The Test Kitchen has been developing gorgeous new flavors so that we have a nice, full menu of choices available for our grand opening! Some recent additions include: "Lucy, A Sassy Redhead" – Lucy is a tart lemon cake with raspberry buttercream "Curious George" – Our Signature Scharffen Berger Chocolate cake with banana frosting "Black & White" – Scharffen Berger chocolate cake with white chocolate buttercream It's berry season, so I also have been working on luscious cupcake versions of my favorite summer treats. Think cobblers, shortcakes, summertime drinks like root beer floats, and of course, dreamsicles! Believe it or not, I already am working on seasonal flavors for fall. I will let you know more about those in the next newsletter, but seasonal items like crisp apples, squashes and caramel, along with cinnamon, nutmeg and clove (oh my!) will figure prominently.

			I am continuing to build the Hello Cupcake custom cupcake portfolio (we call them our "Bespoke" cupcakes) with fun decorations, such as the Swiss flags on mini cupcakes seen here in the top photo. I made 200 of these for an event at the Swiss Embassy. The cupcakes themselves were lemon cake with – what else? Swiss white chocolate frosting! Another recent bespoke job were the GW graduation cupcakes seen on the left. I also am receiving quite a bit of interest for Bespoke Cupcakes for weddings this fall. We can do simple monograms, colors to go with your event theme, or advise on set-up and tower decorations. A related development is that we will be selling cupcake towers in the shop. These come unadorned – a blank slate ready for you to express your creativity.

	New products If you're checking out the website often, you may have noticed this bit of good news. We have added gluten-free and vegan cupcakes to our product line-up! Because everyone deserves a cupcake! One flavor of each gluten-free and vegan will be offered every day on a rotating basis, and they always are available for special order as well. Fun fact about vegan cake: I recently learned that the recipe I am using for vegan chocolate cake also was once known as "depression cake." Because dairy and eggs were in short supply during the depression, ingenious bakers had to make do with available ingredients. The lack of all those other rich ingredients actually lets the deep chocolate flavor truly shine in these cupcakes. No "depression" here! You may find yourself having them even if you're not vegan. It's Easy Being Green! Hello Cupcake is committed to reducing our impact on the environment. You may already have read about some of our efforts to do so, but now we are making it official – Hello Cupcake is becoming a "Certified Green Restaurant." Read more about it at the website of the Green Restaurant Association – www.dinegreen.com. To kick off our effort, we will be offering single "Cup-A-Cake" reusable cupcake carriers for sale in the shop. With your purchase, you receive your first cupcake free! I couldn't let you walk out of the store with an empty cupcake carrier. It's a win-win...free cupcake for you, and the reusable container means less waste for the environment!

Holy moly – it's moving fast! I know it may not look like it from the outside, but consider this: we started with a completely empty shell about five weeks ago (and I mean completely – no plumbing, no AC, nothing – just a box) and now all piping and plumbing is installed, all heating, air and ductwork is complete, electrical wiring is complete, custom cases and countertops are built, indoor café furniture is on its way, outdoor furniture has arrived, and flooring is being installed. See what I mean? And to whet your appetite (for design)* here is a simple rendering of the cupcake display and sales area. Swanky, no? While we are moving fast, our schedule has changed a bit from the last newsletter. We are now looking at an opening date in mid- to late-July. I will keep you posted with a more definite opening date both here and on the website. You will be the first to know! To whet your cupcake appetite, visit www.hellocupcakeonline.com. Best, Penny Karas Owner and Executive Pastry Chef