Rockabilly-Online

Sprinkles cupcakes

I was watching MTV cribs last week (in the Netherlands) and there it was… I’m not talking about that massive mansion, the numerous cars… no… there it was… a box of pinkalicious, chocoplosion, creamacious SPRINKLES cupcakes! I never seen such a beauties where I live. We have no Sprinkles bakery in our country. But I can almost taste them by looking at the pictures.

So what’s got cupcakes to do with Rockabilly? I think they look very classic and would perfectly fit in Audrey Hepburns hand while talking to Doris Day in a scene where they have tea with Sprinkles cupcakes. Wouldn’t they?

Who is the creator of these lovely wannabites? Candace Nelson ladies and gentlemen. She was busy filming Cupcake wars but found the time for a chat with Rockabilly-online. 

Candace, you grew up in Indonesia. What influences did you pick up from that time?
Growing up in Indonesia influenced my appreciation of food. Indonesian cuisine is delicious, fiery and full of flavor but it’s not well known for desserts. As a result I really missed and craved the traditional American desserts I used to eat in the US. Since I couldn’t find chocolate chip cookies, brownies and cupcakes in Indonesia, I had to bake them myself. This was the beginning of my passion for baking American desserts!

Spinkles Cupcakes

Your great grandmother was known for the desserts she created at her San Francisco restaurant in the 1930s. Do you know what kind of desserts she made?

My great grandmother created pure, delicious, uncomplicated pastries – the result of her French culinary roots and American working life.  Growing up, I baked in the kitchen with my mother pastry recipes that were passed down from generation to generation.

Sprinkles cares for her community? Were you involved with good causes before you started Sprinkles? Or did you ever dream of being able to do this for the community?
Before Sprinkles, I was involved in my local community and helped organize charitable galas and solicit donations.  I always knew that if Sprinkles was successful, we would give back to our local communities and beyond.  We made our commitment to the community one of the core tenets of our mission statement.  That being said, I never dreamed we would get to the point we are now only 5 years after opening our first store.  Since opening in 2005, Sprinkles is proud to have donated over $1.5 million in cash and cupcakes to charities in our local communities and around the world.

Do you have more community helping plans for the future?
We have some very successful charitable campaigns that we do on a yearly basis, including our pink ribbon cupcakes for women’s cancer research, earth day cupcakes for environmental organizations, and Red River Rivalry cupcakes for children’s hospitals.  Other charitable events are held regularly in-store throughout the year and we continue to donate regularly to charitable fundraising events outside our store.  We also plan to continue our nightly donations to local food banks (we never sell leftover cupcakes so all these are donated).  Furthermore, with every new store opening, we have been donating $25,000 to a local charity.  We are excited to be opening in San Diego, DC, and New York in the next 6 months, which will equate another $75,000 to charity!

Sprinkles Cupcakes

Do you have other passions?

Besides baking, my other passion is being a mother.  I have a three year old son and another one on the way.  I spend any free time I have with my son.

At such a young age, he changes dramatically from week to week – I don’t want to miss a moment!

What’s your favorite hideaway?
My home!  It is tucked away in the hills overlooking Los Angeles.  At home, I feel isolated enough from the city to experience a sense of serenity, but close enough to not feel deserted!

Which celebrity would you love to send a box of your finest cupcakes?
Oprah!  Barbra Streisand sent Oprah a box of cupcakes when we first opened in Beverly Hills.  A few months later, Oprah had our cupcakes on the show and that really put Sprinkles on the map.  We would love to hand-deliver a box of cupcakes to her as a thank you!