Chocolate and Vanilla

As I mentioned in one of my earlier posts, not having to choose between chocolate and vanilla is a wonderful thing.  So when my friend Sharon asked me to make chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting I knew I had the perfect recipe.  My husband likened the cupcakes to a brownie with vanilla ice cream in the form of frosting - you don't get a much higher compliment than that.  In fact, they were so good, I made an extra batch for both of our co-workers to enjoy today, you can definitely add these to the list of one of my new favorite vices!

Makes me hungry just looking at them

Those black flecks are vanilla bean seeds,
just like vanilla ice cream 

Monster Cupcakes

I love experimenting with new recipes and decorations! A few weeks ago my friend requested some "Halloweeny" cupcakes for her friend's birthday. She mentioned red velvet cake with chocolate frosting which gave me the challenge of finding a new recipe.  I am happy to report that the search was a success! The real trick was to give them a halloween feel - so I made monster cake balls! I must say that the end result was enough for a monster mash!

The whole gang, with a few extras

So cute

One of my favorites - isn't he scary looking?! 

Black and White Cookies

I've been hearing a lot about Black and White Cookies lately.  I've learned they're a very northern treat (New York and Chicago especially) and these people take their black and white cookies very seriously.  So I thought I would try my hand at these cookies.

For those that may not be familiar, the black and white cookies isn't just a regular sugar cookie, it's much softer and cake-like. And the frosting is much more like a donut glaze. I asked a true New Yorker for her opinion and the response was pretty positive.  Of course, she then gave me a true black and white cookie and I learned what all the hype was about! I think my favorite part of these cookies is you don't have to choose between chocolate or white - you can have both!

Other Vices

As you might've noticed I've been a little absent recently, but I have good reason.  For the last 12 days I was enjoying some of my vices, traveling, food and wine.  My husband and I joined a group of 15 people from our favorite wine bar, Winetastic, on a wine cruise through the Mediterranean.  We enjoyed a visit to parts of France, Italy and Spain and were fortunate to hit several wineries along the way.  Here are some pictures for you to enjoy!  

The marina in Monte Carlo

Nutella crepe - bread, nutella, bananas and whip cream! Delicious! 

Locals come to this winery and fill their jugs from the tap 

A winery in the Chateauneuf du Pape region in France, the vines grow into glacial rocks

Oreo Cake

So I'm a little behind on some updating...

A couple of weeks ago I had the privilege to do a birthday cake for a good friend of my husband and me. His wife asked me to do a Oreo cake as he loves oreos.  I tried 2 different recipes and think I found a winner.  I used crushed oreos and put them inside a white cake.  The cake itself was very subtle, but really moist.  I knew I was going to cover the cake in chocolate buttercream frosting, but wanted to incorporate the cream filling of the oreo cookie so I used vanilla buttercream frosting between the two layers.  I decorated the outside with oreos and white fondant and topped it off with a white bow.