new crew, lovely customers & a day in the sun...

We are week at week #2 at our Solvang spot (nestled in the Olive House) and we are so thankful for our new crew.  They are amazing.

Meet Kara!

For a year I've made every single cupcake and I'm happy to say that your cupcakes are now made (with lots of hand crafted love) by myself and Kara!  Kara has a passion for the culinary world and I'm blessed to spend the wee hours of the morning with her in the kitchen.

And our super friendly & sweet cupcake peddlers are Elizabeth & Mariah...

Elizabeth & Mariah have both been very loyal and encouraging customers since we first opened in Los Olivos last year.  We're so excited to now have them on the other side of the counter!

And then, of course, this little one is happy to tell you all about her favorite cupcakes if you see her running around the shops...

In addition to loving our staff, we LOVE our customers and are so grateful for their support.  On our first day, Traci from Traci & Laura's Consignments and Elizabeth B were there before we even opened.  If you've never been to TLC - you must go!  It's an awesome store with killer finds on 2nd street in Solvang.  Traci & Laura must have a mandate that they only take in great quality, fashion forward items.  Kevin couldn't resist snapping a pic of our first customer!  

After working like crazy for weeks to set up in Solvang, we took a day to swing on swings, eat ice-cream, build sand castles, play with puppets and relax in the sun!

what's new?

This...

Ebelskiver Cupcake?  Vanilla cake, filled with a fluffy apple mousse, topped with vanilla bean frosting, raspberry puree and powdered sugar.  Kevin ate this cupcake after dinner last night and then talked about wanting more in his sleep (LOL!!!).   We did this flavor in honor of our first week in the quaint little Danish town of Solvang!

...this

Black Bottom...Chocolate cake, with a cream cheese chocolate chip filling, topped with cream cheese frosting & mini chocolate chips

& this!

Chocolate Butterscotch...Chocolate cake, filled with butterscotch pudding, topped with chocolate frosting and drenched in butterscotch glaze

lights, camera, action...

Busy week at Saarloos and Sons!  Andrew Firestone and a camera crew highlighted Saarloos & Sons for a TV show pilot on Thurs.  Cupcake man Kevin represented our goodies.  See him in action!

Photo by Jason McKinney

Andrew & his crew are totally cool and we wish them lots of success!

more cupcakes...

A while back I posted that we were working on something fun and it's coming to fruition!  You'll now be able to get Enjoy Cupcakes in Solvang too (inside the Olive House at 1661 Mission Drive) starting March 11th.  So come on by Thurs - Sun from 11-5!

pretty pears & almonds

Our customers always want to know how / why we come up with our flavors.  It's usually a very random response!   Here's a new flavor and I'll tell you what inspired it ~

Caramel Pear...vanilla cake, filled with house-made pear curd, topped with pear frosting and dark caramel 

We saw this inspiration board on style me pretty, and in our "world" it translated to a caramel pear cupcake ~

 Our other new addition is the Chocolate Almond Butter, which came about after Kevin (in summary) said, "I really like the peanut butter mousse, can try it with another nut?"

Chocolate cake, filled with fluffy almond butter mousse, topped with vanilla frosting, chocolate sauce and almonds. I love how the natural almond butter creates a pure, intense almond flavor in this cupcake, without the use of any almond extract.

We'll have these newbies through Sunday, 2/28 so come visit this weekend and let us know what you think :)

enjoy photoshoot...

I am blown away by how much talent, creativity and beauty there is in our little community (Santa Ynez Valley).   We were so excited to work with local photographer, Jose Villa, and videoographer, Joel Serrato, on a super fun photoshoot.  They documented our family business in a lovely way and we are so grateful!  

The night before the shoot, I was so nervous and didn’t sleep a wink.  My mind was racing with every which way the cupcakes could be displayed, what vases to put the flowers in, how to decorate the cupcakes, etc.  But once you are with Jose & Joel, you are immediately at ease and the nerves lift.  They are so warm, kind and graceful.  I can’t even imagine how amazing it would be to have them capture your wedding day.   

I’ve got a collection growing of vintage cake stands, plates, bottles & “trinkets”, but also raided my good friend’s (Lisa Weedn) stash!  Keep your eye out for her goodies on her etsy store & check out her cool urban artwork.  She has an incredible eye for vintage treasures!

Jose directed me to get mostly white flowers (and big fluffy ones if possible!).  I know just about nothing when it comes to floral design so I was stoked to have my friend Heather Saarloos take me to a flower wholesaler.  Heather gave me insight on which flowers & textures photograph best, and helped me pick the bunches. 

The photoshoot took place inside the Saarloos & Sons tasting "house" (where our cupcake shop in Los Olivos resides) and in Saarloos Park next door!

See the cupcakes & photos come to life in this super 8mm video by Joel!  

You can also view more photos & the features here and here on Style Me Pretty.

We will cherish the footage & photos forever!

Happy lady eats {lust list}

Thank you happy lady eats for adding Enjoy Cupcakes to your lust list.  We can't wait for you to come visit us and have some cupcakes!

Full article

chai tea cupcakes...

Introducing the chai tea cupcake

Vanilla chai cake, filled with a honey mousse, topped with chai frosting and chai spiced sugar.  The pic is fuzzy because this little mischeivious person got a hold of my camera and got the lens all dirty!  

I'll clean the lens & blog about our other new flavor tomorrow!