed and cut out…glued together and then this year we decided to add some bling, that’s 1,400 mini pearls/black rhinestones glued to each topper…yikes! We made 3 stands for each of the two flavors which were adorned in the same fabrics/embellishments as the apron and wrappers. It was a lot of time consuming and tedious work, but we loved how it turned out!

The week leading up to the event all three of my little ones were sick, so it was in and out of urgent care all week long (as they could not all just get sick the same day…had to be every other day to keep me on my toes ) Needless to say between family life and business it was a crazy week. The night before my husband tended to the kiddos while my sister finished up last minute details, and I headed off to the kitchen to start baking. Start time: 10:00 p.m. …finish time, literally to the wire…1:00 p.m. I had not realized how long it was going to take to dip each of those cupcakes…eeeek! So, about half of them missed their dip in the chocolate pool and were drizzled instead. Lesson learned. Oh, and…all our our liners began to peel away from the cupcakes, at that point there was really nothing I could do about it. I have to be honest…it looked so awful I was ready to throw in the towel. I thought about everyone that had contributed and realized quitting was not an option. Then, I remembered we had those gorgeous wrappers from Sugar Cat Studio and they would disguise the flaw! I headed home, we loaded up, I kissed the girls and we were on our way (2 hrs later than planned). I had planned on getting there extra early to choose a good spot and have everything up and ready well before the doors opened….oh well.

We arrived and parked in between Fairy Cakes Bakery and Meringue bakeshop. I was thrilled with our spot because I follow them both on twitter and had been wanting to meet them. So far, so good. We started assembling our display and quickly realized it was taking much longer than planned. We were still putting out cupcakes when everyone started rolling in. It was so busy. I don’t remember last year being such a mad dash. We were a lot closer to the door this year, so I think that may have had something to do with it. Feedback was great and I’ll admit I was very nervous this year, much more so than last year. When it’s your first go around, no one really expects anything…we had been in business for only 3 months, so if we hadn’t placed, it’s not like anyone would notice. This year we have lots more customers and cupcake pals, so the pressure was definitely on. I just decided I would not let the pressure get to me…we had a fun theme going and just wanted to have a good time. I finally met all these people I felt were friends due to our connections on Facebook and twitter…Elise: The Cupcake Activist and hubby, Nichelle from Cupcakes Take The Cake (Rachel was there too but I didn’t have the privilege of meeting her), all the participants, my neighbors Kerena and Kristen, and lots of facebook fans. It was really pretty neat.

The cutest Two Parts Sugar fans ever

I am now realizing as crazy as this event is for all of us bakers participating, I love it! It is so much fun to meet other people as passionate about this business as we are. All the attendees are awesome and so friendly I can’t say enough good things about everyone attending. And, I have to tell you this is definitely a group effort….I couldn’t have pulled it all together without the help of my hubby running to get me all the last minute things I needed and for being SO patient…My genius of a brother for all of his creative ideas…My sister (coworker) for all the tedious details she helped finalize…My mom for helping me with the girls and keeping me sane…Michele from Kitchen Couture and Alison from Sugar Cat Studio for really pulling the whole look of our display together. YOU GUYS ROCK! All in all we had a blast and can’t wait until next year!

I also want to personally apologize for not delivering on our special guest Jo De La Rosa….We literally found out on our way to the event she was not going to be able to make it due to personal reasons. We appreciate her participation and wish her all the best.

Roses are SO last year, send your sweetheart something sweet from your heart!

Available now for pre-order: 1 dz sample box to include 4 each of our raspberry red velvet, haute hostess, and vanilla cupcakes, complete with Valentine’s Day decor. Available for $30.00 pick up (Costa Mesa) and $35.00 local delivery. Place your order soon as this special day is quickly approaching!

If you missed, you sure missed out! We ran a giveaway for 2 dz custom cupcakes from Two Parts Sugar, complete with custom Super Bowl decorations….but that’s not all, we also threw in a “Sporty Couture” apron from Kitchen Couture….AND 2 dz custom cupcake wrappers from Sugar Cat Studio!

AND THE WINNER IS: 

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Chrissy Says: 
January 19th, 2010 at 5:47 pm   edit

Just darling – and yummy I’m sure! The apron a must have!

I follow you on FB too and Twitter

Cheers

CONGRATULATIONS CHRISSY! It looks like you are in OC…so we will be hand delivering your cupcakes to you the day of the big game!

We had so much fun hosting this giveaway…a big THANK YOU to all who participated!

Listen up all you football fanatics, cause this is one giveaway you won’t want to miss! Two Parts Sugar, Kitchen Couture, and Sugar Cat Studio are teaming up to bring you the ultimate Super Bowl party package.

Enter to win 2 dozen gourmet cupcakes from Two Parts Sugar, complete with custom made Super Bowl decorations….a “Sporty Couture” apron from Kitchen Couture, and 24 custom cupcake wrappers from Sugar Cat Studio! You could win everything you need to make your Super Bowl party one your guests will not soon forget.

Super Bowl final four

“Sporty Couture” arpon

To enter, all you have to do is leave a comment here telling us who you think will be going to the Super Bowl..that’s it! Want this Super Bowl party package REALLY bad? Well, you can earn another entry by Tweeting about our giveaway …earn another entry by posting about our giveaway on Facebook, earn yet another entry by blogging about our giveaway, and finally, earn one last entry by going to Kitchen Couture and checking out their awesome aprons, come back here and leave a comment telling us which apron you liked best. That’s 5 entries for a chance to win!

When is the deadline to be eligible to win? All entries must be submitted by no later than Saturday, January 23rd (the day before the final four teams will play to go to the Super Bowl).  If your team wins on Sunday January 24th and is moving on to the big game, then you will go in to the drawing to win the ultimate football party package!

When will the winner be announced? All friends & fans whose team wins on Sunday will be put in to a random drawing.  The winner will be drawn and announced on Monday, January 25th.

When will I get my prize? The prize package will be delivered by February 4th to the lucky recipient.

Is there any cost to me for winning? None whatsoever (but we would really appreciate it if you told your friends and family where all of your fabulous football goodies came from)!

GOOD LUCK!!!

It’s GAME DAY! You’ve got family and friends coming over, the grill is fired up, fridge is stocked…what’s missing? Cupcakes from Two Parts Sugar and an apron, or “two” from Kitchen Couture to serve them in! Check out these awesome aprons you could be “sporting” as you serve up your football goodies!

Be sure to place your order before the big game!

What do you get when you combine sinfully sweet treats, sultry fashion, and a sexy songbird….

…Two Parts Sugar and the L.A. Cupcake Challenge, of course!!!  On February 20^th the cupcake innovators of Two Parts Sugar will be teaming up with Kitchen Couture and Sugar Cat Studio to compete for the title of best cupcake in all of southern California as they go head to head with 18 other bakeries and cupcake winner hopefuls.

This year we are hoping to leave a lasting impression on the competition with our signature flavors & unique presentation. While yes, we are ultimately there to win, we really wanted to focus making it fun for everyone. We decided to play off of “Two Parts” Sugar…one part “naughty” one part “nice”.   Our booth will not only feature fun & sweet cupcakes, but we will be bringing “sexy back” with a very special guest who will help glam up the competition.  We will be hosting special guest & recording Artist Jo De La Rosa (formerly of Bravo’s The Real Housewives of Orange County and Date My Ex).  The up and coming artist will help us showcase our delectable treats – essentially putting the “icing” on the competition.  Every woman can relate to the naughty and nice side of their personalities.  Even the sweetest person is capable of being a little mischievous at times, and our concept is to deliver something that most people can relate to.” Our love of cupcakes and quest for fun, plus De La Rosa’s captivating charm promises that spectators won’t be disappointed.

From the cameras to the stage

Jo De La Rosa is best known for her starring role on the BRAVO mega hit “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”  Jo starred in seasons 1 and 2 of the show where she played herself as the sexy newcomer to the gate-guarded and ultra-exclusive community of Coto De Caza.  With the popularity of her character, Jo continued on, landing her own show on BRAVO called “Date My Ex” in which fans got to watch the misadventures of her dating life as she moved to L.A. to pursue her career in music.

With pop culture’s high demand of reality television, recording executives took notice of Jo’s singing and dancing talent on the show and offered her a record deal, transitioning this Latin beauty from the cameras to the stage.  Jo’s first album, Unscripted, was released in summer of 2008.  Jo is currently back in the studio writing and working with producers on her second album.  Her new single, “A Good Thing” is due to come out in Spring 2010 with a brand new music video. She is also the new face for the Fall 2009 handbag collection of Rough Roses which is featured on numerous billboards and buses throughout the Los Angeles and New York areas.

Don’t forget to pick up your tickets here!

I have never gotten so many requests for the same themed cake! I had 4 Yo Gabba Gabba cakes within a week! I LOVE YGG so I was happy and thrilled to do them all. It was so fun coming up with different designs to please each customer. I really wanted to make each one unique…a cake is something special and i love when I can make something special and unique for someone who is equally special and unique. This cake was for 2 year old Sadie. 

We incorporated the signature starburst with a happy birthday message and the bottom tier was decorated with each character made out of fondant.

I have to admit…I walked into Jillian’s (Sadie’s mom) house and I was totally scoping it out for ideas for my daughter’s birthday party the following day! She had all kinds of cute decorations for the party. She put Sadie in a homemade YGG shirt with Foofa popping out of a cupcake (that’s where I got the idea to incorporate a cupcake into my girls shirts). The cake went perfectly with all she had set up for the party. Such a fun cake to do.

Thank you again for the wonderful cake!!! We had SOOOO many compliments and comments on it! And then there was almost an all out war on who got the first character slice!

-Jillian, Sadie’s Mom

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SADIE!

That’s right, Football season is upon us and with the Super Bowl right around the corner you don’t want to be tackled at your party because you forgot to order your cupcakes early. We’ve got cupcakes to represent any team. Anything from team colors in icing or sprinkles, to helmets and footballs, to more elaborate team logos! Here are a few of the cupcakes from last year. 

Steelers vs Cardianls

Falcons vs Broncos

We’d love to hear from you! Let us know if you have any questions or would like to place an order. 

One of my 3 little cupcakes turned 2 today! My middle child Anabelle celebrated her birthday today. Actually, the real celebration was Sunday. We threw her a Yo Gabba Gabba party and proclaimed that our Ani was turning “TWO”dee (one of the characters names is Toodee). I have to be honest, there were lots of really cool ideas running through my head for the cake and decorations, but things are just way too busy, I had to hold back a little (actually a lot) in order to even get a party together. I pulled an all nighter the night prior to the party and while I was content with the outcome, I had so much more I would have loved to have done. So here’s a peek at the festivities! 

My little Ani on Halloween dressed as Toodee…we used this picture in the invitations.

I was swamped with work and a new baby and moving, so didn’t get to ordering any themed party decorations. Yo Gabba Gabba is SO hard to find in stores. So, 2 DAYS BEFORE the party I ran to find something that would work…heres what I did:

I was able to find bubbles in some of the colors of the characters and just added some of the simple facial features and POOF! they all came to life. The bubbles were a hit with the kids, but messy. I applied the same idea to the goodie bags, party hats and buckets for centerpieces. I was going to do the same to all the balloons but ran out of time! On a side note, I asked my 3 year old what kind of party she wanted, response: a Foofa party!

Here’s what the cake table looked like almost complete:

Here’s a shot of the cake!

So, the original plan was to do a 4 tier cake…each tier was going to have one of the Gabba lands as the background and the coordinating character on each tier with Toodee on top holding a ballon and the Yo Gabba Gabba starburst somewhere. Well, it was either a huge cake (with tons of leftovers) and no decorations, or a small cake and decorations. I opted for the tiny cake with cupcakes…much easier! I had a slight catastrophe with the liners…the all began to separate from the cupcake…solution: ribbon tied around each cupcake. 

I got SO many great shots of my angel on her big day, and I really tried to limit the number I posted.  Here’s my Ani enjoying her cupcakes! If you look closely you can see the shirt i made her is Toodee holding what else? A CUPCAKE!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANABELLE!

I was recently contacted about an order for a young lady’s cheer coach. Ah…how this brought me back to my high school days. I was Cheerleader of the year my Senior year in high school…but don’t let that title fool you…I was also captain of our high school wrestling team! Anyway, Vanessa is a part of the Aliso Niguel cheerleading team and wanted to get her cupcake loving coach, Joy,  something special for her birthday. What could  be more special than a box of cupcakes from Two Parts Sugar? 

Joy and Vanessa enjoying some cupcakes (not our cupcakes, just a photo for reference).

We went with the school’s colors, paw print (they are the wolverines), Joy, pom-poms, and mega phones. 

Happy Birthday Joy!