Project Poutine

Wow - its been a while! I do, however, have a yummy treat for all of you! 10 days ago (exactly), we celebrated my Fiance's (wow, that still sounds weird!) 30th birthday...I wanted to create something that I've never done before..something completely outside of the box...and here, the Poutine Cupcake Project came to life!

Project - Poutine:

For these cupcakes, I was going mostly for the look..I needed to make them look as close to poutine as possible! I started with my new vanilla sponge cupcake (which tastes super yummy by the way!)..added some vanilla buttercream and then got ready to "dress them.." The fries: hickory sticks...the cheese: white chocolate chips...and finally, the gravy....caramel!!

I wasn't quite sure how all these parts together would taste - I just knew that separately, they all taste pretty great! Here's how it turned out:

Needless to say, they were a huge hit and there were NO leftovers!!

mmmm...

Stay Slim, eat cake

A Cupcake Review: Prairie Girl Bakery

Since I've been to and from Atlantic Canada for the last little while (for my day job!), I haven't had time to bake as much lately...A couple of weeks ago, I got this sudden NEED for a cupake! A friend directed me to a cute cupcake shop (she'd been raving about it since it opened in April)...Prairie Girl Bakery!

Prairie Girl Bakery is a cupcake shop located at King and Victoria - the heart of Toronto's financial district..Its location on the quiet Victoria Street is decieving because once you get in there...well, prepare for a "worth-the-wait" line up!

I have 2 words to describe this adorable shoppe: CUPCAKE HEAVEN!!

Prairie Girl - you have done it! Your cupcakes are absolutely delicious..they are super moist, and fluffy..not too sweet, and the frosting...incredible! I had to taste as many flavours as possible, so I did what any smart cupcake lover would do: I bought a half dozen mini cupcakes! My favourites: red velvet with cream cheese frosting, and your vanilla cupcake with strawberry frosting...I think I might have eaten that one in 1 bite!

Here are some pictures to get you in the cupcake mood...

Mmmm..all this talk and I may have to stop in this afternoon!

Stay Slim, eat cake

Who doesn't love Peanut Butter AND Chocolate???

So, after a 3 week hiatus from blogging, I'm back at it! Ever since I tried the peanut butter chocolate cupcakes at Starbucks, I've been dying to create my own version! I mean, peanut butter+chocolate is as good as ice cream+crepes, or strawberries+whipped cream...or even my gucci bowler bag +the perfect floral print sundress!

One of my most loyal customers shares my love for peanut butter and chocolate, and she suggested a little twist to the delicious idea....and there, "Peanut Butter Chocolate Surprise" was born...

I combined the trusted chocolate cupcake recipe (shout out to The Happy Baker), added in "the surprise"...and a super fluffy, perfectly peanut buttery frosting..topped with a hint of shaved chocolate, and bits of toffee...and VOILA! The newest member of the Pipedream Bakery Family...

The surprise...??? Well, you'll have to taste them to find out!!

Stay Slim, eat cake

My visit to "Cupcakes" in Vancouver!!

Okay so its been a crazy whirlwind of a couple of weeks, hence my lack of blogging! I have been dying to blog about my visit to Cupcakes in Vancouver a couple of weekends ago.

It was a beautiful, sunny Saturday afternoon in Vancouver..a perfect day for strolling down Robson, weaving in and out of shops - starbucks in one hand, cupcake in the other. I was super excited when I got down to Thurlow street - where Cupcakes is located. Now, this was a tiny little shoppe, but oh so inviting!



Thankfully, I had a cupcake tasting partner with me that day otherwise I have no idea how I would have made my decision on what cupcake to taste! We decided to buy a 12 pack of mini cupcakes..wanted to maximize flavour/icing combinations!

My conclusion is that their icing was pretty incredible! I'm not sure what it was, but for some of them the icing tasted like this wonderful, whipped, piece of heaven..The only one that I wasn't excited about was their pink vanilla buttercream - a bit too sweet for me! But for most of them, I ended up focusing so much energy (and stomach capacity) on the icing, that I would almost not even think about taste/consistency of the actual cake..that is, until I took a bite of their "sweet sixteen" cupcake...vanilla cake with a pink vanilla buttercream on top....This cake was DIVINE!!! So completely moist and wonderful that I didn't even share it with my tasting partner! The only downfall was that it had my least favourite flavour of icing on it..but once I took half the icing off, voila - perfection!

The only constructive thing I have to say is that the cupcakes (at this location anyway) looked a bit beat up and were not consistent in size - likely a location-specific thing..

Cupcake Girls - your business and inviting branding is perfect! Congrats on your incredible success!

Stay Slim, eat cake



New Additions to the Pipedream Family

At Pipedream, we're always looking for new ways we can set ourselves apart from the others...I had a BLAST during this past weekend's baking extravaganza because I did just that. Everything I baked this weekend had a new, fun twist to it! It felt soo good to have so much baking success this weekend - kind of like that feeling you got the first time you put on a pair of skinny jeans and realized that they really are fabulous!

So, it started with an order...baby shower! I made cupcakes for a friend's wife - she's expecting twin boys so ofcourse the theme started with blue...now, the little bit of "new" i added to these...little chocolate toppers! I made the chocolate, and used it to top off my newly perfected vanilla cupcakes! Here's a peek at the little chocolate bottles, booties, rattles..and ofcourse the finished product:

So, who doesn't love strawberries???? EXACTLY what I thought when I was making vanilla buttercream frosting this weekend...So I figured...let me throw some strawberries in here! Well..the result was a fresh, summer burst of flavour ontop of a vanilla cupcake...With the help of my creative genius of a sister (follow her @laclosette_Liza)...we came up with the perfect name for this new addition to Pipedream......"Berry Beautiful" is her name...

The last thing I tried this weekend..phew was I tired! I have always been a firm believer in the saying "great things come in small packages..." (for those who know me personally, know that I'm pretty small!!)...I had the opportunity to make cupcakes in support of a cause that is very near and dear to my heart - The World Partnership Walk (google it - its an amazing cause)! I decided that they had to be mini...and had to represent the theme colours in some way (blue and orange)..here's the result..they were a big hit and I can't wait to make mini-cupcakes again!

I can't wait to hear what you all think of the new additions to our Pipedream Family!

a quick "P.S" - we now have email: pipedreambakery@gmail.com - Email us for pricing or to place your orders!

Stay Slim, eat cake

The Black and White Collection

It started off with an order I got from a good friend for her sister's 29th birthday - my criteria: chocolate cupcakes, vanilla buttercream, and something that would remind her sister of Paris..Paris is my favourite place on Earth, so I was excited to get crackin' on this project. I immediately started brainstorming and thought..Paris...Fashion...Coco Chanel...BLACK! This is when the black and white collection was born...

I started experimenting with black fondant and ofcourse did a lot of consulting with my good friend, Google...from here, the Chanel cupcake, the classic black bow, and a simple black gerber flower with a gorgeous silver pearl center came to life...This collection is still growing, but take a look at the beginning:

Let me know what you all think of the latest collection!

A final note - we now have a facebook page where you can keep updated with all the cupcakes that come out of Pipedream Bakery's oven and your best place to request orders! "Like" our page today!

Stay Slim, eat cake

Cookies n' Cream!

So last weekend, I decided to test out something that's been on my mind since I started this adventure: Cookies n' Cream Cupcakes! All I have to say is that these babies were a huge hit with both kids AND adults! Here's a look at what it took to get to the finished product:

Step 1 - Place half an oreo - icing side up, in cupcake liners (and crush the rest - that part was fun!)

Step 2 - Make my newly perfected vanilla cupcake batter....and add in the crushed oreo cookies!

Step 3 - watch them bake....and then reveal the surprise inside...

Step 4 - make cookies n' (butter)cream icing and ice 'em...and voila!!

Now the biggest question of the day..what should my next project be?? Any ideas????

Stay Slim, eat cake