Happy New Year

Yeah, I've been a little MIA the month of December but here I am :)  To celebrate the new year I think a slight 2011 recap is in order.

Kelley and Cameron

Ringing in 2011 the Wizarding World of Harry Potter was a wonderful way to end the dreadful year of 2010 and welcome wonderful 2011.  This trip also introduced Cameron and I to the Rockin Roller Coaster and we now have an unforgettable DVD of the experience.






Then came my first taste of a baking craze.  Which eventually led to my teeny tiny cupcake business: The Cupcake Pub.  I owe a huge debt of gratitude to Paige for giving me the push I needed.  Right in time for her gorgeous wedding.

Paige and Brian

And of course, weddings come with really fun bacherlorette parties.

 Let's not forget that the final Harry Potter move came out this summer.  Ahh what a night of fun, tears, and excitement.

 I also was introduced to the Very Potter Musical and the Hunger Games this year.  Wonderful :)

At the end of a summer filled with Sanford and the beach I bid farewell and good luck to Sage as she made the big move to Kansas. I myself moved back to Raleigh with Ashley and Anna. 

Anna

 And bought my dream car.

Phoenix

2011 was the year of several road trips, including a couple of trips to Busch Gardens.  Trips that filled with roller coasters, scarecrows, hotels, and freezing our butts off.

Ashley, Emily, Kelley

Busch Gardens hit Ashley and I just right.  I'm slowly pushing her towards roller coasters--even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming on every ride.  She'll learn to love it.  I also got to spend a lot of time with Kelley on these trips which I think was wonderful. In fact, this year in general led to many opportunities to grow closer with Kelley and Cameron on road trips.

Cameron

All in all it was a great year.  And I look forward to the upcoming year :)

State Fair Cupcake!

It's that time.  The State Fair here (which to us Raleigh people means doing some serious rerouting while driving to avoid the traffic).  It's time for turkey legs, fried EVERYTHING, Italian Sausages, vinegar fries...and of course: Candy Apples.

So in the spirit of the season I have a new cupcake to introduce you to.

Meet Caramel Apple Cameron Cupcake (as you know, I try to name all my cupcakes after people or fictional characters--this one is named after my brother)

A delicious granny smith apple cake with salted caramel buttercream frosting topped with crushed peanuts.  A bite of the state fair available year round!

To my Sanford cupcake customers:

First of all...ya'll are great.  And I'm sad I won't be able to meet so many new people every weekend here in Sanford--but alas my life is in Raleigh and I must return.  But cupcakes will still be available!

The first weekend of every month will be dedicated just to you.  Sanford customers may order cupcakes for the first weekend of every month to be picked up at my current location.  Otherwise I'll be at my place in Raleigh (directions will become available late August).  If you know you'll be up that way and would like to make an order during the month-feel free.  If there is an event going on that doesn't fit with the Sanford/Raleigh schedule let me know two weeks ahead of time (weddings and orders of five dozen cupcakes or more will remain a month's notice) and we will work something out.

I move August 13th....normal cupcake ordering will remain in effect until August 6th and then begins the new schedule.  I will post reminders before the first of each month to let you know that the chance to order cupcakes is fast approaching!!!

I leave you with this:

Newest Cupcake: Amanda's PB & Chocolate Heaven

A few months ago my cousin asked me if I had a peanut butter cupcake.  No.  I did not.  I personally don't care for peanut butter flavored things.  I like peanut butter....I love it on apples, pretzels, celery, marshmallows-you name it.  I don't like peanut butter ice cream, cookies, fiber bars....and cake.  When I began this business, The Cupcake Pub, I swore never to make a product I personally didn't like.  And for those of you who know me-you know that I don't like 95% of cakes that I've tried.  Therefore every cupcake I bake is 100% approved by my incredibly picky taste-buds. 

But this suggestion came from my, at the time, pregnant cousin--and how can I refuse a family request?  Much less a pregnant lady? (By the way she now is the proud mama of a beautiful newborn baby boy!)

So I embarked on finding a peanut butter cupcake that I would eat.  And I succeeded.

This is my official chocolate and peanut butter cupcake.

Amanda's PB & Chocolate Heaven

Chocolate cake with a special peanut butter filling topped with peanut butter buttercream.

mmmmmm

I could not stop trying the buttercream and the cupcake is to die for.  The PB buttercream is unbelievably smooth and a dream to work with and I swear my Dad was giving me evil eyes for not making enough to cover the test cupcake. (I always bake one extra cupcake when it's a new recipe so I can test it before I sell it)

These babies are only $15 a dozen :)

Coming Up

MIA for almost a week!  We had Vacation Bible School at church this week so my free time has been filled by putting on band aids, telling kids about God, and marching around New York City:)  I'm headed to the beach for the weekend in just a few minutes and will be finishing up this long weekend with a tacky modeling show.  All of which will make it's way into my blog.  Things to look for:

VBS

Beach Adventures

Tacky Outfits

And of course...cupcakes

See you after the fourth!!! Have a great holiday!

cucpakes!

It was pointed out to me that as a cupcake girl, I have a surprisingly large lack of cupcake posts.  So from here on out I will blog about my cupcake adventures!!! Beginning with this little number:

Margarita Mary.  yes.  with tequila. (tequila lime cake w/ tequila lime buttercream)

I make this cupcake with or without tequila...but I must admit, the tequila lime buttercream is quite absurdly the best buttercream I've ever made or tasted.  I love lime frosting--it's sweet and tangy: the perfect combination.  But add that with tequila? It graduates to a league all it's own.  The sweet, tangy, lime buttercream becomes enriched with this small wave of pleasure.  The tequila isn't so strong that it will make you grimace but is just strong enough to remind you why you like frozen margaritas in the first place.  I'm itching to get a free Saturday to try every single tequila buttercream combo possible.

Chocolate cake that I like? Whoa.

My brother called me about two months ago to request a spicy cake.

"What?"
"A spicy cake."
"You mean spice cake."
"No, cake that's spicy...with cream cheese."
"With cream cheese?  Where did this idea come from?"
"I was eating a bagel."
"A spicy bagel?"
"Nope."

Thus began my quest for a spicy cake.  This was the result:

no cream cheese though

This cake is not for everyone.  But if you love heat and you love chocolate--then you've just tasted a raindrop from heaven.  I based it off the recently popular chili chocolate bars and took liberty with the use of cayenne pepper in the chocolate cake.  I personally, hate chocolate cake.  But this?  This I could eat.  And did.  It's a rich dark chocolate cake with spice packed into every bite.  The combination is a match made in heaven.

Of course, you can totally order these cupcakes from my cake business, The Cupcake Pub, for $16 a dozen :)  They're called Cameron's Chocolate Fireball

Thanks!!!

Again you guys rocked. I reached a huge milestone in all time page views :)

Have another cupcake.

These are my mocha latte cupcakes.

The Wedding Cupcake.

Ahh...as I fought back the urge to sleep while sitting at the airport stoplight after dropping off the newlyweds at the lovely hour of 4:30ish AM, I smiled.

I am beyond happy for these two.

And I want to tell both Paige and Brian thank you for trusting me with your wedding cakes.  I know the importance of the wedding cake and I was beyond nervous at first but after months and months of testing new recipes, developing my own buttercream and frosting, designing and redesigning the cake, and numerous visits to AC Moore and Michaels...I finally found myself in a powdered sugar covered kitchen triumphantly with my creations. 

The tasting of three different white cupcake flavors

The flavors they decided on were Chocolate Fudge and Vanilla Almond Champagne for the cupcakes and then Strawberry with Italian buttercream for their wedding cake. 
All together this was one the most fun I've ever had on a random project...so enjoyable in fact that it has set my mind in a totally different direction career and life goal wise than it was before.  (Thus The Cupcake Pub)


The final product was 100 cupcakes and one 6-inch 3 layer cake covered in fondant.  And my perfectionist side of course kicked in as Ashley and my mother watched me inspect every single cupcake as we packed them into bakery boxes.  The perfectionism really showed the night before the wedding when I stopped piping the cake and ripped off the fondant because I felt (and knew) I could do better than what I had done.  So after making a fresh new batch of fondant I turned up my Eminem playlist as loud as possible and went back to work.  And it turned out perfectly :)

The amazing couple with their cakes

And if you're wondering if they shoved it in each other faces....

They did.

So to the lovely couple, I raise my buttercream icing bag to you.

To see all the cupcake pictures click here

Hello and goodbye....wedding cupcakes

Hello....if you don't know, I'm starting up my own business and my first huge adventure is this weekend, that being Paige's Wedding.

So that means I will be locked in a kitchen until Saturday afternoon and covered in powdered sugar and icing.  And Saturday night will be spent dancing with the new Mrs. Moreno and Sunday will be spent cleaning the kitchen and preparing for my next order...maybe resting at some point.  So no posting until next week.

So I leave you with a picture of one of Paige's cupcakes for the wedding

I'm just kidding.



Maybe not.

Thanks!!!

You guys rock.  I reached a major milestone in blog views this month. Thank you! Have a cupcake.

The Engagement Cake

I bake.  For Paige and Brian's Engagement cake they requested Red Velvet and I used my creative license from there :)

Dirty Icing: Buttercream

Covered in my own fondant...tastes a lot better than traditional fondant

First layer of piping

Making sugar roses

Top of the finished cake

Finished cake

I do take cake orders by the way :)  We call ourselves the CupPub...short for The Cupcake Pub