vanilla and chocolate and strawberries, oh my...

A new flavor sensation, the Neapolitan Cupcake. A layering of chocolate, strawberry and vanilla cupcake with buttercream frosting and topped with a tiny sugar cookie and chocolate mint leaf. I taste tested the cupcake for the first time and was surprised to find that it actually tastes quite similar to the ice cream, a little taste of all three flavors at once, sooo good. Yes, it's pretty and pink and extremely girly so I believe the only proper way for it to be consumed is with pinky finger extended which shouldn't stop you because we should all partake in high society snacking once in a while.

The second cupcake pictured below is for anyone who loves Subway cookies, it is a White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cupcake. Seriously, it tastes exactly like the Subway cookie, very soft and chewy. It is topped with white chocolate ganache and a piece of macadamia nut praline, except technically I think praline is usually crushed, but I'm not one to argue because it tastes the same anyways.

so many cupcakes

This past Sunday Cakeburger showed up at the flea market fundraiser for Haiti with roughly eighty mini cupcakes. Now, my original plan was to bake and decorate all eighty on Saturday, sleep in the next day and show up bright eyed and bushy tailed on Sunday...However, due to staying out way past ones bedtime to see a certain band play Friday night resulted in a minor glitch in aforementioned plan, ahem. Nevertheless I managed to bake all cupcakes Saturday thanks to the aid of little naps and kitchen timers, made all toppers (chocolate covered strawberries, ganache filled raspberries and chocolate flowers) and frosted about half the cupcakes before I threw in the towel. Sunday I was triumphant and finished the cupcakes, boxed and labeled them all just in the nick of time, albeit leaving behind a rather unfortunate and forlorn looking kitchen.

So at the end of it all I had managed to make five varieties with three new kinds. There was the tried and true chocolate chai with a chai cream cheese frosting topped with a chocolate flower, almond hazelnut with chocolate ganache topped with a toasted hazelnut dipped in caramel. The new flavors were: chocolate raspberry with raspberry buttercream topped with a ganache filled raspberry and caramel, strawberry with a white chocolate strawberry buttercream topped with chocolate covered strawberries and a rootbeer cupcake with a rootbeer buttercream and crushed rootbeer candy.

not quite a cupcake...

So I've discovered a new cupcake sensation, although not technically a cupcake I've christened them "mini cupcake truffles" so they qualify by definition. This is my first attempt for valentine's day made with red velvet cake and covered in dark and white chocolate. Of course I have more in store for the future considering the combination possibilities are endless. Be advised, they are addictive.

drugstores are my new best friend

When in need of flavor inspiration where better to go than your friendly neighborhood Shoppers Drugmart. Seriously the self cleansing isle reads like a recipe book and is loaded with flavor sensations, apple and pear shampoo, vanilla and brown sugar hand soap, mango and pomegranate body wash and my particular favorite, white peach and ginger shampoo/conditioner. Sounds good, so presto change-o presenting a new cupcake, white peach and ginger with caramel buttercream icing topped with a ginger peach filled wonton.

I blame it on my mother

I grew up in a house filled with the heart warming aromas of baking breads, cinnamon buns, cakes and pastries. My mother was a stay at home mom and besides raising us and babysitting she also baked. Our house was hands down the favorite after school destination, all our greedy little hands grabbing at the cooling sticky buns dripping with cream cheese icing. She made a name for herself in our tiny little town and people began ordering everything from breads to wedding cakes. I remember her letting us decorate our own little cakes at the table while she worked on her big cakes at the kitchen counter and so the seed was planted. I guess looking back it's not all surprising that twenty years or so later I have to admit I am an addict. Yes, I am completely and quite thoroughly addicted to all things cupcake. Sure, at times I get distracted with some other form of baking (for instance I went through a ridiculous, over the top biscotti phase during Christmas), but I always get pulled back into cupcake land with some new idea I can't wait to try.

Which brings us to my new adventure, CakeBurger. The name. Well, we were trying to think of something oh so clever and started thinking about wine labels like eagle hawk and our favorite spin off, horse donkey and somehow out of that came cake burger. To make it a little more legit you can see in the slide show that there is actually a cupcake burger. There is a menu of my favorite cupcakes and frostings so far and I am free to take orders at cakeburger@gmail.com if you are in the Regina area. I recommend the chocolate espresso.