Bumpin' Pumpkin

Thanks to everyone who came out and visited us at the Turlock Night Farmer’s Market last Friday. We had a blast again! If you had a "Bumpin’ Pumpkin" cupcake on us, let us know what you thought.

Pumpkin brings thoughts of fall, and I hope cooler temps are just around the corner. Kids have started school. The light isn’t as bright when I am waking up. And, it seems to be getting darker just a little bit earlier than it was just last week. Fall is on its way!

Our next event will be later in September, when the temps should be a little cooler. The Modesto Bridal Fair will be held on September 18, and we will be there! If you know any brides planning their wedding, let them know to check out the Fair. There will be so many vendors there, providing everything from invitations to dresses, to flowers and cupcakes (wink, wink). It will be a great place for brides to get ideas, make plans and find some great services – all in one place.

Hope you have a blissful day!

Night Farmer's Market in Turlock

It's just about that time again! Friday night CBJO will be at the Turlock Farmer's Market which goes from 4-8pm. Come out for a wonderful way to spend a Friday evening, with music, food and entertainment! We'll be giving out free samples again. If you missed out last time, you sure don't want to miss out this time! Hope to see you there!

Just 10 more days!

Until the Turlock Night Farmer's Market! Don't forget to come by and check us out.

We'll be there August 26th! The market runs from 4-8pm and there will be music and entertainment, along with delicious food. Mark your calendars, come on out and enjoy the night! Hope to see you there!

Going Bananas!

This weekend (August 13 & 14) in Sacramento, William Land Park hosts the 2nd Annual Banana Festival. Tickets are $5 for adults and kids 5 and under are free all weekend! Sounds like a great deal to me!

On the home page, it says there will be all kinds of banana goodies to taste, from banana breads to ice cream, pudding and even . . . soup? Hmmm, that would be interesting. Banana soup. . . Somebody's gotta try that and let me know how it is. I'm having trouble imagining it. Is it cold? Is it hot? Is it sweet? But, I digress.

They don't mention CUPCAKES! Well, we here at Cupcakes By Jo have an awesome banana cupcake with cream cheese frosting.

So if you go and check out the Banana Festival, please sample the soup and come back here to leave a comment and tell me how it was. And, if you really want a banana cupcake, well, just let us know!

And, don't forget, we'll be at Turlock Night Farmer's Market later this month, August 26th.

Cupcake Wrappers

Just perusing some other cupcake blogs and sites, I came across these lasercut cupcake wrappers. I think they are beautiful, and obviously make the cupcake become more than just a cupcake. But are they really functional for eating the cupcake?


Spring Lasercut Cupcake Wrapper
from http://www.accenttheparty.com/


I mean, how am I supposed to dig into that delicious, scrumptious cupcake? Which brings me to another question: How do you eat a cupcake? Are you a "peel-and-bite" section by section eater, or a "peel-it-all-away-and-devour" eater? For me, normally, I'm a peel-it-all-away-and-devour eater. I like to peel the entire cupcake wrapper away, revealing the delightful dessert in all its glory. The last time I had a cupcake (Okay, it was plural - cupCAKES), I peeled the wrapper away and separated the lusciously frosted top from the bottom, essentially saving the best for last. (The frosting was really good!) Can I do that with these wrappers that seem to double as works of art? I'm thinking, not really. I'd probably remove the cupcake carefully from the lasercut wrapper, and then proceed to devour!

The lasercut wrappers are truly beautiful, and I can see that they would add just that extra little detail to the presentation of the cupcakes, especially for fancy events like weddings (which we do!).

So, how do you eat a cupcake?

Time goes by . . . Turlock Night Farmer's Market coming up!

Cupcakes by Jo will be at Turlock Farmer's Market on August 26th. Yes, that is about one month away, but time moves forward - every day!

Can you believe there are only 40 days left until Labor Day? The end of summer vacation slips slowly, day by day, until we realize we need to get some school supplies for the upcoming year, and then - holy cow! School will be starting in 2 weeks! You know that's how it happens.

We better get busy having some fun! Make sure to join us in August (which will be here before you know it!) at the Turlock Night Farmer's Market in Downtown Turlock.

What are some fun things you have done this summer?

Cupcakes in honor of the final installment of Harry Potter

"It All Ends" . . . tomorrow. The final installment of the Harry Potter movie franchise opens in theatres Friday, July 15. While perusing other cupcakery blogs, I came across this entry. Some daring and creative baker - and Potter-fan - has created a cupcake based on the butterbeer drink featured in Hogsmeade, the fictional town near the school, Hogwarts.

Now, I half-expected them to be emblazoned with Harry's face, but they are not. But, they ARE done very close to Gryffindor colors, although that just makes sense given the butter and butterscotch flavorings. Kudos to the baker for being so creative and having a lot of fun in celebrating the books and movies that have captured the imagination of so many!

This first link takes you to the blog where I found the post.

http://cupcakestakethecake.blogspot.com/2011/07/harry-potter-butterbeer-cupcakes-plus.html

This second link takes you to the original posting, which has the recipe, along with other very creative ideas for celebrating the end of a decade of Harry Potter.

http://www.cooklikeachampionblog.com/2011/07/butterbeer-cupcakes.html

Will you be glad or sad to see Harry Potter come to an end?