Our Cakes Throughout the Years: Vanilla Cupcake with Honey, Lavender Sencha Tea Frosting

I have really been on a kick lately trying to come up with unique flavors. I recently was at Mitsuwa, a Japanese supermarket in Edgewater, NJ. I stopped by a Japanese tea kiosk and found a Lavender Sencha Tea. The tea has a wonderful, fresh lavender scent that flavors the green tea sencha. I instantly became inspired to use the tea to either flavor a cupcake or frosting. I decided to make a Honey, Lavender Sencha Tea Frosting to go with a basic vanilla cupcake. The frosting has a light tea flavor with hints of lavender. The honey adds a touch of sweetness, and I added a tiny amount of lemon flavoring to give it a bit of acidity to balance out the sweetness. The frosting is very light and delicate and goes so well with a vanilla cupcake. It also works well as an accompaniment with a cup of tea!

Our Cakes Throughout the Years: Pittsburgh Steelers Terrible Towel Cake

This cake was made for my husband who is a huge Pittsburgh Steelers fan. He asked for a Steelers-themed cake for his birthday, so I wanted to surprise him with a Terrible Towel cake. The cake is covered in fondant. I freehanded the Terrible Towel logo in edible black paint.

Our Cakes Throughout the Years: Chocolate Cupcakes with Toasted Almond Cardamom Frosting

So I was bored yesterday and decided to play around in my "test" kitchen. I decided to make chocolate cupcakes and add a unique frosting to them. I came up with a toasted almond cardamom frosting. The frosting is truly the highlight of the cupcake. I like to challenge myself and create unique flavors. The toasted almond cardamom frosting totally worked! I toasted some almonds, and ground them in my food processor along with some ground cardamom and a secret ingredient. I mixed it in with my frosting foundation and the taste was simply amazing!!!