Dear CuPiD…Shoot me some of these!
So here I was feeling a little under the weather when I get the memo…NATICAKES ROLLED OUT THE NATIBITE just in time for Valentines Day! If you have bought your special someone chocolates..TOSS THEM NOW and call Naticakes. I’m telling you there’s nothing like them..and I’ve had my fair share of cake balls, cake pops, cake whateva but these are melt in your mouth awesome! Did I mention these can be shipped! DID YOU HEAR ME? ORDER NOW BEFORE I EAT THEM ALL!
Remember this is the cupcake with the mission so it’s in your best interest to eat as many as you can! from the words of Auntie-Nati herself ”Mission is to generate revenue and awareness for the Natalie Wynn Carter Foundation (NWCF), in order to impact the lives of children throughout the world. From our sweet products to our mission, we strive to “make life a little sweeter.” Whether you’re catering an outside event, or throwing a party in our shop, we hope that Naticakes will be an extension of your sweet experience!”
“Enjoy an elegant collection of our most popular flavors in a delicate, bite size portion! Our Chocolate Collection features Caramel, Coconut, Peanut Butter, Cookies ‘n Cream, and Opera. The Fruit Collection showcases Orange, Cherry, Strawberry, Raspberry, and Lemon. You may also select a favorite flavor that will be elegantly boxed in groups of 5 or 15. The perfect collection of sweets…for your sweet!” <-more Auntie -Nati
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Thank you Cupid!
Say it ain’t so…a brownie?
So I thought I was going to FiddleCakes today for lunch..was thinking warm soup…when I walked in the guy in front of me ordered a brownie…so the soup idea flew out the door! I found myself standing in front of the display case drooling over all the great looking treats…then decided I was having a brownie and hot chocolate…a girl can neva have enough chocolate. Did I mention the brownie was the size of my head? oh yes..this was a BBBRRRROOOOOWWNNIIIEEEE baby.
So I decided to have a seat and enjoy my brownie the size of my head and hot chocolate while I tweeted “na nah nana” out to 17, 000 followers on twitter. I just love rubbing it in that I’m running around having fun yapping about brownies and cupcakes!
So the low down, the best hot chocolate I’ve ever had. I have no idea what’s in it but it is sooooo good and not too much chocolate. The brownie..so good I swear I almost had to start a new blog fortheloveofbrownies and maybe that’s the next step in my cupcake filled fun life!
SO if you have a chance go by and visit Fiddle Cakes on Eighth Avenue South, between Douglas and Bradford. If you have a party coming up be sure to swing by and order a cake!
*sounds alarms* FiDDLe CaKes *NeW BaKerY – CaFe – CoFFee*
So there I was reading my Nashville Scene cover to cover..have to keep up with everything as you know…when there is was…an ad for Fiddle Cakes. First thought, I laughed..what a silly name then I saw the picture of 2 cupcakes….HIT THE BRAKES LORDIE THERE’S A NEW KID IN TOWN!
Well as you all know I take my cupcake crown VERY seriously here in NashVegas and heck if I was going to let this one go for too long. SO I hopped in the baby benzo and headed for 8th AVE SOUTH baby! Really easy to find and in a cute house…yes the first thing I did was check the door knob – it was original hardware VERY IMPRESSED. Walked in not a cupcake in site…however, I wanted to dive head first into the display case of yummies!
Of course my first question was “where are you hiding the cupcakes” I’m sure the look on my face was priceless..she let me know they keep them in the fridge to keep the butter cream fresh…oh lordie BuTTeR CreAm. She then offered me a mini Red Velvet delight and I took 1 of each of the cupcakes they offered yesterday. Of course she just had to tell me about all the other great things they offered in addition to cupcakes (I was really standing there with my fingers in my ears saying lalalalalalalalal) it’s a European Cafe with anything and everything you would want shi shi as well as CoFFee!
Here’s a link about the chef http://www.tennessean.com/article/20091125/FEATURES0202/911250355/1004/FEATURES/Butter+is+a+baker+s+best+friend
Customer Review “Lindsay Beckner and Tasha Ross opened Fiddle Cakes as a Melrose bakery and cafe. Yummy gourmet cupcakes and big cakes are flavored with common flavors like carrot, strawberry, chocolate and apple. A half dozen cookie varieties are baked as well as brownies. Baked goods are mostly desserts. Cafe paninis, sandwiches, salads and soups are good for lunch. If you come in weekdays at 7am for a breakfast snack try the quiche or yogurt parfait.”
What you really want to know is what did I think? VERY GOOD – and they deliver in Nashville! They are also working on shipping cupcakes – they do ship cookies and other for the holidays for gifts. I will be headed back to try some…but I have a feeling you might be needing to order some if the other yummies are as good as the cupcakes! More soon…promise!
*sounds alarms* Figured it out..THE MInI CuPCake!
So I went back to review the history of the cupcake (pls see below..you’re welcome) really wanting to understand if the Mini. My first thought was some skinny person decided they would create the Mini to limit themselves – shorely they haven’t had a Naticake, downtown Franklin, TN.. today I discovered the Mini Nati.
NOW WAS THE TIME – I HAD to figure this Mini out…drum roll please….the Mini was created so you can have a selection of MANY cupcakes all at once! NOW THATS GENIUS..now you aren’t limited to 1 cupcake or the cupcake split (I will neva understand this one) the Mini allows everyone to have many cupcakes and nobody has to share! YIPPPPIEEEEEEE!!
Eat on my little cupcake friends!
A Little CupCakE HiStOry!
The term ‘cupcake’ is first mentioned in E. Leslie’s ‘Receipts’ of 1828. Breaking with tradition of weighing ingredients at this time they ingredients began to be measured in cups. According to “Baking in America” by Greg Patent, this was revolutionary because of the tremendous time it saved in the kitchen. “The Oxford Encyclopedia of Food and Drink in America.” explains that the cup name had a double meaning because of the practice of baking in small containers — including tea cups.
Cups were convenient because hearth ovens took a long time to bake large cakes. Gem pans, early muffin tins, were common in households around the turn of the 20th Century and cupcakes were baked directly in these. Throughout the 1900′s cupcakes became popular kids treats partly due to their ease in baking. In the early 1900′s Hostess introduced the snack cupcake, but it didn’t become the Hostess Cupcake we know today until the 1950′s.
Many people associate cupcakes with the popularity of homemaking of the 1950′s and 60′s although this is an myth. Cupcakes were no more popular during that time period then they are today. More likely is that adults associate cupcakes with memories from their childhood. What is different today is that cupcakes have gone crazy. Traditionally they have been made for children in basic flavors. Today the cupcake has gone gourmet and is playful, hip and glamorous. This craze is here to stay.
How In The World…JUST EAT ALREADY!
So..been working on the books..in fact so much I’ve not been as good getting my cupcakes in as I should. Today I decided to be a GOOD CUPCAKE LADY..so I headed out in the baby benzo to my FAV cupcake location in Franklin, TN Naticakes (makes my mouth water just to type this blog).
Of course I open the Nati-door and whooooosssshhhhhhh the smell of fresh baked cupcakes…it’s like that cartoon with the snake eyes that go all silly..that’s what the smell does to me when I open the Nati-door. Who’s with me on this one? Lordie, we need to bottle that smell and make Nati-home spray and Nati-candles. I bet they would fly off the shelf! OK, back to the story….
I usually get my Naticake to go however, I decided to plant my rear and people watch. OH OH lordie can’t believe I didn’t mention….hello Chocolate Peanut Butter dreamiest cupcake yet. New flavor..and it has GOO! Huge fan of the GOO in the middle Naticakes HUGE….however, before I could dig in a huge group of younger less exp cupcake fans came in…one claimed the line of tables on the left…I knew they were here for a long while. They were having a little Naticake love time togetha…I just love that. THEN…4 more exp Nati-lova’s came in – these were the fully decked, big huge bling, vuitton, dior sporting SKINNYYYY Nati-lova’s (we come in all shapes and sizes).
As I was listening to the orders…they all ordered Nati-chinno’s and then they were all deciding which cupcake they were going to SPLIT..STOP RIGHT THERE..did you hear me? SPLIT? a NATICAKE? how do you split a Naticake 4 ways? are they nuts? right then I decided they were nuts! Then I decided I would rather be fat and have my OWN NATICAKE thank you…and then I felt sorry for the skinny Nati-lova’s…I can’t imagine having that kind of control! If Nati-team would let me…I would dive head first into the cupcakes and I wouldn’t come up for air..who needs air when you have Naticakes cupcakes? So I thought…JUST EAT ALREADY SKINNY NATI-LOVA’s! FREE YO-SELF..
Cupcake History – NaTiCaKeS
Cupcake History
**I FOUND IT! The Happiest Cupcake in the WORLD!**
So yeah, I’ve been thinking of ways to share cupcakes with everyone…so today I went and met with Mr. Noel aka Christie Cookie King to share a few ideas for him to chew on. The skinny – he and I are talking in a week (they just opened the coolest smoothie shop in the Greenhills Ymca..how cool is that?) and he seems to think we might be able to figure it all out.
As I was sniffing around…how can you not go in Christies Cookies without having Gelato…a world famous Cookie..and ohhhhhh the Cupcake? Well let me tell you…it’s a MUST. My nose went right over to the cupcake display and there it was…was just screaming HAPPY HAPPY HAPPY! Allow me to introduce Mr. Happiest Cupcake in the WORLD and friends, Apple Pie Love and TOUCHDOWN BABY! (*and the crowd goes ohhhhhh*)
I’ve been MaRbLeD! OH SWEEET LOVE
So yesterday was P-Dawgs B day…and today I’m going to take him some cupcakes…since he always tells me they are fresh out in Portlan, TN…brought my own. So I made my way to my fav little cupcake casa, The Cupcake Collection in downtown Nashville. I walked in and realized there was a cupcake I’d never had before…the marbled cupcake! I’m sure Paul won’t miss one little cupcake out of the box right?
Heaven – super moist, lots of flavor…just melts in your mouth! Just the right mix of both flavors..and it looks pretty too! If you’re nice I might, just might share one with you one day…
Peppermint Patty ME PLEASE!
I did it, I said I wouldn’t and I did..and oh did I do it good! We have a family wedding at the end of the month and I swore I would not eat any more cupcakes till AFTER all the family photos that will be posted in everyone’s home for the rest of life. I went on a cupcake run to Cupcake Cafe in DT Franklin, TN and I was really just going in for 1 when I just had to go for 2. I am now rolling around hilding my gut wishing I would have not had 2 cupcakes…but look at them..they are heaven! 
TurN Me UpSiDe DowN & SwiRL Me AroUnD!
OHHHH…look at this cupcake, and I’m so not a fan of pineapple upside down but ohhhhhhhhhh myyyyyyyy gosh!!! There aren’t words…just look. OOOHH and the Strawberry Swirl…….WOWOW!
ThE CupCaKe CoLLecTioN – NaShViLLe, TN – PERFECT PARTY CUPCAKE
PERFECT PARTY CUPCAKE – These are the classic in size and taste, a great homemade cupcake. They are totally different from all the other gourmet cupcake eateries in Nashville. The Cupcake Collection is the PERFECT PARTY cupcake for sure! It’s a charming house in Germantown DT Nashville. Plenty of parking, cute purple house and everyone is VERY friendly and someone says hello and welcomes you the moment you walk in. Makes you feel warm and cozy!
The cupcakes are only $1.50 each, which is amazing compared to any others. It’s a great little place for a quick cupcake treat and THE PERFECT PARTY CUPCAKE hands down. They are SOOOOO good, and will travel well and aren’t messy making them the perfect cupcake for any party!
thecupcakecollection.com
The Cupcake Collection
1213 6th Ave N
Nashville, TN 37208
615) 244-2900
Dulce de leche CuPcAke – I have FaLLen In LoVe
Dulce de leche in Spanish or doce de leite in Portuguese (“milk jam”), is a milk-based sauce. Found as both a syrup and a caramel candy, it is prepared by slowly heating sweetened milk to create a product that is vaguely similar in taste to caramel. It is also the basis for the elaboration of many sweets and desserts which form part of the classics of the Argentine and Uruguayan cuisine.
So I this is the one, I thought my fav was the banana split but this one just melts in your mouth. I am speechless
- melts in your mouth
DOH! CELEBRATE SoUtH AFriCan DaY – CooKieS & CreAm CuPCaKe!
So THEY ARE GETTING MARRIED!!! YIPPIEEE, my 2 fav South African friends!! WHOOOTT WHHHOOTTT! Well it was a fine excuse to celebrate for the love of cupcakes..just fitting! Got the email this morning, so I ran into Franklin, TN around lunch just to poke around and see if there was anything new at the Curious Gourmet and lookie what I found!!
OMG, these are melt in your mouth whipped buttercream with the coolest yummy cake…I picked the white one for the wedding however, I’m pretty sure she should wear off white…they did stay with me in the Housr of Love for a few weeks together…Mama KNOWS sweetcheeks! Anyway, I had to share…and I haven’t had a bite of the mocha drizzel whatever one yet. I will be sure to share when I do!!
Eat ON MY LITTLE CUPCAKES!!
1St OFFICIAL NaShVeGaS CupCake ReView
So…today I took on the mission of finding the BEST TASTING CUPCAKE IN NASHVEGAS for January 2009 – All comments are my personal opinion and I have goal set that I will continue to review the cupcakes monthly..I also asked the staff in each location which one they liked most, and which one was the best seller and picked between them.
While you are in the gym sweating it off, I will be making my way around Nashville making sure we maintain the standard for the best cupcake ever. Last January I was blogging about taking belly dancing classes with Belly Mama at Vandy – this year I said hell with it and went for the cupcakes! YEAH BABY!
I couldn’t decide on just one – so here are my picks and depending on your location…
Christie Cookie/Cupcakes in Green Hills (615-297-0724) – I have to vote this one Most Creative, excellent customer service, best cupcake to hold up in transport. I had the Strawberry Chocolate Chip which is made with fresh strawberries, homemade cream cheese frosting, red sugar sprinkles with chocolate chips. WOW, not only did it hold up in transport (it was my first stop of many) it was larger cake size and an even mix of sweet frosting. Great combo of flavors and texture, not to mention customer service was above and beyond.
Ivey Cake in Downtown Franklin (iveycake.com 615-595-4353) – I have to vote this one Most Charming location/decoration, friendly customer service, the flavors/textures were so different from each other I couldn’t decide which one I liked more the “People Pleaser” which is the carrot cake was so divine and the “Rebel” which is German Chocolate was oh so delicious. This is the perfect place to take out of town guests for a treat to follow with a walk Historic Downtown Franklin…or pick up a cake/cupcakes for a party.
Another option in Downtown Franklin is Curious Gourmet (curiousgourmetcupcakes.com 615-656-4898)- I had the Peanut Butter Cup – the icing is awesome. It didn’t travel well at all so this might be more of a stop in while you are shopping type place.
I would love to toss a challenge out to you , spend an afternoon performing your own personal cupcake review…I can’t think of a better way to spend my afternoon. Thanks for allowing me to share.
SheLbi DaNCe – ChrIstiE CupCakE
So…today I was doing the Shelbi dance, you know the one that either finds me working hard building people-or the one zipping around town tasting cupcakes. Well during the daily dance the bat phone rang and it was Christie Cookies & Cupcakes, it seems they needed the expert to drop by and taste 2 new cupcakes for them! Could my life get any better???? geezzzzzzz…
So I dropped by for a chat with Nathan and Noel, it seems they had a customer come in picking up a cookie cake that said “we’re expecting” which is the coolest way to announce to your office that you are popping out a kid! So of course she noticed the cupcakes and I had a chat with her, she just happened to be from Houston (<—she’s smart she’s found the best place in town), and we went on and on about the cupcakes. This is what you would expect from me, a girl who could make friends with a dead tree. Anyway…
Rosie was coming for dinner so I decided to save the tasting for tonight so I could share and see if she was as excited about them as I am…I will report SHE WAS – she had never tasted anything so awesome! So it seems Christie needs to open a location in South Africa please and thank you. Rosie is headed to Green Hills tomorrow just to go get a Christie Cupcake of her own.
Today we had:
Cafe Mocha – had this dreamy caramel chocolate cake with mocha butter cream icing!!!! It was better than the other icing from the other place I won’t mention from yesterday.
Chocolate Covered Pretzel – this one is now my favorite of all time (or until I get called to test something else that knocks me off my feet) Caramel cake with caramel topping & cream cheese frosting, sea salt, and chocolate covered pretzel. It actually has pretzel cooked in the cake which I think is the perfect combination of sweet and salty. I think this one will be a top seller FOR SURE!!!!
Well there ya go…now I’m going to get out of these jeans and find me some yoga pants with a lot of stretch! I WOULD BE AT CHRISTIE COOKIE & CUPCAKE WHEN THEY OPEN THIS WEEKEND, ONCE THE WORD IS OUT THEY WILL NOT KEEP THESE ON THE SHELF!
ToDaY I ChEaTeD – Ivey Cake
So today I went to the lake did my 4 miles and then decided all this cupcake talk I needed a cupcake. I had someone share with me that Ivey Cake in Franklin had the best, which as you know I am a Christie Cupcake fan but I thought maybe I should give Ivey Cake 1 more try, just in case.
Well here to report they don’t hold a candle to Christie Cupcake, not even close! I have become a cupcake expert over the past few months and now can better define the difference. First let me say, I’ve never met a cupcake I didn’t love however, today I have a broken cupcake heart. I took 2 bites from both and tossed them in the trash.
Here we go – Ivey Cake Cupcakes are YUCK – I’m so sorry, I know some of you know Ivey and she seems to be a great person and I’m sure her cakes are awesome but her cupcakes stink. I think there is a stick of butter in the cake, it totally falls apart when you take a bite, and the cake is super dry. *note these were first batch of the day so they should melt in your mouth. The icing is WAY TOO MUCH – it’s loaded with somethin…that makes it think and too sweet and too much.
Will I cheat again? yes, that’s my job as the cupcake queen…and I’ve heard great things about Sprinkles Cupcakes which I have recently found out the Houston store was slotted to open 3 months ago but hasn’t opened yet so HOLD TIGHT MY FELLOW CUPCAKE LOVERS!
Ivey Cake Cupcakes in Franklin – FAILED
I really tried to think of a positive polly spin however….
ToDaY I Cheated – DirT and WoRmS?
So I finally did it Micki Jo, you are the wind beneath my cupcake! I will have to transfer my previous blogs to this site so catch everyone up on my adventures. Just so you know, I have my ear to the ground and am here to share with you the BEST CUPCAKES of all time starting with NashVegas, TN.
I’m a world traveler (made it past Memphis once..that should qualify me) and have been blessed with magic, not just any magic, this is special…ready? I have been crowned NashVegas Official Cupcake Tester (by myself..because I can)! So I’m here to keep you posted on where to find the best cupcakes in town and one day I will crown myself OFFICIAL CUPCAKE TESTER WORLDWIDE (once I make it past Dickson, TN).
Since January 2008 I have been on a mission to keep NashVegas cupcakes eateries on their toes. I have tasted every cupcake in the area and up until today the best in town were Christie Cupcakes (they do more than cookies). Today I cheated…I get these wild binges to randomly schedule CUPCAKE RAIDS, today I cheated on Christie Cupcake and made a dash for Curious Gourmet in downtown Franklin, TN. Yes’mam I made a run for the border and found heaven…
As you would expect I got all dolled up (sundress, no makeup, flip flops after a late night date of no sleep..fill in the blanks), popped the top on my little cupcake mobile (little cute Mercedes convertible) and headed in! Parked in my fav little cupcake parking lot on 4th and made a dash for the Curious Gourmet all the while praying my little short sundress didn’t catch wind and blow over my head, as you know that can be dangerous with the sundress CODE.
I opened the door and skipped to the front of the store and fell in love…there were a million perfectly decorated cupcakes from heaven. It took everything in my power not to dive head first into the cupcake display, I just stood there in shock. I could only pick 2…MY GOSH there are a million I wanted however, I did an ass check (turn around and make sure I can see my feet from behind) and decided I would stick with only 2.
The first one looked like a Banana Split with ice cream on top, I drooled and prayed I wouldn’t attack it before I got back to the car. The second one I picked was the Dirt and Worms. OH MY GOSH….May I say butter cream????? Each scoop of ice cream was flavored like the ice cream but butter cream. SO it was chocolate, strawberry, vanilla ice cream with chocolate drizzle and a cherry on top! The cake was banana bread heaven…stay tuned for the Dirt and Worms, there was NO way I could eat another bite of anything after the first cupcake…sticking to cupcake code and all!
I, OFFICIAL NasHVegas Cupcake Tester of the world (a girl can dream), crown CURIOUS GOURMET #1 NASHVEGAS CUPCAKE!
