Dreamcakes Take 2

I happened to be in the neighborhood....so I had to stop by Dreamcakes again. I think I'm forming a bad habit.
This time, I tried the Caramel Apple cupcake. This was butter cake with an apple butter filling and covered in caramel icing. I also got nuts on mine. Yummy. It was really good, and really rich.

Oh and I got another Mississippi Mud, because the first one was so good. This one was just as good.

I also brought my roommate, Ally, The Dean Martin, a classic. It was marble cake topped with chocolate and vanilla icing. She said that it was good.

My parents tried the Pecan Pie cupcake. My dad fell in love. In fact, he loved it so much that he printed out a list of all of the Dreamcakes cupcakes and is going to eventually try and rate them all. Yeah, they're that good.

Cupcake Experiment 1

The experimentation has begun, and it was relatively successful.
I wanted to try a white velvet cake, so I used the same batter for two different kinds of cupcakes. 
The first cupcake had a ricotta and strawberry filling (ricotta being an adventure ingredient) and was topped with chocolate frosting. I am not a big ricotta fan, but my family approved of the filling :) And the frosting turned out wonderfully. It would be so good just to dip fruit in. The cake recipe, on the other hand, not wonderful. It tasted like cornbread. How, I have no idea, because it contained neither corn nor cornmeal. I think I will try the same cupcake with a white or butter cake next time. (Sorry for my poor decorating skills...I need to buy some new piping tips.) 

For the second cupcake, I added meyer lemon juice and zest (another adventure ingredient) and pieces of semisweet chocolate to the white velvet batter. I frosted it with a marshmallow frosting. The concept was pretty good, but I'm not sure if it's a keeper. The frosting was turned out well, both with and without cocoa powder. 

Happy baking (or eating)!

Dreamcakes

 Dreamcakes. Oh my goodness. Go there. Just go. I stopped by Dreamcakes in Homewood, AL to get some inspiration for my cupcake experimentation. And boy did I. 

I knew that I wanted something chocolate. And I also wanted something with a filling. I couldn't decide on just one...so I got two. 

The first one I tried was the Mississippi Mud cupcake. Oh. My. Goodness. It was chocolate cake topped with marshmallows and fudge frosting. It wasn't the prettiest cupcake, but man was it good. I loved it for every reason I thought I would. Chocolate. Marshmallows. Chocolate. The frosting was fudge-like, and wonderful. Yum. This was probably the best cupcake I have ever had. But not so great for my waistline. 

The second was Over the Moon, one of their bestsellers. It was white velvet cake with buttercream filling and vanilla bean frosting. Mmm. In this one, I preferred the cake to the icing, but I'm more of a chocolate frosting person anyway. The white velvet cake and buttercream filling were so moist and delicious.

My parents also tried the caramel sea salt mocha cupcake, and fell in love.

I think I will need to try the rest of the flavors...just to make sure that it is really as good as I claim it is. But I think you should try some yourself. You won't be sorry.

Catching Up

I don't have anything too thought-provoking to say today. 
The most exciting part about today was that I got to have lunch with my friend Quade, who I haven't seen in two and a half years. It was good to catch up with him :) 
I took a psychology quiz, which I think I did pretty well on. And I was only in class for ten minutes, which was nice. 
Also, I hit my knee on my desk. Now it isn't functioning properly. 
That was exciting, wasn't it? Have a good night!

Just a Thought

Something has been on my heart today that I just wanted to put out there...I'll make it brief.
My pastor said this morning that he has never heard anybody say that they wanted to spend eternity in Hell.  So I was thinking, are the sinful "pleasures" of this world so enjoyable that they are worth spending "life after death" in the misery of Hell? Our priorities are so out of line. We should enjoy things that please God; how did we ever come to think that the best things in life are things that our Savior abhors? He never said it would be easy. If it were easy, if we didn't have to sacrifice, what kind of commitment would that be? 
"What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" --Mark 8:36

La Dama

Okay, I admit, I love food. So the majority of my blogging will probably be related to food. I think I can come up with some good information for my readers, so spread the word (pretty please)! I want to tell you about a restaurant I went to for the first time last night: La Dama Italian Bistro on Liberty Parkway in Birmingham. My family had heard good things about La Dama, so we decided to try it out.
For starters, it was very crowded. They don't write down your name so you just have to try and keep your place in line and make sure that the hostess doesn't forget you. After 20 minutes or so, we were seated. There were kids running around everywhere, and it was very loud, but the atmosphere was nice anyway. Our waitress didn't provide us with the best service. She forgot things here and there--a salad, limes, etc. After waiting quite some time, the food came. But something was missing...my meal. They had completely forgotten to place my order, and I had to wait another 20 minutes for my food. My dad and sister, Lindsey, ordered the salmon with spinach and Parmesan risotto. Their meal was a little bland, but not bad. My sister's fiancé, Jordan, ordered spaghetti and meatballs. He said that his was pretty good. My mom ordered eggplant Parmesan, which most agreed was the best of the meals at our table. My five cheese calzone had mozzarella, ricotta, bleu cheese, feta, and cheddar. I really enjoyed it, but it was a little heavy on the bleu. Some of our dishes were supposed to come with garlic bread. When we asked the waitress about it, she said that they were out. We were further disappointed when we saw our waitress bring someone at another table a plate with garlic bread on it. We were at the restaurant for a little over 2 hours total. Overall, this experience gets a mixed review from me. Our waitress was quite slow and the food was just okay for the price. While it was disappointing, I'd give La Dama another chance. I hope this helps!

I Caved

Yes, I caved and entered the world of blogging. Hi bloggers! I'm not sure that I will have anything too exciting to post in my blog, but I will do my best to keep you entertained :)
The most exciting thing going on in my life is my recent decision to participate in a cupcake recipe contest! This isn't just any contest, it is The Chocolate Adventure Contest. You can read more about it here if you'd like. So anyway, I am very excited about getting started on my cupcake creations! I will keep y'all updated on my cooking adventures, so I hope you like food! 
Have a blessed day!