All photos by Laine Doss

Angie Padilla and Alberto Luna sell cake jars at Pinecrest market

Angie Padilla wasn't aware of the insane story about the confiscated cupcake-in-a-jar that dominated the news for a brief minute back in December. When the story broke about Rebecca Hains having her jarred cupcake confiscated by TSA officials in Las Vegas, Angie was too busy making her cake-in-a-jar as a holiday gift for her coworkers.

Padilla, a contract administrator by trade, didn't have enough in her budget to afford nice presents for everyone in the rather large office where she works -- so she decided to make cakes in mason jars. Soon Padilla found herself taking orders for the self-contained treats -- first from co-workers and friends, then from people who heard about the cakes.
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Drink up! I mean, eat up?

The innocent reputation that has accompanied cupcakes since the dawn of the oven is about the get tarnished. Sweet & Tipsy is a local cupcake company that is going to help change all of that. Alcohol and all.

Bakeries, of course, are not too keen on getting awarded liquor licenses, so owner Veronica Hurtado assembles each miniature cup-tail in her Sunny Isles highrise.

Yes, we know what you're thinking: Can you get drunk off the cupcakes?

"You'll get a stomach ache before you get drunk," laughs Veronica. "But there is the equivalent of about two tablespoons of alcohol inside each finished product." The final result: a mini, liquor filled cupcake with a kick.

Hurtado explains she uses alcohol in more than the pre-baking steps. "Depending on the recipe, the cake could be soaked in alcohol or champagne. And there is also alcohol in most of the frostings."

And of course, the booze belonging to the muffin's cocktail predecessor is always heavily added to the batter.
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Sometimes the Publix Bakery just doesn't cut it. Jeffrey Loria, owner of the Miami Marlins, commissioned an opening day cake to celebrate the April 4 inaugural game (in which they lost to the St. Louis Cardinals, by the way). About a month ago, Loria placed a phone call to the good people at Divine Delicacies Cakes asking for a ballpark stadium replica cake capable of feeding 800 people. No big deal.

Divine Delicacies was notified in advance that it would be presented in Loria's suite for his 50 VIP guests. It was made with red velvet, guava cream cheese, vanilla rum, and marble chocolate batters. And if four different flavors in one cake weren't extravagant enough, the cake's ballpark top even had a retractable ceiling.

Here's the best part, though; the Miami Marlins monogram M was custom created with more than 3,600 Swarovski crystals.

"It took us two weeks just to work on the sugar parts of the cake," said Divine Delicacies director of sales, Laura Candeau, "and two days for the bottom cake part."

See photos of the extravagance after the jump.
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Laine Doss

Mast Brothers Chocolates -- Wynwood just got sweeter.

​Mast Brothers Chocolate is a small boutique factory in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that makes artisan chocolate.

The chocolate is made in small numbered batches from beans specially selected by the brothers who own the company, Rick and Michael Mast.

Beans from New Guinea, the Dominican Republic and other exotic locales are brought to the factory, hulled, then roasted in small convection ovens. The dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao) is then blended with ingredients that can be read by even a small child -- cane sugar ... almonds ... sea salt ... olive oil. See? No chemistry degree needed.

The chocolate has become the rage of New York, sold in specialty shops like Dean & Deluca and bought by chefs like Thomas Keller. So what does that have to do with Miami?
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Brown Eyed Baker

Who doesn't love a good cupcake?

​Here at Short Order we strive to bring you lists you can't live without. For this particular roundup, we visited many, many places, trying both a standard vanilla (because if they can't do that right, what can they do?) as well as the shop's best-selling flavor. We checked moisture content, consistency, density, and icing-to-cupcake ratio. We scoured the streets and sampled many a treat, all to give you a certified guide to find Miami's best cupcakes.More >>

​Using a printer to bake cupcakes sounds as crazy as using a jigsaw to cut a meatloaf, but the technology is out there and could provide the answer to your laziness.

One of the many techie-foodie goodies recently unveiled at the Consumer and Electronics Show in Las Vegas is the Imagine 3D printer made by Essential Dynamics. It can print food like cupcakes, chocolate and even cheese.
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Joni Williams

​Ahhhh, the holidays. A most wonderful time of the year. And let's be honest, a most stressful one, too. Bake. Shop. Eat.

It can be exhausting. You know how it goes. It gets down to the last minute and you can't stop yawning and trying to figure out how in the world you're going to get everything done.

Fear not! Donuts are here to save the (holi)day! That's right. Those sweet, round gems, and the shops they're sold in, are the superheroes of the season.
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Lee Klein

Macarons at Vida brunch at Fontainebleau

​Macarons are absolutely the new cupcakes.

I know this because I was watching ABC News and they said that "macaroons are the new cupcakes." The next day Time magazine came in the mail and in it was an article entitled "Will Macarons be the new cupcake?" Then I Googled "macarons are the new cupcakes" and found that the subject had been covered by Fox News ("Will Macarons Be The New Cupcake?"); NPR ("Move Over, Cupcake: Make Way For The Macaroon"), Chicago Eater ("Chefs at Christmas: Are Macarons The New Cupcake?"), as well as The Times of London, Bon Apetit, and many other publications.

The only disagreement -- or, more accurately, confusion -- seems to stem from the spelling. Some go with "macaroon," even though they don't really mean the coconutty American cookie; most properly use the French "macaron," which is totally different and pictured above.

In New York's Lower East Side, Macaron Parlour sells about 1,000 per week in flavors like red velvet and candied-bacon; Maison du Macaron on West 23rd Street sells about 8,000 per week, in flavors like rose lychee and pink champagne. And here in Miami? Well, the trend hasn't taken off yet, but Solo Patisserie at the Fontainebleau is one of the few places in town where you can find them. I spoke with pastry chef Jordi Panisello about macarons, what he thinks of them, and what kind of flavors folks will find at the hotel.
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Photo by Paulina Aguilera

Munch on a bite-sized vegan pumpkin whoopie pie from Mac'n this Thanksgiving!

​We're just a few days out from Thanksgiving, and you'll soon have quite the spread in front of you. Before you go crazy this Thursday, try warming up your Thanksgiving appetite with a sweet treat from Mac'n Food Truck. The Miami New Times caught up with "Miami's Original Vegan Food Truck" to check out the pumpkin whoopie pies that one Twitterer called worthy of a "foodgasm."

"I like whoopie pies because they're not quite cookies, and they're not quite cupcakes," says Francesca Lacuesta, owner of the food truck called Mac'n. "I love anything that has pumpkin in it, especially this time because it makes me feel comfort(ed)."

You got that right! Pumpkin Whoopie Pies!

The bite-size pastries are gluten-free, flavored with a subtle blend of spices that don't overpower ;other flavors, and sport a rich, creamy middle sandwiched by exquisitely moist cake. And they're sweetened just right. Foodgasm indeed!

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Lesley Elliott

Seckel pears with pistachio pear baklava, local honeycomb and Greek frozen yogurt.

​We know she has sweet and salty sides, which is why her desserts are always such a delight. Even for food aficionados who embrace savory, saving room at Michael's Genuine for executive pastry chef Hedy Goldsmith's creations is of paramount importance.

We were treated to a tasting menu last night that highlighted the many varieties of pears, an ingredient that Goldsmith loves to work with. "Pears are my favorite autumn fruit, they are incredibly versatile and hold up really well with different cooking processes."

The best part of being an adult is that no one can tell you that it's inappropriate to eat dessert for dinner.
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