Turn Your World Upside-Down with Dulce De Leche Flan

For me, love has always been like flan.  I'm a believer in love at first sight, but in practice love has always come slowly and smoothly - friendship transitioning to butterflies and then to that first kiss.  To appreciate flan, you need to take the time to melt it a little, get it out of its shell, and lastly to turn its world upside-down.  Only then will you be treated to its true beauty: a hidden caramel layer that now shines front and center, stealing your heart.

Valentine's Day Cupcakes for Two in Under Ten Minutes

Sometimes you don't want a dozen cupcakes.  This chocolate spice cupcake recipe that I created for Paula Deen makes just two cupcakes.  However, the best part is that the cupcakes can be made in the microwave and the whole thing takes under ten minutes.  Enjoy them warm with fresh whipped cream and sprinkles.

Chocolate Spice Cupcakes For Two Recipe

Anti-Valentine's Day Cupcakes

"Anti-Valentine's Day - why would anyone be anti Valentine's Day?" asked my befuddled mother.  "Valentine's Day is about love.  Why would someone be opposed to love?"  I'm not actually anti Valentine's Day. I have some extremely fond Valentine's Day memories.  I still recall reading "The Tasty Pasty Valentine" as a child - a short story about mice making Valentine's cards and eating the paste.  In more recent years, I've celebrated with sushi-filled Valentine's Day hotel room stays, heart-shaped balloons, and even personalized romance novels.  In fact, as I put the red "X" over the heart-shaped cupcakes, I had a moment of superstitious fear that Aphrodite would spite me. 

However, I do understand why people are anti Valentine's Day.  Couples face pressure to buy gifts, pressure to make the day special, and jacked up prices at every restaurant.  Singles must contend with the constant reminder that others are happily coupled. 

Anti-Valentine's Day parties have become a commonplace way to deal with the hype.  Some are for singles only and some allow couples as long as they aren't all smoochy and romantic.  Any excuse to party sounds good to me, but the question is ...

What Kind of Cupcake Should You Bring to An Anti-Valentine's Day Party?

The Ultimate Truffle Cupcake

The Ultimate Truffle Cupcake experience begins with the smell - as the cupcake comes close to your sniffer, a waft of truffle - the fungi kind - hits you hard (Yes, I called it a sniffer; I have a five month old.). You begin to wonder, "Is this a dessert or an Italian entree?" As you take a bite, you reach the rich dark chocolate first. The truffle flavor isn't quite as strong as you would have guessed. Then, the cake itself makes you pause. You realize that while it's a chocolate cake, it's clearly sweetened with honey. It starts to feel like comfort food. But, wait... there is that truffle flavor making it different than anything you've ever tasted before. Did you save the chocolate truffle on top as a chaser? It's not in a box, so you don't know what the flavor is. Here goes nothing... oh yeah!!

Cupcake Fondue - Get Hot and Steamy for Valentine's Day

For something hot this Valentine's Day, dip your cupcakes in fondue. Not only do you get to play with wet, drippy chocolate, but you get the opportunity to frost each others' cupcakes.

The Perfect Valentine's Day Gift

Note to ladies reading this: Stop reading now and send this post to the special guy in your life.

Valentine's Day Cupcakes - Root Beer Float Cupcakes

Valentine's Day cupcakes could be any cupcake made with love for your Valentine. However, if you want an extra special Valentine's Day cupcake, I've got a few ideas that I'll be sharing in the next week to give you plenty of time to get ready to make them.

My first Valentine's Day cupcake idea for this year is the root beer float cupcake. It's the picture of romance from a simpler time.


I would strongly recommend that if you choose this cupcake, you accompany it with a cute homemade card cut out of red construction paper.

How to Make a Root Beer Float Cupcake

Better Than Sex Cupcakes: Chocolate Times Five

When I made saffron cupcakes, I commented that Groom 2.0 really just wanted a plain chocolate cupcake. Those of you that read the comments saw that he was quick to correct me,

"I don't want a 'plain chocolate cupcake'. I want a phenomenal, rich, delectable, 'better than sex' chocolate cupcake. Milk chocolate? White chocolate? Dark chocolate? All of the the above. Not EVERY cupcake needs to
have an unusual flavor or a quirky ingredient. There's no reason that traditional has to mean boring. If I wanted a boring chocolate cupcake, I'd got to the store and buy a box mix and do it myself. I want the Cupcake
Project version."

I couldn't help but to see his point. I had to create a Better than Sex Cupcake that lived up to his hopes.

The Five Chocolate Parts of the Better Than Sex Cupcakes

I created cupcakes that have five different chocolate components:

Chocolate Dulce de Leche Cupcakes: Sexy Valentine's Day Cupcakes

Last week, I posted a cute Valentine's Day cupcake that is perfect for kids, the Shirley Temple Cupcake. This week, I present you with a sexy Valentine's Day cupcake, the chocolate dulce de leche cupcake.

What Makes this Valentine's Day Cupcake Sexy?

I think just saying the word dulce de leche is sexy. Am I alone in this? It's even more sexy if you say "cho-co-lat" with a French accent and then go all Latin with "dulce de leche." You combine two extremely sexy cultures into one cupcake.

Valentine's Day Cupcakes for Your Sweetheart - Shirley Temple Cupcakes

These Valentine's Day cupcakes happened somewhat by accident.

When Kristen of Bakesweet contacted me about a recipe for cupcakes with grenadine, the first thing that came to mind was making a Shirley Temple cupcake. Since Valentine's Day is almost here and grenadine is red, this also makes for a perfect Valentine's Day cupcake!

This post has three main sections: About Shirley Temple, a Shirley Temple Drink Recipe, and a Shirley Temple Cupcake Recipe.

Strawberry Cupcakes with Champagne Glaze: Picture Perfect Cupcakes

Strawberry cupcakes are perfect for an intimate dinner for two. The champagne glaze gives them that touch of extra romance. No intimate dinner for two to be had? These strawberry cupcakes would also be perfect for a summer BBQ.