~Cherry & Chocolate...take-two!~

~ A Marriage of Chocolate & Cherries ~

So...I liked the last recipe for these sweet cupcakes...but I wanted to try it again with just a few tweaks. I really like this version of the recipe better. Plus the frosting (vanilla cream cheese) and one fresh Bing Cherry on top kinda made the cupcake complete. I'm very happy to present these to a friend...hope they're just as happy to accept! They consist of my basic chocolate cupcake recipe then I folded in coarsely chopped dark chocolate and tart dried cherries that I had soaked over night in 100% organic cherry juice and a little sugar. I like to keep things simple and I think this cupcake is a perfect example of delicious simplicity. Glad I saved a few for myself ; )

~Spiced Cakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting~

These spiced cupcakes "tasted like Thanksgiving" according to my husband. I will definitely make them come September. They're topped with Caramel Cream Cheese frosting and filled with caramel cream then fancied up with small clove spiced candies that I made while the cakes baked. I filled them with caramel because they seemed a

little dry. I figured nothing better to fix that then brown sugar, butter and heavy cream. It made these cakes a little more decadent than your basic spice cake.

~Carrot Cakes with Vanilla Bean Cream Cheese Frosting~

Fancy little Carrot Cakes for Mother's Day made for an old friend from High School.........

These are a basic carrot cake cupcake, but I added in toasted walnuts. I am not a fan of raisins so I opted not to put them in. Vanilla Bean cream cheese frosting and a little royal icing carrot to top them off. These were so delish!! I even surprised myself! I got the best compliments as well. Hearing that my cupcakes made her mom's day was the best thing ever.

cakes just before the carrot...

boxed up and ready to go with a fancy little label...