Is there anything better in life than a good cupcake?

A dozen GREAT cupcakes!

On my way home from the beach this week with Judy, we made our way to Simply Cupcakes  of Naples on 41E.  I've been dying to try this place and it was perfect timing since we were having a dinner party for friends and I wanted a fun, delicious dessert to end our meal.

I had a good feeling as soon as I walked through the door.  We were met by a smiling man behind the counter.  Knowing it was our first venture into the store, Ken took the time to tell us about each cupcake sitting on the counter as well as bringing out a couple from his stash in back!  We purchased a dozen as we could not decide which ones to try.

You can tell there is passion in each and every cupcake made at Simply Cupcakes.  Some things are just meant to be and this store is one of them.

Judy held on to them in the car like they were a fragile Ming vase.  We were so worried they would begin to melt from the heat, we cranked the AC and hurried home.  And while my dinner was enjoyed, at the end of the day it was dessert that made the evening.  The five of us tried samples of many varieties as we drank both our red and white wines according to whether it was the Chocolate Black Tie or the outstanding Naples Key Lime.  They were all fabulous!

So the next time you are in the area, head to Simply Cupcakes and decide for yourself.  I have already placed my order for Father's Day.  They are making Jim's favorite - Boston Creme and topping each of them with a red sock.  The Yankee fans down here must hate that.  Especially today!

Have a great day today and enjoy all of it because "life moves pretty fast.  If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."

Fino a quel momento (until that time)

LID

Cupcake Wedding Cake

Honored was the word when I was asked to make Michael and Lauren's Cupcake Wedding Cake for their wedding this past Saturday.  The only small problem was that I am not a baker and had never made one before.  But nevertheless, I moved forward and prepared by looking at the thousand's of cupcake wedding cakes out on the internet.  Never having seen one before, I focused on how the stand would look and then focused on the flavors.  The couple chose chocolate, red velvet and carrot cake cupcakes and I would use buttercream frosting for the chocolate and a traditional cream cheese frosting on the red velvet and carrot cake flavors. 

My next step was how it would look as I felt the visual appeal was just as important as the taste.  I wanted Michael and Lauren to love it when they walked into the room.   Lauren's color of the day was purple so the decision was to have purple liners for all flavors and add something to the top of each to make it easier to determine what was inside.  On the chocolate, I placed one small chocolate bit, red sprinkes went on the red velvet with crushed biscotti (yes, homemade) and brown sugar on the carrot cake.  I really struggled with the topping and Janette helped me see the light.  This way, it didn't take away from the look of the cake as a whole.

The plan was to make the 250 cupcakes on Friday and frost them on Saturday morning and it was definitely a family affair.  Janette came on Thursday and we put the stand together with white satin and purple ribbon around the edge of each layer.  I say we, but she did most of the work.  Stacy came Friday afternoon and helped with getting them baked and putting the boxes together as we needed thirteen to hold them.  Saturday was somewhat stressfull as I kept watching the clock while frosting all 250 cupcakes.  Jim was on sprinkle duty and helped finalize the project.  Oh yes, both Jim and his brother Tom were the taste testers.  They had a tough job but were willing to help the cause.

Janette and I had to miss the ceremony in order to create the cake at the hall.  It was so large, we actually needed a bigger table to hold the stand!  It went together easy enough without too much stress.  The only issue was that after we had it complete and stepped back to admire what was accomplished, we noticed that it was not centered on the table!  Janette said no, it would not be moved...

As you can see, the guests loved the idea along with the variety and taste of our cupcakes.  Yes, we used real butter and cream cheese in our frosting and made each one with love.



Happy Wedding Guests

The Bride and Groom loved their special Cupcake Wedding Cake.  Isn't LOVE grand?

Fino a quel momento (until that time)

LID