cupcake royale

i live about 4 blocks from the ballard cupcake royale.

now, i have to be honest. i used to consider myself a cupcake connoisseur.

and after taste testing nearly every shop in the city,

i had decided that trophy was my very favorite.

but, due to location, i decided to give cupcake royale another chance.

(especially now that they're serving ice cream!)

you know how i feel about cake pops!

these were not my fave. i'm a sucker for home-made!

but they were adorable :)

but, hello, this pumpkin spice cupcake was delightful!

can't decide which ice cream flavor to choose? 

try a flight! genius!

i got salted caramel and red velvet.

both were AMAZING!

happy saturday! :)

sangria granitas

hello sunshine :)

thank you for coming out to play!

to help you all enjoy this gorgeous summer weekend,

i thought i'd share my current favorite recipe....

for SANGRIA GRANITAS!

let's be honest, you know it already sounds amazing.

try it! i almost ate this whole bowl :)

recipe adapted from cooking light

ingredients

1 cup 100% concord grape juice

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind

+ juice of half the orange

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon rind

+ juice of half the lemon

1 3/4 cups fruity red wine

directions

1. combine juice and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat;

bring to a boil. cook 1 minute, stirring until sugar dissolves.

remove from heat. stir in rinds; cool completely.

2. strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl; discard solids.

stir in wine. pour into a glass bowl or baking dish.

3. cover and freeze for about 45 minutes; scrape with a fork. freeze.

scrape mixture every 45 minutes until completely frozen (about 5 hours).

remove mixture from freezer; scrape entire mixture with a fork until fluffy.

(okay, obviously i didn't sit around scraping my granita mix every 45 minutes,

but if you do it a few times before it's completely frozen - you'll be good) :)

4. serve on a hot day and rejoice! :)

bonbons.

sometimes you just need a little extra something.

an extra shot in your morning americano

an unforecasted ray of sunshine

a compliment from a stranger

...

this week i found my inspiration here

ingredients

6oz semisweet chocolate chips
2.5 tablespoon coconut oil

topping suggestions
sea salt

cinnamon

nutmeg
lemon or orange zest
ground coffee
coconut
sprinkles

recipe via not without salt, adapted from bon appetit

directions

1. in a medium bowl combine the chocolate and coconut oil.

microwave in intervals of 30 seconds stirring between each.

once melted remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

2. while the chocolate is cooling scoop some ice cream onto

a cold plate then place in the freezer until ready to dip.

3. with a scoop of ice cream on a fork spoon the melted chocolate over the ice cream.

using another fork gently slide the chocolate covered scoop of ice cream

onto a plate and sprinkle with any number of toppings.

work in small batches and quickly return ice cream to the freezer.

let set for at least 10 minutes before serving.

my toppings included sea salt, cinnamon, nutmeg,

instant coffee grounds and cayenne pepper.

my fave by far was sea salt and nutmeg :)

4. enjoy!

okay, they don't look perfect :)

but they tasted AMAZING!

here are some tips:

*the truer the ice cream, the better the results.

(i used slow churned, but i think a thicker ice cream may have worked better)

*although i wanted to make my bonbons miniature,

their size made them hard to work with.

i might think about making them ice cream scoop size on the next go-around