The Sun'll Come Out Tomorrow

Well, at least I hope it does.....Two of my most frequent customers and getting married and I hope the sky will clear for them. After a week of glorious weather here in Paris, I don't think it got above 60 degrees today and it feels more like October than the end of June!

T & L are a really cute couple who booked their wedding order with me back in November. They have been huge fans and I thank them for their support! (One of the kindest compliments I ever had was on their return from London when they told me they hadn't tasted a single cupcake that even came close to mine. Really? Aw shucks!).



The colors of their wedding are lavender, light green, pink and cornflower blue. They were tremendous to work with -- sending me everything from a Powerpoint presentation that showed some images for what they had in mind, to going through my cupcake photos and picking ones that were in-line with their tastes. They even went so far as to order the cupcake liners (originally they found an Etsy supplier in California but decided later on to go with a plain silver foil which was easily found in the UK). I only wish every wedding client could be so inspired.



The assortment of cupcakes they chose for the wedding are: Caramel Dolce (vanilla bean cake with caramel frosting which I tinted light green and added handmade gumpaste flowers and sprinkles), Vanilla Lovers (vanilla bean cake and buttercream which I topped with a single pink pearl dragee), Chocolate Squared (chocolate cake and bttercream which also got handmade gumpaste flowers and pearl and silver dragees),



Cookies n Cream (these aren't pretty so I covered them in discs made of gumpaste which I embossed with butterflies), Broadway Blueberry Swirl (lightly scented lemon cakes studded with blueberries and topped with a swirled blueberry and lemon buttercream), Berry Berry Good (vanilla cakes with strawberry buttercream and handmade gumpaste flowers) and California Dreaming (lemon cakes with pistachio buttercream).



The last piece was the giant cupcake which they decided upon just a few weeks ago. I amde a lemon cake with a layer of strawberry buttercream in the center and then covered it with vanilla bean buttercream and handmade gumpaste flowers.



To T & L, I wish you nothing but sunshine in your lives, for tomorrow and forever. My sincerest congratulations to you, and enjoy tomorrow (and the cupcakes)! Okay gotta go translate this into French so I can leave the same message for them where they can read it! :)

Living in a Material World

Unlike the woman from whose womb I sprung, I was born with a defective female gene. You know the one that incites so many women to indulge in retail therapy a/k/a the shopping gene. Many people don't know this about me but I would rather endure a root canal than go shopping. And this sentiment has only gotten worse since I have had kids (9 out of 10 times I'll have at least 1 of them trailing behind me in the store just as impatient to get out of there as I am but obviously too young to properly control this building stir-craziness) and moved to France (where I can tell you the customer certainly is NOT king).



It's funny cause once a very long time ago, I had actually dreamed of working in retail as a post-college career. The bulk of my summers were spent working as a salesgirl in various stores throughout Manhattan. All I can say is thank god, Melrose Place came along and that brainy, blonde and okay, bitchy Amanda Woodward steered me off the retail path and into a much more savvy and glamorous form of selling: the world of advertising!



Though I can say that my summers in retail entertained me to no end. I once worked in a very upscale women's apparel store where they actually encouraged us to wear the clothes during the workday, then steam them and hang them back on the racks before we left. Not a very hygenic practice; I often found myself telling loyal customers not to buy items that had been worn by one of the other gals we called Stinky Susan. You can guess why. Clothing issues aside, there was a very large aquarium in the store where the owner kept 2 baby sharks. On days that I worked with her alone, she wold send me off to the local pet store to buy feeder fish and then chuckle loudly as she fed these to the circling sharks. Hello Cruella De Vil!



Another summer I worked in a small athletic gear store next to an upscale private health club. One afternoon when I was alone in the store, Paul Stanley from rock band, Kiss, came in. He was very friendly and asked me to recommend several different brands of bike shorts. I thought he was really cool til he called me to the fitting room, "Oh miss...." and asked me "What do you think of this?" He was standing there completely naked save for the tiniest, form-fittingest bike shorts and a big smile. I probably turned 10 shades of red as I tripped back over a display and mumbled something about needing to check the front of the store. Whether or not Paul was interested in having me "take his measurements" or just giving him an honest opinion on the shorts, I'll never know but it certainly was one of my more memorable moments in retail.


Speaking of embarrassing moments, I cannot tell you how many times when I worked in a small department store this would happen: a guy would enter, start looking through the lingerie section with a kind of panicked look on his face, and when I asked if I could help him, he'd say he was looking for a gift for his girlfriend...maybe a bra and underwear set. When I would ask, well, what size do you need? He'd take a look at me and say, "She's probably about your size." Guys, I beg of you, please do not continue to do this. Not only do we find it insulting to have you staring at our privates as you mentally compare us to your loved one, but frankly it's creepy. Be kind and ask your girlfriend to note her sizes for you next time. I promise it'll be much easier for you in the store and when you take that gift home, it'll avoid the inevitable hissy fit size 6 girlfriend throws cause you mistakenly bought her size 12 lingerie. Sorry ladies but sometimes your creepy boyfriends left me no choice but to talk them into a *very* large pair of granny panties!



The one positive thing I can say about retail is the employee discount. Following a holiday season working at Bloomingdale's, I wound up with an amazing set of assorted barware. Seriously, I have a closet full of the stuff - champagne glasses, rocks glasses, martini glasses, margarita glasses and on and on. Now I've never used half the stuff but hey, I got it cheap!

Which brings me to the subject of today's post. Two retail clients contacted me recently for events at their HQ. The first was GAP who was throwing its employees a small party to thank them and celebrate 40 years of the brand. They requested 40 cupcakes in shades of white and blue with their logo. These pictured are Vanilla Lovers and Storm cupcakes with hand-made (can't you tell?) fondant decorations.



The pastel-colored minis are an order for French department store Printemps. They too were having a small co-worker together and ordered an assortment of After Eight, Chocobutter, Berry Berry Good, Cookies n Cream and Lemon Tart mini cupcakes. In my opinion, retail is best in small doses! ;P

The Deets on Shopping and Bubbles

So, after a delightful week at the beach in Brittany, we are back and relaxed and enjoying this fantastic sunny weather in Paris. For those of you on the other side of the pond, it's the perfect season to plan a trip over. And while I am thinking about it, what will you be doing on the evening of May 6? I will be attending a fabulous event called Shopping & Bubbles organized by the even more fabulous MARIEluvPINK.



There will be Little Miss Cupcake minis on-hand, and champagne and up to 50% off on a great selection of designer accessories, shoes, etc. Did I mention it's taking place at a beauty salon where you can also get some great make-up tips while you shop....and eat....and indulge in bubbly! A "guaranteed girly night" is how it's being billed and I can't think of a better way to sum it up myself!.

SHOPPING and bubbles from 6 to 8 May (Free admission)
Cupcake party, Wednesady May 6 from 19H,
The sale continues 7-8 May from 12h to 20h
GLOSS'UP - 58,rue Charlot - 75003 Paris

Stay up to date with the details as they come in (and RSVP) at Marie's FB page:
Shopping and Bubbles3

I'll also be blogging about the event in the days running up to it and tweeting my prep work:
@lttlmisscupcake

I'm a little unsure as to how many minis I can feasibly bake and carry with me so if you are coming down to try them out, I'd suggest you come early. I'll even be creating a special flavored cupcake for the event.

Here are the designers who will be showcasing their stuff:

- The sublime bags from VELVETINE

- Jewelry from LILA CONTI

- Scandinavian fashion by PLAGG

- High heels from CINDY GLASS

- And don't miss a luxury vintage corner with a selection of high-end accessories from Vuitton, Sonia Rykiel, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs..etc...

What more do you need? Come check it out!

I Vant to Suck Your Blood (Orange Cupcakes)

As a child, I LOVED to watch scary movies. Anything with vampires, werewolves, zombies, etc. The only problem was that I also happen to be a major scaredy cat and so was terribly spooked by these ghouls and goblins, especially at bedtime. Many nights would find me in the kitchen with my mom putting off the long, lone walk to my bedroom while she would wash the dishes and clean up before coming to tuck me in. Most nights, after yelling after me, "Miss C (ironically my mom's nickname for me since childhood has been "Miss C" or "Little Miss C"), go to bed!!!" At which point, I would take off in a wild sprint, blazing down the hall, flying up the stairs and bound into my bed, pulling my sheets up to my chin -- so that no vampire could get his fangs into me!



One of my favorite shows in elementary school was an ABC soap opera called Dark Shadows which featured a main character named Barnabas Collins who just happened to be a vampire. As soon as the bus dropped me off from school, I would rush in and tune into the continuing episodes of the clan at Collinswood and from what I recall, this show was really campy. A classic example of '70's bad programming. While researching the show for this post, I actually learned that one of my favorite leading men,Johnny Depp, was a big fan as a child too and will be teaming up later this year once again with Tim Burton for a big screen version.

A close, close friend (not a vampire, at least that I know of) is visiting Paris this week from NYC. She was incredibly considerate and kind to schlep over two mini muffin pans for me. Minis coming soon to my menu! I baked up my first batch of Easter minis yesterday - one variety is my entry for this month's Iron Cupcake : Soda Pop challenge. The flavor combination comes from a classic bistro "cocktail" for kids called "un Indien," which is made from mixing Orangina with sirop de grenadine. These are Orangina cupcakes filled with a creme de grenadine and topped with blood orange buttercream.



The others pictured in the Easter minis assortment are vanilla minis with vanilla bean buttercream (green candy egg on top), chocolate chip minis with a peanut butter cream cheese frosting (orange egg), and white chocolate minis with a rose petal buttercream (yellow egg).



Here's the recipe for the "Indien"/Blood Orange Cupcakes. You should be okay eating them once the sun has gone down, just remember not to invite any strangers into your home to share them with you! ;)



Recipe for Indien/Blood Orange Cupcake
Yields @16 regular size cupcakes or @ 48 minis

4 ozs. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. fleur d'oranger
½ tsp. salt
1 ½ cups flour
1/2 cup buttermilk /lait fermente
1/2 cup Orangina

1) Pre-heat oven to 350F/180C. Grease or place cupcake liners into cupcake tins.
2) Cream together sugar and butter until smooth. Add egg, fleur d'oranger, baking soda, salt and mix until well-combined. Alternate adding flour and buttermilk in 3 batches, mix well until smooth. Add in Orangina and mix to combine.
3) Fill cupcake pans about 2/3 full.
4) Bake for 17-20 minutes for regular size, 10-12 minuts for minis, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove cupcakes from tin and let cool on wire rack.

Creme de Grenadine
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/3 - 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp sirop de grenadine

Beat the cream and 1/3 cup of powdered sugar in a large bowl until firm peaks form. Fold in sirop de grenadine until well-combined without over-mixing. It should have the consistency of a thick yogurt. If too thin, add in extra sugar 1 tbsp. at a time.

Cut a cone shape in the tops off of each cupcake and remove. Spoon the creme de grenadine into each. Place the cupcake cones back on the cupcakes.

Blood Orange Buttercream
4 ozs. unsalted butter
4-6 cups powdered sugar
2 blood oranges

Beat butter and 4 cups sugar until creamy and soft. Add in the zest and juice of the blood oranges and continue beating until frosting is of good spreading consistency. If too thin, progressively add more sugar.

And here's what I need to tell you about Iron Cupcake -- Voting will begin no later than Wednesday, April 29 at 8 p.m. at NO ONE PUTS CUPCAKE IN A CORNER, and will be open through Monday, May 4 at 12 noon. This is the April ETSY PRIZE-PACK I am competing for:

* A creation by FRUITFLYPIE
* a pair of cupcake earrings from LOTS OF SPRINKLES
* a sweet surprise from Sweet Cuppin' Cakes Cupcakery
* PLUS, IronCupcake:Earth can not forget our good friend, CAKESPY, who is now going to be doing a piece for our winner each month until further notice - sweet!

Last and certainly not least, don’t forget our corporate prize providers: HEAD CHEFS by FIESTA PRODUCTS, HELLO CUPCAKE by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson, JESSIE STEELE APRONS, TASTE OF HOME books, and a t-shirt from UPWITHCUPCAKES.COM. Iron Cupcake:Earth is sponsored in part by 1-800-Flowers.