Vegan Orange Creamsicle Building Block Cupcakes

Vegan Orange Creamsicle Block Cupcakes, originally uploaded by bakers-cakes.

A customer contacted me this week, who was interested in cupcakes for his son's first birthday party. The little boy is allergic to eggs and dairy, poor thing! I suggested we make a vegan cake and top a few special cupcakes for him with a dairy-free frosting. After tasting these, I may go from lacto-ovo to vegan! The cake is a super moist Vegan Orange Cake topped with Vegan Orange Creamsicle Frosting!

Italy is one big treat...

Those are the words that Toot sends back to his dear friend Puddle, on a postcard from his adventures traveling the world, in Holly Hobbie's adorable children's book. And I must admit, I completely agree! 

I should have gone directly into this Pastry Shop, instead I took a picture! What was I thinking? 

I spent the rest of the week trying to track down this white cake with blueberries on top! It must have been a Venetian confection, because I searched high and low in Rome and it wasn't there! 

Jeff did pick up a Panforte in the airport in Rome and let's just say the US equivalent is... fruitcake. 

One of the greatest treats in Italy is gellato! Yum! To call it, Italian Ice Cream, would be an understatement. It would be like comparing t-ball and MLB. It's everywhere too! There's a Gellateria on every corner! And the flavors! They range from fruity to nutty! And the chocolate! It's divine! Have I mentioned my renewed love for Nutella yet? (I'm heading right back to the website to enter the contest to win a case. That should last me about a week!)  One of the taste sensations that I sampled from one Gellateria was a scoop of Ginger and Cinnamon and a scoop of Honey flavored gellato. It inspired this cupcake:

It is a Honey, Ginger, and Cinnamon Cupcake topped with Honey, Ginger, and Cinnamon Buttercream! The cupcake is topped with a marzipan ice cream cone!

I'm dreaming up my next creation and I'm certain it will be inspired by my all time favorite Italian Dessert: Tiramisu!

Thanks Bass Pecan Company!

Remember my Toasted Pecan Hummingbird Cupcakes? An employee from the Bass Pecan Company left a comment on my blog and suggested I submit my Cupcake recipe to their Recipe Contest! I did some copying, pasting, and submitted it and forgot about it! Well, today for some reason, I took a  peek onto the front porch to see if anything had been delivered (Ok, I was actually looking for a new lap suit I ordered for myself, hoping it will inspire me to do more swim workouts) and I did in fact see TWO UPS packages! Hot Dog! Two packages in ONE day! That's UNHEARD of!!! I found my swim suit in the first package and this in the second:

A one pound bag of Bass Pecan Mammoth Pecan Halves! Yum!!! The note attached says: 

Congratulations. We have chosen your recipe as one of our featured recipes to be posted on our website at www.basspecan.com. Please enjoy these complimentary Bass Mammoth Pecans as our thank you. Your recipe is in the running for our 2009 Bass Pecan Recipe Contest. The grand prize recipe winner will be chosen at the end of the year.

Cool! This is definitely the silver lining to the Iron Cupcake: Earth loss! I'll let you know when they post my recipe!

Cake Pops That Tell a Story

What do A Tar Heel, The Eiffel Tower, and South Carolina Have in common?

It's a sad story really! Our friends Adam and Jessie are moving to South Carolina. *Sniff* Sniff* Before they move they are touring Southern France on bikes! Somehow they are supposed to cover only 25 miles a day! Ha! If you have ever ridden with them, you know that usually they do that in just over an hour! I guess this gives them plenty of time to sample the local wines!

Footnote (Heehee!): The foot missing it's Tar Heel was not harmed in the shooting of this photograph. It's Tar Heel was added after the picture was taken!