Champagne Cupcakes for Valentine's Day

It's a cupcake. With booze in it. What's not to love?

Valentine's Day. Cue the twittering birds and soft music flowing from tiny harps! This, the Day of Love, evokes visions of heart-shaped chocolate boxes, bouquets of red roses, and romance. For me, it is simply a glass of bubbly and a special dessert shared with my sweetie.

What's a cupcake without sprinkles? It's nothing. It's dead to me.

Tart Little Dollop is my middle name.

These romantic, Champagne Cupcakes combine a crisp, refreshing sparkler with a sweet, vanilla cupcake with champagne buttercream. There is a surprise inside, too – a tart little dollop of raspberry filling.

Cut a wedge out of the middle, put a wee bit o' jam in there, then squish the lid back on. Once you put the frosting on, it holds the lid in place.

For the bubbles, I chose The Bub, from Haywire Winery in Summerland, BC. The Bub is a Traditional Method sparkler made from chardonnay and pinot noir. It's fresh and crisp and not too sweet – making it the perfect ingredient for these champagne cupcakes.

Any time is the perfect time for Bubbles!

I hope you try my Bubcakes and share them with your love, maybe with a little glass of The Bub. Happy Valentine's Day!

Click through for the recipe and instructions.

Black & White Cupcakes

Black & White & Obsessed All Over

I have a new obsession: black & white. Maybe not technically new, but this graphic combination has taken over my life! My recent fave fashion find is a black & white striped tee from Smart Set – the stripes feel so fresh and summery. The latest wheeled addition to our household is a gorgeous little black Mini Cooper, aptly named Oreo. And I have been obsessed with creating the perfect black & white manicure. Leave shades of grey to the steamy novels – I’ll take black & white any day!

Black & White Cupcakes  

Livin' in perfect harmony

Since black & white is on my mind, I decided to create an easy, delicious Black & White Cupcake to share with my friends and family. The cupcake is a rich, devil’s food chocolate, light and fluffy, and frosted with rich vanilla buttercream. To top it off, I added the ubiquitous black & white cookie — a mini Oreo, of course. 

Click through for the recipe…

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

Hmm I'll take that one, and that one, if you please.

Are you hosting Thanksgiving dinner for a crowd this year? Every few years I volunteer to host the dinner for my family, even though my house is tiny and my kitchen is tinier! I don’t have a large enough dining room for a sit-down affair, so at my house the informal Buffet is the norm.

Manly Desserts: Guinness Chocolate Cake with Bittersweet Chocolate Ganache and Bailey's Cream Cheese Frosting

Manly Guinness Chocolate Cake for Manly Men

Happy Father's Day! Today, we celebrated dear, old Dad. Many of you spent the day with Dad, as I did, participating in his favourite activities, or Dadtitivies. Golfing, fishing, boating, hunting, NASCAR — all the manly-man things Dad does anyway, but on Father's Day we get to go with him.

My Dad chose his favourite activity — lunch. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree as that's my favourite activity, too. We took him to his favourite lunch spot (Tim Horton's), and then back home for a home-baked treat.

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes for Valentine's Day

Pink. It's not just a singer with a sassy attitude and flamboyant style. It's also the colour that fills my mind when I think of Valentine's Day. Swirls of colour — shades of pink and red, pretty and girly in a heart-shaped package.

Marshmallow Ghost Cupcakes

Absolutely adorable marshmallow ghosts float spookily above dark but divine devil's food cupcakes! A cute but scary treat for your Halloween bash. The sweet, glossy marshmallow frosting sounds complicated but it's pretty easy. For best results, make the frosting the same day you will serve them. Enjoy!

Cute marshmallow ghosties will haunt your tastebuds!