Cupcake of the Month at Cupcake Royale

I said I was "OVER" cupcakes, only because they are everywhere.  The truth is, I love a good cupcake every now-and-then.  To be honest, my favorite flavor is probably vanilla with vanilla frosting and sprinkles...no joke.  Well, thanks to the Strawberry Festival in Bellevue, the Strawberry Shortcake Cupcake was born.  This is a keeper!!!  It's so good.  You need to try it before it goes away, maybe forever...(sad).  I have actually been a fan of Cupcake Royale for a long time.  I've spent many Sunday mornings at Cafe Verite in Leschi and Cupcake Royale cupcakes have been there for as long as I remember.  There are quite a few other Cupcake Royales now and I frequent the super new one on Capitol Hill and the quirky one in Bellevue more and more these days.

OK, I like vanilla cupcakes, but with so many choices at Cupcake Royale, who wants vanilla? Not me.

I know there are many other cupcake options around, but give Cupcake Royale a try, it's the BEST!!!  Every Cupcake Royale shop is different and adorable in their own way and they all carry every flavor.

My favorite cupcakes are the Triple Threat, Royale with Cheese, Lemon Drop, Carrot Cake, Coconut Bunny...YUMMY!!!

Kelly's Birthday Cupcake

Happy Birthday Kelly!!!

Two years ago I took my trainer to lunch for her birthday. We went to the Pink Door in the Pike Place Market. I was going to have my usual entree and dessert, but not on this day. First of all, who refuses the bread and butter? Kelly! After struggling to find a chicken entree, which did not exist, Kelly settled for the lasagna. I forget what I got, but...moving to dessert. OK, if it's your birthday, don't you eat dessert? Another first for me. When the server asked what we wanted for dessert, Kelly said, "Nothing, thank you". What!!! I had to explain, "She's my trainer". Well, I have made this "virtual" Birthday Cupcake for Kelly. Oh, and I am going to virtually eat the cupcake too!

This is all you need to make dulce de leche...seriously!

I made a simple vanilla chiffon cupcake with dulce de leche. I don't make cupcakes very often, especially now that there is a cupcake shop on every corner. When I make cupcakes from scratch, I prefer to use a chiffon cake batter. I have used many recipes, but I decided to try out Alton Brown's recipe for Chiffon Cupcakes. My recipe is similar. OK, when the cupcakes are done, all the hard work is behind you.

Dulce de leche, similar taste to caramel, is so easy. Here's what you do. Put a can of sweetened condensed milk in a pot, fill with water, boil, then reduce to simmer and walk away for 3 to 4 hours. Take the can out of the water and cool completely before opening the can. That's it.

Simmer and walk away, kinda freaky right, but it works.

I usually take a little vanilla bean, that I scraped out of half a pod, and mix in the dulce de leche. See the little black specs? That's the vanilla. YUM!

OK Kelly, this is the last bite. I have no guilt for eating this, I went to the gym this morning!!!