Best. Cupcake. Ever.

Those are the words spoken to Sean regarding my newest creation...(Since I send most of them to his office, I don't get most of the accolades. I have to try to live vicariously.) He told me feedback for these cupcakes was off the charts. That people who never really speak to him were stopping by his office to tell him how great they were. That they were gone in record time. What are these cupcakes of awesomeness? I haven't come up with a name for them yet (I like BopCakes in honor of my dad--long story on the nickname), but here's a description:

Start with a slightly spicy hint-of-maple cake (made with rum, freshly-grated nutmeg, a touch of black pepper, and maple), a light maple buttercream (also with fresh nutmeg), and topped with a generous serving of caramelized maple and black pepper bacon. Yup. That's right. Bacon. Incredible. Ab-so-lutely incredible. Breakfast in a delectable paper liner.

And now I'm going to step on my soap box.  I've heard for a long time that "real" cooks use freshly ground nutmeg each time they cook.  They grate the little brown "nut" over a zester each time. "Psh..." I thought. "Really. Whatever. I bet you can't tell the difference."

Well, the last time we were in Seattle, I stopped by Market Spice at Pike Place Market and picked up about 15 little nuts. They last forever, basically, if kept in a good container. "What the heck," I thought. "Food Network has never really steered me wrong."

Oh. My. Gosh. HUGE difference. Gigantic. It's like they're not even the same spice as the pre-ground stuff you pick up in a plastic jar. I had no idea. I've been royally schooled. So if any of you out there care enough to buy some whole nutmeg at a spice shop or online, and a lemon zester or something similar for about $6, prepare to be amazed. If not, well... I won't tell.

But I'm still missing a name for these cupcakes of bacony awesomeness.  Any thoughts?

Stargazing Lilies...

I got another order this week, and it was a big one. 48 red velvet cupcakes, 48 creamsicle cupcakes, 48 mini cupcakes of a flavor I'd determine, and a mini cake for the birthday girl at her surprise 30th birthday party.

In talking to her boyfriend (the one who is financing the cupcakes), he said that she is spunky, fun, loved tie-dye, and her favorite flower is the Stargazer Lily.

So I made red velvet cupcakes and put two or three little red fondant blossoms with pearl centers on the top of each. Not really spunky, but perhaps fun. I made "tie-dye" fondant stars to put on top of the creamscicle. I chose chocolate cupcakes with Bailey's coffee frosting, and made chocolate swirls and chocolate zigzags.  And for the mini cake, I made an off-center stacked red velvet (her favorite) filled with cream cheese, iced in buttercream, and topped with three handmade, handpainted Stargazer Lilies crafted from gumpaste.  The picture above doesn't show the beading I piped around the bottom of the cake once it was moved to the platter, but boy howdy... am I proud of that cake!  If she wants to eat the lilies, she could--though gumpaste tastes nasty. But they'll also stay in that form for a really, really long time, so if she wanted to keep them, she could do that, too!

The party is tonight, so we'll see how the feedback goes. Sometimes I'm surprised that I'm so willing to give away something that I work so hard on. But isn't that why I do this in the first place? This is my art... you don't hang it on walls, but I can be sure that for the next few days, people will be talking about this cake!