Taking a Rain Check With Cupcakes

Every time I post new content on the blog, which seems to now be an annual activity, I always mention that I have a lot to share and plan on doing. Well, this plan did not work out even with a pandemic raging around the world and ended up taking a rain check. 

I recently injured my leg, so my injury has encouraged me to get back to my original commitment and share more content! 

So, what’s new? Plenty. Pretending to run a Thai restaurant in our apartment, perfecting my favorite baked goods that aren’t sourdough or banana bread, and revisiting my professional wine tasting skills to name a scant few. 

What has been really fun during the pandemic has been exploring cookbooks. I only have a portion of my cookbook library currently with me in Germany, but what has been really revolutionary about a cookbook to me is how they can physically transport you to a place in the world without having to go anywhere. This has been a challenging time and preventing me from traveling anywhere for a year, but my cookbooks have been a treasure to explore. I plan to share more on this topic, but I won’t spill the beans yet.

What I can share is that my sister recently had her first child, and prior to his arrival, we held a virtual (of course!) baby shower. We had to make sure we were definitely the “party scene” along with my sister and brother-in-law so I made cupcakes from a cake recipe I used several years ago. The result? Probably the best cupcakes I made in a long time, if not, ever!

Four takeaways as to why I think the cupcakes were a success: 

Using happy eggs – This was almost revolutionary for me. The happier the egg (meaning how the chicken is treated), the more satisfactory or textbook your recipe will become. If you ever had high-quality Iberico de Bellota or Pata Negra from a Spanish producer, you will understand what I mean.

Our homemade amaretto as an almond extract – My partner loves apricots and started making his own amaretto two years ago. Simply save the extra seeds, let them seep in a neutral spirit for several weeks, discard the seeds, and that’s it! 

Sifting the flour – Yes, sometimes we feel rushed, but we really need to sift that flour. The texture transforms the cake into something that you usually have at a bakery: moist, soft, and compact. 

Using high-quality chocolate (for the frosting) – It is worth the investment, I promise!

If you want to give it a try, this is the recipe from Carissa Shaw’s blog I used for the cake. I used a different recipe (from Add a Pinch) for the frosting and it's certainly worth it if you are looking for a useful buttercream chocolate frosting!

I will be back. 

Cake Practice

I recently had a bridal shower and had to make a cake. Not my first time making a cake for a special occasion, but it was the most formal of them I have ever done. Especially for someone who has been to culinary art school so there is a little bit of pressure here.

I felt compelled to actually do some “practice” so that I can get the hang of baking something of this nature again. It is not so much the cake part, that part for me is well “a piece of cake” ( I know, terrible phrase but I just couldn’t help it ). However, it is the icing part of the procedure that always gets me. Maybe it is because I get lazy or forget to do something, fill something, etc. that makes it just the cake that more novice.

What did I decide to do? http://www.howsweeteats.com/2011/03/one-bowl-vanilla-cupcakes-for-two/

Result? Well… Here you go. This was the practice round in the making. 

And here is the actual result.

It was so amazing that I have 2 more slices in the freezer. Enough said. A sincere thanks to King Arthur Flour. If you want the recipe, check out their baking recipe book. 

The Social Menu: Weekly Trending Foods in Social Media

Its that time of the year where its everything and anything about the word love: hearts, kisses, any shade of the color of red, flowers, berries, chocolate, bubbly, the list could go on forever. Though my Valentine’s Day inspiration will only increase throughout the week, these two findings are sure to be winners of any person’s heart, no matter who they are!

The Love Potion Cocktail

Yes, that’s right. It’s a potion and it’s bound to be the ultimate RX.

Cupcakes with a little bit of heart, compliments of blogging queen, Lauren Conrad. Make them and feel a little sweeter.

The Social Menu: Weekly Trending Foods in Social Media

Happy Monday! Here are what foodie pinners, bloggers, tweeters, and photographers are up to in the digital media world.

DYI Kits never fail to show you how to make just about anything

Cupcakes and not the sweet kind

Mini Pot Pies

Rolling EVERYTHING

Making my day with Georgetown Cupcakes

My sister and her boyfriend wanted to surprise me for Easter by delivering Georgetown Cupcakes, but oddly enough they were not delivered until the following Sunday. Despite the late delivery, they definitely made my day much more sweeter.

Cupcake Competition

The cupcake trend has officially spread to the south! Just when I thought I would be experiencing withdrawals from not having a Crumbs Boston Cream, Magnolia Red Velvet, or a Buttercup chocolate frosted vanilla cupcake, these Woodstock entrepreneurs open a quaint cupcake bakery south of Marietta Square.

The more I visit “The Square” the more I enjoy watching it adapt with the times as it re-opens or renovates new cafes, bars, art galleries, and boutiques suited for the locals. Cupcake Charm is no exception. Located in the re-developing Roswell Street, Cupcake Charm sandwiches in between a currently closed Eastern European Restaurant and the well established Tommy’s sandwich shop.

This open-aired, ice cream parlor styled bakery feels a little vacant upon entering, but that may be just me. I am still used to people lined on top of one another being considered normal pedestrian traffic. The cupcakes, on the other hand generously make up for the vacant space as they sweetly finish an appetite.



Flavors ranging from basic Vanilla and Chocolate to the uebercreative Malted Milk and Pistachio, Cupcake Charm sells flavors I have yet to see advertised in this ever-growing cupcake industry. I opted for the Red Velvet, Key Lime, and Chocolate Chip even though my first choice was Boston Cream which was sold out at the time.

Red Velvet: One can indefinitely tell he or she is in the south when they see nuts on top of cream cheese frosting or taste the spicy heaviness of the cake.

Key Lime: Filled with Key Lime pudding, covered with Key Lime frosting, and topped with a vanilla wafer, this Candyland creation simply melts in one’s mouth.

Chocolate Chip: Rich chocolate morsels inside a semi-dry vanilla cake and generously smothered with swirls of chocolate frosting thick as fudge, this treat accompanies well with dark coffee.

Can Cupcake Charm out-charm their northern rivals? At $2.50 a piece, these charming creations are bound to make one’s day a little sweeter. The bakery even distributes a cupcake card where the 11th one is on the house unlike the competition up north. Therefore, I would give Cupcake Charm my sweet tooth anytime I have New York cupcake withdrawals.


Cupcake Charm Bakery
156 Roswell Street
Marietta, GA 30060
678.290.9811