Cookies and Creamy Deliciousness!

Things have been super crazy at the Fujii house since Christmas!  Things are always busy around that time, as they are for all of us.  But now that I have finally had a chance to breath and reset, I am back in my baking groove, and with some new tools, I might add!

Check out the awesome mixing bowl Mr. Cupcake got me for Christmas!  (The bowl - we already had the mixer!)

My student, Emma, also treated me to a lifetime supply of cupcake liners!  (Okay, this will last me until summer...)  I love love LOVE all of the different colors and have to make sure I have a rainbow happening before I stick my goodies in the oven.

I don't have Oreo's often, but dang, they are GOOD!!!

I have been diving into the world of Pinterest lately - have you tried it?  It's very addictive.  There are wonderful ideas and recipes on there, and that is where I got the inspiration for this cupcake....the cookies and cream....Originally from Annie's Good Eats!




I have definitely made this before, with my wonderful mandros.....but I didn't document the experience properly, and I wanted to try out this new recipe.  They turned out pretty dang good!  I would definitely make these again.  AND, I think I have found the best recipe for cream cheese frosting yet.  Move over Martha!

If I remember, we actually screwed this batch up...but it's a cute picture!

Ingredients:

Cake
24 Oreo Halves (cream filling attached)
Really, you will use an ENTIRE bag of oreos for this recipe - especially if you eat a few in the baking process.  Like me!
2.25 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. unsalted butter - room temperature
1 2/3 cup sugar
3 large egg whites - room temperature
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup milk

Frosting
20 Oreo Cookies, coarsely chopped
(I used a combination of the top halves left from the cake part, in addition to some whole cookies.  It's great to have the filling in the cupcake bites too!)
8 oz. cream cheese - room temperature
6 tbsp. unsalted butter - room temperature
1 tbsp. vanill extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar (really just do this to taste.  I used way less, but I like to taste the cream cheese)
2 tbsp. heavy cream (I'm pretty sure this is what made the frosting so wonderfully perfect)
Oreo Cookie crumbs
24 Oreo cookie halves (I wasn't kidding about needing the whole damned bag)

This made about 18 good sized cupcakes for me.

Love the rainbow of liners!  Thanks, Emma!!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.  Get out your favorite colorful cupcake liners and line 'em up!  Put the oreo halves (with the cream filling) filling side up.  One in each liner.





In a medium bowl combine your dry ingredients (flour, powder and salt).  Stir so that it's all mixed evenly.

         

Featuring my new whisk!  Thanks, Santa!

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine your butter and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy (which takes about 2-3 minutes).  Beat in the egg whites - one at a time!  Don't get hasty!  Then add your vanilla.

Scale back your speed to low and add 1/2 of the dry ingredients.  Mix until just incorporated - don't overdo it!  Add your milk until combined and then the rest of your dry ingredients.  Stir in those yummy chopped Oreos until they are evenly incorporated.  If, in your expert opinion, you need more Oreos - add more Oreos.   Don't over mix 'em.

Nom nom nom!

Divide batter evenly into each liner.  Bake for 20 minutes, rotating 1/2 way through.

For the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in an electric mixer (having more than one bowl REALLY comes in handy here -then you don't have to do dishes in between!)  Blend on medium'high until smooth.  Add vanilla and then sugar until smooth.  Then the heavy cream until incorporated.  Then jazz it up to medium high and whip for 4 minutes.  This frosting is perfection.  Put on your favorite piping tip and go to town!

Garnish with Oreo halves and crushed cookies.  Eat and be merry.

"Enjoy" Life - Eat a Cupcake!: SB Cupcake Crawl, Final Stop!

I think in many ways, we saved the best for last.  On our way home, Emily suggested we stop at Enjoy Cupcakes - a place she had looked into 'enjoying' for my bachelorette party last year.  She said it looked really cool, and since we were in no rush to get home, we took a slight detour to Los Olivos.  As soon as we pulled onto the main street, we knew we had struck gold.

Los Olivos is such a quaint little town, sprinkled with historic buildings, kitchy shops with odds and ends, and great eateries.  We immediately started planning our trip for next year, which will certainly involve a stop there - we're sure to find a cute little B&B.  Yes please!  And then - we saw it.

There are no words to describe how amazing, cute, fun and creative this place is.  The Enjoy trailer was parked outside, as the actual cupcakes are sold inside a wine bar.  Two of my favorite things under one roof?  Sure.  I'm getting more ideas for my own bakery.  We went to take a peek at their retro trailer.  I wanted to crawl inside and move in.  How cute is THIS?

The cupcakes are served inside this equally adorable wine shop - love the building, the porch, the outdoor seating, everything.  So welcoming and comfy - yay for Emily's great looking out.  That's why she's one of my top researchers.

When we walked in, there was a teenytiny little counter, almost like a jewelry counter or something, lined with beautiful little mini cupcakes in an array of flavors.  It was fitting that they were displayed in a jewelry case because they looked like little jewels.  Wait until you see these babies.

The cool thing about Enjoy is that they have a lot of wine inspired flavors, and a lot of just really outrageously creative flavors overall.  Em and I chose 6, and they were delivered promptly to us in an egg carton!  What a great idea!  The mini cupcakes were a perfect fit, and I really liked the repurposing of the egg carton.  Brilliant!  I snapped this photo while Em was inside, adding to her copper pot collection at one of the local shops.

And this....is what was inside, ladies and gentlemen.

These were the flavors we ended up with:

OMG Out of This World Flavors

Chocolate Blackberry Syrah

There is something so inviting and decadent about fruit on a cupcake.  Drizzle booze over the fruit?  I'm sold.





Sweet Potato Marshmallow


Do I really need to write anything about this one?  It was very yummy.





Chocolate Cheesecake Swirl


Black and white - just to dress it up a bit, super yummy, nonetheless.






Toffee Vanilla Cake


Crunchy and creamy together - so sweet!






Oreo Chocolate Mousse



Moist chocolate cake with an oreo baked at the bottom!

Lemon Cake with Honey Filled Rasberry                                         This one wasn't my favorite, but I love how pretty it is!

They were all beautiful to look at, naturally decorated, and had a taste to match.  I will definitely be back!!  Much thanks to my loyal research assistant!  

Decorations: Simple, clean, elegant.  Just my style.  

Ambiance - It would have been so cool to walk inside that trailer!  But, since it wasn't really the cupcakery itself, but the wine bar, I would give it a: 

Overall - An amazing little stop.  Cute, kitchy and original.  Loved it.

China Town Cupcakes!

So, I've been off the blog for a while, sadly, but it's for a good reason!  The Mr. and I are upgrading our digs, and we have been living at my in-laws for a few weeks.  Things have been crazy and I haven't been able to sample, or bake!  I'm going through withdrawals...However, my wonderful friend, Nick, often mentioned in one of my besties blogs that I frequently plug, was recently in China!  And wouldn't you know it, they have cupcakes.  And even better?  He's going to guest blog about his China Town cupcake experience.  Thanks, Nick!!

I recently have found myself in a new job at my company with the awesome perk of traveling! Even though I'v3e only been in this position for a few months, my travels have taken me to many new places all over the world, including China. I was in China for three weeks and upon my way home I had an 11 hour layover in Hong Kong (which is in China, but not really…it’s a long story). Being this my first time in Hong Kong I had to get out of the airport and explore this city that is so well known to the world, but new and exciting to me. After a delicious lunch I took some time to walk around and with perfect timing (call it fate) I stumbled upon SMOOCH.

This place had all sorts of desserts including homemade cupcakes. Being a friend of and self proclaimed researcher for Steph I felt it was my duty to partake in some of these delicious baked goods. Out of the collection of flavors they had I knew I had to try the Oreo and the Red Velvet!

Oreo

This cupcake pulled me in immediately. The dark color of the cake, the speckled creamy frosting, all topped with a bite size Oreo. The frosting was light and fluffy. It was sweet with a hint of tanginess. The cake was moist and firm. There was a rich cocoa flavor with a bit of nuttiness. Not so much straight chocolate, but that more natural flavor of the bean. I savored every delectable bite!

Flavor:  4/5

Decoration: 3/5

Red Velvet

I was so excited to try the Red Velvet. I’m a big fan of this flavor in general and had high hopes for what this cupcake would bring. This cupcake looked pleasing from the start. Not very red, but still a nicely colored cake. The frosting looked like an elegant ivory. I peeled back the paper and went in for what I hoped would be a flavor explosion. Now, gather around children for some words of advice:

                  “In life, we reach and hope to achieve great heights. It is inevitable though that we will stumble and fall. It may only be slight trip. Or, it can be a complete and utter disaster, tumbling down a large flight of stairs in a knotted ball of body parts, only to reach the bottom in terrible pain. It’s at that point that you realize everyone in the world saw it and the pain of the embarrassment feels worse than the fall.”

The only explosion there was the image of a tasty cupcake going bye-bye! The flavor was very plain (almost non-existent) with only the faintest wisp of cocoa. After the first bite the cake completely fell apart into a crumbly mess. I was fighting just to keep enough together for a good second bite (not that I would have missed much). The frosting, although creamy, lacked any sweetness and really just had more of a sour flavor (as in sour cream). I don’t know, maybe this is what red velvet translates to in Cantonese. IF so, I can do without that translation.

Flavor:  1/5

Decoration: 2/5

In the end, I can’t complain. Sitting on the water’s edge, staring over the harbor to the Kowloon Peninsula, eating baked treats, it’s a place most will never get to enjoy. I savored every bite, the good and the bad, and took in that serene moment of Hong Kong. Based on my limited view, I give Hong Kong’s cupcake scene a solid 3/5. Now, where was that sign for Peaking Duck?

Cupcake Dreamin'

I'm just an average California girl with a more than average obsession with cupcakes!  I love to eat them, bake them, look at them, buy merchandise associated with them - you name it!  I love it!

Cupcakes are the quintessential American dessert.  They are small.  Simple.  Decadent.  Sweet.  Savory.  Colorful.  They are all of these things, packed into one, tiny (or sometimes SUPER sized) indulgence.  I love how many things can be done with this simple idea, and am fascinated by the life that the cupcake world has developed in the last few years.  It is for this reason that I started this blog.

My goal with this blog is to visit cupcakeries around California (or hell, just places that sell cupcakes), and hopefully beyond sometimes, too.  I want to enjoy the delicious creations and the unique vibe these places have to offer.  To try new flavors, and compare and contrast classics.  Marvel at decorations and salivate over flavors.  And so, my blog is dedicated to such adventures.

My forthcoming posts will (hopefully) review some of the yummy cupcakeries in my neck of the woods and beyond.  Pictures, flavors and reviews - and celebrations of all things cupcake!  I have included some photos of some of my recent enjoyments.

These are the cupcakes we enjoyed at my wedding!  Simple, and so delicious!
Cupcakes by Batter Bakery - San Francisco (Red Velvet, Carrot, Lemon, Rasberry, Chocolate)
Photo - Courtesy of Frederick Ng

The cupcakes from my shower!  Close-ups below!
Cupcakes from Once Upon a Cupcake - Auburn, Ca
Flavors: Key Lime, Oreo, Red Velvet, Carrot, Mint Chocolate, Chocolate

Love the simple, yet perfect, decorations on top.  No mystery flavors here!

These were definitely a favorite - red velvet.  The topping was perfect for the day!