Third Time's a Charm

Regular readers already know the story of my blog. I started this blog because having never baked a cupcake in my life, I offered to bake cupcakes for my friends' wedding. The "project" part of Cupcake Project was mastering the cupcake in the nine months leading up to the big day. I loved doing it and got so hooked on cupcake baking that after Bride and Groom 1.0 got married, I offered to do the whole thing over again for another couple. Bride and Groom 2.0 got married on Oct. 12, 2008.

For the past year, Cupcake Project has been without a project. That's about to change.

Meet Ron and Leslie (hereafter known as Bride and Groom 3.0)

Groom 3.0 is Jonathan's (my husband and live-in photographer) third cousin. I can't believe that he knows his third cousin. Not only does he know him, but they actually talk on a regular basis. We love Bride 3.0 and couldn't be happier with Groom 3.0's choice! Jonathan took photos of their proposal at the Lewis and Clark marathon. Check out the joy on their faces and you'll understand why I am so excited to make cupcakes for this wonderful couple.

They do not have a wedding date picked yet, but it will be this coming Spring or Summer. I'll let you know when I know!

As I've done for past couples, Bride and Groom 3.0 will be trying cupcakes each week and choosing two or three flavors that they would like me to bake for the wedding (for a total of 300 cupcakes!). I'll keep you up to date on their favorites and give you the play-by-play when the big day comes!

What Kind of Cupcakes Do Bride and Groom 3.0 Enjoy?

It's important for me to understand what types of flavors the couple likes so that I can start experimenting. Bride and Groom 3.0 left it WIDE open.

What they don't like:

• Like Bride and Groom 1.0, they don't want nuts.
  
• Bride 3.0 is not a big frosting fan. I'm not either, so I'm cool with that. It will be a fun challenge to find frosting that she likes.
  
• Groom 3.0 doesn't love chocolate (I can't imagine that!), coconut (that always seems to be a love it or hate it thing), or whipped cream.
  

Here's the list of things (in their own words) that they said they like. I've put my responses to them (and snarky comments) in orange. If I've made a flavor before, I've linked to it.

• Butterscotch
  
• PB (but I think you don't dig) - It's true. Sorry, peanut butter is off limits.
  
• Vanilla - Boring! But, I do really need to master a perfect plane-Jane vanilla cupcake, so I may experiment.
  
• Cinnamon
  
• Any berry - Berries look really pretty on cupcakes. That would be a nice wedding choice.
  
• Orange chocolate (Ron might not like as much) - I love those orange milano cookies, but I haven't made an orange chocolate cupcake. One of my very first cupcakes was a tangerine chocolate cupcake, but the frosting was a nasty, runny mess.
  
• Red velvet - I've never made it. I think it's too overdone and frankly I don't get the appeal. Sorry, but I'm probably not going to make this one unless you really beg.
  
• Bourbon - One of the cupcakes that I created for Paula Deen contains bourbon, but the recipe hasn't gone live yet. You'll see it soon!
  
• Margarita - You may recall that Bride and Groom 1.0 had margarita cupcakes at their wedding. I love these and they look super cute when I make them with little umbrellas. I'd be happy to make them again.
  
• Mango, exotic fruits - I was surprised (when searching through my archives) to find that I had made four recipes that involved mango. None of them were all that great, although the mango frosting was quite tasty and refreshing.
  
• Brown sugar - I love how you listed brown sugar as a flavor! Brown sugar rocks! I use it all the time! I think that you would really like my penuche frosting - make sure that I let you try it.
  
• Pumpkin - Pumpkin is the very first flavor that you will be taste testing.
  
• Most fruits, apples, peaches - It cracks me up how most fruits are listed separately from exotic fruits and berries. Clearly, you like fruit.
  
• Root beer - This was another flavor that Bride and Groom 1.0 chose. It's a winner.
  
• Chai - Chai cupcakes were the very first cupcakes that I made. I don't remember much about them, but I do recall that they were a hit, despite how ugly they looked.
  
• Flourless chocolate - I've got this recipe down. They are a crowd favorite!
  
• Honey - I use honey all of the time. However, I've never made a honey cupcake.
  
• Apple caramel - Oh look, another fruit! Look for this one soon on Paula Deen.
• Well I am sure we will like a lot of things you come up with. Please experiment as usual and come up with your own ideas too. I am sure we don't even realize the potential of flavors. - Excellent! I'm sure that you will enjoy the garlic cupcakes that I'll be making soon (I do not jest).