Cupcake Wine

Awhile back I discovered this delightful brand of wine and was instantly smitten with it's cute name - cupcake.  I was further delighted by it's taste and especially favored the Chardonnay.  But a few days ago I was strolling through the store and spied the familiar logo with Red Velvet printed on the bottle.  What?!  Red Velvet cupcake wine?  Now this I had to try.

The label describes this wine well:  "This wine shows a heady nose of chocolate, deep rich blackberries, red fruits, and a creamy mocha finish that is unmistakable in its intensity and length.  It's reminiscent of a blackberry chocolate cupcake with a mocha coulis."

I tasted it and agree that the mocha finish is unmistakable.  I'm no wine expert but I enjoyed the fact that it doesn't end on an oaky or bitter note but definitely has layers and the coffee taste.  I think this wine is delicious on it's own and would also be yummy served with dark chocolate for dessert.  I grabbed this bottle for about $9 which is a great price for a fun wine such as this!

Go out and try some for yourself and give me your review!

Friday's Letter

Dear Mr. Veen:  the older we get the more obvious it is that you are a night owl while I am an early bird.  I'm wondering if we will ever be awake at the same time in another 10 years.  Dear Sunshine:  you had me at hello, you complete me, and I am in love.  The end.  Dear Saturday night @ 6p.m.:  rapture you say?  Bring it!!  I may need to make cupcakes for so momentous an occasion.  Dear Adele:  this song is played, and played and over played some more right now for a reason - fantabulous!  Dear Ikea milk foamer:  who knew foaming cream could make one feel so incredibly special?  And last to Mr. Veen:  I'll let you be the co to my dependent anytime.  I LOVE YOU!

Red Velvet mini's

Yesterday Ella and I had the fun of being invited to a mother/daughter Valentine's tea by our neighbors the Watson's.  It was the perfect chance to do two of our favorite things:  bake together and dress up!  So after a leisurely Sunday morning we set out to bake Red Velvet mini cupcakes.

*and right about here I could make up a big fish tale about how I came up with this amazing recipe for these cupcakes which I made from scratch, grinding fresh vanilla beans for the frosting, milking the organic cow's milk cream, and using all gluten free/vegan ingredients.*

A few day's earlier while at Cost Plus, I'd spied a tasty looking box mix for Red Velvet cupcakes by Sof 'ella.  Because sometimes you just don't have the time, energy or stamina to bake from scratch!!  These turned out so cute and we had the best time decorating them and making them look pretty. 

It was so much fun to see the girls be little ladies with their tea cups.  I even saw a few pinkie fingers stuck in the air!  And when we got back home Ella and I couldn't resist having our own little silly photo shoot (another of our favorite activities), to further document the day.  I love that I have a girl who loves to get goofy and silly with me.  Because like me, she may be quiet and proper from the outside - but inside there's a crazy kid who can't wait to come out and play!

On an official note I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Valentine's Day!  Mr. Veen and I don't go crazy, crazy for Valentine's Day because it kinda feel's cliche.  But I'm looking forward to making a special family dinner tonight (the kid's requested meat-loaf!), because it's always fun to have an excuse to celebrate together!

(love this card by somee )

Happy Heart Day Peeps!

Key Lime Cupcakes!

Maybe it's because Valentine's day is right around the corner or there's a new cupcake store opening in our little downtown, but lately I can't stop thinking about cupcakes!  I know I'm a bit late to the trend since they've been "the thing" for awhile now but I like to be a rebel like that ya know?

Last year my friend Elissa gave me this cute little cookbook titled appropriately enough "500 cupcakes".  I'm a little embarrassed to admit that it's only recently I've begun experimenting with the various recipes, beginning with an apple spice muffin that turned out delicious!  So over the weekend when the baking bug hit, I turned to the book and my cupboard to see what I could conjure up.  Usually I wouldn't have key lime juice stocked in my fridge but I think I bought it several months ago in order to replicate a Moscow mule (a delightful cocktail!) so I was lucky that way.  Otherwise the ingredients are pretty basic and items most would have on hand.

~Key Lime Cupcakes

for the cupcakes

1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla extract

for the filling

1/3 cup key lime juice
14 oz. can condensed milk

for the meringue

3 egg whites
1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
1/3 cup granulated sugar

Preheat the oven to 350.  Place 18 paper baking cups in muffin pans.  Place all the cupcake ingredients in a large bowl, and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2 to 3 minutes.  Spoon  the batter into the cups.  Bake for 20 minutes.  Remove pans from the oven and cool for 5 minutes.  Then remove the cupcakes and cool on a rack.

For the filling, combine the lime juice and condensed milk in a small bowl.  Remove the top from each cupcake and hollow out a small hole.  Spoon the filling into the hole and replace the top.  For the meringue, beat the eggs and cream of tartar until soft peaks form.  Add one-third of the sugar and beat for 1 minute.  Repeat until all the sugar has been added.  Increase the oven temperature to 450.  Spoon or pipe the meringue on top of the cupcakes.  Bake for 5 minutes until golden.  Store for no more than 1 day in an airtight container.

Makes 1 1/2 dozen



Aren't they just so cute?  I had never made a meringue topping quite like this and it was so fun to swirl the little tops on each cake that I actually giggled out loud with the result!  The kid's were also quite entertained by the marshmallow-y looking tops and it caused quite the little happy dance around the oven as they came out looking so pretty. 

I'll be using my cupcake cook book much more regularly now that I've made the initial plunge into cupcake land, because as Elissa would say "hot damn" those are awesome cupcakes!