Tres Leches

One of the greatest gifts I have in my life is wonderful friends.  I don't have a large circle, nor is that something I want.  What I do have is a perfect circle of fabulous friends, most of whom I have known for the better part of my life.  Today, one of my very best friends, Emily, celebrated her birthday.  I have known Em for almost a quarter of a century - holy cow.  From crayons to wedding dresses, from all nighters to puppy play dates, I am happy to celebrate another year of a fabulous friend!

In celebration of Em's big day, Mike suggested trying out a new cupcake recipe.  I tried to find something fabulous and kind of exotic for my jet setting pal, and landed on Martha Stewart's Tres Leches recipe.  It was kind of a pain in the rear because you have to soak them with the milk which takes quite a while.  But, in the end, they look fabulous and taste good too!!  

Happy birthday, Em!

Yummy whipped topping - with Em's dahlias in the back!

With a little cinnamon on top!

Scrumptious!

Lovely Lemon

My sweet, sweet summer is coming to an end.  School starts on Monday and I will be greeted with the smiling, tired, annoyed, anxious, eager faces of my next group of students.  As my days are limited, and I have to think about how I want to spend my last few days of unadulterated freedom, of course, I thought it was a great time to try out a new cupcake recipe!

As usual, I went to my trusty Martha Stewart cookbook (which is looking a bit beat up these days...) and the lemon meringue cupcakes caught my eye.  Nothing is more refreshing than a bright, citrusy cupcake.  I was sold.

I headed to the store to buy a LOT of butter, lots of eggs and of course, lottsa lemons!

The layout - I like to have everything out before I start.  

LEMONS! 

Since it was the end of summer, I drank champagne while whisking!

I love fresh cupcakes - right of the oven - before they've been frosted.  I have been known (just about every time I bake) to sneak a few bites in and split a warm one with Mike before they receive their final touches.

The end product was SO yummy, and well worth the many dishes it incurred.  The only hiccup was that I was supposed to put the lemon curd on top of the cupcake and then the frosting.  Well, the curd has to chill in the fridge for two hours, and of course, I forgot about it.  So I just whipped up my seven minute frosting, and put it right on there.  Literally as SOON as I did that, I remembered my curd.  Oh well.  It still tasted good.  I never said they would be pretty.  :)  Next time, I'll get it right!

Yummm - the pink polka dot wrapper is a perfect fit!

Holy "Hotcakes!"

I went to visit my fabulous and newly engaged buddy, Brittney, in her LA pad.  Of course the activities for the weekend included girl time, good food, movies and CUPCAKES!  L.A is one of the hotspots of cupcakes - they are ubiquitous and that's something I love about the place!  Granted, some of them are more inviting looking than others...but isn't that always the case?

Brittney had sampled some cupcakes from Hotcakes Bakes at her work, and had great things to say.  Twist my arm...I'm on board. They were also the winner of Cupcake Wars on the Food Network (Similar to Sift - which I blogged about earlier).  I had higher hopes for Hotcakes, since my Sift experience was forgettable.  Hotcakes is a little tiny shop, packed with lots of flavor variety and two stools at a bar by the window.  There were two of us, so it worked perfectly.  Let it be said, though, that I am still in search of my dream cupcakery.  I will find it, or I will open it.

Birdy - ready to sample with me!

There are no words...

As you can see, there were so many flavors to choose from, and well, I just couldn't.  Choose that is.  So, we walked over to the counter with a baker's dozen.  That's right, folks.  Thirteen cupcakes.  Don't judge - it was for research.  ;)

The flavors we chose were:

1. Red Velvet
2. Lemon
3. English Toffee
4. Tres Leches (their award winning flavor)
5. Sprinkleicious 
6. Strawberry
7. Coconut
8. Cookies and Cream
9. Carrot Cake
10. Chocolate Mint
11. Snickerdoodle
12. Key Lime
13. Chocolate

Oh, and I should probably add (for my own sake) that these were MINI cupcakes, people.  (Not that I wouldn't have ordered 13 normal size cupcakes.)

I don't have the energy to write on all thirteen, and truth be told, we could only get through ten.  I had to leave Brittney the last three to sample with her fiance, Sasha.  The pictures didn't turn out too great once we left the sunny store front, and so I will choose my top two, and then one of Brittney's reviews. I will also briefly let you know which ones were relatively anti-climactic, and that you should avoid...

Lemon

Photo Credit: Brittney Smith

This is one of the ones that Britt and Sasha tried.  According to her:
"So good! I must admit that I'm partial to lemon cake, but I really enjoyed this one. There was a subtle, but completely present lemon flavor in both the cake and frosting. But the surprise that Sasha and I both loved was that inside the cake was a little dollop of lemon curd. So so yummy. The yellow frosting just looks cute to me too." - Brittney Smith of Britt by Britt

I personally liked the off center frosting.  It made it look like a little party hat - and I was so down to party with this cupcake.  Too bad I didn't get to sample it!  Next time.  Thanks, Birdy, for doing the hard work for me!










Chocolate Mint


I love mint chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins.  I mean, who doesn't? (if you don't, don't tell me).  So the idea that that yummy summertime flavor could possibly be captured in a cupcake?  Yes please!

I was a bit put off by the alien green of the frosting - I prefer things to look a little more pale than that, but I wasn't letting that stop me.  I also wasn't a fan of the whole chocolate chips on the top - a bit clunky for my taste.  Perhaps consider some chocolate shavings next time? A little more elegant.

We bit in, and were both a bit overwhelmed with the mint flavor!  It was pretty powerful - like lingering minty burn in the back of your throat and clear your sinuses while your in there, powerful.  But, if you're into that kind of thing, then by all means...

I don't think I would revisit this one, though.

Flavor:


Decoration:

Strawberry


I've said this before, but nothing really says summer like a strawberry cupcake.  This cupcake did not let me down.  It was moist, fluffy, a beautifully pale shade of pink, topped with light and airy whipped cream frosting.  A dream in a wrapper.  Seriously good.

And, similar to the lemon - don't you love the off kilter frosting topper?  This one's totally rocking it.  Love it.

Flavor:

Decoration:

Anti Climactic:

English Toffee.  The only thing toffee about this cupcake was the toffee crumbles on the top.  I would have been better off eating a Heath bar.

Sprinkleicious.  Basically Funfetti.  Tasted like the box.  Kind of a let down.

Overall, I would give Hotcakes a definitely worth a stop if you are in the area!

Sweet "Buttery" Goodness

There are many, many things to love about summer vacation.  I could have an entire post dedicated to things I love about the months of summer when I don't have to grade endless amounts of papers.  However, one of the highlights of my summer (aside from my fabulous European adventure) has been spending time with my fabulous friends.  I love the luxury of being able to visit them during the week, lunch, shop, take walks, etc.  It is very fulfilling and wonderful, and reminds me of how blessed I am!

Last week, my dear friend, Monica, and I went to Santa Cruz.  Monica studied and lived in Santa Cruz and so is very familiar with the area.  We did many fun things, including a hike, a lunch, shopping, ice cream and lots of chatting.  But of course, this blog is devoted to the one, the only, the best dessert in the world for any season, any time of day: the cupcake.

Monica suggested we go to The Buttery for lunch.  It was the place where she and her husband, Daniel, had their wedding cake made and she said it was great for lunch.  When I opened the door, I knew I was in love.  Yummy pasteries and homemade bread lined the entrance.  Turn the corner to find chalkboards filled with mouth watering descriptions of fresh, organic sandwiches.  We chose our lunch and then headed back to the dessert counter.  We selected the "Favorite Chocolate" and "Carrot" cupcakes.  We were ready to dig in.

Photo Credit: Crazy biking lady outside "The Buttery"

Photo Credit: Monica Schuet

Favorite Chocolate Cake

Photo Credit: Monica Schuet

This cake was beautiful to look at.  It was chocolate cake, topped with a thin layer of ganache, whipped cream frosting, and a strawberry.  I am usually not a fan of ganache (it's a bit too rich for me), but it looked like a pretty thin layer.  This was a great chocolate cupcake!  Very moist, flavorful, and the whipped cream frosting was just right.  Because the frosting and the cake were pretty light and fluffy, the ganache wasn't overwhelming, and was actually a nice textural element to the cupcake because it was a bit crunchy.

For presentation, I would probably give this cupcake a:

Both of us agreed that for taste, this cupcake got a:

Carrot Cake

Photo Credit: Monica Schuet

This was the type of cake that Monica and Daniel had for their beautiful wedding.  I enjoy a good carrot cake.  This one had shreds of coconut in there that made it a bit crumbly (that is Monica's educated guess as to why it was falling apart!)  It was very delicious, but pretty hard to manage.  As you can see, the cupcake was HUGE!!!  I liked the nuts on the outer rim, and the cream cheese frosting was very light and not too cream cheesy (you can OD on that stuff, you know).


For presentation, I would give this cupcake a:


For taste, this cupcake would get a 4, but because it was so out of control and kind of irritating, it gets a 3.5 ( don't have 1/2 cupcake images!)


Definitely worth a repeat visit, especailly with such wonderful company!  My next cupake adventure will be taking me to L.A. with one of my fabulous and newly engaged besties, Brittney.  Check back next week!

Strawberry {Cupcakes} Forever...

My baking (and blog) have been on somewhat of a hiatus.  My husband and I took a three week adventure in Europe, and I just got back to my cupcakin' roots yesterday.  I wanted to bake something for my husband's office, Petrinovich Pugh & Co, because many of the other "wives" do that kind of thing, and I know I can bake with the best of 'em!

In thinking about which flavor to make, I thought of a few options.  My first inclination was to do carrot.  The previous night we spent at Second Harvest food bank, bagging carrots.  Hundreds, and hundreds of carrots.  I thought it would be very tongue in cheek, and, who doesn't like carrot cake?  (stay silent if you don't.  It's a rhetorical question...)  My other thought was to try something completely new like Boston Cream Pie or something like that.  Then, I read the recipe and it sounded too hard for where my brain was yesterday.  Then, I remembered something wonderful that is happening this weekend: my one year anniversary.  My husband and I have been together for seven years and married for one.  The first time Mike was with me for my birthday, he made me (from scratch) a beautiful strawberry cake with strawberry whipped cream frosting.  I have always had a thing for strawberries.  That's when I knew that strawberry cupcakes were the perfect thing for me to bake.

I went to my trusty Martha Stewart cupcake book, and wouldn't you know it - old Martha had a recipe for me.  I went with the Strawberry Cupcakes topped with Strawberry Mirengue Buttercream Frosting.  The results: a beautiful summery cupcake fit for a walk down memory lane and consumption by CPAs.

Photo Credit: Mike Fujii

Photo Credit: Mike Fujii

Photo Credit: Mike Fujii

Don't Hold the "Frost"ing!

Today was the perfect summer day - great weather, started with a walk with the best dog in the world, Taiko, and a cupcake tasting with a great companion at a fabulous new place!

If you recall, I have mentioned my ideal cupcakery.  It includes the following criterion: fun and inviting atmosphere, fun and funky furniture, good music, clean and simple cupcake presentation/display, and drinks!  I mean, who doesn't want to wash down a rich chocolate cupcake with a nice cold glass of milk (or a martini...)  And my visit today, actually came pretty close to meeting most of those!  They stole my concept! ;)

Frost Cupcake Factory JUST opened on July 1st of this year!  I was so excited when I googled "Cupcakeries in SJ" and something besides Kara's actually popped up.  I had been planning to get together with one of my fabulous (ex) students, and this was the perfect venue.  It is in downtown Campbell, right on Campbell Avenue.  Every time I visit that part of town, I always think of how I want to spend more time there.  It is so quaint, fun and cute.  It is the perfect spot for a cupcakery, in fact.

As you can see from their list of flavors - they have some awesome ones.  I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the (super friendly) owner, and she said they they have six flavors that are their kind of "base" - Tahitian Vanilla, Red Velvet, Black Velvet, Frostfetti and Cookies and Cream.  Then, they will have between 2-4 "rotating" flavors.  Her goal is to have six rotating flavors at some point.  I can't WAIT to try some of them.  Coconut mojito?  Hell yes!  Banana Caramel?  Uh, yes please!  Maui Coconut Dream?  Salivating already.  I love the creativity of the names and how they are so much more fun and enticing than "Coconut" or "Vanilla."  A+ for thinking outside the box a bit.

Of course I forgot my camera, but my wonderful taste tester, Cole, brought his, and snapped this photo - just so you can see what we are dealing with.

Photo Credits: Cole Carter

Anyway, on to the tasting...

I had Cole choose two flavors and then I chose two.  I was THRILLED to see the Frostfetti flavor.  That is my favorite flavor of boxed cupcake.  There is something quintessentially young about them - the look, the taste - just everything.  Obviously, that was one of my choices.  The owner also recommended the Lemon Meringue, and that was an easy sell for me.  I love citrus - especially in the summer time.  Cole's choices were the Tahitian Vanilla and the Black Velvet.  We parked outside, and dug in.

Frostfetti

Firstly, I kind of appreciated the uniformity of all of the frostings.  With a name like Frost - I had to pay extra attention to that detail of the cakes.  Not a lot of fanfare, but I liked their minimalist approach.  It went with their whole vibe.

Having said that, and considering my considerable excitement over this flavor, I was a bit disappointed.  It was a bit too dense, and lacked a strong flavor.  Cole agreed with me, and we left about 95% of this cupcake on the plate.  Bummer.

So, while it was pretty, it lacked what I was looking for.  I appreciate the effort, though, and the nod to the classic.

Tahitian Vanilla


I don't know what it is about this flavor being Tahitian that made it sound exponentially more exotic that just plain old American Vanilla, but I bought into that description expecting full blown rich vanilla flavor. Again, it was a bit bland for me.  I really wanted more of a kick in the pants than this offered me.  Again, we left about 90% on the plate.

Again, loved the look and the name, but ultimately, I wasn't taken away to Tahiti with this one....

Black Velvet


Oh my chocolate God.  This was a great cupcake.  Rich.  Moist.  Mouthwatering.  Yum-O.  So amazing. I could have eaten two of these (but, I did have three other cupcakes.  I don't want to be a total pig!)  Seriously though, this was one of the better chocolate cupcakes I have tasted.  The frosting was light - like a whipped cream almost.  Just enough, and it didn't overpower the wonderful flavor of the cake.  Love at first bite, all the way.  I am glad this is a staple, because I will be getting this again.

Lemon Meringue 

Wow is this ever a summer flavor.  Visually, this was a very appealing cupcake.  I love the light toasting on the top and, you can kind of see it, but the gooey yummy lemon sauce oozing out underneath.  I knew this was going to be a good experience for everyone.  When I cut this baby open, imagine my delight to see that the inside also included that gooey lemon filling.  

Every bite of this cupcake SCREAMED lemon.  It was in the frosting, the sauce on top, in the cake itself, and in the filling.  But it wasn't overpowering.  It was bright, refreshing, moist, and sit back in your chair to rejoice in summer good.  

Overall, I was very happy with my visit, and I am so excited to have such a fun place in the neighborhood.  They have free WiFi, so I plan on bringing some papers to grade when school comes around, grabbing a cup of joe, and enjoying the fun place that is Frost.  Hope to see you there!

"Snickerdoodle"ing...

The end of the school year always means a LOT of baking for the Fujii household. I must have gone through a few pounds of butter at least, in the last couple of weeks.  I like to have a beautiful cupcake sitting on the students' desks when they walk in.  It takes some of the edge off of their final.  Not all, but some!

Last night, I tackled a new recipe - Martha Stewart's Snickerdoodle Cupcakes with her Seven Minute Frosting.  They were fairly simple, smelled delicious, and they were gobbled up, crumbs and all!  I loved the frosting, which was surprisingly thick - though it doesn't really look it.  It had a great sheen to it, and made for a very festive piece of desk art!