Sun and Buttercream - Natural nemeses

Beautiful day, lots of people, most of them eating ice cream. The cupcakes turned out very well, the 'Sweet Alice' chocolate strawberry were the first to sell out - local berries made all the difference, it was really strawberry-y.



I tried a new chocolate icing recipe - hence the Choclit Choclit II designation - and it was a big winner! It's not a Buttercream but a dense Creme Fraiche-Dark Chocolate number. There's sooo much chocolate in this stuff and its not overly sweet, a little like a lightened up, tangy Chocolate truffle. I do need to work on it's looks a little, it's a bit plain - needs some pizazz.



Thank goodness I brought the display cakes their own parasol this time - the sun was relentless. I had to keep shifting the little umbrella as the sun moved across the sky and at one point it got ahead of me - it melted a Sweet Alice's icing into a puddle in a about 30 seconds - a bit of a sticky horror. Next time I'll bring myself a parasol too, even with sunscreen I got a nasty, albeit funny shaped, burn.

Now, off to try my hand at gum paste flowers - keep you posted.

The Menu...

Sunshine and...

Nilla Nilla - Dulcet and intoxicating, A moist vanilla cream cake with rum-vanilla bean buttercream


Choclit Choclit II- Deep and enigmatic, A rich chocolate cake with tangy dark chocolate frosting




Sweet Alice - Pretty and Summery, Chocolate or Vanilla cake with fresh local strawberry buttercream.

Not pictured but still available -
Coconut Gale - Creamy and tropical, Chocolate or Vanilla cake with coconut custard buttercream.

2nd Sale

This Saturday, we'll be at the Downtown farmers market for the second time, providing we are able to secure a stall. I'll post the flavour selections tomorrow evening. They promise sun on Saturday!

Winner!

There was a contest on Cupcakes Take the Cake to win a funny little finger spoon called a Batter Finger, and I won!
Contestants had to leave a comment on the blog saying what they would use the Batter Finger for - my comment:

When I'm working on a new flavour in the middle of the night and I finally perfect a new butter-cream, I would use this as the spoon to run into the bedroom with at 3 am to say "Kevin! Wake up! Taste this - is that freakin' good or what?"

Cute little guy, hey? And the best part is that the prize is supplied by another Canadian cupcake baker - Sweet Cuppin' Cakes in Winnipeg! Yay yay yay!

Guild that Lily...

In my other life I make things like banners, cards, cake toppers and menu cards out of vintage papers and little lacy bits. Here is where the two worlds cross over:


A little bit feminine, different fonts for each, could be mixed and matched.



This is a cowboy-western-little man theme. I'm in love with my new set of vintage letters and numbers stamps.

Both of these toppers match up with banners for birthdays that are shown on my other blog and anything can be customized.

First Sale!!!

Saturday was beautiful, warm but not scorching hot, a few clouds rolling about, the occasional breeze... and the people were out taking advantage. In order to secure a spot at the market, we were up at 5:30am, which is the real reason it's called a "farmers" market - only they would get up that early on a Saturday. We were sandwiched between a local organic veggie stand and a verma-compost seller. Do you know worms are $40 a bag?

We heard a lot of compliments on our display which made me very happy. Little cakes under glass like something precious. I did forget my table cloth though, so the plastic table was a bit of an embarrassment, but I'm sure it's something I can live down.


I think the chocolate cake with the dark chocolate buttercream turned out the best - supermoist and dark. Someone came back for a second, which is the most genuine endorsement.

The Little Violet Tart got the most attention, it was the tiny blue flower that caught peoples eye.
So I think it went well for the first time out, and being at the farmers market on a beautiful day was lovely. We got to know our stall neighbors and traded some cakes for greens, heard some great advice from some of the market veterans and got lots of encouragement. Fun day!

Kingston's Market Square Farmers Market

After many late nights in the Research and Development wing of my little kitchen, I feel ready to bring my little cakes out into the light. On Saturday, June 13th, Poppy Mallow Cupcakes, meaning Kevin and I, will be set up in Kingston's Market Square. We'll keep it simple this week with four varieties:


Nilla Nilla - Dulcet and intoxicating, A moist vanilla cream cake with rum-vanilla bean buttercream

Choclit Choclit - Deep and enigmatic, A rich chocolate cake with tangy dark chocolate frosting

Little Violet Tart - Sassy and brazen, A lemon cake with tart lemon filling and fluffy, sweet icing

The Baroness - Complicated and noble, Red velvet cake with creamy filling and dense cream cheese frosting

Hope to see you there, and please join us in crossing our fingers for sunshine!