Cupcakes took over my life

This month has been consumed with whiskey-filled cupcakes. Seriously. They're kind of taking over my life. Earlier this month, I made a whole crap ton of them, and headed up to Scranton for Parade Day. 

Let me school you on a little thing called Parade Day. Thousands of people descend on the small city of Scranton, PA wearing their finest green t-shirts and drink until their livers beg for mercy or they get arrested, whichever happens first. The bars open around 8AM, and the actual parade starts around Noon. But as you could expect, most of the people who go to the bar at 8AM never actually make it to the Parade. It's a long day of drunken revelry all in the name of green beer. Sometimes it's fun, sometimes it's sad, but it's always interesting. 

Parade Day used to be the most magical day of the year for me. I loved it, obsessed over it. I made big countdowns on put them on my wall and saved my change all year to buy my own personal bottle of whiskey for the festivities. Those days are gone now, (my drinking capacity has all but diminished) but I still look back on Parade Days past and remember them fondly. (Well, what I can actually remember...)

Since partaking in the festivities no longer interests me, the lovely ladies at the Fanciful Fox suggested I set up a table outside their store, and feed the drunken masses with my goodies. And I said, "Well, why NOT?" I loaded up my car with cupcakes, grabbed my little brother and headed to downtown Scranton. 

It was an interesting day to say the least. My brother, at the tender age of ten, learned a lot about business, cash handling, and the dangers of alcohol poisoning. I made some money to put towards the business, and people got tasty treats. Really, everybody won.

The big sellers of the day were the goodies with booze in them, of course. The Carbomb cupcakes and Irish Coffee Whoopie Pies made me a lot of new friends. To make them vegan, I make my own Irish cream. I know, I'm fancy.

It was a really fun day, and definitely the best way to spend Parade Day if you're not drinking. Thanks again to everyone who stopped by and enjoyed a treat. And of course, a very special thanks to the ladies at the Fanciful Fox for helping me make it happen. Slainte!

Whiskey, You're Me Darlin', Drunk or Sober

Oh Joy! St. Patrick's Day is finally here! As I sit here, glass of whiskey in hand, listening to the Dubliners, and covered in green from head to toe, I'm filled with such peace and contentment. Though maybe that's the whiskey talkin'. Regardless, I hope you're enjoying today as much as I am, however you decide to celebrate. And of course, I've got a little eye candy for you.

Now I ask you, what's one of the best ways to celebrate this most sacred of days? CARBOMBS. Irish carbombs of course. Just in case you don't know what i'm talking about, it's a drink where you fill a pint glass 1/2-3/4 full of stout (Guinness), then fill a shot glass 3/4 full of whiskey (Jameson) and top it off with Irish cream (Bailey's). Then, when you're ready, you drop the shot glass into the pint, and quickly drink it all down before it curdles. And it tastes like DELICIOUS. And it always seems with carbombs that once you've had one, another one (or two, or three...) seems like a great idea and before you know it you're waking up the next day feeling like maybe you got hit by a real carbomb. Of course, for my friends, Irish carbombs are pretty standard throughout the year, but they always seem to taste a little better on St. Paddy's. 

But let's face it, some of us are getting older, and have a harder time drinking like we used to (no one I know). So, how do you still celebrate properly without that nasty hangover? Cupcakes. CARBOMB cupcakes. No, I'm not kidding. Yes, they taste like DELICIOUS too. 

Chocolate stout cupcake. Whiskey ganache filling. Bailey's frosting. These cupcakes are serious. These cupcakes may look cute, but don't let them fool you. Don't even bother wearing socks if you're going to try them, because these cupcakes will KNOCK THEM OFF. I took them home with me for Parade Day, and passed them out to friends, bartenders and drunken strangers alike. If you were at the Bog in Scranton this past Saturday evening, there's a good chance you got to try one. (I'd like to give an extra shout-out here to all the awesome barkeeps at the Bog- youse guys are the BEST!!! And, should any of you dear readers find yourself in downtown Scranton, the Bog is the only place to be). They seemed to be a pretty big hit. I got some free beer and shots out of the deal too. Which, children, just proves the point that you should always tip your bartenders well, particularly in cupcakes if you've got 'em. 

I wish I could take total credit for these, but I can't. I got the idea from lurking around over at Smitten Kitchen, though I did not use her recipe. The cupcake recipe comes from my new favorite cookbook- Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. (Which, by the way, I squealed like a school girl when it arrived, and I genuinely feel that this may be the beginning of a long and beautiful friendship...) Oh yeah, did I mention these CARBOMB cupcakes are mostly vegan? I know, I know, don't give me that look. I realize that saying something is mostly vegan is like saying that someone is mostly pregnant. But except for the Baileys in the frosting, there's no other dairy or eggs. AND, after the fact, I realized there's such a thing as Irish creme flavored non-dairy creamer, so next time, there'll be no mostly about it. And oh, yes, there will be a next time. If I had it my way, I'd be making a batch of CARBOMB cupcakes every week. Or every other day. (Also, for the record, CARBOMB cupcakes can only be referred to in all caps. They're that intense.) Also, on a completely related note, these cupcake guts were the awesome, and i may or may not have drizzled the still-too-thin ganache on them and eaten them all up. There were no witnesses, so you can't prove anything. 

Now, don't get angry, but I'm not posting the recipe. Listen people, these cupcakes are so good, I'm pretty certain they can make me some money. However, I won't leave you completely hanging. If you're willing to do some work, you can figure out how to make your own. Like I said, there is a recipe over at Smitten Kitchen, but it's not what I used, and it's NOT vegan. You can find the cupcake recipe in VCTOTW, which I mostly followed. I tried a couple of different ganache recipes, but made some adjustments to each (I'll give you a hint, mine had a LOT more whiskey in them.) And the frosting is a basic vegan buttercream with bailey's instead of soy milk or creamer. 

Ok, I feel like I may be whiskey rambling. Not coincidentally, I've also reached the bottom of my glass. Anyway, I think these cupcakes were supreme. But many of you got to try them, so tell me, what did YOU think? 

I'll leave you for now since I've got some irish potato candy in the fridge that needs to be tended to. (More on that later, I promise!) And, obviously, I need a refill. Sláinte