We understand that not everyone is fortunate enough to live in Southern California, but that shouldn’t mean having to miss out on our couture treats! That’s why we are very excited to announce our new shipping option so you can send Cupcakes Couture sweets across the country! Sending a sweet gift is a wonderful way to let your loved ones know you’re thinking of them whether you’re many miles apart or just around the corner. So without further ado, we’d like to introduce you to our new…

Shippable Sweets Collection

“A taste of luxury delivered to your doorstep.”

Unfortunately, we are unable to ship 0ur famous cupcakes due to the elaborate design and craft. We would hate for our beautiful cupcakes to travel all that way just to become a messy box full of frosting and what used to look like a cupcake. The good news is, we have plenty of specialty treats that can be baked to fit most dietary restrictions including GLUTEN FREE that we are happy to package up and ship off wrapped with a pretty little bow.  Take a look at all we have to offer below:

Even though our cupcakes can’t be shipped, you can still send cupcakes in a jar! Available in red velvet and chocolate mint, these 8oz mason jars are filled with couture deliciousness. Other flavor combinations, and alterations based on dietary needs (such as gluten free) are available for special order. Each cupcake in a jar come complete with gift tags, a spoon, festive ribbon, and cost $8 each.

These cake pushpops are perfect for children or adults who love to reminisce! Available in red velvet and chocolate mint, these pushpops are adorable and perfect as a treat on the go. Plus they’re just plain FUN! Our cake pushpops are $4.75 each and also available in gluten free with special order!

Cake pops became an instant hit the moment they came into fruition. We offer them in a variety of flavors, including chocolate and red velvet for only $2.75 each. Our cakepops are also available in gluten free daily!

An old classic, our house-made peppermint bark is available in both white and dark chocolate.

They are naturally gluten free and cost $3.50 per package.

While not always in the shape of a snowflake, our sugar cookies are available year round and cost $3.00 each

Housemade brownie bites are fudgey, delicious, and only $3.50. As with all of our desserts, we are able to bake according to most food alergies. Please call us for more details.

You haven’t had a marshmallow until you’ve had a peppermint flavored marshmallow. Perfect for hot chocolate on a cold, cozy day and naturally gluten free, these delicious marshamallow bites sell for $2.50 for a package of 6.

We also do corporate gifts!! These cupcakes with company logos were a HUGE hit this holiday season. Not only did we send dozens and dozens of cupcakes to be delivered throughout Los Angeles, we also got calls from many of the recipients who wished to do the same! We were hard at work, but it was all worth it. Check out these corporate treats:

With the holidays closing in quicker than we can believe, there isn’t much time to place your order! Call us today to put together your package of Shippable Sweets from Cupcakes Couture!!

This semester we had the pleasure of working with the talented Mackenzie Patterson, a Senior at USC who when she was not busy with a full semester at USC and working at Cupcakes Couture two days a week, also served as president of her sorority, Alpha Delta Pi.

Working with Mackenzie was such a pleasure. She was always extremely willing to help out where ever help was needed. Whether it were running out for new props for a photo shoot, or helping set up for events. As rush chair of her sorority last year, Mackenzie was well seasoned in what was needed to put finishing touches on every event.

Her positive attitude and ability to take on any task without hesitation is what made Mackenzie such a great asset to us here at Cupcakes Couture. She will truly be missed as she continues on to finish her time at USC and ventures out into her career. To show our appreciation we threw her a pizza party where everyone came together to say goodbye and give her a card and gift. Here are some photos from Mackenzie’s last day:

Natalie, Stephanie, Betty, and Mackenzie getting ready to chow down on some pizza!

Brent and Aubry taking a break to say goodbye!

Mackenzie reading her card

Now that Mackenzie is only one semester away from graduating from USC and has had four months of marketing and business operations experience, we thought it would be a good idea to share her wisdom with the masses. We asked her a few questions about her time here at Cupcakes Couture and what her hopes for the future were. Here’s what she told us:

Why did you want an internship at Cupcakes Couture?

There were three main reasons: I loved the concept behind the company, it was in an industry I’ve been interested in since I was rush chair for my sorority and first got exposed to it, and I’ve had a borderline obsession with weddings since I was about three, so I loved the idea of seeing this side of them.

What was your favorite part of working at Cupcakes Couture?

Definitely getting to work with all of the amazing people there. Even when we were doing something really simple, the people around made it fun.

What will you miss the most?

Probably how much fun just working at ccmb everyday was. We were doing different things every week but it was always fun! Also getting to see some of the amazing cakes as they are being made.

What was your favorite project to work on?

There were so many, but probably whenever we would brainstorm new flavors or ideas for a photo shoot or event.

What are your hopes for future Cupcakes Couture projects?

There are so many new things that are in the planning stages, I just can’t wait to see everything come together and the company continue to grow!

Any words of wisdom for future interns?

Pay attention to everything you are working on because you can often learn a lot from something when you aren’t expecting to and work in several different areas-it gives you the context for what you’re working on and you will gain a better understanding of your main area of work by knowing about all the little things that go into it.

We were recently approached by the company GeoBeats because they wanted to use our star pastry chef, Stephanie Franz in an instructional video on cake and cupcake decorating. We were excited for the opportunity to do such a video because it is something we have been wanting to do for awhile and this gave us the opportunity to get started! Our cameraman was extremely nice and did a fantastic job of guiding the video. Here are some behind the scene photos of the shoot!

Stephanie Franz getting getting hooked up to the mic!

Going over the topics for the shoot

And…ACTION!

Stephanie showing how to texture a special occasion cake

Explaining how to make flowers out of sugar paste

Decorating the cake with sugar paste flowers

Stephanie showing everyone how to make our special Sunday Mimosa cupcake

Adding the white chocolate petals

The beautiful finished product of our Sunday Mimosa Couture Cupcake

Showing some of our past creations

Stephanie signing autographs for the next generation of cupcake lovers

We had so much fun filming this video with GeoBeats and can’t wait to show you the final product!

It’s time for another Memorable Monday’s with the talented Cupcakes Couture pastry chefs! There truly is something new and exciting going on at all hours of the day. Today we’ll take a look at some of the creative designs that came through our kitchen last week.

Cupcakes Couture pastry chefs hard at work

These adorable Harry Potter cupcakes are made up of a variety of flavors and no two cupcake is alike. They are decorated with silver stars, Hogwart Wizard hats made of rice crispies, Gryffindor scarfs made of sugar paste, and you can’t forget the snitch for a game of Quidditch!

This has to be one of the cutest cakes for a four year old we’ve ever seen. On her holiday themed birthday party, Annika indulged on this marble cake with chocolate frosting on the 8″ bottom tier, and vanilla with strawberry frosting for the 6″ top tier.

These cupcakes were designed for one of our favorite regular customers. She was hosting a British themed party where they had both a tea room and a pub room where they served beer, and fish and chips! The cupcakes were Glitz n’ Glamour, Strawberry Cheesecake, and Macadamia Nut Crunch.

These cupcakes were made for a baby shower. Vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting topped with a Chanel garnish for the baby girl, and chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting and sailboats for the baby boy.

These Angry Birds toppers are spot on with the popular game created by PopCap.

A gorgeous dessert bar for guest Sandra’s 30th birthday party. Happy birthday, Sandra!!

Philanthropy is something we here at Cupcakes Couture loves to contribute to, so we were thrilled when the wonderful women at Sandpipers asked us to be involved in their 2011 Holiday Homes Tour fundraiser. Sandpipers is an organization of women living in the South Bay who volunteer their time to make a positive impact in their community by getting involved in charitable and philanthropic programs. For the 19th year in a row, they have thrown the Holiday Homes Tour to kick off the holiday season.

The Holiday Homes Tour picks three gorgeous homes in the South Bay and brings in interior decorators to redesign and decorate in the holiday spirit. Guests can purchase tickets for $25-30 and then board a shuttle which takes them to all three homes where they can indulge in the festive decor. Because this is a favorite past-time of many of us at Cupcakes Couture, we were so excited to go all out on the dessert tables they wanted on display at this gorgeous house on the Strand. Take a look at our behind the scene photos on Thursday:

The three houses picked for the Holiday Homes Tour

Sunday Mimosa Cupcakes

Vanilla Pavlova Meringue filled with fresh Strawberries.

Cupcakes, raspberries, and cake pops, oh my!

Strawberry French Macaroon pops with gold flakes

Delicious dessert shots with a white chocolate topper

Jenine and our awesome intern Mackenzie setting up in the New Years Eve room!

Our spread in the children’s room was covered with Milk & Cookies cupcakes, caramel corn, cake pops, and sugar cookies!

Our Milk & Cookies cupcakes

Gingerbread men left for Santa!

Gorgeous French Macaroons

Jenine and a Sandpipers volunteer looking pleased with the dessert display

The full spread in the kitchen/dining room area

Speaking of the dining area…beautiful!

The gorgeous beach view that could be seen from any of the three floors in the house!

The event was a great success and we had so much fun working with Sandpipers to help create the holiday spirit for all involved. We look forward to working with them in the future and hope to continue the tradition of taking part in the Holiday Homes Tour! If you liked anything you saw in this post and think it would be great for your holiday party, please don’t hesitate to call us-we’d love to recreate these beautiful treats for you and your loved ones!

We were so thrilled to once again partner up with Rue Magazine for their article on Josh and Diana Perrin and their antique rental company   Casa de Perrin. We were fortunate to work with the highly sought after event designer,  Jesi Haack, to create these sweet treats for her ” Casa Full of Sugar,” theme. All of our desserts are displayed on the beautiful antique tabletop and decor from  Casa de Perrin. Other vendors included gorgeous floral arrangements by   Honey and Poppies, scrumptious catering by   Heirloom LA, the adorable stationary was designed by   Pitbulls & Posiess  (“Eat My Sweet,”-soo cute!), and the modern furniture was provided by  Yeah! Rentals.

Talented photographer,  Jasmine Star, did a fabulous job of capturing the majestic feel of the shoot. Here are some of her brillant shots where her eye for style and our desserts come together in perfect harmony:

These red velvet cake pops are dipped in white chocolate and sprinkled with rainbow nonpareils to add a little color.

House-made gingerbread men offer a fun new take on the traditional holiday cookie.

These white chocolate dipped pretzel rods are a beautiful sweet and salty treat!

A new take on an old favorite, check out these are strawberry macaroon pops.

Cranberry orange cupcakes with homemade cranberry paper and a white chocolate swirl.

White chocolate almond cupcake topped with pink chocolate paintbrush stroke and cascading nonpareils.

Strawberry cupcakes with white chocolate frosting, topped with a hot pink white chocolate swoosh.

White chocolate peppermint cake covered in sugar paste and a nonpareil twist and topped with a my little pony.

Vanilla French Macaroons filled with hot pink vanilla buttercream center and a garnish of nonpareils.

Petite vanilla cupcakes with citrus frosting, topped off with a pink white chocolate lattice.

The complete dessert bar created by our amazing pastry chefs!

As usual, it was a busy week at Cupcakes Couture! We participated in a couple different events which made for a lot of excitement! First, we were so pleased to take part in celebrating the 6th anniversary of the beautiful Shade Hotel here in Manhattan Beach. We have had a great relationship with Shade Hotel for quite awhile now  (they use our petite cupcakes instead of a mint on the pillow for their turn-down service!) so it was so nice to be asked to help them celebrate! They also gave us a few social media shout outs which we ALWAYS love!

We were also  busy baking away because this year we were lucky enough to be picked as a featured vendor atSandpipers’ 19th annual Holiday Homes Tour so we got to work creating delicious masterpieces to be put on display as local residents visited the beautiful homes. Here’s a sneak peek at some of the desserts we crafted for the Holiday Homes Tour. For more on that event, make sure to visit our Fashionable Friday’s blog at the end of the week!

In addition to our special events this week, we were also busy baking away for your special events! Here are some of our favorites from last week:

These adorable starfish cupcakes are crafted with a lemon blueberry cake, citrus frosting and starfish made from sugar paste.

These cupcakes were designed for a baby shower where the couple had decided not to find out whether their baby was a boy or a girl. The cupcakes came in both vanilla and lemon, with a coconut frosting rolled in toasted coconut shavings.We then topped each cupcake with both a pink and blue bird made of sugar paste!

This cake was designed for the birthday of an employee at Pages Bookstore here in Manhattan Beach. It is a gluten-free chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, covered in butter cream and chocolate curls. The books were crafted out of rice crispies and covered in sugar paste. Happy birthday, Cherish!

Books seemed to be a theme this week. Here’s a cake topper for a local mother-daughter book club!

These were an assortment of holiday cupcakes. The flavors varied between Chocolate Obsession, Glitz n’ Glamour, Cookies n’ Cream, Caramel Apple, and Lady in Red.

Cookie n cream cake, covered in sugar paste and covered with gold, silver, and white snowflakes and silver dragges. Beautiful!

Sugar cookies designed to look like ornaments and threaded with ribbon. They are covered in sugar paste and decorated with royal icing, rock sugar, and silver dragges.

Thank you for joining us in this weeks review. Can’t wait to show you next weeks Elite Treats-tune in every Memorable Monday to see what we’ve created!