Tiramisu, I miss you!

     Okay, I will admit that I am not a very big fan of tiramisu, solely because I have had it numerous times and every single time they never taste the same; texture, taste, consistency, etc. So I'm always very weary when it comes to this interesting delicacy. However, I always wondered how it would taste in smaller, personal portions like, oh I don't know, cupcakes.
     I think, the one thing that sold me on this experiment was the use of coffee grounds. Instead of using instant espresso, I used Turkish coffee, which doesn't dissolve like the instant stuff. The extra oomph of the coffee flavor really did it for me. They were light snacks, and by light I mean the taste, not the calorie count =)
     My dad, who is an avid coffee drinker inhaled these, along with my lovely friend Lara, who has quite the palate for coffee. I'd say these were a hit from the get go, so I'm happy.

It's Party Time!

     Sad-ish story for this one. Back in March I left home to try and make a new start on life on the East Coast. I got accepted into graduate school and was ready to start, but leaving home was the worst part. My friends, the sweethearts that they are, decided to throw me a going away party and ALL of my friends showed up. I was humbled and overjoyed to see everyone make the trip out to my friends house and celebrate my last big party with them.
     Everyone brought something to the party. We had spirits, beer, cheese platters, chips, sodas, veggie platters, and of course, I had to make my signature mark and bring cupcakes for everyone to enjoy. I made these Banana Chocolate Chip Cupcakes for the night and I was surprised by how fast they went. I was also surprised to find out that a lot of my friends didn't like banana flavored anything, so you can imagine how shocked, and proud, I was to see that these cupcakes were devoured before the night was over.
     The leaving was hard, I'm not going to lie. Being away from home and starting over with no friends and family in the area was even more hard. But, the entire time, there was something in the back of my mind constantly nagging me. I didn't feel comfortable with going to grad school, with moving, the whole nine yards. One night, while pondering if I made the right choice or not, I realized I hadn't. I have been obsessing over cupcakes for a long time now and a dream of mine, since I was a kid, was to have my own bakery. The epiphany hit me like a brick. The next morning I called my mom and told her that I was coming home, that I didn't want to go to grad school, at least not yet, and that I wanted to pursue my dream of having my very own cupcake shop; and so I did.
     Limani Cupcakes is just starting. I'm working out of my lovely kitchen right now, but soon, with all your help, we will move out to our own location! We are taking cupcake orders now, and no matter which state or location you place it from, we deliver! So don't hesitate to send that email or make that phone call. We can't wait to get going!

A Tribute with Some Tang

     Happy Birthday! It was my fiance's birthday yesterday; he turned 22 (and if you, dear reader, share the same birthday, then a very happy birthday to you too!) I woke up yesterday thinking I have to bake him something he's going to appreciate so I came up with this combination.
     My fiance's favorite dessert on the planet is lemon meringue pie. His favorite band in the world is 30 Seconds to Mars. So, having said that, I decided to combine the two. I made him lemon meringue cupcakes (and the meringue turned out wonderful; I'm quite proud of myself) and shaped the cakes into the band's symbol, the triad. Sadly I had to use two trays because they wouldn't all fit onto one and you could tell the edges were separated. But all in all they turned out wonderful. I squeezed the meringue all over the tops of the cakes and spread them around lightly so they would actually stick together and also look nice. (Meringues are usually just dolloped on top of the cakes, not spread)
     The cakes had a tiny hint of lemon and the gooey yumminess on the inside complimented the cake beautifully. Everyone was happy with these cakes! And so was the birthday boy =)

Starbucks Has Come to the Kitchen!

     Behold! Starbucks has found it's way into my kitchen in the form of a delicious, mouthwatering, cupcake! This creation, with it's fantastic looks, surprisingly wasn't all that hard to make. These are the coffee lover's favorite, as has been described by my best friend and my mother in law, both of whom are avid coffee drinkers. These, my dear friends, are the Chocolate Caramel Cappuccino Cupcakes; made with my favorite Turkish coffee.
     Once my cupcake making binge started again, after I finally semi-settled down, I decided to come back with a bang, and that I have royally accomplished. Dinner for the night these cupcakes were made for fish, for those who like seafood, and burgers, for those like me who prefer their beef. Dinner went well, with the theme of the table being assigning everyone to a Disney character. The outcomes were quite entertaining and, ironically, quite spot on. My youngest sister-in-law has been dubbed Aboo from Aladdin: her boyfriend, Iago the annoying pestering parrot: her older sister, Raja the tiger: my fiance as Genie: me as Jasmine (because I look like her, not because I'm princess): my dad as The Sultan: and my best friend as Jafar, because he gets irritated quite easily. Oddly enough, we couldn't find an Aladdin, which I'm okay with. I like the idea that I'm dating Genie :) I get whatever I want! Hehe
     There's something about baking cupcakes that just makes me all warm and fuzzy inside, and no it's the because cupcakes have that texture. Even though sometimes it hurts my back and I get frustrated sometimes because it takes longer than expected, I always enjoy every minute of it. My dream is to one day be able to do nothing but bake these delicacies every day for the numerous orders that come in. So, if any of you beautiful people out there want any of the ones that I've posted or you have a certain flavor in mind and want it delivered to your door, please email me and I will make your tummies very happy!

Have a great day everyone!

anichakiryan@gmail.com
   

Did Someone Say Boston?

     Well, hello! If you're a Boston anything fan, you might appreciate these. Staying in a house, and marrying into a family of Red Sox fans, my fingers were twisted, in a sense, to bake these. Grandma is leaving for Maine for the next half the year and we all decided to have a Memorial Weekend/Goodbye dinner for her. My contribution, as always to any dinner or gathering, is sweets. Knowing Grandma is from Maine and a Boston anything fan, I made these especially for her.
     I made yet another rookie mistake, and didn't actually cut one of these babies in half so you can see their gooey insides. They're filled with yummy gooey goodness. And in case you haven't figured out what I've made, what with the chocolate on top, the gooey center and the yellow cake on the bottom, they're Boston Cream Cupcakes! Apparently, the new family favorite among the crowd here. I'm actually quite shocked after making my S'mores cupcakes a few years back, that were inhaled within a matter of minutes. These went just as fast, and, by the older crowd to say the least.
     I'm on a cupcake spree as of late, trying out new ideas, playing around with ingredients and what not. Let's see what I think of next! Something to keep us going, I would imagine.

Champagne for Everyone!

     I know, I know, it's been a while. *Sigh*. Life got in the way, what with moving and possible grad school, only to have things change and realize life wants me back home. BUT, that doesn't mean I have stopped creating these beauties! The first part of the move entailed going to Ohio to see my fiance's family, from his dad's side. So off I went. While there, I had to make some time to bake something; I was itching for my kitchen fix. (Jeez, I sound like a drug addict, only luckily, my drug is the kitchen.) Anyways, I left the "children" downstairs to continue playing on the Xbox, which I have to admit was a little hard for me to let go of as well, but nonetheless, I ventured off into this unknown kitchen and got settled in.
     Since this is not the kind of kitchen I'm used to, I had a few errands to run before I good actually get started. Once all the necessary supplies were readily available, I dove in head first into making another concoction. The mother of the household really wanted to try these so I decided this would be my gift to them for letting us come over almost every day and spend time with their electronics :)
     I will admit though, I made these same cupcakes again a couple weeks later, when I had access to a baker's kitchen, and the icing turned out perfect. The icing you see in this picture was the first attempt, and with a hand mixer with no whisk attachment. *Sigh, again*. The cake, however, turned out just fine, and you can definitely taste the yummy champagne. For whatever ungodly reason, I forgot to take a picture of the better batch to post, so you're just going to have to use your imagination on how could whisked icing would look on these gorgeous, pink ladies!