Salted Caramel Cake and 103 other cupcakes for a Wedding

This weekend I truly realized how old I am...I was 100% completely exhausted by 2:00 pm Saturday after a day and half on me feet baking.  Like it was difficult to finish washing the necessary dishes on Saturday...as in I was hunched over the sink washing dishes...as in Sunday I took a two hour nap when we got home.  But I had to rally on Saturday, finish washing the dishes, get cleaned up myself and pack up all the cupcakes, plus the cake, because (A) there was a very important wedding to go to and (B) the cake and cupcakes weren't going to deliver themselves.  Don't get me wrong it was totally worth it, but I do think I want one of those fancy padded kitchen mats now.  The cupcakes for the wedding were chosen by the bride...salted caramel (her favorite and the flavor of the cake), champagne raspberry and "Biscoff" cookie.  I have made each of these cupcakes in either cupcake or cake form before but I had to blog about it because the cake came out so freaking delicious...like the bride and groom ate the entire piece they cut.  We served the rest of the cake because who really wants year old frozen cake, and I had to try a piece myself.  Take three layers of vanilla cake with salted caramel and caramel drizzle into between each layer and what more can you ask for?  I almost didn't have a piece because even after showering I still felt like I was covered in sugar, but boy am I glad I did.  I will be making this one again!

First to start the wedding weekend out right at the rehearsal dinner there was a pig cake...a huge surprise for the groom who had been requesting it.  This was one rich cake...3 layers of devils food cake with Oreo filling and ganache on top.  Plus I has a lot of fun getting to make the pigs! (more to come on this cake)

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes...without the green dye

Its starting...it's that time in our lives where between Charles and I...alot of our friends are getting married or engaged.  We were in Philly last weekend, head to Annapolis this coming weekend...oh and the weekend after that we head to Hampton, VA.  To say the very least it is super fun and exciting time!  Plus, it gives us an excuse to travel, and for trips where we only have to be away for a night or two.  That is until the wedding in Charleston at the end of June...but I am always looking for any sort of excuse where I have to go to Charleston.  This past weekend was truly a blast though and was so great to see friends that we don't get to see often enough.  It also made me feel like we are all really starting to grow up, friends are getting married, and some even have kids already!

Philadelphia's Magic Gardens...one of my favorite spots in Philly.

CAKE!  Oh how I love checking out wedding cakes.

Key Lime Pie...Ocean Reef Club Style

Key Largo and specifically the Ocean Reef Club is a place filled with memories.  So when I was down there last week they all came flooding back.  Last time they looked like this and tasted like fish tacos and s'mores by the ocean.  Last time there was "spring break" while working, dancing the night away and golf cart races.  This time I got to experience it in a whole new way with Charles and new colleagues.  There were still golf carts, including a Lilly Pulitzer one, there were still fun themed dinners and there was definitely still Key Lime Pie. This time though I left with the recipe for the Ocean Reef Club's Key Lime pie and jumped at the first chance to make it when Amy requested a pie.  

Last week might have involved a few of these over the course of the week...Mojito anyone?

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

So confession sometimes I am a 12 year old at heart.  In the past two week I have gotten totally sucked into the Divergent series...almost more than I did with Hunger Games.  Like I said, I am 12 sometimes.  Any who reading Divergent has gotten me thinking about how often I have a tendency to flash back in life sometimes because of something I see, hear or smell.  How even the smallest of things can do this, like someone's voice.  Even the simple smells of certain things cooking or baking does it.  It left me wondering though if others do this too?  Or  I am I totally just weird.  I am trying harder these days to not dwell on things of the past even though there are constant everyday reminders of it.  But there is so much to look forward to in the future.  The wedding is less than a month off and it feels like there is still so much to do...including going to three weddings over the next three weekends!  Plus making a 100 cupcakes and a cake next week for the wedding.  I am so excited for the next month and the months and years to come!  

Spring is in the air + Half and Half Cookies (white chocolate macadamia nut and chocolate chunk cookies)

I think we have all been...those times where we are a bit over tired from a few days with long hours of work with the same people.  The times where you start to almost giggle over silly things.  Well these cookies are a product of those times.  A product of their constantly being cookies at meetings as the dessert option and always wanting to be able to try a few different ones...but cookies a meetings tend to be the size of your hand.  Thus eating a few different ones is not really advisable.  So instead it popped into my mind to make a cookie that was really two different kinds of cookies in one.  For the first try on these I went with half chocolate chunk and half white chocolate macadamia nut.  They were sooo good!  Definitely a cookies combination that I prefer to just be baked so they are still super soft in the middle.  I can't wait until the next combination but I already have a couple in mind.  Enjoy!

So its officially spring and I just had to share a few pictures of the cherry blossoms at sunrise I took a couple of weeks ago.

The shear number of people who came to DC this year to see these was amazing.  The ones around the Tidal Basin were here for about a week and then gone, but they sure were pretty for the short time they were around.

Inspired by cookies...Lemon White Chocolate Coconut Cookies

Last weekend was an adventure filled weekend in New Orleans.  There was music, delicious food and great cocktails with great friends.  I managed, somehow, to get up Saturday morning and go for a run...it was more like jog, but it was fun exploring.  I still believe you can explore a city the best while running.  The doorman named Bubba suggested I head down Canal Street towards the river and I did. I ran past the water and the ultimately wrapped myself back around to Armstrong park, which I just had to run through...plus stop and take some pictures.

This guy was in the back of the second line...this statue was pretty awesome and definitely my fav.