Interview with Krystina Castella

	I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to interview Krystina Castella, the author of Crazy About Cupcakes, which features nearly 300 cupcake varieties to choose from, with bonus chart- and template-filled chapter focusing on flavor combinations and design elements. She also shares some of her great cupcake ideas (such as the fabulous Tiki cupcakes below) on her website: crazyaboutcupcakes.com.
Buy this book on Amazon
(photo used with permission from Krystina Castella)
	About Krystina Castella Krystina is an industrial designer who designs environments, furniture, clothing, stationery, house wares, toys and cupcakes. She is a professor at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena California. Visit her website: crazyaboutcupcakes.com (photo used with permission from Krystina Castella)
CZ: What makes you "crazy about cupcakes"? KC: I particularly love the creative opportunities that cupcakes provide because they are quick and I can make a batch of 24 and make each one different. Cupcakes are friendly! Cupcakes are stylish! Cupcakes are nostalgic! Finally, cupcakes are portable! CZ: Where do you get your inspirations from? KC: Everywhere. Fine art, illustration, sculpture, ingredients, fashion and cultural trends. I collect all of the materials ingredients and images and lay them all out on the table and start designing. I then test them out by baking several ingredients combinations CZ: Of the hundreds of cupcake varieties in your book, which are your personal favorites? KC: For taste-everything with chocolate because I love chocolate.  For decorating I love all of tiered cupcakes made with the stacking method I created.  I use stacking of cupcakes to create unique flavors like the mini tea party cupcakes and the wedding cakes.  CZ: Who taught you how to bake or are you self-taught? KC: Every Sunday I baked with my grandmother and I baked on my own all of the time form when I was about 5 or 6.  I am educated as an industrial designer and am a professor in the field.  So how does an industrial designer like me get into writing cookbooks? I have always loved playing with materials. I usually start designing products with a box of materials instead of a sketchpad and paper. I built an industrial design company that launched and internationally distributed more than seventy-five new products including furniture, toys, clothing, stationery, house wares and soft goods. Once I learn about manufacturing in one material I move on to learn about the next. I approach cooking and baking and develop new recipes and design food in the same way. CZ: When experimenting with different flavors and creating different recipes, have you ever experienced any disastrous result that you’d like to warn us about? KC: Not really CZ: What’s your non-cupcake favorite dessert? KC: Popsicles- You can check out my other book on icypops.com to see what I do with them. With Pops! Icy treats for everyone I wanted to upscale another kids’ food for adults to enjoy. My obsession with pops goes way back to when I was a kid but it also perfectly meshes my experience as an industrial designer and knowledge of food and mold making to create fun and tasty pops. The transparency and texture of ice is also a fantastic material to experiment with. I consider two features when making pops: the recipe and the shape. Sometimes I think healthy, others fancy and indulgent. Many of my pops are inspired by flavors, forms, patterns and rituals from around the globe. CZ: If you could invite any 5 people in the world to your private cupcake party, who would you invite? KC: My idea of a private cupcake party is not with five people but 1 my husband Brian Boyl. We are avid backpackers and nature people. We spend 10 weeks a year off the grid in the woods and if we could figure out how to bring cupcakes for the long journeys that would be ideal. We have only been able to pack a couple that last a day or two. CZ: What are you working on next? KC: I am playing around with cookies and cakes.  I have a couple of books that I have been working on since Pops coming out in 2010. Thank you, Krystina!