I mentioned before that I never realized how popular September was for weddings until opening Steph's Sweet Treats.  Now I am going to rephrase that and say... I never realized how popular September is in general!  On top of weddings, September was crazy busy with baby showers, bridal showers and birthdays.  It's just a busy month!  So here's a look at the nine Steph's Sweet Treats September weddings!  If you were at any of these weddings and have photos, I would love to see them.  I love seeing all photos involving Steph's Sweet Treats goodies, so anytime you have photos please feel free to send them my way!

The first wedding of September was a small intimate wedding with 150 cupcakes at Barn 23 in Dodgeville on September 5.  They got cookies n cream, chocolate, and vanilla raspberry cupcakes. They used my traditional tiered cupcake stand displayed on an elegant lace covered table.  

The weekend of September 12 was my first triple wedding weekend.  The wedding above (photos courtesy of Kelsey Jean Photography) was for a co-worker of mine-  co-worker at my parents' company.  It was 336 cupcakes at Bridges in Darlington- chocolate chip cookie dough, smore, vanilla raspberry, and pumpkin. So, in addition to baking for this wedding, I attended it!  

Did I mention how awkward I feel being at a wedding where people are eating my cupcakes?!  I have always felt awkward about it, but haven't been to a wedding where people were eating my cupcakes since my own wedding last year.  When dinner started I got more and more nervous, and then the bride and groom announced everyone could take cupcakes....panic time!  I don't like to watch people eat my cupcakes because I get nervous to see their reactions.  This makes attending a wedding with my cupcakes very complicated!  Everyone around me was eating cupcakes, nobody knew I was the one who made them so I could see and hear them but they didn't know who I was....so I sat awkwardly looking from the ceiling to the floor, doing my best to avoid cupcake eaters.  Thankfully, from what I could hear and see, the guests were pleased... but man oh man was it stressful!

The second wedding for September 12th was another small intimate wedding at Barn 23 in Dodgeville.  This wedding was 70 cupcakes- apple cider, pumpkin, and marble.  They used my rustic stairs to display their cupcakes, which were set up by Barn 23 for the couple.  

The 3rd wedding for September 12th was 250 cupcakes at Arthur's in Spring Green- Mint chocolate chip, lemon raspberry, chocolate chip cookie dough, and strawberry cheesecake.  This couple used one of my stair stands, antique white stands, and supplied their own platters.  The cupcakes were picked up and set up by the couple.  I loved how they put together their display...especially the part where they put my cards throughout the table!  :)

September 19th was also a triple wedding weekend and a weekend where I got to attend one of the weddings!  This time I attended my brother-in-laws sister's wedding.  The wedding was 350 cupcakes: vanilla, chocolate, pumpkin, and apple cider at the family's farm.  To say this wedding was beautiful is an understatement.  They had a huge party tent outside, hay, barrels, rustic chairs, fancy trailer bathrooms, outdoor fire/heaters, etc.  I set the cupcakes up on my ladder set up to fit their rustic theme. I was also given the freedom to do what I wanted with decor, so I did half of the cupcakes swirled with various fall colors and the other half topped with sugar leaf toppers.  I loved the end result!

Soooo....two week's in a row I had to be in a place with people eating my cupcakes!  Thankfully, I had a baby to distract me this time.  I was feeding and bouncing around with my baby niece so I didn't focus on the people eating my cupcakes.  

The second wedding for September 19th was at Century Barn in Mt. Horeb- 225 cupcakes (raspberry white chocolate cheesecake, butterscotch, and thin mint copycat) and 6 pies....yes pies!  How fun, right?!  The pies were strawberry rhubarb and apple.  This wedding was picked up and set up by the couple.  Look how gorgeous their dessert table is!  Thanks again Kelsey Jean Photography for the photo!

Sadly, I don't have a photo of the third wedding to share yet. Hopefully I will have one soon!

The last weekend of September was two weddings.  First up was this 250 cupcake wedding at Dodger Bowl in Dodgeville- raspberry white chocolate cheesecake, apple pie, mint chocolate chip, and chocolate chip cookie dough.  The setup was provided by the couple, and I must say...I loved it!  The table had different platters, stands, pictures, and decor, making it oh so pretty!

The second wedding was 450 cupcakes at the Belmont Convention Center- angel food, raspberry white chocolate cheesecake, turtle, pumpkin, chocolate peanut butter, and ultimate marble.  The backdrop to this table was beautiful!  And you should have seen the backdrop to their head table.  Swoon worthy!  This setup used my crates and gold stands, the cake box was provided by the bride and groom.  My crates and gold stands have become very popular with wedding setups this year and I love that every time I use them, I can make them look a little different.  

Thanks for another week of orders and don't forget to stop by the October 9th open day....I will have a lot of sweet treats!!

I know the sign and logo to Steph's Sweet Treats explains that I am more than cupcakes ("cupcakes, cake, cookies, and more!"), but people are still shocked to hear that I do more than cupcakes (and cake)!  Cupcakes are definitely my specialty, considering I have well over 100 flavors at this point, but I bake just about everything.  I have people ordering more than cupcakes a lot lately...which is exciting.  So I thought I'd give everyone the scoop on some other treats I make.  I'm also considering adding a few of these items to open days, so here's a look at what you might see!

I'm starting with cookies because my friends and family have a favorite cookie of mine.  I can't go to holidays without bringing my frosted sugar cookie cutout cookies (first picture on the left).  They are not fancy...just a good sugar cookie with good frosting.  I'm protective of all my recipes, but this one I am especially protective over!  It's one of the first things I baked on my own on summer vacation from school... bored...at home...in the boonies.  I've had relatives who live nowhere near me ask for it and I tell them "sorry I can't." I once gave it out a LONG time ago to a relative....okay it was my mother-in-law...and it has since been destroyed.  I know...I'm crazy!!  Who calls their mother-in-law years later and asks them to destroy a recipe they have never given out or used??  Me!

Macarons are something I have recently started making. And before we start arguing macaroon vs. macaron...it is macaron. If you want a little history/terminology on it, click here. I called it macaroon at first because Martha Stewart did...so I thought it had to be right!  It wasn't.  I personally don't care what you call it or how you spell it...they are little, yummy, and naturally gluten free!  
I normally don't do the "fancier" decorated cookies, just because I have such a preference to the frosted sugar cookie in my personal life...but when a customer asked me for bride and groom cookies, I just couldn't pass it up.  Give the customers what they want right?!  I have an aversion to royal icing...not a fan of the rock hard icing that doesn't taste like anything.  But I needed frosting that would harden so I found an alternative that I am happy with and have used for the decorated cookie orders.  It tastes and looks good! I don't have a full list of cookies like I do for cupcakes.  I just go on a asking basis....you have a cookie you like/want...you ask me...I bake it! 

Side note:  the holidays are just around the corner and cookie exchanges are very popular.  If you have a cookie exchange to attend but don't have the time (or don't want to) make 9 dozen cookies....call me! I'd be more than happy to do it.  I also offer cookie decorating kits at Christmas time (includes 2 dozen cookies, 3 colors of frosting, and 3 colors of sprinkles), so order a kit to decorate with the kids, friends, or co-workers.  These are also good to order for birthday parties or sleepovers all year round.

(Some popular cookies- sugar cookie cutouts, sugar crackle cookies, peanut butter, cranberry white chocolate oatmeal, chocolate chip, soft ginger, and pumpkin harvest)

Pie!  Surprisingly enough, the majority of pies I have made as Steph's Sweet Treats have been for weddings.  I made banana cream pies for a wedding last year and apple and strawberry rhubarb pies for a wedding this past weekend.  Both had pies in addition to cupcakes.  The pies on the left were gluten free apple pies made last year.  Fall screams pie to me, so it is likely that I will throw a pie or two into my open days.  They would be for sale as a whole pie, not by the slice.  So if you are a pie lover, keep an eye out.  My husband has a new found love for pie after eating a strawberry rhubarb pie I made a few weeks ago...he now thinks we need a pie in the house at all times!

Other treats-
Bars- brownies, scotcheroos, chocolate oatmeal bars, raspberry oatmeal bars, pumpkin bars, banana bars, etc
Cinnamon roll muffins (or other muffins)
Chocolate chip cookie dough truffles
Cheesecake- carrot cake cheesecake, New York style cheesecake, raspberry cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, etc.
Quick breads- pumpkin, banana, strawberry rhubarb, apple, etc.

Other treats not traditionally found in a bakery that I make at home, just need to test out at the bakery before the holidays:
Caramel corn
Homemade marshmallows-want to sell as a kit with homemade cocoa mix

In other words....if you want a sweet treat....I do my best to meet your needs! While cupcakes are the main focus or the bakery and at open days, I want people to be aware there is more to Steph's Sweet Treats.  Because not everyone wants cupcakes...what??...crazy...I know!!  

 I also want to incorporate some other treats here and there at open days so people have a chance to try more goodies!  I'm thinking (depending on the month) a whole pie or cake, cookies, small loaves of a quick bread, or individually wrapped bars.  Granted, it all depends on the month and how much time I have, but I hope to have a few of these items at the October open day!  Don't want to wait for an open day?  Order whenever you want!

Thanks for another week of orders!  Two more weeks of multi-wedding madness and then I think I can breathe again...I love every minute of it!...except for the dishes :)

I have had countless people relive memories when they come to my shop.  My building has been many things over the years, but it is most remembered for being Ward Brodt Music.  In fact, I have relatives who bought instruments here!  Before I made it Steph's Sweet Treats, it was an office.  Sooo....it wasn't exactly set up for baking!  The journey of making it a bakery was a stressful, interesting, and rewarding one.  So I thought I'd show you the changes Steph's Sweet Treats has undergone since then.  

This is the day the building became mine.  What an exciting day!  Then the nerves set in...I had to remodel and make a name for myself.  I didn't know how the community would react to my new business, especially since I'm not a traditional bakery with regular hours.  Thankfully, my husband and family believed in me!

Oooh...ahhh...right?  Just kidding.  These pictures don't look like much I know...but this is what the building looked like when I got it.  Three rooms..not much else.  The top picture is my front room and the two rooms on the bottom have now become my kitchen.  I knocked down the wall and added a whole bunch of stuff!

Above are some progress pictures I had of the kitchen remodel.  The floors were ripped up and replaced with concrete and pretty speckles, I got cabinetry from Habitat Restore, plumbing had to be added for my three compartment sink, which I got from a Quizno's that went out of business and I got my work table from another bakery.  For the most part, the kitchen looks the same now.  I do have another work table in the back, another mixer, more decorations, more storage bins,etc....and more aprons of course.

Once the kitchen was done I got my license!!  This is my overjoyed picture with the temporary license I received before my official one got mailed.  The rest of the decorating has been in progress since then (December 31, 2013).  The front room has changed A LOT over the last year and a half, and is still changing.  

One of the first things I did to decorate the front room was paint the chevron wall.  My method was completely amateur, took so many hours...and I still can't believe I pulled it off!  I cut a cardboard square, traced it over and over until the wall was all squares...then I used the cardboard on a diagonal to make the chevron pattern, taped off every other row, and painted the other ones.  I love it!  But the rest of the front room was still pretty bare. 

I can't believe I managed to do open days with this little front counter!  Even if it wasn't an open day, this is where I had people's orders.   This alone shows me how much Steph's Sweet Treats has grown in a year. The table in the bottom of the picture got covered with photo albums, menus, and t-shirts over the year.  However, I am trying to get my front room to look less cluttered...so I have made more changes...yet again!

My amazing and talented uncle made me my new front counter at the beginning of this year and I have no idea what I would do without it.  Besides having a lot more counter space, allowing me to use four display cases instead of two, it also has a ton of storage space in the back.  Even this picture isn't completely up to date.  I have a different rug in front...but it's still cupcakes!

Like I mentioned above, I want to make the front room more decorative and less cluttered, so I got some new furniture...well new to Steph's Sweet Treats.  I got a new table and chair set and custom buffet from the amazingly talented Perfectly Imperfect-for the home.  Check her out, I'm totally using her to furnish my house next!

I'm not completely done decorating these new items.  I plan on putting the photo albums on the wall next to the door so that I can free up the whole table.  I will fold down the front leaf and leave it simple with the table runner, jar, and chairs.  I just threw some things on the buffet so that it didn't look completely bare.  I will be moving the albums and adding other items...still figuring it out.  I'm also removing the cupcake on the wall (not pictured) and putting something fun up.  You'll have to wait for pictures of that one...so watch the facebook page!

So while I'm finally almost done decorating, I still have some things I want to do to Steph's Sweet Treats.  I want to add some more shelves in my kitchen and replace the big black storage shelves that make everything look cluttered in the front room with enclosed white cabinets.  Those will have to be custom made...so I just want to wait for one of my talented relatives to get some free time. :)

I hope to make Steph's Sweet Treats a memory spot for people. Years from now I want for people to be able to say "remember when" and reminisce over great Steph's Sweet Treats memories! 

Thanks for another week of orders!

It's not technically fall yet, but the recent cool down (by recent I mean one day) has me ready for fall.  I have decided my favorite season is fall....for so many reasons! Cool weather...which means sweaters, sweatshirts, jeans, and boots, going to the apple orchard, fall decorations, and pumpkin.....pumpkin flavored everything!  What else is great about fall??  All the wonderful fall flavored cupcakes Steph's Sweet Treats has to offer!

If you love the flavors of fall, you should check out these Steph's Sweet Treats fall flavors!  If you've tried some already, make sure to let me know what your favorite was.

Calling all apple lovers!

Apple pie cupcakes (left): Apple cupcake, filled with apple filling, topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and topped with more apple filling.  Time to turn pie eaters into cupcake eaters....ok you can eat both.

Caramel apple cupcakes (right): Apple cupcake with apple filling, topped with buttercream ring, caramel, and rimmed with salted peanuts.  All the goodness of a caramel apple, without the mess!

Not pictured-  Apple cider and caramel apple cider cupcakes.  The apple cider cupcake are an apple cider cupcake with cinnamon brown sugar frosting and the caramel apple cider cupcakes are an apple cider cupcake with caramel frosting.

Pumpkin lovers gather here...these fall flavors are for you!

Pumpkin pie cupcake (left) is the newest fall flavored cupcake to Steph's Sweet Treats.  It is a vanilla cupcake with a graham cracker crust, pumpkin filling, whipped frosting and a dusting of pumpkin pie spice.

Pumpkin (right): done my way... Which means how I want to eat a pumpkin cupcake.  This is the pumpkin cupcake I created when a former cheerleading friend of mine got married and I had the pleasure of making her cupcakes.  She asked for pumpkin...so I made these pumpkin cupcakes with a graham cracker crust and cinnamon brown sugar frosting.  You can also get pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and no crust.

Not pictured: pumpkin spice latte.  Pumpkin spice latte (PSL) is all the rage in the fall.  So why not have it in cupcake form?  My pumpkin spice latte cupcake is a pumpkin cupcake infused with espresso, topped with a whipped frosting and caramel drizzle.

Pumpkin and apple aren't the only fall flavors available!  Here are a few more flavors that will make any fall lover happy!

Chai latte (left)- chai tea spice infused vanilla cupcake (cinnamon, cardamon, ginger, etc) with chai latte whipped frosting and dusting of chai spice mix.
Cranberry bliss- brown sugar cupcake with orange zest, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries, topped with orange zest buttercream, white chocolate chips, and dried cranberries. 
Triple salted caramel-  Caramel isn't an outright fall flavor, but I love it and I love fall.... so I'm including it!  This is a brown sugar cupcake with salted caramel buttercream and salted caramel drizzle.

Not pictured:  Sweet Potato Pie- Sweet potato cupcake with a graham cracker crust, topped with marshmallow buttercream and pecans.

Get your fall cupcakes today! And as always, thanks for another week of orders!

Even though I deemed August to be birthday mania month, I still had quite a few weddings.  Sooooo in case you didn't see them on my Facebok page...here they are!

August 15- 300 cupcakes at the Sportz Page in Belmont: smore, cinnamon roll, chocolate chip cookie dough, vanilla raspberry, vanilla, and chocolate twinkie.  I loved combining my tiered stand with the stair stands the couple provided. Cupcakes were also put on the head table with their beautiful painted bottles.  

The second wedding I did for August 15th was picked up and set up by a friend of the couple.  It was 124 cupcakes (carrot, chocolate chip cheesecake, and gluten free carrot) at the Aldo Leopold Nature Center.  Love the rustic wood stand they used!

The first wedding for August 22nd was at Century Barn in Mt. Horeb.  I was beyond excited to set up there (I have always wanted to).  To top it off...I got to set up on old whiskey barrels...another thing I have always wanted to do!!  So far this set up is probably one of my favorites (if not my very favorite).  I used a combination of my gold stands, stairs, and crates to set up: monster cookie, chocolate chip cookie dough, funfetti, triple salted caramel, lemon raspberry, and chocolate peanut butter craving cupcakes.

I did another wedding on August 22nd.... but sadly I don't have pictures yet!  (Tears)  I made 264 cupcakes: chocolate peanut butter, dark irish, lemon raspberry, vanilla strawberry, smore, and dairy free chocolate.  Hopefully I will have pictures of this wedding to post soon!

The last wedding of the month was 250 cupcakes at Deer Valley Lodge in Barneveld: red velvet, vanilla, vanilla raspberry, chocolate, and chocolate mint.  I have done a setup with these stairs and crates before, and I was so happy that even though I have done this set up, it still looked very different because of the location and table decorations.  I felt like a sneaky undercover person or something setting up this wedding.  The couple was getting married right outside the reception hall so we had to get in and out quickly.  So right before the ceremony we got into the hall, started setting up as they got married, and were snapping pictures as we heard the clapping.  That was our signal to skedaddle!  We drove away as the receiving line was going....success!

Thanks for another week of orders!  My crazy September has officially started :)