The cupcake phenomenon has seriously hit its stride with little boutiques and cupcake trucks popping up all over the United States like cupcakes are the vaccine to cure our recession blues. And whose to say they aren’t? One small sweet treat can momentarily relieve the stress of bills, kids, traffic, job hunting, taxes, tornadoes, and whatever other plaque is bearing down on the American people at large.
We’ve talked cupcakes more than once, and admittedly it was more like groupie gushing over Good Golly Miss Holly’s Sweet! Cupcakes in Orlando, FL (which is totally warranted since she did win The Food Network’s Cupcake Wars). Plus there have been a few of my own cake-of-cup dabblings, but today we are talking about a different realm of cupcakes-cupcake art. Cupcakes have grown up since their main role as little kid birthday fare to now making glamorous appearances at weddings, art shows, and otherwise more formal events as the treat-de-resistance. The trick for upgrading cupcakes is giving them a fabulous makeover. But dolling up a cupcake's small size and repetitive form is no small feat hence the ole faithful icing heap.
But isn’t limitation the root of all creativity? Thankfully the most outrageous and creative cake artist extraordinaire Becky Osborne-Phillips has solved the cupcake makeover dilemma with her own line of fondant cupcake toppers available through her Etsy Store, Eye Candy Sugar. Let’s say you’re busy (because aren’t we all?) and you really wanted to do something special for your friend/kid/husband/girlfriend’s next big to-do yet all you’ve accomplished is buying a dozen of their favorite cupcakes from your local market/bakery. Thoughtful, but not, “Oh my God, I LOVE it!” thoughtful. "What do I do?" you exclaim. I’ll tell you. You get on your fancy computer and access Becky Osborne-Phillips Eye Candy Sugar Shop on Etsy.com then have the roses/orchids/tentacles fondant cupcake toppers delivered to your doorstep. Pop those babies on top of your store bought cuppy cakes, and voila! Success! You get a gold star, a kiss, and maybe even more…
Becky Osborne-Phillips is located in West Palm Beach, FL and she is an artist unafraid of almost any medium but dominates in food because well, she loves it. She paints, she sculpts, she bends neon, she sews, and most importantly she bakes. She can imagine or even re-imagine a handcrafted cupcake topper for any occasion.
Flowers (orchids pictured above) for all wedding related events such as the big day, showers, etc.
Say it with roses, fondant roses.
Booties & Rattles for new bouncing babies.
Just as cute as little baby Nikes and Timberlands.
Guitars for a kick-ass concert.
Tell them they're a star with this rocking cupcake topper.
Roller Skates for a Roller Derby Championship.
Did they whip it real good, whip it, whip it real good? Give them this topper!
Tentacles for a successful deep sea diving expedition.
Say it with tentacles, fondant tentacles.
Simply contact Becky via Etsy or Facebook and if you can’t find you’re cupcake fondant topper look in her store, ten-to-one she’ll custom make one special for your cupcake enhanced celebration. I mean, did you see the tentacles?
But what if cupcakes aren’t your thing and Cake Boss and Ace of Cakes have you dreaming visions of cake art grandeur for your next big party? Don’t fret, Becky’s sugar and baking expertise don’t stop with cupcakes. It only begins there. Becky’s cake art career started behind the humble counter of a West Palm Beach Publix where young Becky learned the basics of buttercreams and beading. Eventually her painting career was her forefront artistic focus, but in 2006 her latent love of cake came back when she made her own wedding and groom’s cake for her Halloween marriage to Adam Phillips. As her Maid of Honor, I loved helping with the cakes the night before the wedding but could have almost killed her when she skipped the rehearsal part all together in order for the cakes to finish on-time. Yet that is her fanatical level of dedication to reach for the upper echelons of cake art-to elevate cake to eye candy. Becky can bring a vision of cake eye candy to life no matter how ridiculous or ornate the request may be.
From Henna…
Say Namaste with cake.
to Hamburgers.
"I'll have my hamburger cake with cheese, please."
From Orchids and Bamboo…
Beach weddings just got a whole lot more elegant.
to Monster Trucks and Tea Pots.
"Toro! Toro!" Monster trucks are great cakes for any occasion.
"Who wants to have a tea party?" I do! With monster trucks.
From Castles…
"A man's home is in his wife's castle." Ya heard.
to Corsets…
Tell your love to tighten up with this sexy corset cake.
and Poison Dart Frogs
Don't worry! It only looks poisonous.
to Guitars.
Realism replica of the groom's guitar for his groom's cake. Orchid and Bamboo cake in the background.
And food porn. Lots and lots of food porn.
Art piece for Seven Deadly Sins Art Show. If you didn't guess Gluttony, you don't eat enough.
Oh, also Cupcake Goddess outfits. I mean, who wouldn’t want this lady to make your next uber special cake?
The hands and mind behind Eye Candy Sugar, the completely singular Becky Osborne-Phillips.
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Lyda de Aguiar
October 6, 2010 @ 11:14 amI love Becky! Her work is amazing, vibrant, and fun! Besides being adorable!
doggybloggy
October 6, 2010 @ 5:11 pmthese are some of the best looking cupcakes I have ever seen.
notyet100
October 6, 2010 @ 11:06 pmthy look so good,..
Blackswan
October 7, 2010 @ 4:17 pmOh, these pix makes me drool! Great post
Have a nice weekend!
claudia lamascolo
October 9, 2010 @ 4:05 pmgorgeous photo’s hope your doing well in NY but miss us all a little
Belinda @zomppa
October 9, 2010 @ 4:25 pmThese are stunning! I don’t which ones I like the best. Super talented.
Kathy Gori
October 9, 2010 @ 10:14 pmWhat beautiful cakes!!! Omg! they’re just gorgeous
The Chocolate Priestess
October 10, 2010 @ 6:31 amWhat lovely creations! Thank you for sharing them with us. How do they taste? I’ve found that sometimes, ok, actually frequently, when something baked looks beautiful it often doesn’t taste too good. I recall when we got our wedding cake many years ago we decided not to go with the best decorator in our town but the best tasting cake maker.
RavieNomNoms
October 11, 2010 @ 7:02 amOh my word, all those creations are just stunning and gorgeous!
Laurie
October 15, 2010 @ 8:16 pmMy husband would love me in a corset made of cake!!!
It is so good to visit your blog, it looks wonderful!
I haven’t blogged for awhile so getting back into the swing of things is taking me on a grand tour of my favorite online sites! Love your articles Rachel.. good luck with the Project Food Blog also! Ciao!!