Cake Byte: Awesomeness at Cupcake Royale

Check it out! I'll be at two different Cupcake Royale locations for book events in the next few days! Check out the facebook event pages for the events here: Capitol Hill and Bellevue.

Find out more and find directions at Cupcakeroyale.com!

Virtual Tour de Sweet, Stop 4: Blondie-Topped Brownies by Dessert First

Image: Dessert FirstCakeSpy Note: My book tour has already begun--online, that is! Marking stop 4 for the virtual Tour de Sweet blog tour is Anita of Dessert First! She made a totally sweet version of my Blondie-topped Brownies!

It was hard to choose which recipe to make first, but I tried out her Blondie-Topped Brownies, because I’m always a fan of not having to choose. This recipe is exactly as described: a moist fudgy brownie layer topped with a sweet, butterscotch-y blondie layer. It’s quick to make, and the flavors mix together surprisingly well. And it’s certainly a conversation starter, like most the other recipes in the cookbook. 

Congrats on a great first cookbook, Jessie! As part of her book launch, Jessie will be touring several cities, and she’ll be in the Bay Area next week at two great foodie locations: Teacake Bake Shop and Omnivore Books. I’m looking forward to meeting her and if any of you are local, I hope you’ll come too!

For Anita's full entry and the recipe, visit Dessert First!

Virtual Tour de Sweet, Stop 3: Pop Tarts Ice Cream Sandwiches by Peabody

Photo: Culinary Concoctions by PeabodyCakeSpy Note: My book tour has already begun--online, that is! Marking stop 3 for the virtual Tour de Sweet blog tour is Peabody (my baking hero and fellow unicorn lover), who has managed to make my Pop-Tarts Ice Cream Sandwiches even awesomer. Here's Peabody's writeup, but visit her blog for the recipe and an interview with me!

So most of you know my buddy Jessie from Cakespy, but you might not know she came out with a whimsical and fun cookbook as well! It’s just quirky and magical, just like her. I was asked to join her Tour de Sweet and jumped at the chance!

Jessie and I think a lot alike and without every discussing what the other one is making we literally will have often made almost the same thing…great minds. Minus the fact that she can also draw and well…I make some really lovely blobs and squiggles that I call drawings. Just like most artist, my art won’t be appreciated until I’m dead, or so I keep telling myself.

If you love Jessie you will love her book. If you don’t know Jessie, head over to her blog and take a look. Her book is of course somewhat like her blog…but a little more unicorn action (not that action) and who can’t use that?

Thanks, Peabody. Just for you, here's a special Halloween drawing:

For the full entry, recipe, and a scintillating interview, visit Culinary Concoctions by Peabody.

Virtual Tour de Sweet, Stop 1: Everything Fall Cupcakes by Cupcake Project

Photo: Cupcake ProjectCakeSpy Note: My book tour has already begun--online, that is! Kicking off the Tour de Sweet blog tour for my book is Stef at Cupcake Project, who was inspired by my cupcakes baked in cupcakes--and she created her own fall version, which include all of the best fall flavors in one sweet treat! Here's a sneak peek at her post; read the entire post and find her recipe here.

When perusing Sweet Treats for a Sugar-Filled Life to decide what to bake for you for on the tour stop (what would a baking book tour be without sweet treats?), my choice was clear.  In her book, Jessie creates the cupcake in a cupcake - genius!!  The Everything Fall Cupcake is my own take on her creation (which, by the way, is her take on the work of her friend Megan Seling from Bake It In a Cake)...

...When you bake a cupcake inside of a cupcake, you end up with a little cupcake nipple poking out of the top of the original cupcake.  This is normal, and as you can see in the photo at the top of this post, once you frost the cupcakes, no one will ever know it was there.

Cupcakes inside of cupcakes open up a whole new realm of cupcake possibilities.  Take any two cupcake and frosting flavors you love and you might love them even more in the same cupcake!  Not only do you achieve different but complementary flavors in one bite, but you also end up with varied textures, a super moist center from the twice-baked cupcake, a typical cupcake texture from the normal-sized cupcake, and a top that has flaky crunchy bits from the mini-cupcake's frosting spreading and caramelizing.

Photo: Cupcake ProjectFor Stef's recipe for "Everything Fall" Cupcakes as well as the rest of her sweet thoughts on the book, visit her site!