That doesn't look like a cupcake to me.

So you know that here at my little cupcake, we use local ingredients to create our mini cupcakes. Now say you get a craving for one of our delectable creations. Well, you could always venture out to our flagship store in Essex, VT (in the Essex Town Center), or you could wander over to our recently opened Burlington, VT store at 217 College Street. To make things a bit easier on you, our stores are easily recognizable by our smiling cupcake logo on our windows.

Now comes the hard part. You walk into one of the stores, and directly in front of you is a large display case with tons of cupcakes; so what do you get? I am guessing your first thought is "cupcake," but then something catches your eye...

Image courtesy of our Facebook page

Is it a lollipop? No, its a cake pop! "What is a cake pop?" you might ask. Well, think about it like a lollipop version of a cupcake. The cake and butter cream are mixed together and dipped in white or dark chocolate. Then they get covered in a complimentary topping. For instance, our salted caramel cake pop is drizzled with a salted caramel topping (pictured above). Now that sounds like good sweets.
But maybe cake pops don't sound like your thing; you are more interested in finding a more substantial dessert you can sink your teeth into. So you continue to scan the display case when you notice it: the whoopie pie. The whoopie pie is a cake sandwich. Similar to an ice cream sandwich in shape, but instead of cookies on the outside, it's cake, and instead of ice cream in the middle, it's buttercream frosting. Now that really is something you can write home to mom about. Your watch also tells you it is lunch time, so a dessert sandwich makes sense.

Image courtesy of our Facebook page

So you have made your decision, you now are the proud consumer of a delicious whoopie pie. While you are paying, it suddenly dawns on you that this evening is a friend's birthday party and you are in charge of the cake. She happens to be a vegan, and her husband is allergic to gluten. But you need to get something, so you take a risk and ask if my little cupcake has gluten-free cupcakes. The salesperson behind the counter enthusiastically responds with a yes, and directs you over to the gluten-free flavors of the day. Conveniently next to those cupcakes are some clearly labeled vegan cupcakes (like the apple cider flavor pictured below). Oh how perfect could this be? You get 12 mini cupcakes, of assorted gluten-free and vegan varieties, pay, and go on your way.**

Image courtesy of our Facebook page

As you walk away you have your not so lunchtime sandwich, the whoopie pie, in one hand, and the 12 mini cupcakes that your friend and her husband can eat for her birthday dinner later that night. And the best part? You are as happy as can be. I call that success.

Stay sweet,

my little cupcake


** the vegan and gluten-free options appear daily in our Burlington store, and occasionally in Essex- call ahead to find out!

Now that's what I call dedication.

Have you ever wondered what goes into a cupcake? There are the obvious ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, and a little bit of love, but after that, it is up to the bakers. Some might add chocolate and others might add berries, but here at my little cupcake we add a touch of local. That's right, I said local. When possible we use Vermont-made ingredients to create our bite-sized, miniature cupcakes. Our butter (and boy do we use a lot of butter) comes from none other than the Cabot Creamery, made famous by their cheese. Cabot butter comes to us straight from Cabot, VT, only about an hour east of our Burlington bakery. We're proud to support such an honest local creamery. 

Image courtesy of Google Images

Our flour comes from King Arthur himself. 

Image courtesy of Google Images

No, not that King Arthur. Our flour comes from the King Arthur Flour company. Now, I am sure you are wondering how flour can be a local ingredient. Well, devoted cupcake eater, King Arthur Flour is located about an hour and a half away in Norwich, VT. Some of these places might not seem local, but in our case, we are still able to celebrate our Vermont pride. 

We also celebrate it with chocolate! Barry Callebaut Chocolate, our chocolate supplier is located about a half hour north in St. Albans, VT.

But the fun doesn't stop there. my little cupcake tries to buy locally grown ingredients, no matter what we need to use it for. We have milk products delivered from Shadow Cross Farms, in Colchester, VT and coffee and espresso products from Black River Roasters, in Burlington, VT. We even went so far as to have our cupcake stickers created by a local label company and our mural, cupcake decals, and my little cupcake t-shirts created by New Duds, in Colchester, VT. Local is in our brand, through and through. So now it is your turn, stop by either of our shops, and see if you can sense Vermont in our brand.

Stay sweet,

my little cupcake.