tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-24889788826746444192024-03-13T11:54:26.609-04:00Flyincupcake Creations!April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.comBlogger56125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-942070899709514062012-08-04T20:26:00.000-04:002012-08-04T20:30:37.812-04:00Randy's Donuts, Inglewood, CA Review<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RrhhB74BzsR_PtfixNzG-CtPoL9hI9aqEIFUexwtwjLwrVUuB1oCGUqzAcgYfP26H_blo0lGee9mfzITYSWgSwdnU322f8cUjtRoufc3USP37X_NNcmLpxJ05YLFXWtgQ7m9Z_KZpNc/s1600/randy.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" eda="true" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0RrhhB74BzsR_PtfixNzG-CtPoL9hI9aqEIFUexwtwjLwrVUuB1oCGUqzAcgYfP26H_blo0lGee9mfzITYSWgSwdnU322f8cUjtRoufc3USP37X_NNcmLpxJ05YLFXWtgQ7m9Z_KZpNc/s320/randy.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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I am in Los Angeles waiting to work a red eye to DC this evening and I am looking for ways to keep awake for the flight. The last red eye flight I worked it took me two days to recover. I am so not a night owl. I do not have time to recover from this flight as this is the first day of a four day trip, so I am loading up on Rockstar and sugar hoping the sugar rush will last the 5 hours it will take us to get to DC. Randy's Donuts has the perfect sugar rush solution. I found Randy's Donuts from my handy dandy little iphone app called TV Food Maps. Randy's Donuts was only a mile walk from the hotel so I would get a nice little walk in as well.</div>
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Randy's Donuts is a no frills donut drive through. I had Krispy Creme only once. Krispy Creme is way too dangerous for me. The first time I experienced Krispy Creme my girlfriend and I were driving down the road when she saw the red "fresh" sign turn on and my girlfriend scream "OH MY GOODNESS! THE FRESH SIGN TURNED ON"! She almost got us into a car accident making a uturn into the parking lot. I was thinking to myself what is the big deal. It's a donut. Then I ate one, then I ate another, and another. I ate 4 donuts. Yes, I am quite embarrassed. Needless to say, I avoid Krispy Creme donuts like the plague. I ordered 6 glazed donuts today at Randy's Donuts and one chocolate cake donut . I was totally thinking to myself that if God won't make me skinny, I will make my fellow flight attendants fat and share the sugary treats. If my fellow flight attendants won't eat them then I will give them to the pilots. The pilots will eat anything. I asked the super friendly girl behind the counter (I love super nice and friendly people who you can tell love their jobs), "So, who is better, Krispy Creme or Randy's"? The girl behind the counter smiled and said, "You will be back tomorrow". I guess Randy's is the winner in her eyes. When I bit into the chocolate cake donut, I was not impressed. However, when I bit into the glazed donut it melted in my mouth. I died and went to donut heaven. Randy's Donuts appear to be bigger than Krispy Creme donuts and they taste just as good as I remembered Krispy Creme to be if not better. </div>
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I have a new place to visit whenever I layover into LAX. I am curious to hear everyone else's opinion. Please comment your preference, Krispy Creme or Randy's Donuts and why. Thank you for your sweet tooth opinion! </div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-77075294597275402122012-07-25T22:00:00.000-04:002012-07-26T09:21:24.593-04:00Magnolia Cafe and Bakery in Webster, TX Review<div style="text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sometimes it's not about the cupcake, it's about the cake, and sometimes it's not about the place, it's about the company you keep. </span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="P11"><a class="P14" href="http://www.facebook.com/magnoliacafeandbakery" id="m_isp" target="_blank">http://www.facebook.com/magnoliacafeandbakery</a></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My friend David and I went to <a href="http://www.magnoliacafeandbakery.com/v2/index.html">Magnolias Cafe and Bakery in Webster, TX</a> for coffee and dessert tonite around 7:00pm. The cafe was fairly empty and you could tell the staff was winding down for the day. My friend ordered the German Chocolate cake and I ordered a strawberry cake ball and a red velvet cake ball. I would have ordered the only cupcake they offered, which was a chocolate cupcake, but it resembled the chocolate disaster cupcake I had baked a few years ago (actually looking at this picture, my cupcake looked more appealing). </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://cupcakesbyapril.blogspot.com/2010/07/looks-can-be-very-deceiving.html">http://cupcakesbyapril.blogspot.com/2010/07/looks-can-be-very-deceiving.html</a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We also ordered coffee but had to wait for a fresh pot. I was very impressed that they were honest about the age of the coffee. Most coffee connoisseurs would rather wait for a fresh pot than be mislead with stale coffee out of shear laziness from the staff. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">As we were bantering over next year's potential super bowl champion (I of course picked the only team possible...Hello! The STEELERS.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> I watched my friend eat his German Chocolate cake while I attempted to sawed through my cake balls. My friend said eating his cake reminded him of when he growing up and remembering what a good cook and baker his mother was and how she always made things from scratch. I would have to say that his German Chocolate cake tasted pretty darn good then. However, attempting to even see the inside of one of my cake ball reminded me of the time I received a fresh ostrich egg and how I had to use a hammer to crack it open. (Blonde trivia: Do you know how many chicken eggs equals one ostrich egg? 24! That makes a whole lot of cupcakes.) When I finally broke into the cake balls neither the strawberry nor the red velvet did anything for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you ever are in the area, I would recommend you only stick with Magnolia's cakes and before reaching for the coffee ask when it was last brewed. The cafe itself was somewhat inviting and there is a very large dining area. </span></div>
<br />April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-43848826837151613862012-07-15T17:15:00.000-04:002012-07-16T21:07:59.748-04:00Cupcakes in Vegas Baby!<div style="text-align: justify;">
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was scheduled a 10 hour layover in Las Vegas landing around 7:30 PM. I
frantically googled cupcakes within walking distance from our hotel and
found <a href="http://www.bellagio.com/restaurants/jean-philippe.aspx/" target="_blank"><i>Jean</i>-<i>Philippe</i> Chocolates and Pastries at the Bellagio<span style="color: black;">.</span></a><br />
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<img alt="http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/images/bellfountain.jpg" height="240" src="http://www.vegas.com/attractions/on_the_strip/images/bellfountain.jpg" width="320" /><br />
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<span style="color: black;">I
introduced my cupcaking world to Lorena, one of the other flight
attendants working with me, and invited her to make the short trek to the Bellagio.
In the two blocks we walked, we passed vagrants, stray dogs, a vagrant
with a pet cat (that's a new site for me), limos, limos with people
sitting out the window screaming and many street performers. I had been to Vegas briefly two times before on the way to Hawaii, but I never seen
the street performers. I had an</span><b><i> </i></b>epiphany!
Wouldn't it be cool if I got my picture taken with Bumblebee from the
transformers. I handed my camera to Lorena and said take a pic. I
walked up to the bumblebee dude and he literally stepped away from me
and said "I work for money". At that moment, I was totally mortified! I
can be so small town sometimes! I had no idea that you had to pay
people to get your picture taken with them. I could understand paying
street performers, ya know the kind that play the saxophone beautifully,
or the dancers that are so awesome they make it on the show "So You
Think You Can Dance", but he was just standing there! <span style="color: black;">At
least street performers have a tip jar so you know they want money! So
anyway Lorena and I walked away with no picture of Bumblebee. When we arrived
at the Jean-Philippe Chocolates at the Bellagio, there was a crowd of
people at the entrance taking pictures of a huge display. The display was the
worlds largest chocolate fountain. The fountain stands 27 feet high and
circulates 2,100 pounds of chocolate (120 quarts) a minute. It's quite
impressive.</span></div>
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<img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5236330493944060402" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPjbg1YdY-TTlLVypkF5vDtduoOg6u7hS1DPQJ7KOo-pSwiZv7oMzRsnvsrR6vTaI4al8pnRLaHsMVKDtsohCyerNA7t1WApv7YdBo7CkgXS-ad8J9i7nm_sdWGzubLUM3oIvABOwUbn2q/s400/02.jpg" style="cursor: hand; display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;" /><span style="color: black;">Everything
at Jean-Philippe Patisserie looked wonderfully delicious! There were
even little mini wedding cakes just in case you had one of those quickie
Vegas weddings for $20 bucks a pop.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by foodspotting.com</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;">We
looked at all the delicious desserts and finally came upon the cupcake
section. There were only 3 to choose from but I had a feeling no matter
which one we picked, they were going to be fabulous. I, of course,
picked the Triple Chocolate cupcake and Lorena picked a Red Velvet
cupcake. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcr_FH-AnnGHpM-El-YXdzgZgLS7khfiUpdtgEpW2plA8Qt1qZRraUofbKOsHyZRp5HpBpO6yFWr0N0XJ2oK2ujfkfJ3XLkKcDlu0lYi5VQRibMndxEG6wjnsJPFLtEIrKkF32yDhJbM/s1600/jeanphilippe.JPG" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkcr_FH-AnnGHpM-El-YXdzgZgLS7khfiUpdtgEpW2plA8Qt1qZRraUofbKOsHyZRp5HpBpO6yFWr0N0XJ2oK2ujfkfJ3XLkKcDlu0lYi5VQRibMndxEG6wjnsJPFLtEIrKkF32yDhJbM/s320/jeanphilippe.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;">Our
cupcakes were so pretty we didn't want to eat them. Both our cupcakes
were super fabulous. I had never tasted a cupcake quite like it. The
frosting on each cupcake was more like a rich chocolate mousse and the
cake was just so incredibly moist. Next time I am in Vegas I am going to
try this little set up called a Sweet Trio. It has a rose macaroon, a
mini creme brulee, and a peanut cake pop. </span><a class="l" href="http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&frm=1&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CGAQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fen.wikipedia.org%2Fwiki%2FCr%25C3%25A8me_br%25C3%25BBl%25C3%25A9e&ei=160EUMncD8egrAGd6IjJCA&usg=AFQjCNGnQ0Pq521_K-oUlrGSEdadOY9JFg"> </a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo by vanfoods.com</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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<span style="color: black;"> </span>April Gillespiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05474864044864505789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-49394175532965395952012-07-12T22:57:00.000-04:002012-07-12T23:03:36.438-04:00Somethin Sweet Review in Deer Park, TX<br />
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<a href="http://www.somethingsweetdp.com/" target="_blank">http://www.somethingsweetdp.com/</a></div>
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It's been a long time coming. Although blogging about cupcakes has been out sight, it has not been out of mind. I wanted to bake Snickerdoodle cupcakes for my new inflight friend Tyler, but I couldn't find the time this week when I was home. If there was a way to bake cupcakes in a hotel room in the microwave and it was edible, I would be the microwave cupcake master. Fear not girlfriend! before the month is out there will be a cute little cupcake box on top of your V file filled with your Snickerdoodle cupcakes.<br />
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On our way home from the airport I begged Toby my roommate to stop by a cupcake shop. Any shop! It didn't matter. I just needed a cupcake fix. Something Sweet in Deep Park, TX was what we narrowed our search down to based on their location and yelp reviews. Something Sweet is location on a corner lot off of a main road with easy access in and out of their shop. When we entered Something Sweet the smell was just overwhelmingly wonderful. If you were not in the mood for cupcakes before you entered the store, I can guarantee you were after taking one whiff of those freshly baked cupcakes. They have at least 10 different cupcakes available daily. They all looked beautiful! There were two teenager boys (forgive me I forgot your names) behind the counter who were upbeat and friendly. As we were trying to pick just a few cupcakes a woman was waiting behind us. We let her go in front of us. She knew right away which cupcakes she wanted. She asked us if it was our first time at Something Sweet and we said "yes". She said, "You are in for a treat. I usually never make it out of this shop with just two cupcakes". Toby and I narrowed our cupcake pickins to Peanut Butter Bliss, Italian Creme Cake, and Cookies 'N Cream.<br />
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Both Toby and I picked a Peanut Butter Bliss cupcake. Who doesn't love peanut butter!! This cupcake is a chocolate cupcake with butterscotch and peanut butter chips topped with a fluffy peanut butter buttercream. We arrived at the store around 5:30 PM. I can tell you from previous visits to other cupcakeries most are dried out by the end of the day. I have to say I was pleasantly surprised at how moist these cupcakes were. The peanut butter buttercream was a bit sweet but you can definitely taste the peanut butter in it. <br />
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I ordered the Italian Cream Cake cupcake. I have great memories of the most wonderful tasting cream cake from an Italian Bakery in South Carolina. This cupcake had a wonderful cake texture. As I am typing this review I read the description from their website <a href="http://www.somethinsweetdp.com/menu">http://www.somethinsweetdp.com/menu</a> and it describes it as filled with fresh coconut and walnuts. I had no idea Italian cream cake had coconut in it. I did not taste any coconut in the cupcake but I did taste many walnuts. The cupcake cake was delicious even if I couldn't taste any coconut. The cream cheese buttercream was wonderful as well. I did not taste any cream cheese though. It also was not as sweet as the peanut butter bliss buttercream. Again, this cupcake was just wonderfully fresh and tasty. I will be coming back to try the Chocolate Chip Cheesecake which was suggested by one of the teenage boys and I am curious about as the key lime. <br />
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Toby ordered the Cookies N' Cream based on the suggestion of one of the teenage boys. He said his cupcake was great. I can only assume he was speaking the truth becuase he didn't even let me have a bite. Just to make it fair, I didn't share my Italian Cream Cake with him so we are even!<br />
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I would definately reccommend this shop to anyone needing a cupcake fix. The prices are very reasonable at $ 2.75 a piece.April Gillespiehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05474864044864505789noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-40060222685536230812011-09-25T11:30:00.000-04:002011-10-25T16:33:31.850-04:00Apple Shaped Cake Pops<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></b></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQQxuSduPM2KdWljzO7lyib7Jqk_EFYHXVWfaymx2LtFZaWUTLTzBr-kw2mfL_trb7HM-VXwt-lIRuwDOZn2WNft1P7r7Vowf_e0xFVhtvwcoqt7XtTWh6yXmT6q3ggQP3EywhLfRefY/s1600/IMG00790-20110821-2113%255B1%255D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240px" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRQQxuSduPM2KdWljzO7lyib7Jqk_EFYHXVWfaymx2LtFZaWUTLTzBr-kw2mfL_trb7HM-VXwt-lIRuwDOZn2WNft1P7r7Vowf_e0xFVhtvwcoqt7XtTWh6yXmT6q3ggQP3EywhLfRefY/s320/IMG00790-20110821-2113%255B1%255D.jpg" width="320px" /></a></div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></b></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"></span></b></span><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Well its that time of year again. The kids are heading back to school and to after school sporting activities and back on a full weekly schedule. Some Moms cry happy tears because they finally get a relief from summer entertaining while some other moms cry tears of sadness because they miss their babies. I am the mom that BAKES! I will bake for teachers, the football team, the cheerleading team, anybody that wants or needs sweets. I am the mom for that. This year my baby is starting high school and knowing she loves my cupcake pops I told her I was going to be making apple cupcake pops to pass out to her teachers. If you have a teenager, you can imagine the horrific look on my daughters face when I said that. Because she is my baby, I already knew what her reaction was going to be. I did get my laugh for the day. I made the apple cupcake pops but instead of passing them out to her teachers we gave them to the cheerleaders. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">These pops were so easy to make. The only hard part was finding the leaves to place on top. We eventually decided to use green Mike and Ikes. I thought they worked pretty well.</span></div><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 box of cake mix - any flavor (I used vanilla. I wanted it to look like the inside of an apple)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">¾ tub of ready made frosting - any flavor (I used vanilla)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">24 lollipop sticks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">1 bag of red candy melts</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Styrofoam block or 2x4 with holes drilled in it to hold the dipped cake balls</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">24 chocolate dipped pretzel sticks</span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">24 green Mike and Ike</span><br />
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<ol><li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Make and bake cake according to box directions. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When cake is completely cooled crumble the entire cake into a bowl. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Mix ¾ tub of ready made frosting into the crumbled cake <span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">(you might just have to roll your sleeves up and dig in with your hands)</span>. </span>Most recipes call for the entire tub, but I think it is too moist. </span> <span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When cake and frosting is moist and mixed, shape into 1 inch balls. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Place cake balls on a greased cookie sheet. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Put a lollipop stick in each cake ball and place in refrigerator until firm. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Once cake balls are firm, lightly pinch the bottom of the cake ball where the stick is attached to form the shape of an apple. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Indent the top of the ball to form the shape of where the stem will be going. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">If cake balls have gotten soft, place back in refrigerator until firm again. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Melt the candy melts in a double boiler. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When the cake balls are firm dip them in the melted candy melts. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Shake excess off and place in the Styrofoam or wooden holder. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Take a chocolate dipped pretzel and place in the top indention. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Take a Mike and Ike and place it crooked next to the pretzel stick on the top of the apple. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Stand back and Say “AWWWW”. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Repeat dipping process until all the cake balls are dipped and decorated. </span></li>
<li><span style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue",Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">I had a stem and leaf helper during the dipping process because it can get pretty messy. </span></li>
</ol>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-28191934902519865642011-07-29T13:32:00.001-04:002012-07-13T10:02:37.107-04:00Waldorf-Astoria Red Cake Recipe <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">thecupcakerecipes.com</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A friend of mine recently baked me some red velvet cupcakes. I was told it was a recipe their mother made and that she was a VERY good cook. I thought the cupcakes were delicious! The recipe they used was a Waldorf-Astoria recipe. What I find most interesting about the original Waldorf-Astoria recipe is that it does not include the most popular cream cheese frosting that everyone so often uses, but a cooked creamy custard-like frosting. HEAVEN! Had I not tasted this frosting I would have just skimmed over any frosting recipes that ever said the word "cook" and/or the word "flour".</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The true origin of the Red Velvet cake is a mystery. One of the more popular stories involving this chocolate cake was believed to be around 1959, when a woman dining at the elegant Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City was served the dessert. She was so pleased with this early </span><a href="https://www.1-800-bakery.com/info/red-velvet-cake.html"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Red Velvet</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Cake that she asked for the recipe. The kitchen obliged to her request, but she found out later she was charged $100 (or $200, depending on the version of the story) for the recipe itself. To get her revenge on the NYC Hotel, she shared the kitchen’s Red Velvet Cake recipe in the form of chain letters, which she sent to hundreds of individuals, therefore exposing the “secret” and exploding the popularity of and demand for the Red Velvet Cake as a birthday cake and elegant dessert.</span> <br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">James Beard's 1972 reference American Cookery describes three red velvet cakes varying in the amounts of shortening and butter. All use red food coloring, but the reaction of acidic vinegar and buttermilk tends to better reveal the red anthocyanin in the cocoa. Before more alkaline "Dutch Processed" cocoa was widely available, the red color would have been more pronounced. This natural tinting may have been the source for the name "</span><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_velvet_cake"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Red Velvet</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">" as well as "Devil's Food" and similar names for chocolate cakes While foods were rationed during World War II, bakers used boiled beets to enhance the color of their cakes. Boiled grated beets or beet baby food are found in some red velvet cake recipes, where they also serve to retain moisture.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In Canada the cake was a well-known dessert in the restaurants and bakeries of the Eaton's department store chain in the 1940s and 1950s. Promoted as an exclusive Eaton's recipe, with employees who knew the recipe sworn to silence, many mistakenly believed the cake to be the invention of the department store matriarch, Lady Eaton.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A resurgence in the popularity of this cake is partly attributed to the 1989 film Steel Magnolias in which the groom's cake (a southern tradition) is a red velvet cake made in the shape of an armadillo.</span><br />
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<b><a href="http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/waldorf-astoria-red-cake/detail.aspx"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">WALDORF-ASTORIA RED CAKE</span></a></b><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">INGREDIENTS</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/2 cup shortening</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 1/2 cups white sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 eggs</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 ounces red food coloring</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1/2 teaspoon salt</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar (DC cupcakes uses cider vinegar)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup buttermilk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 tablespoon baking soda</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5 tablespoons all-purpose flour</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup milk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup confectioners' sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 cup butter, softened</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1 teaspoon vanilla extract</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">DIRECTIONS</span> <br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">1.Cream together the shortening, sugar, and eggs. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">2.Make a paste with food coloring and cocoa. Add to shortening mixture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">3.Add salt and buttermilk to mixture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">4.Next add flour, vanilla, vinegar, and baking soda in that order. Mix. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">5.Bake for 30 mins. at 350 degrees in two 8" rnd greased cake pans. Let cool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">6.Frosting: Cook 5 tablespoons flour and 1 cup milk until thick, and then cool. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">7.Cream together 1 cup confect. sugar, 1 cup butter and 1 tsp. vanilla 'til fluffy. Add to flour mixture. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">8.Cut layers of cake in half lengthwise. Spread frosting on each half layer. Stack and frost over all. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Nutritional Information </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Amount Per Serving Calories: 287 Total Fat: 15.4g Cholesterol: 47mg </span><br />
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</span>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-43005437912079543752011-07-25T08:27:00.000-04:002011-07-25T08:27:40.946-04:00Almost Heaven Desserts Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBygV1_MoIS76eXBw3Mr5SqQAEjyEZUJ76CYlQYrhecapu6OBOHBhyphenhyphenCfzlMUyK8H_I7fC6MCnuJ4NV55gCuseCo8RSI0Y68LABpr3h5ZYP4eEluh5HCEjafww_d_hZG7yXwjBMIQKkg8/s1600/ALMOST+HEAVEN.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJBygV1_MoIS76eXBw3Mr5SqQAEjyEZUJ76CYlQYrhecapu6OBOHBhyphenhyphenCfzlMUyK8H_I7fC6MCnuJ4NV55gCuseCo8RSI0Y68LABpr3h5ZYP4eEluh5HCEjafww_d_hZG7yXwjBMIQKkg8/s320/ALMOST+HEAVEN.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I couldn't find any cupcake shops on my google search but a few bakeries popped up. I chose Almost Heaven Desserts for my review. If it wasn't for wanting to put West Virginia on my blog map, I probably wouldn't have stopped here. I called this bakery and asked if they had any cupcakes. They said they did. I then asked what flavors they had? They said chocolate and vanilla. I was looking for something more exotic but hey a cupcake is a cupcake! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The shop is on the corner in downtown Bridgeport, WV. They mostly specialize in cheese cakes. We ordered one of each flavor. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The vanilla cupcake had a raspberry filling and a light whipped cream frosting with sprinkles. Great frosting! Great filling! Terrible dry flavorless cupcake! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The chocolate cupcake was filled with a chocolate ganache. Again, great frosting, great filling. Terrible, dry and flavorless cupcake.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I was happy to have finally taste a cupcake frosted with a light whipped cream frosting for a change rather than the creamy sugar frosting that I have been tasting lately at. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">If you are passing through Bridgeport, WV you should definately stop at Almost Heaven Desserts and try their cheesecake and coffee. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-46751561189528163442011-07-19T09:28:00.000-04:002011-07-25T09:29:01.621-04:00The Cupcake Collection Review<div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ze0Ge7j8-eUYGkNo1H9tYR5g5uGt8XLQJyIjmDaPJ1i43sKqaAgWhITgHd2qGyxxu13utP-1o1ELrcEtQkF1XM-F4Fk2TOctA_hyphenhyphenKFvqdgSYfudz-jwdWv4v70rjLX3642JjjV29F0M/s1600/cupcake+collection.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="255" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-Ze0Ge7j8-eUYGkNo1H9tYR5g5uGt8XLQJyIjmDaPJ1i43sKqaAgWhITgHd2qGyxxu13utP-1o1ELrcEtQkF1XM-F4Fk2TOctA_hyphenhyphenKFvqdgSYfudz-jwdWv4v70rjLX3642JjjV29F0M/s320/cupcake+collection.jpg" t$="true" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;">Midway through our trip and our cupcake stops we were racing the clock, traffic, and a massive storm which was fast approaching to get to The Cupcake Collection Store before they closed at 5:30pm. We arrived about 5:10pm. We found this place on a quiet side street. This shop was a cute little house. There were two smiling boys working behind the counter. There was one person in front of us ordering, which gave us plenty of time to pick a cupcake we wanted. By the time we finished our order there was a line of customers leading out the door. Not because the counter boys were slow, but because everyone was making the mad dash to get their cupcake fix before the storm hits. We chose a strawberry cheesecake, wedding cake, and sweet potato cupcake.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9J9kgCpdfRF8OKvXQ07rZWWhH8BN41TaDhIjaVUGswNn9JOvF7ZQ6c44ZXks-CrAye09aPUAClrQZyxoWwiJjUl3EdygCyK6GL78qsy0r-XYx7nyb3TK8W0O2y8RqSPisFa4QePF-_ic/s1600/cupcake+collection1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9J9kgCpdfRF8OKvXQ07rZWWhH8BN41TaDhIjaVUGswNn9JOvF7ZQ6c44ZXks-CrAye09aPUAClrQZyxoWwiJjUl3EdygCyK6GL78qsy0r-XYx7nyb3TK8W0O2y8RqSPisFa4QePF-_ic/s320/cupcake+collection1.jpg" t$="true" width="238" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong><u>Strawberry Cheesecake</u></strong> A super moist, fresh and flavorful cupcake with the perfect amount of frosting to make a perfect light and refreshing treat.</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong><u>Wedding Cake</u></strong> Not a favorite with me. The cake seemed dry and crumbly and the frosting was super sweet and just not pleasant</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: justify;"><strong><u>Sweet Potato</u></strong>: My absolute favorite! I am not a carrot cake or spice cake fan but this cupcake was WOW! Very good with the just the right amount of frosting to top it off. I would highly reccommend this cupcake to anyone that visits this place!</div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-56902702800589767022011-07-18T15:23:00.000-04:002011-07-18T15:23:47.489-04:00Gigi's Cupcake Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3-WqKgDUbRwNgcZ29efnzGSQ56vy3_4b7l8IVpHNHVon26_ezTn2IyybeD6f4naPhfb75Sh27b9BMBJuU1Ty9Y0MilihPIEVoQWyzt1W9-hES7Q0oiepha8dOUowyjYkob7eXK_aWZQ/s1600/IMG00654-20110718-1333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEik3-WqKgDUbRwNgcZ29efnzGSQ56vy3_4b7l8IVpHNHVon26_ezTn2IyybeD6f4naPhfb75Sh27b9BMBJuU1Ty9Y0MilihPIEVoQWyzt1W9-hES7Q0oiepha8dOUowyjYkob7eXK_aWZQ/s320/IMG00654-20110718-1333.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Gigi's Cupcakes was not origionally on my cupcake sailing list, but the origional cupcake shop Muddy's Bake Shop was closed today. After screaming with Tammy (Our GPS voice. It was decited that we are changing the voice of Tammy to Army Sargent for the duration of our trip) for the last hour while driving through the city, I had to make our stop in Memphis, TN worth while. <br />
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I think I read somewhere that Gigi's cupcakes is a chain cupcake shop. In any case, this shop was bright and inviting and the cupcakes had enourmous mounds of frosting on the cupcakes. There were about 10 different flavors to choose from. All flavors looked delicious!<br />
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We ordered a Strawberry Shortcake, an Orange Dreamsicle, and a Texas Chocolate cupcake.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82WI24PAevPo3neWQNrc0gQx9T0-9Gn04rEp_ItrbZMJILthyGcj96xlIeg7hdiICZslgA2Ohz0ctW2gTr8Y4k9cpplQmuznbBrnjMtVIFvGQAtTEtfd0Y7MBNYK3m475YJa3s8iimgM/s1600/IMG00655-20110718-1333.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj82WI24PAevPo3neWQNrc0gQx9T0-9Gn04rEp_ItrbZMJILthyGcj96xlIeg7hdiICZslgA2Ohz0ctW2gTr8Y4k9cpplQmuznbBrnjMtVIFvGQAtTEtfd0Y7MBNYK3m475YJa3s8iimgM/s320/IMG00655-20110718-1333.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><strong>Strawberry Shortcake</strong> was by far the best tasting cupcake out of the trio. This cupcake had a nice strawberry flavor and was very moist. The frosting was a whipped sugar buttercream (there was way too much frosting on the cupcake). I was surprised that there wasn't a real strawberry on top but rather just a piped one. At $3.00 a cupcake, I think a fresh strawberry would have been more appropriate. <br />
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<strong>Orange Dreamsicle</strong> was suggested by the girl behind the counter as a favorite to try because it tasted like the dream pop ice cream. This cupcake was light fluffy and fresh. It had a hint of orange flavor in the cake as well as the enourmous mound of sugar buttercream frosting on top. Unfortunately the cupcake just didn't quite have the bursting flavor of the dreamsicle. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><strong>Texas Chocolate</strong> I honestly don't know why I had to try another chocolate cupcake. I already had my fill of sugar sweet chocolate from the last cupcake shop. I just did not like the frosting on this cupcake, it reminded me of the whipped frosting you can buy at the grocery store. The actual cupcake itself was freash and chocolatey and moist. This cupcake did not give me the big Texas taste that I was hoping for. </div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div>Now on to Nashville! <br />
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<div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-66897057094848586052011-07-18T12:49:00.000-04:002011-07-18T12:49:57.313-04:00Cupcakes on Kavanaugh Review<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cupcakes on Kavanaugh in Little Rock, AR was our first stop along our roadtrip.</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVRKf9EglLbQF9n7cyTZCLytXJhapYSnm5KrNxlj9B0Kx5IjKJShb9fsCKE758AL990uMqUnSDTpnU0_C3_Ysaq6fBteGnZOQF0Ar7iqVKGQ_kNDY5KDHfHsmxfbnYk6IFxvNUrdStQc/s1600/cupcakes+kavanaugh+tn.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtVRKf9EglLbQF9n7cyTZCLytXJhapYSnm5KrNxlj9B0Kx5IjKJShb9fsCKE758AL990uMqUnSDTpnU0_C3_Ysaq6fBteGnZOQF0Ar7iqVKGQ_kNDY5KDHfHsmxfbnYk6IFxvNUrdStQc/s320/cupcakes+kavanaugh+tn.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"> A<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> very cute shop with only 6 different flavors to choose from. I asked the counter girl what the daily special was and she responded. "We are open today that is what is special". I wasn't quite sure how to take that. We arrived about a half hour after they opened so I knew we were going to get fresh cupcakes. </span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">We ordered a Red Velvet, A salted Caramel, and a Chocolate Chocolate Cupcake.</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuQ9ke4KQiJyn_ICv8d_RI2t86I7R0qRucTVDIvF-G9cLoND4qgr8dfgrZ4Uq3vlwXKs2erozNgxWfXhPHGoDfaK1XxdV-LcMXRPEH8SFPcQyI31KV9NOK2FTOLtROX09Ospv56PFEWk/s1600/Kavanaugh+little+rock%252C+ar.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhuQ9ke4KQiJyn_ICv8d_RI2t86I7R0qRucTVDIvF-G9cLoND4qgr8dfgrZ4Uq3vlwXKs2erozNgxWfXhPHGoDfaK1XxdV-LcMXRPEH8SFPcQyI31KV9NOK2FTOLtROX09Ospv56PFEWk/s320/Kavanaugh+little+rock%252C+ar.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Red Velvet</strong>: Super moist cake not as chocolatey as I had hoped but it still had a good taste. The frosting was so sweet you could barely taste the cream cheese in it. I like sweet but this was too sweet.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Salted Caramel</strong>: This cupcake is probably the best salted caramel cupcake I have tasted so far. Very moist and flavorful. Again, the frosting was too super sweet for me, but you could at least taste the caramel and the salt. Would have been perfect if the frosting was more buttercream than sugarcream. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Chocolate Chocolate</strong>: Super rich chocolate tasting and super moist cupcake. A very good cupcake. The chocolate buttercream frosting was just too sweet as with all the other cupcakes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are one that loves super sweet frosting on your cupcakes this would be the perfect cupcake shop for you. </span>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-24613735744755461632011-07-17T09:56:00.001-04:002011-07-17T10:05:10.771-04:00Driving vs. Flying Cupcake Adventure Reviews<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My motto is why drive when I can fly! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Its free (for airline employees) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. It's faster (if you don't get bumped because flights are full). </span><br />
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<div style="text-align: justify;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFxz_hNIOg-mduhG-9Gg1oI9ft7z_SuZM5NLcZDce88AGhV41Qsa1oGJXx6O7oBV5N25ynWYbBpijGL9ZV-Y4Ml-MSWc6S5borS3OGWvGuivdCfBJWQfoje_o7jm6eikQAWhMnLpyJ7M/s1600/car.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHFxz_hNIOg-mduhG-9Gg1oI9ft7z_SuZM5NLcZDce88AGhV41Qsa1oGJXx6O7oBV5N25ynWYbBpijGL9ZV-Y4Ml-MSWc6S5borS3OGWvGuivdCfBJWQfoje_o7jm6eikQAWhMnLpyJ7M/s320/car.jpg" width="281" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However, there are some things in life that cannot be left to chance. Wedding's and births are two of them. They do not wait for your flight to arrive (well maybe if you are the one getting married they might but definitely not babies). Because of the definites and indefinites, we are trekking 26 hours from West Texas through Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, and onto Clarksburg, WV for a family wedding. I did not agree to this trip without kicking and screaming as the driver of this trip is a certified road conqueror. If the last trip to Clarksburg, WV took 27.2 hours he is on a mission to conquer the trip in 26.5 hours (I think he may even bought some adult diapers for us). So to appease this road trip whiner, the driver offered me some kryptonite. He proposed I pick out some cupcake places along the way for my cupcake reviews. Hot diggity dog! I strategically planned the road trip to stop at 5 cupcake places. Trust me, if time permitted I would have picked many more! So many cupcake shops, so little time!</span></div></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. Cupcakes on Kavanaugh, Little Rock, AK</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. Muddy's Bake Shop, Memphis, TN</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. Cupcake Collection, Nashville, TN</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">4. Gigi's Cupcakes, Bowling Green, KY</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">5. Baby Cakes, Lexington, KY</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So if you have been to any of these places I would love to get your advice on what is their best cupcake! </span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keep an eye out for my reviews!</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br />
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</span>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-25947332968941953282011-07-07T16:36:00.000-04:002011-07-07T16:36:59.151-04:00Key Lime and Coconut Cupcake Recipe<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeDb2eiaVHeO1raxma9POXm3ZUNIboKigOAT3_mw-0_A3c2eRlh_u7jtm4el3KzJmtE5Vm_D9oapQNnArKQLaE84GckPiC3QZ2V6pd6Tpa5ciFh7vt1HmsjNJINDqLtv7pzi32jEuCSI/s1600/key+lime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" m$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheeDb2eiaVHeO1raxma9POXm3ZUNIboKigOAT3_mw-0_A3c2eRlh_u7jtm4el3KzJmtE5Vm_D9oapQNnArKQLaE84GckPiC3QZ2V6pd6Tpa5ciFh7vt1HmsjNJINDqLtv7pzi32jEuCSI/s320/key+lime.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">This 4th of july I found myself away from friends and family so what better way to comfort myself than to bake cupcakes! Since I was also away from my kitchen, I decided to try and bake in a non-bakers kitchen (the only kitchen that was available). This was a kitchen with 1 bowl, 1 cupcake tin, and 1 wooden spoon. Seriously! Off to the market I went for the basics to bake my little masterpieces. I realized when I got back that there wasn't even an electric mixer in this kitchen, not even a hand held electric mixer! I was up for the challenge of hand mixing my little creations. I mean how hard can it be right? Wrong! This kitchen will be getting an electric mixer for Christmas! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I decided to bake a Key Lime and Coconut cupcake with a Coconut Cream Cheese frosting. I found the recipe from the food network website. I bought fresh key limes instead of the juice. I was raised fresh is best. I had to hand squeeze about a billion little key limes to make the 2/3 cup full. Key limes are about half the size of a regular lime but packed with twice the pucker power. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The recipe warned that the key lime juice will curdle the batter. But with continued mixing, the batter becomes thick with a creamy texture. Just like the recipe said the batter curdled and then became thick and creamy. By this time my arm was getting a good workout and I haven't even started the cream cheese frosting!</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">The cupcakes were cooled. The frosting was whipped. My arms were now rubber. It was now time to frost my little pretties. Being the queen of innovation, I was again creative with how I was going to frost them. Remember this kitchen doesn't have a baker. It did, however, have many useful items. I am not a big fan of slathering frosting on with a knife so I looked around for items that had a similar opening as a frosting tip. I found a 12oz plastic water bottle with a hole a little bigger then the frosting tip I usually use I cut about 2 inches off the top of the water bottle and I also found plastic baggies so I cut a corner off the plastic bag. I put my water bottle top tip snuggly in the newly cut corner of the plastic baggie (it was sandwich sized) and filled with frosting. Worked like a charm! </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><strong>Key Lime Coconut Cupcake Recipe</strong><br />
For the cake:<br />
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature<br />
2 cups natural sugar<br />
3 cups flour<br />
1 tsp. salt<br />
1 tsp. baking soda<br />
4 large eggs, room temperature<br />
1 cup sour cream, room temperature<br />
2 cups sweetened flaked coconut<br />
2 tsp. coconut extract<br />
2/3 cup key lime juice, either from real key limes or bottled. .<br />
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For the icing:<br />
2 sticks (16 tbsp.) unsalted butter, room temperature<br />
2 cups (16 oz.) cream cheese, room temperature<br />
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar<br />
2 tsp. coconut extract<br />
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Preheat the oven to 350°. Line muffin pans with paper liners.<br />
<div style="text-align: justify;">Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed, until light and fluffy. On medium speed, add the eggs, 2 at a time, then add the sour cream and vanilla. Scrape down the sides then add the key lime juice. Beat for another minute. Stop the mixer.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">Sift together the flour, salt, and baking soda in a bowl. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until just combined. Add coconut. Mix until combined. Fill the cupcake liners to </div><div style="text-align: justify;">the 2/3-level with batter. Bake in the center of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes for full-size They’re done when a toothpick comes out clean or spongy to the touch. Cool to room temperature.</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">While the cakes cool, make the icing. Mix the butter, cream cheese, sugar, and coconut extract on low speed until the sugar incorporates, then whip for about 3 minutes. Pipe frosting on each cupcake and garnish. </div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;">I can't say that this Key Lime and Coconut cupcake Recipe is a blue ribbon recipe, but they were very flavorful. They had a different texture. A cross between a cheese cake and a cupcake. But definitely reminds you of the awesome key lime pies that are so popular in Florida. You have not tasted the ultimate key lime pie until you have tasted it in Florida!</div><br />
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I know I am critical on some of my cupcake shop reviews. Know that I am also critical of my own fresh baked cupcakes. Nothing upsets me more than a cupcake shop charging gourmet prices for a cut corners cost saving cupcake. I know that the ultimate goal of a cupcake shop is to maximize profits but some shops go too far.April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-91818710032759263772011-07-01T11:32:00.010-04:002011-07-01T12:09:45.958-04:00Abby Girl Sweets Cupcake Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PURQELMXzfyYhO2eoWjTJRjDa9avQG8GL5D3EH0WjSl-Mr29XUtMeKyrLJHRdfYpwaCS2KbUrosQH3u5HIdPonHcuYlqhLqq1B8W-Fnk8KztI3feL5zm0LTaq8VaGlZU8ij_4Y7WHCc/s1600/abby.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="105" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5PURQELMXzfyYhO2eoWjTJRjDa9avQG8GL5D3EH0WjSl-Mr29XUtMeKyrLJHRdfYpwaCS2KbUrosQH3u5HIdPonHcuYlqhLqq1B8W-Fnk8KztI3feL5zm0LTaq8VaGlZU8ij_4Y7WHCc/s400/abby.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">If you googled best cupcakes in Cincinnati, Abby Girl Sweets should be the first name on the search! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">A friend of mine knew I was going to be in the cincinnati area and knew I wanted to do a cupcake review so they brought me a cupcake from this cupcake shop. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">From the moment I opened the cupcake box and picked up the cupcake, I knew I was in for a real treat!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">First, it was a chocolate peanut butter cup cupcake (MY FAVORITE)! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Second, just by the touch of the cupcake I knew it was very fresh and very moist.</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I was totally blown away by how awesome this cupcake tasted. Everything about this chocolate peanut butter cup cupcake was exactly what I look for in a cupcake. It was moist and not crumbly. You could taste the chocolate in the cupcake. You had the full peanutty taste of peanut butter in the frosting. The sugar in the frosting enhanced the peanut butter flavor rather than over bear the peanut butter flavor. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">It has been a long, long time since I was blown away by the flavor of a cupcake. I think the last time was the Mexican Vanilla cupcake at Suzy Beez in Houston, Tx. I went back to Suzy Beez's cupcake shop 3 times over the course of a year trying to get that cupcake again and they never had it available. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I would definitely recommend Abby Girl Sweets to anyone I know in search of awesome cupcakes in the Cincinnate area!</span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana;"></span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I cannot wait to go back to Cincinnati to visit the store myself and have a cupcake tasting party! </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/32/1504821/restaurant/Downtown/Abby-Girl-Sweets-Cincinnati"><img alt="Abby Girl Sweets on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1504821/minilink.gif" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;"></div></div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-71504304005862763432011-06-29T11:13:00.015-04:002011-07-02T13:27:56.061-04:00Manna Cafe Cupcake Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iY0jUeXoPFPbzNVUZRDDVapG5IDgc_4y2LGhJMzmvv7-BSAJukDGQl53wBTcXqu8qfEddHlyF24ZRKnQXF_CABvPzLsYAcA9WCD1_ZsqOX3tDJ09KRNz6WPLIA5WInbL5dYOVecMYO0/s1600/raspberry+filled.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2iY0jUeXoPFPbzNVUZRDDVapG5IDgc_4y2LGhJMzmvv7-BSAJukDGQl53wBTcXqu8qfEddHlyF24ZRKnQXF_CABvPzLsYAcA9WCD1_ZsqOX3tDJ09KRNz6WPLIA5WInbL5dYOVecMYO0/s320/raspberry+filled.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I decided to share my love of cupcakes with my longtime friend and her family on a recent visit to Cincinnati, Ohio. To do our Cincinnnati cupcake review, we chose a cupcake cafe close to my friend's house. Manna Cupcake Cafe is about 40 minutes outside the City of Cincinnati. It is located in a cute country town right next to a train station. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Manna Cafe Cupcakes had seven different cupcake varieties and three different sizes. The flavors were; vanilla raspberry filled, bon bon chocolate filled with chocolate ganache, monkey cinnamon, red velvet, chocolate and vanilla their special cupcake of the day was a key lime. Because we wanted to try one of each we opted for all minis except for the key lime which wasn't offeren in a mini size. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Everyone agreed all the mini cupcakes were on very dry side. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">We all liked the key lime and the raspberry so much we decided to try the medium size in hopes that the cupcake was a little more moist. Much to our taste bud's delight the medium size cupcake in several flavors were more moist than the minis of the same flavor. The frosting on most of the cupcakes were on the sweeter side but not so bad that you felt like you were eating a spoonful of sugar sweet. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Out of all 8 of us cupcake tasters we all decided that the 2 best cupcakes for our cupcake review from Mannas Cupcake Cafe were:</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The Raspberry Filled Cupcake</strong> </span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong> </strong>The sugared raspberry on top tasted perfect</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><strong>The Key Lime Cupcake</strong></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Just the right tart and sweet combination</span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Both of the frostings on these two cupcakes were very light and fluffy and not nearly as sugary as the other cupcakes. </span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The owner of Mannas was very friendly and informative on all her cupcake. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-56255569851320005292011-06-28T11:03:00.000-04:002011-06-28T11:03:21.087-04:00Cupcakes, Charleston, SC Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9P69Y_8hoonydmTcvLCAajT6MY3IKGwEonVf8oLbu9lVCwO_FWzutWYNDtYrouRQMZlgsivNZK0FMpzShguO79yTD9X5606baDIIKgsmsO4XWjAr_yCpLt7Be6WL8sA48c39yIOKWfQ/s1600/cupcake+charleston+sc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="183" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhV9P69Y_8hoonydmTcvLCAajT6MY3IKGwEonVf8oLbu9lVCwO_FWzutWYNDtYrouRQMZlgsivNZK0FMpzShguO79yTD9X5606baDIIKgsmsO4XWjAr_yCpLt7Be6WL8sA48c39yIOKWfQ/s320/cupcake+charleston+sc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.freshcupcakes.com/">http://www.freshcupcakes.com/</a><br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I found this cute cupcake shop on my way back to the bus stop after my downtown charleston excursion. When I entered the shop, it reminded me of an <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1309272311_0" style="border-bottom: #366388 2px dotted; cursor: hand;">ice cream parlor</span>, pretty <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1309272311_1">pastel colors</span> painted the shop. I especially loved the big selection of cute cupcake T-shirt and other cupcake items like <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1309272311_2">coffee mugs</span> and pink spatulas. Their display had about 9 different flavors. They also had signs advertising mini and mega cupcakes, but I didn't see any. I didn't read up on this shop's reviews so I asked the cupcake counter girl what was her favorite. She said as everyone says.."Red Velvet is the most popular, and the orange cremecicle is very good." I ordered a orange cremecicle and a cinnamon swirl to change things up. The cupcakes we're just over $3 a piece. My first taste went to the orange cremecicle as I had made my own batch once and they we're so yummy. I tasted the frosting first. The frosting was an overpowering thick sweet sugar frosting with a hint of orange flavoring. One small taste was all I needed. The cupcake tasted like a dry poundcake with a barely recognizable orange flavor. I then tried the cinna$on swirl, this time I tried the cupcake first. This cupcake was definitely more moist, but it tasted exactly like the orange poundcake cupcake but with a hint of cinnamon and the frosting tasted exactly like the orange sugar sweet frosting except with a hint of cinnamon. I know many people love sugar sweet frosting especially southerners they have, as we all know, perfected sweet tea. I just prefer a light fluffy frosting. </span></div><div style="text-align: justify;"><br />
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</div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-83140896542029032522011-06-27T23:19:00.000-04:002011-06-27T23:19:41.422-04:00Baked House Bakery Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkWx43qXaiNFGWVh8bkZlCbLT73kJR0NKycCUHokVCcNXfIeGe_sVtb13XeNXXUJDgBBalzmGDWKHgnl_2UnW_ywN2cPZcOEIkxtmlBMS7-XWzivoysPqGtnKTJCchTZbHvmAz1Wxz4o/s1600/charleston.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTkWx43qXaiNFGWVh8bkZlCbLT73kJR0NKycCUHokVCcNXfIeGe_sVtb13XeNXXUJDgBBalzmGDWKHgnl_2UnW_ywN2cPZcOEIkxtmlBMS7-XWzivoysPqGtnKTJCchTZbHvmAz1Wxz4o/s320/charleston.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>Today I had a layover in beautiful Charleston, South Carolina. With a few hours to kill I decided to put Charleston on my map of Cupcake Shop Reviews. When I google mapped "cupcakes" Baked House Bakery showed up on the map. When I arrived at Baked House Bakery, the bakery was very warm and welcoming. There were several cakes on display as well as various other baked goods. There were only 3 flavors of cupcakes to choose from and 1 flavor was in the refrigerated display case. I ordered a salted caramel which was at room temperature and a lemon cupcake which was in the refrigerated display. I wanted to eat dinner before I ate my cupcakes so I took them to go. The cupcakes were priced around $3.00 each. I walked for about 15 minutes. The temperature outside was near 90. When I finally got a chance to taste the cupcakes, the frosting on the salted caramel had melted. The lemon cupcake was still intact. The salted caramel cupcake was moist and although the frosting was a watery mess it still tasted pretty good. Not sure if I would classify it as a salted caramel but it was very tasty. The lemon cupcake frosting was light, fluffy and just the perfect amount of sweetness. Unfortunately the cupcake itself was very dry. I do not think this cupcake was fresh. I do believe that had this cupcake been fresh it would have been quite tastey. <br />
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<a href="http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/61/1413960/restaurant/Peninsular-Charleston/Bake-House-Charleston-Charleston"><img alt="Bake House Charleston on Urbanspoon" src="http://www.urbanspoon.com/b/link/1413960/minilink.gif" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; height: 36px; width: 130px;" /></a>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-59728474508555830482011-06-22T17:47:00.002-04:002011-06-27T22:16:29.634-04:004th of July Cupcakes! <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_eum_OHysqTplxCFFrZ3Y-w5DmPyUA-LwjCJ9UHjXNN0L5bPfpzi2tjqcPln_envKYadGAlp8oh4iPRfsyuxOoTH_y8td6tGxWvJn-ILNwTumkdlqAunEmKwLaN3s1LjZDre_I-Ho6s/s1600/4th+of+july+cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib_eum_OHysqTplxCFFrZ3Y-w5DmPyUA-LwjCJ9UHjXNN0L5bPfpzi2tjqcPln_envKYadGAlp8oh4iPRfsyuxOoTH_y8td6tGxWvJn-ILNwTumkdlqAunEmKwLaN3s1LjZDre_I-Ho6s/s320/4th+of+july+cupcake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">4th of July Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting topped with a Marshmallow Fondant Star</td></tr>
</tbody></table> <span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The 4th of July is right around the corner! Today is my last day off before I begin my commute back to Virginia to start a 6 day trip. My son was quite upset he was not allowed to chow on the Chocolate Whiskey cupcakes I made the other day, so to make it up to him, I made his favorite Red Velvet cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">You would never know from the looks of the landscape (flat as a pancake) here in west Texas that this is a high altitude area. We are 3700 ft above sea level. I have never had to bake in a high altitude kitchen before. The last few batches I have made have been crumbly and never "popped" out of the tin. I did some reading and found out that when you are baking in high altitude places you need to make a few minor adjustments. </span><br />
<a href="http://www.pillsburybaking.com/bakers_corner/high_altitude_baking.aspx"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://www.pillsburybaking.com/bakers_corner/high_altitude_baking.aspx</span></a><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> has a chart of adjustments. I really didn't think minor adjustments would make that big of a deal but seeing is believing!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMERhpp8WphCE14H54la_ROUjVcr6S7itYI4hKtQi3xpdRa0LlYZaGxmtr0oGghp_OLyRaYJm0eEHgl6dKMSHCsP_dbxncmOWQ_vnmYy4Knx7Ou-MOdmhCDyVp7-3hVOCJSzLWq5Xnaus/s1600/high+altitude+red+velvet+popped+cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMERhpp8WphCE14H54la_ROUjVcr6S7itYI4hKtQi3xpdRa0LlYZaGxmtr0oGghp_OLyRaYJm0eEHgl6dKMSHCsP_dbxncmOWQ_vnmYy4Knx7Ou-MOdmhCDyVp7-3hVOCJSzLWq5Xnaus/s320/high+altitude+red+velvet+popped+cupcake.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Popped Red Velvet Cupcakes</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This is the Red Velvet recipe I followed (makes 1 dozen):</span><br />
<div style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the Cupcake:</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 ¼ Flour </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¾ c sugar </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1/4 tsp baking soda </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">½ tsp salt</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 T cocoa powder</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">¾ cup oil</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">½ c buttermilk</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 large egg </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 T red food coloring</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">½ tsp cider vinegar</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preparation</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line pans with cupcake papers. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet a little at a time and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined. Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled (I just used 1 full ice cream scoop per regular sized cupcake and its perfect). Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting. </span><br />
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<strong><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">For the Frosting:</span></strong><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">8oz cream cheese (room temperature)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 stick butter (room temperature)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">1 tsp vanilla extract</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">2 c confectionery sugar</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy. </span><br />
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</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I made a batch of marshmallow fondant about a year ago. I remember that although it was extremely messy it was fairly easy. Marshmallow fondant tastes like those orange circus peanuts we used to eat as a kid. </span><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">This was the recipe I followed: </span><a href="http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">http://whatscookingamerica.net/PegW/Fondant.htm</span></a><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">I knew what I wanted my cupcakes to look like but for the life of me I couldn't find a single small star out of the over 200 cookie cutters I had. My son and I went off to the local Walmart in search of a small single star cookie cutter. Unfortunately where we live the local Walmart has a very limited selection of anything you might need. So as any great baker, I improvised! I went to the toy section in search of maybe a play-doh cutter. No luck with that BUT I did find another alternative! Worked like a charm.</span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikL72VnsjMAx4BQgCJWNpw8g8yBk1arB56Z82-Ir1fg0my3ZGUrnobMrfcJqSbXHvg3kyI10Ck7CQBhX7x4_TK1cjfdJsInzZ012pOxpghTmXQdu_C9L7meqHk-_hcX-abnUGn10EzOBE/s1600/star+fondant+cutter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikL72VnsjMAx4BQgCJWNpw8g8yBk1arB56Z82-Ir1fg0my3ZGUrnobMrfcJqSbXHvg3kyI10Ck7CQBhX7x4_TK1cjfdJsInzZ012pOxpghTmXQdu_C9L7meqHk-_hcX-abnUGn10EzOBE/s320/star+fondant+cutter.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div><span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> This baking session worked out great</span>!<span style="font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> Happy holiday baking!</span>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-64218611973477720522011-06-21T00:15:00.000-04:002011-06-21T00:15:06.599-04:00Cupcake Prescription: Chocolate Whiskey Cupcake topped with Whiskey Buttercream FrostingI have a kindle. I absolutely love my kindle. I do not leave home without my kindle. My kindle is my best friend. While waiting in Denver for my flight home after an extremely rough week at work, I was experimenting with all the gadgets that my kindle offered. I decided to do a search on cupcake blogs. I found a cupcake blog called Sugar Loco. Sugar Loco was talking about a unique cupcake called Biramisu created by a Chef Tony Mantuano from Downtown Disney. It is like a Tiramisu dessert but made with beer. I decided the first time I looked at the recipe that this was a cupcake challenge for me. My only problem was I could not find a single can of beer for the recipe. I loathe Guiness beer and the only way to buy beer in this city is by the 6 pack. I guess I am too cheap to buy a 6 pack for just one beer that was needed for the recipe. So I did some research and found another recipe for a Chocolate Whiskey Cupcake topped with a Whiskey Buttercream Frosting. HELLO! Sounded like the perfect backup cupcake to me!<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMelOx-brCCe3Kb2__4x5ocNqJsaSIqGC1ptkfoDLNXkfvNVrcpGnikDW99TnDBDzb0N32qxhp5Ihf8Nq6p3ME-57GNjBXtoV05DivTIoFKv0V8dwSBNye-UjEslCh8DiKKvX61fzBZ0/s1600/chocolate+whiskey+cupcake.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbMelOx-brCCe3Kb2__4x5ocNqJsaSIqGC1ptkfoDLNXkfvNVrcpGnikDW99TnDBDzb0N32qxhp5Ihf8Nq6p3ME-57GNjBXtoV05DivTIoFKv0V8dwSBNye-UjEslCh8DiKKvX61fzBZ0/s320/chocolate+whiskey+cupcake.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Whiskey Cupcake topped with a Whiskey Buttercream Frosting<br />
<br />
</td></tr>
</tbody></table>CHOCOLATE WHISKEY CUPCAKE<br />
for the cupcake<br />
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
1 cup strong coffee<br />
1/2 cup sour cream<br />
2 tsp. vanilla extract<br />
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour<br />
3/4 tsp. baking soda<br />
1/2 tsp. salt<br />
2 sticks unsalted butter at room temperature<br />
1 3/4 cup sugar<br />
2 large eggs<br />
<br />
For the whiskey simple syrup<br />
1/2 cup water<br />
1/2 cup sugar<br />
2 T whiskey<br />
<br />
For the Frosting<br />
1/2 cup butter<br />
2 cup powder sugar<br />
3 T whiskey<br />
8 oz cream cheese<br />
<br />
Directions:<br />
to make cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350. Line two cupcake pans with paper liners. Combine the cocoa powder and strong coffee in a small bowl whisk until mixture is smooth. Set aside and let cool to room temperature. Once cool, whisk the sour cream and vanilla extract.<br />
<br />
Combine the flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl. Stir together wit a fork to combine: set aside<br />
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In the bowl, combine the butter and sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy (3-5 minutes). Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl as needed. <br />
s<br />
With the mixer on low speed, mix in the dry ingredients and cocoa mixture. begin and end with dry ingredients. Beach each addition just until incorporated. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cupcake liners. Bake 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pan 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.<br />
<br />
To make the simple syrup, combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixtrue is warm and the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and stir in the whiskey. Set aside and let cool until ready to use.<br />
<br />
To make frosting, combine butter, sugar, whiskey and cream cheese until light and fluffy.<br />
<br />
Once cupcakes are cooked and cooled, poke holes in each cupcake (10 each). Brush each cupcake with the whiskey simple syrup and then top with the whiskey buttercream frosting. Dust with cocoa powder.<br />
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These cupcakes taste better the longer they sit and the whiskey is absorbed into the cupcake.April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-54735306963267883282011-06-12T18:27:00.000-04:002011-06-20T23:29:37.707-04:00I'M BACK! AND BAKING WITH A VENGENCE - BEWARE OF THE EMOTIONAL BAKER!I don't even know where to begin! I can't believe it has been almost 6 months since my last post. I am definately back and back to blogging with a vengance about my cupcake adventures!<br />
<br />
Just recently Tony and I went to London (for the weekend). It was awesome. First class will definately spoil you! During our visit we found a cupcake shop called Hummingbird Bakery that I had read about in a travel magazine. Unfortunately the shop was closed. We did taste some cupcakes across the street at a coffee shop, but they were not even worthy of a blog mention. <br />
<br />
Last week the temperature in West Texas reached triple digits for the 3rd week in a row. With the help of my daughter we put up our little above ground pool to cool off. When the pool was filled and ready to go, we invited another friend over for some summertime fun! Lizzie and Baily were foolin around and flipped the George Washington hair doos! Now who hasn't done that back in the day!!! Which reminded me of other nostalgic things during my summers as a kid.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipN9I7KvN7RGWHWEug8UOKdhWOKKdIYh_BVvSSR_gMqZbio6_VqYFkLQ9_v-UunNvre5Pq7ih_TY78yw7T3fv36HyrhyEreD781qRRhs2oOFCJ8kyKhUtg2xBhuX78NVr0veFSZlPTCYo/s1600/summer+george+washingtons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipN9I7KvN7RGWHWEug8UOKdhWOKKdIYh_BVvSSR_gMqZbio6_VqYFkLQ9_v-UunNvre5Pq7ih_TY78yw7T3fv36HyrhyEreD781qRRhs2oOFCJ8kyKhUtg2xBhuX78NVr0veFSZlPTCYo/s320/summer+george+washingtons.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Summertime George Washingtons!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>How about the endless commercials of Bill Cosby and his pudding pops (do they even make them anymore?). How about the summer picinics with Jello Poke Cakes? That memory inspired me to make my first cupcake in about 6 months. A vanilla cupcake poked with strawberry jello! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMmN1IZLE1IxaW2n5dEmGi_BdzbU9gtEcJH7YVTy4qrjWDk9Wkk8IDmvPmKun5dtdlNQB_4oEXhY-ThJvuTKw8ozHNMMQz0wk5oHjFHiXu6BiR89zXh492zFfY6x0HmOzsTmJYrycoiE/s1600/Vanilla+Cupcake+poked+with+Strawberry+Jello+topped+with+Vanilla+buttercream.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXMmN1IZLE1IxaW2n5dEmGi_BdzbU9gtEcJH7YVTy4qrjWDk9Wkk8IDmvPmKun5dtdlNQB_4oEXhY-ThJvuTKw8ozHNMMQz0wk5oHjFHiXu6BiR89zXh492zFfY6x0HmOzsTmJYrycoiE/s320/Vanilla+Cupcake+poked+with+Strawberry+Jello+topped+with+Vanilla+buttercream.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanilla Cupcake poked with Strawberry Jello topped with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I baked a basic Vanilla Cream Cupcake Cake:<br />
1 1/4 cup flour<br />
1/2 tsp. baking powder<br />
1/4 tsp. baking soda<br />
1/4 tsp. salt<br />
2 eggs<br />
1 cup sugar<br />
1/2 cup canola oil <br />
1 T vanilla<br />
1/2 cup sour cream<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 325. Mix sugar, oil, and sour cream. Add eggs one at at time beating till mixed before adding next one. Add vanilla. In seperate bowl add flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, whisk until mixed. Slowly add dry ingredients to the wet mixture. Bake at 325 for 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.<br />
<br />
While the cupcakes are baking make a batch of Jello Strawberry jello according to package directions.<br />
After the cupcakes are done and cooled, poke holes in the cupcakes with a toothpick (around 10 holes per cupcake). Using a pastry brush, brush the tops of the cupcakes with the jello mixture. Saturating each cupcake with jello. Place cupcakes in refrigerator until cold. Top cupcakes with favorite buttercream frosting and add garnishes.April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0Seminole, TX 79360, USA32.7189926 -102.644910132.6961541 -102.6705846 32.7418311 -102.61923560000001tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-55355574703754597342011-02-20T11:45:00.001-05:002011-06-28T11:52:54.337-04:00Polka Dot Cupcakes Review<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lapRblqLQF_HBYmhz5HF-kQlYQjbRApY508JIvVmeZZ0ObypX3k_RHpLL6fAPiF8dKVEW2KrGNmw2BLiRIvaZQjE402vL0YcFW92zzzXZZgucm2R_NHb86i_8p2LTO7n22jtDQ4t6e0/s1600/Polka+Dot%252C+Austin+TX.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" i$="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_lapRblqLQF_HBYmhz5HF-kQlYQjbRApY508JIvVmeZZ0ObypX3k_RHpLL6fAPiF8dKVEW2KrGNmw2BLiRIvaZQjE402vL0YcFW92zzzXZZgucm2R_NHb86i_8p2LTO7n22jtDQ4t6e0/s320/Polka+Dot%252C+Austin+TX.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>Tony and I took my son to Austin to the popular Oasis Restaurant for lunch. After a beautiful lunch we visited the city of Austin where Tony went to the University of Texas. We found this very, very small cupcake shop. The picture on the website must be in some panoramic view because this shop was VERY small. There were 4 people in the store and I think it reached it's capacity. They had about 6 cupcake flavors to choose from.I ordered a chocolate peanut butter, honey chai (tasted like gingerbread w/cream cheese), chocolate strawberry and red velvet...I thought the cupcakes had good flavor but tony complained of a funny after taste..most likely from either too much baking soda or baking powder.April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-39311276404780689072011-01-19T19:20:00.021-05:002011-01-19T19:20:00.318-05:00More Cupcakes in Chicago IL ReviewIf you google "best cupcakes in Chicago", More Cupcakes pops up. I visited this cupcake shop on a very cold day in Chicago. I wanted to sit in the cupcake shop with a warm cup of coffee and savor every bite of my cupcake. That was what I wanted to do, instead, I had to take my cupcake elsewhere because More cupcake has no tables to sit at. I do believe there might have been a standing bar though. This place was a nice clean neutral decorated shop very similar to Sprinkles and Craves. The big difference was that Sprinkles and Craves have at least 5-10 people frosting and decorating their cupcakes at all hours. More cupcakes only had the girl at the front counter who had to take orders, answer phones, and handle anything else that was thrown her way. Through it all, the More Cupcake counter girl was a real trooper.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJrIE51Mqt5nwHQeOLfyudtVIx-0vjf4z3OinSeDckH17-gTZKwjc4WePaTM0UCDWgr-i0Z0hX5PZ9u6kWmKBXUBfdHJHOM2EVb06GtHxo33xnmoKr8q2_XZ3b5SE3JDcL4-2L0bzPZU/s1600/more+store.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTJrIE51Mqt5nwHQeOLfyudtVIx-0vjf4z3OinSeDckH17-gTZKwjc4WePaTM0UCDWgr-i0Z0hX5PZ9u6kWmKBXUBfdHJHOM2EVb06GtHxo33xnmoKr8q2_XZ3b5SE3JDcL4-2L0bzPZU/s1600/more+store.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The inside of More Cupcakes</td></tr>
</tbody></table> I ordered the Salted Caramel cupcake (I keep hoping that I have missed the salted caramel flavor boat because I have not yet tasted anything even close to the infamous salted caramel flavor that everyone keeps raving about at any cupcake shop) and a Chocolate Caramel cupcake. I am glad I ordered two because if I would have based my review solely on the dry day old Salted Caramel cupcake (the carmel filling inside the cupcake was good) with a tasteless frosting(I kinda think they forgot to add sugar), I most likely wouldn't have even consider a do over at More Cupcakes, but then there is the Chocolate Caramel cupcake, which was the total opposite of the Salted Caramel cupcake. The chocolate Caramel cupcake was super moist and dense (a thick stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth cupcake. My favorite!) with a gooey caramel filling. You just can't go wrong with a filled cupcake. The girl behind the counter said most of More cupcakes are filled. The frosting was smooth and rich and not too sweet. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPC6aZRf2O087sfwHAsOGhcArlq09Oo_v0Q64LEP5KYoBfCZG6_WpwJrrziUw99Z7PGzFpBkijFeX6p5GtPnjERe_S4fTcrjag465WLBoL7Kn10QSTVv7jA5QNFlQnfhjnJXp_tEPSga0/s1600/more+cupcakes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiPC6aZRf2O087sfwHAsOGhcArlq09Oo_v0Q64LEP5KYoBfCZG6_WpwJrrziUw99Z7PGzFpBkijFeX6p5GtPnjERe_S4fTcrjag465WLBoL7Kn10QSTVv7jA5QNFlQnfhjnJXp_tEPSga0/s1600/more+cupcakes.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More Cupcake wedding tier....I'm going to make my own wedding tier...if I ever get married again!</td></tr>
</tbody></table>I think next time I am home longer than 24 hours I am going set up the cupcake lab and start searching recipes for my ultimate Salted Carmel cupcake. My only problem is, I don't know what a salted carmel cupcake is suppose to taste like! Does anyone have a place that makes a to die for Salted Carmel caupcake? I remember in the beginning of my cupcake quest thinking what is the big deal about a red velvet cupcake? I have tasted a big deal Red Velvet and can appreciate popular cupcake flavor phases. So now I am out to find the big deal Salted Carmel cupcake.April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-51383527332322701362011-01-07T10:07:00.034-05:002011-01-08T12:02:33.816-05:00Cake Love Review<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Our time in the DC area is more precious now since our jobs have taken us away from the area ( I actually enjoy the time away but miss the area's cupcakes). Today was a rare day that Tony and I were together in the DC area and what better thing to do than go sight seeing and cupcake tasting! I had read a few years ago somewhere that CakeLove won some cupcake contest beating Baked and Wired. After tasting Baked and Wired cupcakes early on in my cupcake tasting I was skeptical. Baked and Wired cupcakes are delicious. Tony and I arrived at the Campbell Street location around 2:00PM. We skipped lunch to save our taste buds for serious cupcake tasting. When we arrived at CakeLove there were about a dozen different flavors available. Tony ordered a chocolate lemon coconut and because I read on Yelp that the salted carmel was the best, I ordered the salted caramel. I was looking forward to sitting down in the shop with a cup of coffee and eating my cupcake. When I looked at the coffee pots on display, I changed my mind. The coffee looked like it hadn't been brewed since the morning and the pots looked like they hadn't been cleaned in months (a few tablesspoons of salt, a few tablespoons of lemon juice, fill pot with ice and swirl. In a matter of seconds you have a sparkling clean coffee pot). <br />
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<tr><td style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Bvcp6FzIIzgRNC_Jv4SV18Gp5sav270_qSbV96oYH_nvLHgihtGLwnLVttLq3wtQdarJsOnmG05WSm4KPwazJmRzsWT-OGmLuzUlHDbbRYu1bPSTAKCjzNZO8ZI2MTGjXYaP2RAzcjQ/s1600/cakelove+coffee+pot.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Bvcp6FzIIzgRNC_Jv4SV18Gp5sav270_qSbV96oYH_nvLHgihtGLwnLVttLq3wtQdarJsOnmG05WSm4KPwazJmRzsWT-OGmLuzUlHDbbRYu1bPSTAKCjzNZO8ZI2MTGjXYaP2RAzcjQ/s200/cakelove+coffee+pot.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"></td></tr>
</tbody></table> <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwr9U0NsxLWDxi-2BhIbt2hRiLLSHdn47SE_8K48txl4Hsk8TXpMcyDw_L5xjeOLdvGEJuCYJ96PAueowvTX2ScAd_r_tuCQ-IY5gRKjCadTiX0zWYEApalHbY6hwd-yR-uOwpu1lDCI/s1600/cakelove+cupcakes.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="150" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipwr9U0NsxLWDxi-2BhIbt2hRiLLSHdn47SE_8K48txl4Hsk8TXpMcyDw_L5xjeOLdvGEJuCYJ96PAueowvTX2ScAd_r_tuCQ-IY5gRKjCadTiX0zWYEApalHbY6hwd-yR-uOwpu1lDCI/s200/cakelove+cupcakes.JPG" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chocolate Lemon Coconut<br />
Salted Caramel</td></tr>
</tbody></table></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">A bit disapointed we sat at our table and right before we opened our box of cupcakes we noticed several signs displayed around the store "eat cupcakes at room temperature". We thought the sign meant that if you took the cupcakes home and put them in the refrigerator to let them thaw first. When we opened the box and attempted to eat the cupcakes we JUST bought, we realize that the sign really meant when you bought them "fresh" from the store. These cupcakes were hard as a rock cold! Sort of frozen. Who goes to a bakery and "waits" for something to thaw? We decided not to make this trip a total bust, packed up our cupcakes and headed to lunch, hoping our cupcakes will be thawed by the time we finish eating lunch. An hour later, our cupcakes sitting at room temperature (like the sign said), they were still not thawed. When they were thawed enough to eat, the taste and texture was disappointing. The cupcakes were dry, I'm sure that if these cupcakes were not ever frozen or chilled, they might have been tasty. The frosting on the chocolate coconut was not memorable and the lemon dollop on top took over the taste of the barely there coconut. The salted caramel (I just don't get the whole salted caramel craze) was a basic vanilla cupcake with a basic vanilla butter cream with a drizzle of caramel and a few bites with a hint of salt in them.</div> <br />
<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I honestly do not like to leave negative reviews. I think that any person who opens a cupcake shop rocks! I wish them all the luck in the world and I would love to give them as much positive exposure as possible. However, if a cupcake shop is going to charge gourmet prices the cupcakes, the cupcake shop better deliver gourmet cupcakes. I am tired of spending good money on a "gourmet" cupcake that tastes like generic supermarket cupcakes. </div></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-28282357416790953782011-01-06T17:45:00.001-05:002011-01-08T02:23:11.206-05:00Curbside Cupcake Review<div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">I found this mobile cupcakery from searching "cupcake" on facebook one day. We happened to be in DC checking out CakeLove and thought how cool would it be to track down this cupcake truck! So, I checked out their latest status on facebook. Their status said they were at <span class="yshortcuts" id="lw_1294465991_0" style="border-bottom: rgb(54,99,136) 2px dotted; cursor: pointer;">Union Station</span> on 1st. We drove in circles for over 35 minutes trying to find the pink Curbside Cupcake truck and just when we were about to give up, we saw a flash of pink driving down a road. Guess what? They were heading our way! We pulled over for them to pass and then we followed them all the way to their next stop which was the Navy Yard.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8pgr2HS3d4h4p4-22mn67eOAg-f-JnnJlpmoiTYe-jpYLHEl5elrg3Bkp97NH6Fl7PP_uRXf4beMe28TCTmY4lNwGHnto96BAtXZ91F09W5s8qOcvpxnMLKIESOeLZLLzQX8Qx0E9Y4/s1600/Curbside+Cupcakes+rear+mirror.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhr8pgr2HS3d4h4p4-22mn67eOAg-f-JnnJlpmoiTYe-jpYLHEl5elrg3Bkp97NH6Fl7PP_uRXf4beMe28TCTmY4lNwGHnto96BAtXZ91F09W5s8qOcvpxnMLKIESOeLZLLzQX8Qx0E9Y4/s320/Curbside+Cupcakes+rear+mirror.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6BuMKEKo6V0z-BYwn2c3FqPfOh5tazE4gh_YoXX2ltqis8y8mKtEXEJKYnM3-7DtFPyUSgKqS05P_WRFby0jX-0ixjFZlZRtOK8XTQ7Af0BfdzsPmMaJUTkrEOxqMuoNjIIt6nP2egQ/s1600/curbside+pink+truck.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA6BuMKEKo6V0z-BYwn2c3FqPfOh5tazE4gh_YoXX2ltqis8y8mKtEXEJKYnM3-7DtFPyUSgKqS05P_WRFby0jX-0ixjFZlZRtOK8XTQ7Af0BfdzsPmMaJUTkrEOxqMuoNjIIt6nP2egQ/s320/curbside+pink+truck.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"> I was so excited that we found Curbside Cupcake that as soon as they stopped I jumped out of my car and ran to the truck order window and waited for them to open it (I don't know why I thought they would be just as excited to see me as I was to see them). When the window finally dropped down and opened I was greeted by sourpuss 1. He didn't even say hello! He just looked at me like are you going to order or what? I was a little taken back but I eventually spoke up and asked for a carrot cake, a pumpkin walnut (the facebook posts said they were the best) and at the last minute I ordered a red velvet cupcake. Sourpuss 1 took my $9.00 cash (there is a minimum of a $15.00 charge for credit cards) and said I needed to go to the next window to pick up the cupcakes. The next window was closed so I waited for the window panel to lower down and open up. Guess who I saw behind that window? Sourpuss 2! Again, no hello, no smile, nothing. He pulled out a paper bag and put my "gourmet" cupcakes in the brown paper bag. I felt like I was paying for overpriced donuts by the way they were packaged. I have visited many cupcake shops and none of them packaged their cupcakes in a brown paper bag, even at the grocery stores, they do not package cupcakes in a plain old paper bag. However, the gentleman behind me in line ordered a half dozen cupcakes and they were packaged in a clear plastic container. I guess I just didn't spend enough money.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRY_aCBlVxbS44nvO74zuBzjTCOZ282AXTyaQbap8f9FQtaiRPHYUWRuHoNgKIN8G_ByWeFoSfPRvjvid9NL-iDRU8BorTKaLWP-C0ZjaFVNcsbf8pKIRl_5i9cXG5GACHLbAdUAg2JAc/s1600/curbside+smooshed+cupcake.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRY_aCBlVxbS44nvO74zuBzjTCOZ282AXTyaQbap8f9FQtaiRPHYUWRuHoNgKIN8G_ByWeFoSfPRvjvid9NL-iDRU8BorTKaLWP-C0ZjaFVNcsbf8pKIRl_5i9cXG5GACHLbAdUAg2JAc/s320/curbside+smooshed+cupcake.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;">Now, for the cupcake taste....one word...WOW. We started with the carrot cupcake. The cupcake frosting was all messed up from the paper, but this cupcake's taste and frosting flavor was perfect. The cupcake was moist and the frosting was a great tasting cream cheese frosting. Next, was the pumpkin walnut. Again, the cupcake was perfect. Moist, very flavorful but the frosting on this cupcake was less desirable. The frosting on this cupcake was a sugary buttercream. We took the sugary mess off the cupcake and enjoyed this perfect cupcake without any frosting. It was "yum!" This cupcake would have been dreamy if the same frosting was used on it as the carrot cupcake. Last, but certainly not least was the red velvet topped with the same sugary mess as the pumpkin walnut. The taste and density of this red velvet cupcake is one of my favorites. The chocolate flavor really comes out when you savor the flavor of this cupcake. I have to say the Curbside red velvet cupcake (cupcake only) is one of my top 3 best tasting cupcakes. Their choice of frosting on this cupcake has got to go or tone it down. The frosting should accent a cupcake not weigh it down. </div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-7876621924878635862011-01-02T10:49:00.002-05:002011-01-02T11:22:55.911-05:00Magnolia Bakery ReviewTony and my adventure to New York city for New Year's Eve to see the ball drop was ALMOST a total bust. I say almost because even though we didn't get to even get a peek at the ball, we did get a cupcake fix. When we arrived at NY Penn Station at 9pm the roads anywhere near Time Square were already blocked off. We heard from a local that you could get a glimpse from central park and 7th Ave. We walked 10 blocks to central park and seen a massive mob forming in front of 7th ave. We decided to bypass viewing the ball at this point and head over to Magnolias for a sweet night cap. Once at Magnolias, there was not a big selection to choose from. In fact, there were red velvet, carrot, and caramel. There were brownies, bars, and other sweet treats available though. We ordered a red velvet, a peanut butter bar, and a coconut bar. When we got to the register the charge was $6.45. I was like WOW for a cupcake and 2 bars? That's pretty cheap! UNTIL I opened the box on our train ride home. Tony and I hopped on the last train out of the city before the ball dropped. We had the train car pretty much to ourselves. It was a nice sweet relaxing ride. We opened the Magnolia box and found only the red velvet cupcake and the peanut butter bar. The coconut bar was missing. Tony was devistated, being the good woman I am, I gave him the chocolate Rockette that was on top of the red velvet cupcake. The red velvet cupcake itself was dry, but the frosting was very good. The peanut butter bar was delicious fresh peanut butter tasting and not sickening sweet. We would have loved to have tasted the coconut bar. On our next trip we will stop by again and hopefully Magnolia's will have a bigger cupcake selection and get our order correct. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kBxyLl-KDv9ztEPqowyL4O8IP-HNg7bchUeU9MqQdiHNGQSwjlNMz3CAs5bBp9IVJO6bgQdc2oIREDBb4q_4JILCIuS0Cv8IPmqCEfudH7n5aCF0nBQ3nPtEnvKGd5jxHyYaUZJxg84/s1600/cupcake+mag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="height: 167px; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; width: 242px;"><img border="0" height="300" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3kBxyLl-KDv9ztEPqowyL4O8IP-HNg7bchUeU9MqQdiHNGQSwjlNMz3CAs5bBp9IVJO6bgQdc2oIREDBb4q_4JILCIuS0Cv8IPmqCEfudH7n5aCF0nBQ3nPtEnvKGd5jxHyYaUZJxg84/s400/cupcake+mag.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Red Velvet cupcake and Peanut Butter Bar</td></tr>
</tbody></table>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2488978882674644419.post-84541483144737566602010-12-31T10:23:00.000-05:002011-01-02T10:49:27.339-05:00Cuppy's and Beans ReviewSince I am never home to bake cupcakes, I might as do the next best thing! Eat cupcakes! Tony and I decided we were going to venture to New York City to watch the ball drop for New Years. So, for our snack during our 4 hour drive we stopped by Dulles Town Center (again) to pick up Sweetz Bakery Competitor's cupcakes for a cupcake showdown. We were greeted by a snowhat wearing, Jamaican sounding guy named Zach (he wasn't really Jamaican but we got that warm welcoming Jamaican feeling just talking with him..Hey maun!). Tony ordered the chocolate coconut and I ordered the chocolate ganache. Tony really liked the taste of the chocolate coconut cupcake. The vanilla frosting was not too sweet and it had a nice amount of coconut mixed in. However, we both thought the chocolate cupcake was a little dry. The chocolate ganache cupcake was also dry. The ganache was a bit more thick that I am used to. I must admit it was at the end of the night when we ordered these cupcakes, but I do believe the cupcakes were more than a day old (the chocolate ganache cupcake anyway). If I had to choose a place based on character and friendliness, I would pick Cuppy and Beans, but taste goes to Sweetz Bakery.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmqNsYjvFXk9IK0-xM_OOukIT2mFitzrIUBhRq9EKsLgKBpboIiHd_fL7QkuZVipBPvygBnFY7ogBZ3RojmGmPOYxGHEANpVXKW2acRdrpPs2ua8xSyU9fYHSGUtEpzVgCl0JFusjnHI/s1600/cuppy+and+beans.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" n4="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPmqNsYjvFXk9IK0-xM_OOukIT2mFitzrIUBhRq9EKsLgKBpboIiHd_fL7QkuZVipBPvygBnFY7ogBZ3RojmGmPOYxGHEANpVXKW2acRdrpPs2ua8xSyU9fYHSGUtEpzVgCl0JFusjnHI/s320/cuppy+and+beans.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>April Garciahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10016426233086221297noreply@blogger.com0