Cupcake Flow

Who knew?

I just made cupcakes!

This morning!!

Lemon-scented Blueberry cuppies with lemony icing.

Yay

I now bow down in sheer idolatry to all cupcake makers including Parisien bakers.


The TOPS!
Superb! I don't think I've baked since Home Ec class... Oh why didn't I get this cookbook in Paris... I used Jiffy :( But I got 'creative' :)
I added loads of lemon zest and lemon juice and tiny Maine blueberries up the whazoo AND some Greek Fage yogurt to cut the sweetness of the mix.
We're having our workshop luncheon today and I wanted to make a little surprise - mini cupcakes. No one else in my house was interested in pitching in.
"Don't forget to cleanup!", they reminded me.
HMPH...
They didn't refuse to taste-test the results.
Especially with the scent of lemony-blueberry wafting through the house...
c'est toujour comme ca
Back to painting - we went to nearby Port Clyde yesterday. The scene to be painted doesn't look like much?

David starts with a pile of clear water flowing on his 300 pound watercolor paper....

First color to flow down is yellowy...

Then a pile of cobalt + verrditerre + lavender blues are mixed on the palette...

 Then flowed onto the still-wet paper. Much tilting to and frow of the board spreads the wet paint around to get lovely atmospheric glowy skies. That's all there is to it!

Don't forget to leave some white dry paper for the clouds PB readers - I hope you're following along at home...

See, those accidental cloud shapes come in handy...

Voila! Fini!

Time for lunch!

At Doug's Shack on route 131...

I almost forget to shoot my food - my half-eaten, VERY delicious, not too mayonaisey, crab roll.

Tessa (another canine workshop member - we are loaded with adorable hounds :) she says,

"BONJOUR!"

Hummingbird Bakery

Rose framboise cupcake, watercolor, 9" x 11"

Nevermind the scorching heat-there was NO internet for 4 days.

On to more important things - the mass invasion of the Cupcake into London!

Did you know British bakers are visiting New York City for just one day, stopping in at least 18 bakeries and then flying home to knock us off in their own inimitable way?The Hummingbird Bakery was on my route from South Ken Station to the Club, so I could not miss this major high point of London gourmandises. The lines are every bit as fraught with anticipation and angst as at Pierre Herme in Paris... In the name of research I too joined the line and bought a red velvet cuppie... Whilst stealing as many shots as possible... All in the name of cupcake research of course... I am not a true devotee of the almighty cupcake but Hummingbird's graphics are out of this world...
Plus their cookery book, The Hummingbird Bakery Cookbook is praised to the skies on Amazon.uk and the pictures are adorable...
I spotted these luscious OTT numbers along Kings Road - our cupcake is EVERYWHERE in London...
Even as I was rushing to catch the 'chunnel' back to Paris I found cupcake wrapping paper in St. Pancras station. Why didn't I buy it at 5:20 am?

First stop in Paris, Le Grande Epicerie and what am I greeted by? Cupcakes bien sur. HMPH

One cannot escape these petit bijou sucres hauts en couleurs it seems...

In BHV cupcake cookbooks...

A London shot in Sainsbury (pronounced sanesbrie pls.)

Where do they come up with the term 'muffin cases'? No doubt you'll tell me the Brits invented the cupcake so they can call these whatever they like...

Fasten your pastry seatbelts PBers. London and perhaps Paris (God forbid) has taken to the Whoopee pie. What next? The full scoop on London listen to the BBC Food Program. You'll be enlightened further. This is an adorable video from Hummingbird, not to be missed.

BONJOUR LONDON CUPCAKES!

HUMMINGBIRD BAKERY POP ART VIDEO from Tarmak Films on Vimeo.