August 2012: Nutella and Almond Champagne

This month, I almost missed the cut off!

...I say you blame sheer exhaustion. I just started teaching at Golden West college; my man just started his grad program, and cupcakes have been flying out of our home like crazy. The business is doing great, and very honestly, I would say that August was really the first month we were able to see a palpable increase of business since Cupcake Wars. In June, it was still really new. In July, we got a lot of calls of people wanting to stop by but not any real orders. This month, we met so many awesome new fans and clients, and we actually invented a number of flavors, but in my humble opinion, none compare to the mighty Nutella Almond Champagne cupcake: 

I had to make a collage. I mean that is how spectacular it was.

Let's start with a shout out to some amazingly beautiful muses:
First and foremost: Thank you Nicole Valencia! Nicole actually outright suggested it. Very literally, she ordered me to get some champagne and get some nutella and bake until my heart's content, and I'm happy she suggested it for a number of reasons:

#1. I realized that drinking while baking is fabulous.
#2. My dear friend Erica Hayes needed something special to set apart her joyous house warming and I have a feeling they did the trick, quite perfectly. For a wedding, we once made a mimosa cake with fresh orange zest, orange juice concentrate, hand zested tangerines, and just as much champagne as we used for Erica's homewarming cake, and people flipped for it. Nothing says "I feel like celebrating" like champagne. And we really wanted to celebrate Erica and her new home, so it was time to pop open that bottle and bake! (Erica Hayes, that was your shout out.)
#3. With the left over nutella, I keep making myself nutella and PB and banana toast. So bad for me, and yet so viciously tasty... Look forward to me somehow coming up with a cupcake that references that dreamy concoction.
#4. For my birthday, a girlfriend of ours, knowing how I love the bubbly, got me a bottle of delicious almond champagne. Sadly for me, the love of my life does not drink champagne, and without his necessary assistance, I can't even dream of coming close to drinking that much champagne by myself. As a result, I was super happy to have found an appropriate way to share that sweetly given bottle with my near and dear. Even Shan got one as a thank you for the thoughtful birthday gift:

 Thanks Shanny!!


Now that shout outs are done, and you know way more about my pre-baking, inspiration process, let's talk about some cool photos. Usually, I type a lot and there are only a few photos, but I have a feeling, you probably like the photos more than my random ramblings, so let's try a new format. Word to the wise: ignore how messy my poor pans look! They get a lot of love, so don't judge!

 
I love these photos because I think you can tell how soft the cake turned out. Originally, I feared these cakes would be heavy. Nutella, after all, is thick and creamy. It's a lot like peanut butter. My PB & J cakes, a personal favorite of mine, are awesome, but they're dense and they're heavy, but when the nutella met those magical champagne bubbles, a miracle took place and the result with airy, nearly bouncy cakes. I'm hoping that is translated in the photos, because it was translated through taste, in a very real and yummy way. In lieu of an actual nutella intended and test kitchen founded recipe, I used my tried and true and very loved PB recipe, but replaced the peanut butter with nutella, added an extra egg to create the illusion of fudge, and replaced the coffee I put in my peanut butter cake with ALMOND champagne. The key here is the ALMOND. I replaced my beloved and usual vanilla bean paste with a mixture of 1:1 bourbon vanilla and real almond extract. I like vanilla so much that I couldn't completely kick it out, but it was A OK because, the almond was a very apparent taste.

....Although I sometimes criticize other bakers for using fillings and frosting as compensation for dry cake, I cored these, filled them, and frosted them generously! That green little toy is my corer. I love it! I got it at Target, and you should get one too!

GET BACK ON TRACK, ERICA!

As I was saying...
Ultimately, I was glad I laid on the frosting, and that's not just because the frosting, photographed beautifully (as you can see below,) but that's also because it wasn't overpowering. My problem with other bakeries is that they seem tempted to hide their cake in distracting, little kid, sugary, artificial flavors and frostings. But if that was a fear I had with these cakes, you couldn't possibly tell by the outcome! While being creamy and buttery, it was mild enough as to not overpower your taste buds. It complimented the cake without masking it, and that's probably because I keep it simple. After all that's kind of our style at 2 Sweet...

 
It was my simple butter cream, the same one any good grandma knows how to make, but creamed right along side with the extra fat french butter and madagascar vanilla was 1 decadent scoop of nutella. Define buttery, right? At least Nikol and her world famous cupcake sandwich thinks so:

...Bonus: I had some shaved almonds. Tied the whole thing together, I know. So did those black and white polka dot wrappers. Really, I couldn't get over how fun this cake was. People loved biting into 'em. In the words of Erica, our generous household guest, "They were some of her favorites." And trust me, Erica's been given quite a few good cuppies, so her approval is not easily earned.

Here's some proof. Look at her smile! She's stoked to serve such nummy cupcakes. Who wouldn't be?

June 2012: Cinnamini Pears & Maple

"There's a Pear in There," Daniel shouts across his birthday table, all smiles, one cupcake per hand; it's his birthday. I feel honored we're involved. I'm proud my homemade, hand crafted cupcakes are having their moment in the sun, and right then, right there, I realize that my friends Carolyn and Milton are right: There is a story behind every cupcake, and I should be writing those stories down. I should be photographing them. I should be chronicling them, and best of all, I should be sharing them. After all, if I've ever seen a moment meant for sharing, it's this one. I mean... Am I right? Or am I right?

Despite how much fun I have crafting flavors, talking shop, researching recipes, or best of all.... sampling new cupcakes, writing about them is proving more challenging than I expected. That being said, let me put my whining aside and dive into my first attempt...

With every month, for at least the next twelve months, I'm going to drag myself to the computer, fold up the cupcake baking apron I don all too often and write down the inspirations that keep me baking, and hopefully, I'll help awaken some element of gustatory joy that's been hiding from you for too long, and in the process, I'll find even more spark and enthusiasm for this cupcake hobby I've grown so in love with.

June.
June. June. June.

...June is one of my all time favorite months. With it, comes so many things. Everything I've missed through dismal winter and dark skied spring comes rushing back to me in June, and it's a fabulous time to be alive, a fabulous time to be with friends, outside, with the bbq on and the cupcakes agleam with candles. It's a fabulous time to be baking! Suddenly, the grocery store is filled with watermelons, strawberries, avocados, and all things good in this world. The lemons are a new shade of yellow. The store is bright and full of life. And the stone fruits! Oh man! The stone fruits! Summer, you have returned to me, and I cannot wait to bake for you. The sun has missed me, and I have missed him in return. PCH smells of bon fires. The sun has been waking me up earlier and earlier. On streets all over America, children are chasing after ice cream trucks; it is summer. To put it shortly, it is an apt month for beginnings.

My very first cupcake of the month will be dedicated to our dear friend and fan, Daniel.

Danny has been a friend of mine for only a few years, but in that short time, we've grown close, and as with all close friends, family, and loved ones, baking is a labor of love, and on their birthday, it is an honor, an expectation, and a heavy responsibility. There's a lot stress in baking for a birthday-- a whole lot of pressure, but there's also a lot of joy and a lot of excitement. Like a little kid, I look forward to the candle lighting, song singing scene. I curl up in anticipation over that first bite. "Will they like it?" "Will they like it?" "Will they like it?" ...My inner monologue rages.

...Enter June's starlit cupcake: Cinnamini Pears & Maple

She is deceptively simple looking, isn't she?

Although tracing this cupcake back to its teensy weensy roots may sound both futile and/or unnecessary, perhaps even self indulgent (?), I promise the adventure will prove otherwise. (Or at least I hope it will.)

I am of the school of thought that every little moment in a cupcake's life matters, and with this pear filled cuppie, this theory is proven true once again.

With the crack of each egg, with every tablespoon of sugar, both dark brown and white table, with each slice of summer ripened pear (in case you want to learn more about picking the right pear: just click here), and with each final turn of the whisk, this little dozen was dedicated to Daniel, crafted in his likeness, and customized just for him. And look for yourself: Doesn't that frosting just draw you in? It's been two days since I've eaten one, and that buttery, maple syrup frosting is still making my mouth water. I really wish I could type out the way they smelt. Something magical happens to butter when its browned just right. It begins to smell rich and nutty; earthy almost, and when its combined with spices like nutmeg and cinnamon, well, the combination can be epic... You can only imagine how hard it is not to eat the entire dozen when they come straight out the oven... Look for yourself.

(Ignore the chocolate bacon in the background... Those are for another month)

A few months ago, Daniel and I met up to talk books. It was still winter and it was unfortunate, because although we were both dying to sit outside and enjoy a sun as warm as our soy chai lattes, they weather forced us inside. Luckily for us, we had had the forethought to meet at Portfolio's in Long Beach, and that moment of discussing Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises over the quieted and soothing croons of folk music jams, that moment now encapsulated by the lasting aroma of Indian spices, brown sugar, sweet cream, and just the slightest twinge of honey is the moment I attempted to evoke in this one cupcake. (Just in case you don't share my passion for food and literature and you need further convincing: Mmmm.... Books and Food.)

This, I assure you, was no simple task...

To do so, I made sure Bob Dylan was playing throughout the entire process... Once that part was in order, I dove in to the spice cake, but this time, to really make that moment come to the forefront, to somehow transport our tea time rendezvous from my celluloid memory to the present tense of human taste buds, I shaved fresh ginger into both the frosting, the pear mixture, and my batter. I ground fresh nutmeg. I stirred in Vietnamese Cinnamon. I used vanilla beans! Oh! I love vanilla beans. I cut beautifully yellow pears into the smallest little pieces; I cooked and boiled them in Masala Chai tea and I mixed all those flavors together, and luckily for me, it was a success, particularly once topped with my maple inspired frosting. I mean... Just look at these people loving on their cupcakes:

Truth be told, my most committed and eager fans may actually remember this frosting... It's being recycled -- slightly manipulated and edited, but still recycled. I used it once before on our friend Ryan Z's birthday, when he asked for an all caramel cupcake, and I also used a version of it on my own Ryan's birthday this year: Maple Bacon Donut Cupcakes (Yes, both those cupcakes are delicious-- Thank you for asking). My maple frosting and my caramel frosting come from similar root places. At one point they divulge and the differences are major and significant, but in the beginning, they are like brothers.

To put it nicely: this frosting is an interesting beast... It's more difficult to make than most of my frostings, but the finished product makes it worthwhile. For me, the frosting was the highlight-- it was like a good shoe. It tied the whole thing together, but with that being said, I'll dive in and critique.

It's a thick frosting. It's difficult to do much with, but it's creamy. I mean, it's not pretty- I wish it were pretty, but that lie belongs on a blog with less pictures. It's more like a cream cheese. It's spreadable, comforting, unpretentious.

In its defense, its richness makes up for how boring it looks in photographs, even after being rolled in gold sanding sugar. Like Cleopatra, it doesn't need traditional good looks to snare you. It smells rich and potent with browned European extra fat butter, and on this cupcake, it's heavenly. It reminds me of birthday morning breakfasts as a kid, of pancakes soaked in syrup, of pear tortes, of tea, of great American literature, and of all things intrinsically beautiful and poetically simple like Bob Dylan, steamed soy milk, and a friend's midday company.

This cupcake is my celebration of summer; my celebration of a very dear friend on his birthday. It is my ode to June! It is my ode to summer, and from this point forward, the sultry, sweet, summery and earthy taste of pears and maple syrup, colored with cinnamon, nutmeg, pumpkin pie spice, and ginger will remind me always of the wonderful time Ryan and I had at Daniel's birthday, surrounded by his friends and family, soaking up the very first days of the brand new season upon us, intoxicated by the scent of vanilla and sugar and butter! Happy Birthday, Dan! Thanks for the inspiration.