Maui Baker Mary Ann Lyons of Uppity Cup may have started off doing wedding cakes as the main part of her business. But now she's on a roll with a variety of gourmet cupcakes.
"I bake any and all gourmet cupcakes, including vanilla, strawberry, espresso, pumpkin and carrot. It's the same formulas I use in my wedding cakes. Only you get miniature versions."
Currently, Lyons uses the commercial kitchen at Patti Cakes Bakery on Lower Main Street in Wailuku, as she doesn't have one of her own. Customers must special order.
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Baker Mary Ann Lyons showcases Hi Hats, an old bakery favorite from New York City. Basically, they are chocolate cupcakes with a fluffy Italian meringue filling.
The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo
"The more lead time, the better," she says. "I'm also open to restaurants ordering cupcakes or putting them on their menus."
Her signature cupcake is the Hi Hat, an old bakery favorite in New York City.
"Martha Stewart made them on her show. They are really popular because now people want a taste of their childhoods. They're nostalgic."
For the Hi Hats, Lyons bakes a rich and dense chocolate cupcake, and then swirls Italian meringue in different flavors on top. It's completed with a dark chocolate coating.
"I'm from Detroit, but I've been here for 20 years," she says. "I attended pastry classes at Maui Culinary Academy. Teresa 'Cheech' Shurilla was my instructor. She's fabulous. My cupcakes cost $3.50 each and are done in the European style with no hydrogenated oils or confectioner's sugar. The minimum order is half a dozen." Visit www.weddingcakesonmaui.com or call 268-9166.
