Things That Go Bump in the Night

Halloween Cupcakes
Originally uploaded by LittleMissCupcakeParis

Halloween is just around the corner. Little Miss Cupcake will be baking up some ghoulishly delicious treats for your Halloween party needs. Make sure to book your orders early.

Oh and while you're at it be sure to check out the new for Fall flavors. I promise they're good....devilishly good! Mwhahaha Mwhahaha!

It Aint Easy Being Green

Unless you are a cupcake. A vegan cupcake like the ones pictured here that I baked up this past week. 100% vegan, 110% delicious, and bio/organic to boot. They could almost be called the good for you cupcakes!

I get many, many requests from people with dietary restrictions, allergies, particular eating habits, etc. asking if I can accommodate their needs. The simple answer is yes. To me, life without cupcakes would be oh so sad, so just because you have nut allergies or milk allergies or just plain don't like eating things that come from a cow, doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to enjoy all that cupcake yumminess.

Here are some carrot cake cupcakes I made this week without nuts.


So, if you've given up on cupcakes cause you think there's nothing for you, give me a try. The world is so much rosier when seen through cupcake-tinted glasses! ;P

Here Comes the Bride, All Dressed in...Red?!?

Yup, you read that right. For the bride in this case is of the non-conventional variety. She and her partner decided to tie the knot after several years of "living in sin" (oh, the horror!) with 2 kids at their sides during the nuptials and a 3rd proverbial bun in the oven tucked under that gorgeous red throw she was wearing!



In my spare time, I handle PR for a wonderful parents' association for English-speaking families here in Paris called MESSAGE. We organize all sorts of great family-fun events, provide many support services like breastfeeding help and pre-natal classes, and overall serve as an extended family for throngs of expats who find themselves far from home. I've made many terrific friends over the years through this organization - people from all walks of life, from every corner of the globe, with all sorts of traditional and non-traditional family lifestyles. One of my greatest pleasures has been the opportunity to steer the organization via serving on its Executive Board, and that is how I came to know the afore-mentioned bride. Though she was married over the summer, we were unable to coordinate cupcakes for her actual wedding day and so the ones you see here were fashioned for her and her betrothed belatedly.



She is Dutch and her husband is French (And a fireman too! Woo hoo!). The only guidelines she gave me for these were that they be orange - you can read the history of the Dutch passion for orange here - and could they include "E's" for both her and the mister's first initials are "E" as well as pay tribute to their nationalities in the form of flags? Oh, and maybe have some sort of liquor in them too (I told you she was non-conventional!).

What did I come with? Two varieties of cupcakes : one that is wildly Cointreauversial (I was inspired by the lovely Dita von Teese who the hubby and I saw live last week; what a performance!) and one that is oh so de-lovley and delicious: the Orange Zinger cupcake! The chocolate ones that you see here with the Dutch and French "flags" are made from dark chocolate cupcakes, lovingly drizzled with a Cointreau glaze and topped with a milk chocolate and Cointreau buttercream. The heart flags are marzipan printed with words of love like "Cherish, Adore and True Love" and hand-painted with food coloring. The Cointreauversial Cupcake will be joining the Little Miss Cupcake line-up soon along with a few other Adult-Only varieties.



The Orange Zinger Cupcakes are orange cupcakes filled with an orange spice cream and topped with a white chocolate ganache frosting. They are decorated with home-made marzipan and marshmallow fondant. Here's the recipe; the cupcakes are great on their own plain if you want to add a little zing to your breakfast plate.



Orange Zinger Cupcakes
Makes approximately 14 cupcakes

For the Orange Cupcakes:
4 ozs. unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups flour
½ cup buttermilk
¼ cup hot water
¼ cup Pulco or other concentrated orange syrup
zest of one orange

Pre-heat oven to 350/180 degrees. Grease 1 12-cup cupcake tin and 2 cups of second tin or insert cupcake liners.

Sift baking powder, salt and flour in medium-sized bowl and set aside. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and blend well. Alternately beat in flour mixture and buttermilk, blending well after each addition. End with a flour addition.

Add hot water and mix well. Add zest and Pulco last and mix.

Fill cupcake tins 2/3 full. Fill unused cup molds halfway full with water. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Once cool, remove cupcakes from tin and continue to cool on a wire rack.

For Orange Spice Cream Filling
(adapted from a recipe from I Heart Cuppycakes, originally from Dorie Greenspan's Book, Baking: From My Home to Yours)

1/2 cup sugar
Grated zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs, preferably at room temp
1/2 cup fresh orange juice (from about 1 medium sized orange)
1/4 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 teaspoons cornstarch
3 ozs. (1/2 cup+2 tbs) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon size pieces, at room temp

Combine sugar and orange zest in a heatproof bowl. Rub the sugar and zest between your fingertips for a few minutes, until the sugar is moist and the fragrance of orange is strong. Whisk in the eggs, then whisk in the juice and cornstarch.

Bring water to a simmer in a saucepan.

Set the bowl over the saucepan and stir with a whisk as soon as the mixture feels tepid to the touch. Cook the orange cream until it reaches 180 degrees F, about 10 minutes. Whisk constantly to keep the eggs from scrambling – you’ll see that the cream will start out light and foamy, then the bubbles will get bigger, and then, as it gets closer to 180 degrees F, it will start to thicken and the whisk will leave tracks. When it starts to leave “tracks” the cream is almost done.

As soon as it reaches 180 degrees F, remove the cream from the heat and strain the cream; discard the rest. Let it cool until it reaches 140 degrees F, about 10 minutes.

Add ginger and cinnamon. Whisk to incorporate. Add the butter a few pieces at a time until butter is incorporated and continue whisking for another 3 minutes until mixture is thick and creamy.



Pour the cream into a container, press a piece of plastic wrap against the surface and refrigerate the cream for at least 4 hours, or overnight. (The cream can be packed airtight and frozen for up to 2 months; thaw overnight in the refrigerator.)


For White Chocolate Ganache Frosting:

4.5 ounces white chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp butter, room temperature
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Break up chocolate and place in a heatproof bowl. In a small casserole, heat cream until just about boiling. Remove from heat and pour over the chocolate. Let sit for 1 minute then stir until combined. Next add the butter and vanilla and stir until combined.

Let cool for 10 minutes. Using a whisk or electric hand-beater, sift in powdered sugar one cup at a time beating after each addition. Continue adding sugar and beating until mixture is of good spreading consistency.

Optional : I added a few drops of orange coloring to make the color really pop.

For assembly, cut a small inverted cone out of the top of each cupcake and set aside. Spoon about 2 tbsp. cream filling into each cupcake. Cut off most of the cone/part that fits inside of the cupcake and replace cap on cupcake, eat scraps.



Once filled, frost cupcakes with an offset spatula or a pastry bag fitted with a star tip. Eat, enjoy!

Thank Heaven for Little Girls

Thank heaven for little girls
for little girls get bigger every day!



Thank heaven for little girls
they grow up in the most delightful way!



Those little eyes so helpless and appealing
one day will flash and send you crashin' thru the ceilin'



Thank heaven for little girls
thank heaven for them all,
no matter where no matter who
for without them, what would little boys do?



Thank heaven... thank heaven...
Thank heaven for little girls!

Lyrics & Music by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe



A sampling of cupcakes for my little girl's 2nd birthday today with all of her favorite characters!

No Sleep Til.....

(cue rap music)...BROOKLYN! Or in my case, "la rentree." Here in France, there is much fanfare surrounding "la rentree" which means quite literally: the return. The closest US equivalent would be "back to school," but the concept of la rentree is in fact much broader as it's not just students who are involved, but the larger population of France. La rentree refers to the early September period when students head back to school and just about everyone else is coming off a leisurely summer break and reprising the daily grind.



If you have visited France during the long month of August, you probably noticed that the whole country pretty much just shuts down (unless you are at a resort area). We were in and out of Paris mid-August and it was like a ghost town. Many businesses are closed in August (yes, that's right, for the whole month!) and so la rentree is considered a period of new beginnings, new hopes, new trials, etc.; for many this time of the year is even moreso symbolic than say January 1st.



We returned from NYC in the midst of la rentree - my son had just one day to recuperate from our travels before heading back to school and my poor husband actually went into the office on the day we landed. I had a few days of reprieve before my first cupcake order; it's been a tough readjustment for all of us as we deal with the demands on our time and jet lag. We've been home a week now and it almost feels like we never left. It's funny how you just settle back into your routines and daily life.



I hope you all enjoyed some time off over the summer and that you are experiencing "la rentree en douceur" (kind of like "a soft landing" for your back to school). Here are a few cupcake pics from my rentree orders; more to come in the coming days including some new flavors for Fall!

It's Not You, It's Me

Interested in reading more about me and my business? Here are some guest posts and other fun stuff I've done recently.....

Virgin.com : Insider Tips - How To Fund Your Start-Up
Patricia Parisienne : Sugar Daze at Kenzo Loves Printemps
Lost in Cheeseland: Franco File Friday
Love in the City of Lights: The Dream Life Series
Martha Stewart Cutest Cupcakes of 2010 Contest Winners (Turkey Lurkey cupcake by me!)
Savoir Faire Paris : An Expat Life
Club Penguin Cupcakes for Disney (video tutorial)
Cupcakes Take the Cake interview

Cupcake Camp Paris: Meet the Bakers
Maman à Table

Hot Child (& Cupcakes) in the City

Just back in from the US and trying to cope with the jet lag that had us all up at 1 AM this morning! Boy, did the summer go fast or what? Our trip to New York passed by in a New York minute and I was very sorry to leave. Despite my best intentions, I didn't get to even a fraction of the stuff I had planned so hopefully I'll have another good excuse to get back to my hometown sometime soon.

As those of you who follow my blog know, I was in Manhattan to see my best friend get married and what a wedding it was! Between the bachelorette's at Lips, a drag revue in the West Village (here's a pic of the fabulous "Joan Rivers"); the rehearsal dinner at an old-school Italian in midtown East; and the wedding itself at the Harvard Club, I spent the better part of my free time wining and dining my way across the city.



I did manage to get a little shopping in at NY Cake & Baking Supplies in Chelsea, and visit a handful of the local cupcakeries I have been reading about for the past few years on my favorite blog: Cupcakes Take the Cake.



Of the 5 cupcakeries I personally sampled (4 in NYC, and 1 in NJ that was too horrific to even name here), hands-down Two Little Red Hens on the Upper East Side was my favorite. The best cupcake? The Brooklyn Blackout which is a moist Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Pudding at its center and a rich fudgy frosting. (IMHO, any of their cupcakes which has this fudge frosting is spot-on). I also tried their Red Velvet (which was my second favorite NY cupcake) - the cream cheese frosting was dense yet light and tasted like cheesecake. The cake itself was moist and a vibrant red but not nuclear red and complemented the cupcake unlike so many other RVs that just serve as a vehicle for the frosting.



I also sampled their Marble cupcake (marble Chocolate/Vanilla cupcake with Chocolate/Vanilla twist icing) and two of their American Classics: Vanilla cake with Vanilla Buttercream and Chocolate cake with Vanilla Buttercream. All were very, very good and I ended up buying cupcakes from them 3 times! The boutique itself is charming in a rustic decor and inviting. While the wait was a bit long each time we were there, there are lots of beautiful cakes and decorating supplies to look at. Two Little Red Hens is definitely the cupcakery I'll be stopping in the next time I'm in town.



Next on my list was the CupcakeStop Truck which I happily stumbled upon one day while down in the Flatiron District (truck pic courtesy of www.examiner.com). There was no line to get a cupcake though I hear that they do a pretty brisk business. Just after I ordered my Red Velvet and Carrot Cake cupcakes, a woman wandered over, said something very discreetly to the counterperson and walked away with a mini cupcake. I, of course, chased her down the street to find out that by mentioning "joonbug" the first 500 customers were entitled to a free mini of their choosing. I ran back and went with a Peanut Butter Chocolate Swirl mini. I liked the cake of this one very much - it was rich and chocolatey, but the frosting was a tad overly sweet and peanut buttery for my tastes.



The Carrot Cake was moist and packed with shredded carrots. I didn't care for the Red Velvet at all, and there was so much red food coloring in it that when my daughter took a bite of it, the crumbs that fell on the floor stained the rug!

Crumbs Bake Shop has locations all over the city and unfortunately the day I went in, I was feeling a little too ill (read: hungover) to order anything. But their display cases were impressive with at least 25 different flavors on offer.



Their cupcakes are big and beautifully decorated. I would have liked to take a picture but they wouldn't let me; this one comes courtesy of www.daemonsfood.com. Several friends tell me that Crumbs is their favorite cupcakery in Manhattan and I'll be sure to sample them on my next trip.



On our last full day in Manhattan, my husband and I packed up the kids and made our way downtown to the High Line which is a newly opened above-ground park in the West Village. It's built on the abandoned old elevated train track and is a wonderful place to spend a sunny day. We meandered around our old neighborhood which has very few holdouts still in place from the original Meatpacking days. It's now mostly upscale shops and chi chi restaurants and clubs; things sure have changed a lot since our days there.



After a quick stop in the Ink Pad and a look-see at our old neighborhood standby, Magnolia Bakery on Bleecker, where you can see their twin mixers beating up some buttercream in the window, we headed over to the East Village to visit Butter Lane and Chikalicious Dessert Club.



Of the two, Butter Lane was my preferred cupcakery. Not only is it a really cute little shop with super friendly staff, but I liked their build-a-cupcake concept. The idea is so basic - you choose one of their about a dozen frosting flavors in either American or French versions (the American is standard confectioners' sugar and butter whereas the French contains eggs) to go on one of the several cake choices. I had read some customer reviews on Yelp before stopping down and so decided to go with a Vanilla cupcake with American Vanilla Buttercream and a Banana Cupcake with American Chocolate Buttercream.



I really liked the flavor combo of the banana and chocolate, and the vanilla/vanilla was simply delicious -- the vanilla buttercream was good and rich without being too sweet. My one complaint was that the cake of each was a little too dry and dense for my taste but it was Sunday and quiet in their shop, and maybe the cupcakes had been hanging out for a while.

I had read a lot about Chikalicous before my trip and had very high hopes for them. Sadly, they fell a bit short. While the store itself is quite drab and dingy, their cupcakes are beautiful to look at.



The frosting which has a somewhat mousse-y consistency tops each in a flawless shiny dome. Since they didn't have descriptions of each cupcake, I ended up ordering 3 filled varieties (which they call Premium) and I really would have liked to try one of their basic flavors; I didn't realize this mistake until I was back uptown and it was too late to get more. My problem with Chikalicious was that while various components of the cupcakes were delicious - the salted Caramel center of the Caramel cupcake, the chocolate mousse topping on the Triple Chocolate Cupcake, the Marshmallow Frosting on the S'more cupcake - and their cakes were moist and airy like I like them, the cupcakes in entirety didn't work for me.



The chocolate center of the Triple Chocolate was too dark and bitter and totally overwhelmed the cupcake. The cake of the S'mores cupcake was overly spicy and cinnamony - I think they were going for a Graham Cracker flavored cake and ended up with something more akin to a Carrot Cake spice profile which didn't work at all with the rest of the cupcake. And as for the Caramel, it was very sweet and too flavorful - I could barely get through my third of the cupcake. I'm not counting Chikalicious out as I really will go back and try a simpler variety the next time I'm in the Big Apple but I have to admit I was a bit disappointed with this round.



Lastly, I wanted to share a picture of some cupcakes I spied at E.A.T on Madison Avenue which were by far the most beautiful cupcakes I saw during my visit. I didn't try these but was told they are vanilla and chocolate with poured vanilla and chocolate glaze. Pretty, no?



And the fun ceramic cupcakes you decorate yourself at FAO Schwarz.

Well, that pretty much sums up my trip to some of New York's infamous cupcakeries. If you are in the NY area or have visited NY recently and want to share some thoughts on your favorite cupcakeries and/or places I should visit on my next trip to the Big Apple, do leave me a comment below. In the meantime, I'll be fooling around in my kitchen trying to come up with a home-made version of TLRH's Brooklyn Blackout cupcakes that are worthy of their namesake. Man, just thinking about them has me drooling!

Yours in Cupcake Love,
Little Miss Cupcake xx

Cupcake Addresses:
Two Little Red Hens, 1652 2nd Avenue (between 85th and 86th Streets)
Butter Lane, 123 East 7th Street (between 1st and Avenue A)
Chikalicious, 204 East 10th Street (between 2nd and 1st Avenues)
CupcakeStop Truck, various; follow them on twitter for locations @cupcakestop
Crumbs Bake Shop, various; I stopped in at 1371 Third Avenue (between 79th and 78th Streets)
E.A.T, 1064 Madison Avenue (between 80th and 79th Streets)
Magnolia Bakery, various; the original is at 401 Bleecker Street (on the corner of West 11th Street)