These are Some Hot Mommas: Bitter Chocolate Ancho Chile Cupcakes with Chocolate Kahlua Granache

See...I told you they were HOT MOMMAS! And, I'm not just talkin' about the cupcakes! I've had my eye on these ladies since I saw them at Michaels in the baking aisle (no less) a couple of months ago...intrigued I was. I finally got up the nerve to buy a couple...well...okay...a pack of them! I lknew I couldn't leave them naked...which they are...so I stuck some paper on their you know what!

Ok, then...now we get to the cupcakes...They really are HOT...oh, at first they just taste like dark, dusky, luscious chocolate, and you're really enjoying yourself...then your mouth begins to heat up (that's the ancho chiles making their presence known...so cool)...and just to add a little more interest you reach the Häagen-Dazs Mayan Chocolate ice cream INSIDE the cupcake...just a little spoonful!

Then, the granache is made with bittersweet chocolate chips, heavy cream...and Kahlua...all warmed up and mixed together. Then the cupcakes go into the freezer and you pull them 30 minutes before you serve them up...who can wait that long? Not me!




And, of course, we are training Nigel to join Layla at the cupcake trough! He's a quick learner...let me tell you. The unfortunate thing for him is that he is much shorter than Layla...who happens to be tongue-level usually with the cupcakes! On the other hand, he never gets his tongue on a cupcake like someone else I know, whose name I won't mention but starts with an L and ends with an A...hmmmm, that could me me, too, I guess!

Last week, the Cupcake Queen was in NYC...had a great time at the CASE conference...our team won 13 awards. The Gala Award Dinner was at the famous Rainbow Room on top of Rockefeller Plaza. WOW! It was so awesome and the party was just the greatest! The restaurant is operated by the Cipriani family and the food and service were amazing.

When we had some free time, we hopped into a cab and headed to Billy's Bakery. What a time we had....it was so much fun and as soon as we opened the door, all we could smell was butter and frosting and cupcakes! What a cute place!

Here is CQ with Angel...and he was one, too. We were ordering cupcakes to eat, cupcakes to take back home with us, cupcakes to eat on the train, Billy's teeshirts, cupcake cards, coffee...well, you get the picture. We were overwhelmed...we are just from Washington, DC, you know...it's no where as big as New York!

Margaret and Deb came with CQ to Billy's, and we sat there and just took in the ambience of the place. We just don't have anyplace like this in DC. Filled up with yummy vanilla and chocolate cupcakes, we made our way down to Chelsea Market, Soho, and ended up at the Vosges Haut-Chocolat Experience...we always seem to be eating...but here we drank exotic chocolate or "blanca" drinks and bought the "Gatsby Collection" for each of our honeys for Valentine's Day. Wow...what a day...what a week!

More photos at my FLICKR page.

Rock On!

CQ