to the boyfriends, husbands, sons, etc... PAY ATTENTION!

The Old Town Crier should hit the streets tomorrow! Make sure you grab a copy, read the BABYCAKES article (February edition, Business profile), and then -- order your Valentine's Day cupcakes (babycakesSKJ@gmail.com -- is where you order, in case you are new to the site)!

I've extended the time in which I will be taking orders for Valentine's Day (you can order up until the 12th to get a delivery on the 14th). I'm not going to lie, I did this because it was brought to my attention that most men wait until the very last minute to get their wives, girlfriends, boyfriends, fiances, significant others, moms, sisters, friends, ad nauseum a gift. So -- there you go boys. You've got plenty of time to get that order for a half dozen Chocolate Raspberry Stout cupcakes topped with Ganache Buttercream and Chocolate dipped Strawberries in for your sweetie.

PS. You are going to be able to order the "Valentine's flavors" for all of February! I personally, am obsessed with them, and want to give everyone the opportunity to taste these heavenly treats.



The Valentine's Dish

alright loves, here's the dish on BABYCAKES Valentine's flavors!

We will be offering two extra special flavors for heart day...

Chocolate Raspberry Stout cupcakes w/ Chocolate Ganache buttercream

and

Espresso Valrhona cupcakes w/ Fudge frosting

"Toppers" include your choice of (milk or white) chocolate covered strawberries or cherries or fondant sweetheart roses.

Of course, as always -- your BABYCAKES will be dressed to impress from the cupcake liners to the boxes and ribbon you can expect to impress your sweetie!

half dozen - $20

dozen - $40

delivery to anywhere in the DC, MD, VA area - $15

We will be accepting orders until Feb. 8th!  

babycakesSKJ@gmail.com

a quick lesson in Chocolate

Valrhona -- As if I the Rhone (river, terroir, valley, ad nauseum) didn't cause me to drool already... it also gave us the Pastry Chef who created Valrhona Chocolate Manufacturer. Now, if you will excuse me for just one moment -- I am going to get really geeky.

Valrhona focuses on high grade luxury chocolate, and chocolate confections. I believe they even offer education for pastry chefs that want to focus on chocolate and chocolate making (that would be one hell of a birthday present!) It is a good thing that I've retained a minoot amount of the French that I studied for four years, because honestly, I could shop their sight for hours.
And, as if they weren't fabulous enough, they take it to a whole other level...
Valrhona actually makes "vintage chocolate". Think Champagne (assuming that you understand the diff between NV and Vintage Champagne) -- they utilize beans from only one year's harvest and only from very specific plantations. Essentially, the Grand Cru's and Premier Cru's of the chocolate world. IE. South America, and the Caribbean. I'd love to get my hands on some "Gran Couva"!

Now, enough of the geeky-ness. The bottom line is that this is some gorgeous chocolate. And, it is what I will using in the "Espresso Valrhona" cupcakes for Valentine's Day! What goes together better then perfect French chocolate and decedent Italian espresso? Not much. In fact, I like to close my eyes and pretend that I'm in a villa somewhere between Provence and Tuscany when I take that first bite.



I heart you.

It's that time of year again.. my most favorite of the holidays, that I like to refer to as "The Shannon Extravaganza!" You see I was born on February 14th (that's Valentine's Day for all you men out there), and my husband and I said our "I Do's" on February 16th... therefore, the second week and/or the third week of February is usually dedicated to celebrating. I've actually been lobbying Congress to see if they could get a bill passed to make "The Shannon Extravaganza" an official holiday week. Per usual, they are slow accomplishing anything worth accomplishing.

This year, I'm even more hyped then in years past because BABYCAKES will be debuting their Valentine's Day treats. Basically, I will spend the second week of February feeding YOUR faces w/ over the top decadence, and I will in turn spend the third week feeding MY face with over the top decadence. Deal?

BABYCAKES will be offering two flavors of Chocolate Cupcakes (for all you chocolate haters out there, I'm sorry about your luck. Talk to me around St. Patrick's Day -- I'm thinking Green Velvet?).

So, Heart Day Treats will be as follows -- Chocolate Raspberry Stout cupcakes w/ a Chocolate Ganache buttercream *OR* Espresso Valrhona cupcakes w/ a Fudge frosting. To top off these sweeties, you can choose from hand dipped (chocolate or white chocolate) strawberries, or cherries OR hand-made fondant sweetheart roses (example below).

Stay tuned for an e-mail coming soon w/ the details! And, if you aren't on the mailing list... SHAME on you, get in touch with me at babycakesSKJ@gmail.com STAT to get your e-mail added to the list. You wouldn't want to miss out on something fabulous, would you?