When Chocolate Met Raspberry

Name the movie I took my post title from and I’ll make you cupcakes.***

Classic flavor combination: chocolate & raspberry. Who doesn’t love that? Um, if you don’t, then just go away. JUST KIDDING! I know, it ain’t for everybody. But for peeps like my friend Glenda, those flavors rock her world. So guess what cute little Glenda got for her birthday? YOU GOT IT! A 24 karat diamond ring. NOT!

She got something even better: Chocolate cupcakes filled with Raspberry preserves and topped with a Raspberry American Buttercream. FROM ME! Simple as pie. And just as delicious. Delicious like Buttermilk pie. I love Buttermilk pie. Maybe I should make some. And why am I talking about Buttermilk pie in a Chocolate & Raspberry cupcakes post?

Caramel Cupcakes w/Brown Sugar Frosting

SUGAR SWEET SWEETNESS!!!! Holy Sucrose is the frosting on these sweet! But they’re pretty good and flavorful as well. I made these inspired by the recipe from the Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook so I can’t print it here, much less take credit for this as an original idea. But hey. Who cares. It’s CUPCAKE TIME!

Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding!

I am back from NYC! What a trip! What food! What friends! What tears I shed from being forced to leave NYC’s awesomeness to come back to this:

I swear if it wasn’t for sights like that, we’d be having serious emotional issues. [And yes, I took that awesome picture of the beach, so don't even dare use it without asking first. ;o)]

While I edit the 67 billion pictures I took, most food related, and organize them, and re-size them so they’re not so huge, here’s a look at a Brioche Bread & Butter Pudding I made last night.

Class @ J&W Univ…

Unfortunately, we are not exactly gonna be doing the classes we thought we would. But I did learn something today: How to do REVERSE PUFF PASTRY. This is where you lock-in your dough INTO the butter instead of the traditional way where the butter goes into the dough. It seems weird and impossible, but Chef made it happen and it looks nice! Still foggy on the why’s of it, but will see the results tomorrow when we bake off all our doughs.
We’re making plain croissants, ham & cheese croissants, chocolate croissants, danishes with cheese and almond cream fillings, puff pastry items with the same and possibly fruit. And we’re also making a Rosemary Asiago Bread, so I am SOOOOO looking forward to that. I love making breads. I don’t care to eat them much, but they’re my favorite baked item.

Baking and Traveling

On my way to the first of two trips this weekend. The 1st one is TOTALLY educational and professional in nature. Right? Right?

Going to take a 1 week “Updating My Skills Program” at Johnson & Wales University’s North Miami, Florida campus. Looks like fun. Tweak some skills and educational techniques. Rock on! And best of all I’m going with Nannette Mendez, my co-baking instructor @ UNE, the university we work at as Chef Instructors. I love her so it should be fun!

It will also be interesting to see how their Florida branch has evolved in the 11 years since I first visited on my “Which culinary school do I want to go to trips of 1998.” Those were some FUN trips.

First J&W paid for my friend Ana and me to visit the school for a weekend, tour the grounds, etc. It was cute, and the sunshine and beaches nearby made it a top contender given it’s similar to Puerto Rico and the tropics we love. But they were still too young in their development; facilities and program were still too new and lacked OOMPH.

Eventually I took a 2nd trip, a Road Trip of sorts to visit the CIA & NECI with my friend Mayte. That was a hilarious trip as well. I really liked NECI. Vermont is simply BEAUTIFUL and BREATHTAKING and all those nice adjectives. I seriously considered going to NECI. But after careful thought and internal debate, I chose the CIA for many, many reasons. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Okay, gotta go finish errands before the trips.

Oh. What? What 2nd trip? Oh.

The 2nd trip is the MADRE of all trips. At least for me.

More info. later on with regards to that trip. I’m SOOOOOO excited!! ;o)

Another Pic of Pink Cupcakes

Found this on my phone. Forgot I had it. Cute!

Pink Cupcakes

A few weeks I was invited to a BBQ Birthday Cookout for Emily to be held at her Isla Verde beach apartment. I was asked if I could bring cupcakes, which of course I could. The only request was that they contain Pink frosting, ’cause pink is Emily’s favorite color.