I love to bake and cupcakes are one of my favorite treats. They’re easy, but so decadent. I love the way they look piled on a plate and I love sharing them. Who doesn’t love cupcakes? In the past several years, cupcakes have hit the scene as being the “it” dessert. One of my fabulous editors, Rachel Kramer Bussel-- in addition to being a writer, blogger and editor-- also uncovers all the best of the cupcake world at the wildly popular Cupcakes Take the Cake. CTTC is my source for all things cupcake and the photos (food porn!) alone are worth a visit to the site, whether you bake or not.
I have often lamented that Virginia-- at least my part of Virginia-- is not exactly cupcake-friendly. The cupcake craze seems to be a mostly urban phenomenon-- New York, San Francisco and Chicago are just filled with delicious cupcake bakeries. Bakeries dedicated entirely to cupcakes! Oh, the wonder! Imagine my delight when I discovered the Carolina Cupcakery just a few short minutes from my house (in a direction I never travel, which explains why I didn’t know they existed). Despite the name, Carolina Cupcakery is most definitely located in Virginia. Happy me!
Jay and I stumbled on the Carolina Cupcakery quite by accident yesterday. I was willing to come back another time (we hadn’t eaten lunch yet and it seemed irresponsible to be indulging in cupcakes as a meal), but Jay insisted we should go inside. I’m so glad we did! The smell was heaven and the selection is truly eclectic.
The Cupcakery rotates their cupcake flavors and offers a schedule so customers will know what days their favorites are available. We were in on a Thursday when such flavors as Kahlua and Cream, Espresso Royale, Seriously Southern Red Velvet and Fluffer Nutter are fresh from the oven. Jay ordered a Chocolate Chipster (yellow cake with a rich, chocolate chip-laden butter cream frosting) and I chose the HoHo Heaven (a Hostess-style chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache and vanilla cream filling). Oh. My. God.
In September, Sheri brought me a lovely, luscious cupcake from More Cupcakes in Chicago. It was a similar Hostess-styled cupcake and I was curious to compare the “big city” version to my newfound Virginia cupcake bakery. I have to say, the More cupcake was delicious, but the cake was a little on the dry side and there wasn’t much vanilla cream filling. Yummy, to be sure, and the dryness might be due to traveling from Chicago. The Carolina Cupcakery’s version was a little more decadent (and perhaps a little larger?), the cake moist and rich, the chocolate ganache generous, the vanilla cream practically bursting. I love my chocolate and I love it rich, so this was perfect for me. (However, when I offered Jay a bite he said, “That’s so sweet it hurts my teeth!")
I asked the owner (unfortunately, I didn’t think to ask her name, but I believe it’s Dawn Eskins, according to their website) if she knew about Cupcakes Take the Cake. She did-- and she said she was listed on the site! Sure enough, when I checked CTTC, Carolina Cupcakery was there. I’m not sure how I missed it, but it was a sweet treat to find this little cupcake bakery amidst the wilderness of suburbia! (And they’re green!) Ms. Eskins gave me a day-old carrot cake cupcake (day-old cupcakes are half-price, which I think is a great way to let customers try flavors they might not otherwise order) to take home with me. I devoured it last night-- I couldn’t resist-- and though the cake was a little dry from being a day old, it was otherwise delicious. I’ll be back for a fresh-baked one.
I can’t wait to take Sheri there later this month. It’ll be a good excuse to try several more flavors. As if I need an excuse to eat cupcakes, right?
From Cakespy:
Recently, a website called Very Good Taste started something of an internet fire with a list called ”The Omnivore’s Hundred”, which listed 100 foods which “every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life.” We liked the idea, and inspired by the vegan variation on Hannah Kaminsky’s site, we thought--why not make our own Sweet 100!? Like the original, our list includes “fine food, strange food, everyday food and even some pretty bad food"--but in our universe, it’s all sweet! (In case any of them are foreign to you, links to pictures and recipes are included; also, for any vegans, feel free to go through the list assuming it’s a vegan counterpart). How many have you tried?
I’ve had a lot of different desserts in my life, thanks to working in a bakery in high school and growing up in an internationally diverse community. Plus, I really, really like dessert. 
See my list below.
I have been thumbing through Nigella Lawson cookbooks (I have three), contemplating what to make for Christmas Eve dinner. I’m having a hard time of it, though. Not because Nigella doesn’t have many fabulous recipes-- she does-- but because I get caught up in reading those recipes, even when it isn’t something I would ever eat. Just reading this makes me drool:
Chocolate Raspberry Pavlova
You just cannot beat a pav in summer, and in particular this dark beauty. The crisp and chewy chocolate meringue base, rich in cocoa and beaded nuggets of chopped plain chocolate, provides a sombre, almost purple-brown layer beneath the fat whiteness of the cream and matt, glowering crimson raspberries on top: it is a killer combination.
I love cookbooks, but I love words even more… and Nigella (or her ghostwriter?) has a way with words. It doesn’t hurt that she’s hotter than her pre-heated oven, either. And did I mention her accent? Swoon.
See why I’m having problems planning my Christmas Eve dinner menu?
Martha Stewart is a goddess. I was looking for a yummy chocolate cookie recipe (because, you know, the two dozen cookbooks I have— some of them specifically chocolate cookbooks— don’t have enough chocolate recipes) and came across this beauty. I will be making these tomorrow night come hell, high water or fallen Christmas tree and I may eat every last cookie by myself. So there.
Outrageous Chocolate Cookies
Makes 2 dozen; Prep time: 20 minutes; Total time: 45 minutes
8 ounces semisweet chocolate, roughly chopped
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chunks
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Heat chopped chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl in 20-second increments, stirring in between, until almost melted; do not overheat. In another bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. In a mixing bowl, beat eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low; beat in melted chocolate. Mix in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in chocolate chunks.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of dough 2 to 3 inches apart onto baking sheets. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until cookies are shiny and crackly yet soft in centers, 12 to 15 minutes. Cool on sheets 10 minutes; with a thin metal spatula, transfer to racks to cool completely.
Notes:
1. Don’t worry if the batter seems thin. It should look more like brownie batter than cookie dough.
2. Do not bake the cookies to a crisp; they are meant to be soft and chewy. Store them in an airtight container at room temperature for two to three days.
I vaguely remember my mother doing Weight Watchers when I was a kid. Then she tried Atkins. Then she tried a diet that involved eating grapefruit and bananas every two hours or something. I lost track of all the diets she tried, but that’s okay because they keep coming back! Retro-diets are hot! Now you can diet like they did in the 70’s, but without the platform sandals and orange bell bottoms!
I saw the link to this frightening collection of recipes at Put Down the Donut and had to share. For anyone who has ever tried Weight Watchers (hello, Rose!), this should be proof that the folks at Weight Watchers are not only rolling in the dough after thirty-something years of watching the country’s weight, they’re also laughing all the way to the bank.
Personally, I’m planning on making Mexican Shrimp Orange Salad and Chicken Liver Bake for my next dinner party! Who wants to come?? But please, for the love of all that is good in the world, I’m begging you not to bring the dreaded Liver Pate en Masque.
Perhaps the original intent of Weight Watchers was to help you lose weight through food aversion therapy. Hmm?
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