Recovering Cupcakeholic!

I absolutely love cupcakes! I've tried Crumbs, Magnolia, Butter Lane, and my old time favorite Buttercup! Each cupcake offers a unique appearance and eating experience. Some are huge cake like sizes, others offer layers of cream, and some come in outrageous flavors and toppings. I prefer the classic cupcake. It’s simply dressed, perfectly coated with a delicious whipped cream that satisfies your sweet tooth and comes in flavors (and sizes) similar to those that Mom use to make. My favorite cupcake flavor is Red Velvet-I simply love the chocolately flavor and the deep red color, not to mention the cream cheese frosting!!! For those who have never seen them before they are usually taken by surprise since the taste does not reflect the color.

This weekend I prepared 200+ cupcakes for P.S. 203, an elementary school in Bayside, Queens. The event was Family Night Out where parents and their children took part in events like movie night, photography, nail painting for the girls and an art workshop. I offered a cupcake decorating station with the help of my assistant (and loving husband) Alex. The children purchased a blue ticket (which also served as my raffle ticket) and received a homemade cupcake (yes real butter, organic eggs, buttermilk, Philadelphia cream cheese and vanilla extract was used—couldn’t expect a tasty and moist cupcake otherwise). Each child had a choice of Lemon-Vanilla or Red Velvet (the obvious winner!) and then would smooth on some frosting and top with chocolate or colored sprinkles, some even made faces using Cheerios. The kids had a ball! Some took their masterpieces home; some couldn’t wait to dig in! But each child took pride in their work and enjoyed. The raffle prize? A cooking utensil and a personalized A Pinch of Salt apron given to Timothy Christopher from 1st grade. Congrats!

As for me, I think it will take some time before I indulge in a cupcake after making so many, but life is too short to not indulge in a delicious and compact childhood memory so a few days will suffice.