Blackberry, Lemon, Vanilla Cupcakes

Summer equals berries in this house. Even if summer also equals fog. (There is something refreshing about walking to work in a cool drizzle in July.) The three of us go through containers of blackberries on a regular basis – we heart blackberries. I was itching to mash some up and make a […]
Watermelon-Chocolate Ice Cream Cupcakes
It’s summer. And in most parts of the US when it is summer, it is warm. Maybe even *hot*. In San Francisco, it’s foggy, drizzly, and 55 degrees. Despite the fact that I have to wear a jacket and scarf when heading out in the morning, I am still thinking of summery things – like […]
Orange Cupcakes with Jasmine Petal Jelly
My daughter inspired this cupcake. I asked her what color and flavor cupcake she wanted and she said orange. So, orange it was. I mulled over what to pair it with. I am not a huge fan of orange with chocolate and I wanted to keep the orange bright tasting – so no spices. A […]
Fig and Quinoa Cupcakes
Quinoa is some kind of wonder food (at least according to my daughter’s pediatrician) as it’s a unique complete protein and is gluten-free. My husband eats it often as a part of his generally healthy diet. It was his birthday this week so I thought to incorporate one of his current favorite foods into a […]
Bacon Cupcakes Two Ways
I have tried my hand at bacon cupcakes before and some of my coworkers were huge fans. I was planning some celebratory cupcakes for work and I decided on bringing back the bacon. I was tentative with my inclusion of bacon last time around and I was looking for a chance to push it a […]
Grape Cupcakes
I made these cupcakes specifically to celebrate the launch of a product at work — code named “Grape”. That’s all I needed, an excuse to make grape cupcakes. I knew at the outset I didn’t want these to be cloyingly sweet. I also would have preferred to make them in the fall when I could […]
3 Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Sea Salt
One of my most favorite places to discover unique ingredients and find inspiration for my latest creation is Boulettes Larder. My recent visit turned up the very special sea salt used to garnish these cupcakes and a very delicious pasta dish that was well worth the 18 dollar Tuesday lunch splurge. The vanilla cupcake recipe […]
Sweet & Salty Honey Peanut Cupcakes
My neighbor is a bee keeper. Mostly she keeps bees in a more lush area of the city, but she also has some hives in her backyard. She dropped off some of her backyard honey the other day. I just had to make some cupcakes with it! This creation consists of honey chiffon cake, layered […]
Plain and Simple Chocolate and Vanilla Cupcakes
We are being visited by out of town guests this week. The visitors include three youngsters who happen to be very plain and picky eaters. I definitely wanted to treat them to cupcakes, but knew that I couldn’t veer far from very straightforward flavors. I decided to do four recipes – a basic chocolate cupcake, […]
Pequin Chili Chocolate Cupcakes
Finally! Today! After weeks of waiting and a few too many hundred dollars, the oven is fixed. I baked these cupcakes over the weekend, though, and in a neighbor’s oven. The change of scenery threw me off. I made an ill-advised substitution (baking powder instead of baking soda) and the cupcakes didn’t rise enough. I […]