Cupcakes: Palm Beach Style!

While shopping on my Christmas trip to Florida, post-Christmas I stumbled upon this little gem of a cupcake bakery. Sugar Chef is located at City Place in West Palm Beach, FL.

I only got a half dozen as we were flying out the next morning, and sadly only was able to taste one flavor, but it was something chocolately and heavenly.
The packaging was cute and tempting. The cupcake itself was DELICIOUS! Definitely one of the better bakery cupcakes I have had.

I'm sure my family enjoyed finding these in the fridge as my plan was halfway back to the frozen tundra of NJ.

If you happen to be in the area, or maybe not even in the area, you should fit this place into your schedule. I plan to go back next time I am in town! (and I will make sure I get more than 1/2 of a cupcake).

CUPCAKES!!!!!!

A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be in the vicinity of Georgetown Cupcake. Thank you to tips from friends, I knew to order in advance so that I would not have to wait in line. The store was a hop skip and a jump from the hotel I was staying at in Arlington, so I placed my order to be ready on Sunday morning and picked them on my way out of town.

There was a line a mile long! So I am glad that I pre-0rdered. I simply told the girl at the door I had pre-ordered, walked in, gave them my name, out came my bag with this fabulous box in it and off I went. Pre-paid! WOOHOO! The store was bustling, the energy was sugary and one of the owners was even there!

I had to drive in the car with these babies for over 6 hours. SIX HOURS. SIX LONGGGG HOURS. I was thinking crazy thoughts... ie: if i got pulled over I'd offer the officer a cupcake. I also picked up our newest addition to the family that day in Philly (Gutter our kitten). Oh, the temptation.

Don't they look amazing!!!!



Okay Here is the run down of what we got:
Above: on the top right: Cherry Cheesecake Cupcake, PB Fudge below, Coconut Chocolate on the bottom right. On the top left: Chocolate 2, Red Velvet, Milk Chocolate Birthday.

Above: to the right: Carrot, Vanilla & Chocolate, Lava Fudge. To the left: Coconut, Strawberry, Cherry Cheesecake Cupcake.

I was able to bring them home and refrigerate them. When ready to eat, bring to room temp. YUM. You can also freeze them.

My favorite: Cherry Cheesecake.

I almost ordered a whole dozen of them after my first bite.

PB&J...

What do you make when a 2 year old comes to visit? You are asking the wrong person, really.

But when his mom advised that he eats anything and if anything fails there is always peanut butter and jelly, I was inspired!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Cupcakes

(I think mine look better than Martha's)

Ingredients
Makes 18
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
6 ounces (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup natural, creamy peanut butter
3 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Frosting
Strawberry jam, for topping

Directions
Make cupcakes as directed in Basic Cupcake How-To, adding peanut butter before adding eggs. Use sour cream and vanilla as wet ingredients. Once cupcakes are cool, frost tops with peanut butter frosting. Place a dollop of jam in center of frosting. Decorated cupcakes will keep, covered and refrigerated, for up to 2 days.

NOTES: These were really good. I'm still getting used to my new (old) oven and so I overcooked them a bit, but still really tasty. I didn't use strawberry jam, I used a superfruit jelly that we had that gave it good flavor. And they are for sure 2 yo approved!

Cookies N' Cream Cupcakes & A new camera!

My new camera (Nikon D5000) arrived in the mail yesterday, so of course I had to bake. Okay, I was already planning to bake, but the camera arriving was a bonus.

Here is my attempt at Cookies n' Cream cupcakes. The recipe is from my daily cupcake calendar which got it from the book 500 Cupcakes...

Cupcakes
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
1 cup superfine sugar
2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
10 crushes oreos

Frosting
3 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 cup (2 sticks) sweet butter, softened
Pinch of salt
10 chopped oreos

Preheat the oven to 350. Place 18 foil or paper baking cups in muffin pans. Combine all cupcake ingredients, except the cookies in a large bowl and beat with an electric mixer until smooth and pale, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in the cookies.

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 wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat the confectioners’ sugar, butter, and salt using an electric mixer. Spread the frosting on the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with chopped cookies on top.

Store unfrosted in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.

I followed the recipe pretty exact. I did cut it in half since I have no need for that many cupcakes, and in doing so overcooked the cupcakes. They were still tasty, but noticibly overcooked. Ooops. They made for a lovely photo session!