• Cotton candy cloud cupcakes

    After I decided to bake cupcakes for DC Cupcake Camp, I had to decide what kind to make. It wasn’t an easy choice. First, I made a long list of ideas. Then I asked some friends for their input on the options and tested out three of the top options. This was the third one […]

  • DC Cupcake Camp

    You may recall that Toby and I went to something called “Cupcake Camp” in Baltimore last year. It was low on organization, but high in cupcakes. This year, since we moved to Alexandria, I thought we’d try DC Cupcake Camp instead. It’s kind of hard to describe cupcake camp, because it isn’t actually camp-like at […]

  • Peep cupcakes

    The weather has been really weird. One day it feels like February, the next like June. It’s foggy in the morning and sweltering in the afternoon. The cherry blossoms bloomed early, and now it’s raining pink petals all over the DC area. So, basically, it’s spring. And that means… time for Peeps! You probably recall […]

  • Raspberry cupcakes with blood orange buttercream

    I don’t like sappy romantic comedies. I’m not into greeting cards. I don’t want a heart-shaped box of chocolates. I think giving someone red roses on Valentine’s Day is a cop-out (I’ll take peonies or tulips, thanks). The fact that they’re bringing Titanic back in 3-D makes me want to injure several people. But I […]

  • Sugar Plum Fairy cupcakes

    I started taking ballet when I was 2 years old, and my mom started taking me to see The Nutcracker every year not too long after. I was even invited to try out for a small part in Ballet Arizona’s production one year, but I was too tall (if you can imagine that!). This year, […]

  • Blue velvet cupcakes

    I totally meant to post these BEFORE the Army-Navy game. But then I spent a zillion hours baking “Go Navy, Beat Army” cookies, and my oven stopped working and I had to finish baking the cookies in my neighbor’s oven… and then Michael Phelps was swimming about a mile from my house, so obviously we […]

  • Tell-tale heart chocolate-raspberry cupcakes

    “It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night.” It was the old man’s pale blue eye (with a film over it) that turned me into a cake-flour coated madwoman. Well, that and a heart bundt cake Isabel baked a few months ago. […]

  • Natty Boh beer cupcakes

    If you’re not from the mid-Atlantic, you may not be familiar with National Bohemian beer — or Natty Boh. Natty Boh has a long history in Baltimore, and while it’s not brewed in the Charm City anymore, many people consider it Baltimore’s beer. And the super cute one-eyed mascot, Mr. Boh, still winks at everyone […]

  • Chocolate-bourbon souffle cupcakes with bourbon whipped cream

    While we were in Kentucky for Toby’s grandmother’s 80th birthday, we went to Virgil’s Cafe in Bellevue. The last time we ate there, I had a really fantastic cheeseburger. This time, the most memorable thing was a chocolate-bourbon torte. After about two bites, I started thinking about how I could make something similar. So when […]