Girls Night In!

Girls just wanna have fun! ;) It really turned into Mommy's just wanna have fun at an event for a 'Girls Night in'. Add in some yummy food, delicious wine, great conversation & these lil' devils and it was bound to be a good time! 

Above: Strawberry Margarita Cupcakes

Below: Banana Kahlua Cupcakes & Pina Colada

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Farmer's Market Inspiration!

I have been so busy baking this week & enjoying the busy bee I've been lately! I have been inspired by the farmers market and got some great white nectarines {which are mine & Kohen's favorite}. I decided, why not make a cupcake out of it?? I never see any white nectarine cupcakes, but if I had-- they'd have been the first one I bought! This is a vanilla bean cake with white nectarine buttercream frosting. Yummy! 

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Pina Colada

My next flavor was the Pina Colada! Inspired by Blake Shelton's post yesterday,"Do you like pina coladas?" It is a pineapple cake with Malibu rum, crushed pineapple & shredded coconut topped with a rum pineapple buttercream frosting. The smell was infectious. If you don't like pineapple don't visit me today!

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Grand Marnier

Grand Marnier has been a flavor on my menu since the very beginning. It's such a great staple! :) If you consider one of your "food groups". This cupcake is truly a labor of love! This cupcake starts off with a mocha cake with dark chocolate {& a hint of Grand Marnier} ganache piped inside topped with an orange Grand Marnier buttercream frosting. It's subtle orange, combination of chocolate & coffee make it a perfect afternoon treat. 

I was watching a recent episode of The Cupcake Girls, while I must give them credit for expanding a business they knew nothing about, had no plan in place & were partners with their best friends-- while the odds were stacked against them they have made it for a long time; but I don't like the way they make their cupcakes. It's all a basic recipe & they just tweak it for each flavor. While that may be cost effective & time efficient since it doesn't vary much in time to prep I like the idea that each cupcake is unique in flavor. But-- they also have a store & a tv show, that of which I do not! :) 

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Tis' the season

It's the summer and I don't know of anything more popular than the beach and weddings this time of year! I love all these beautiful summer wedding we get to do. These brides are super creative & are jumping head first into design details. You go girls!! I updated my website to include some new wedding trends but it's also the season for babies-- boy is it ever! If it's not a birthday party it's a baby shower. I am so excited to be doing a baby announcement party this weekend. The client wants a neutral cupcake with a "colored" center to reveal what the sex of the baby is {we'll leave that unknown since we don't want to tip of any of her party go-ers}. What a cute way to incorporate your nearest & dearest in the announcement of the gender of this precious lil' life! I'm feeling the creative juices flowing & I love it! It's nice to have some custom projects that allow my creativity to run wild. I'll update with photos of the finished product {as always}.

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