You Don't Have To Be An Evil Fairy To Have A Good Cake And A Good Birthday!

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Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers!

If you read my July 24, 2014 blog post, you'll know that I talked about Maleficent the evil fairy from the children's tale "Sleeping Beauty."  You may have wondered why I picked that particular topic.  

Well it was my birthday this week (I am 974 years old!) and I wanted a special cake to memorialize the celebration.  There are not many holidays where we specifically celebrate with cake.  If I were French, I'd have a buche de noel cake for Christmas.  But I'm American!  

Thanksgiving gets pumpkin pie.  Valentine's Day - a box of chocolates if you're lucky.  Arbor Day - don't even get me started on the lack of swag for that "holiday."  Sometimes people will make a "flag cake" for Flag Day, but evidently I don't know any of "those people" because I don't see anyone knocking down my door to give me cake.  

Basically unless I get married this year, the only opportunity to have an "official cake-sanctioned holiday" is my birthday.

So what kind of cake do you get to celebrate a once a year event?

I was procrastinating from cleaning by reading "news" stories online, when I saw a picture of Angelina Jolie doing a press junket for her movie "Maleficent" in Shanghai, China.  It was also her birthday, so the press conference people presented her with this lovely birthday cake.

I have been to Japan, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Macau, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand and what I have learned is "Asia Pacific Bakeries make GORGEOUS cakes."  

This cake was Crazy Awesome - Maleficent with her staff with the Shanghai skyline behind her and ohhhh that purple fondant.  I wondered if the cake inside was green as Maleficent is known for her green and purple tones.  I knew instantly I needed a Maleficent cake like this for my birthday.

Now I know what you're thinking -- "Lily, you're already practically Angelina Jolie's twin ... gorgeous supermodel looks, insanely hot husband, six children, millions of dollars, humanitarian ... do you really need to have her birthday cake too?"  That is what you're thinking, right?  RIGHT?

Or maybe you're thinking "Lily, the only thing you and Angelina Jolie have in common would be a birthday cake, so go to it, Crazy Cat Lady!"  (You're not thinking that, right?  RIGHT?)    

I MUST HAVE THIS CAKE ... and I knew immediately who could do it for me ...

Sweet Tweets Cakery of Tampa, Florida.  

Sweet Tweets makes the most amazing cupcakes, but it is their cakes that have me speechless in awe.  

Just a selection of Sweet Tweets many flavors - "The King" cupcake is my new favorite

I once had them make a strawberry champagne cake in the shape of a Tiffany's box.  It was absolutely the right shade of Tiffany's blue.  They also made mini cupcakes with pirate flags for a Gasparilla party that were THE hit of the party.  

If you go to Sweet Tweets Facebook page, you'll see that Sweet Tweets makes some pretty darn amazing cakes.  They have a wedding cake with cherry blossoms on their profile picture that is beyond gorgeous.  I may have to get married just so I can have that cake.  (If you see a Craigslist post that says "Marry me, so I can have cake;" you will know its me.)

I told Sweet Tweets I wanted a smaller version of the Angelina Jolie cake minus the Shanghai buildings.  I emailed them photos and kept my fingers crossed.  

And this is what they presented me with ...

Look out behind you, Maleficent!  There's a Chibby Kitten stalking you!

  
ISN'T SHE THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CAKE EVER?  I know it's MY birthday cake, but come on ... she is perfection covered in fondant.  (I also liked that when I picked up the cake from Sweet Tweets, the Sweet Tweets staff referred to the cake as "her" - women after my own heart who understand that a Maleficent cake is NOT an "it" but a "her.")  

Maleficent is so regal with her green jewel topped staff!  She is cute and yet slightly dangerous looking - exactly the look women have been trying to perfect for centuries!  

I was trying to take glamour shots of my lovely Sweet Tweets cake when Chibby Kitten tried to jump into the scene.  I rescued my beautiful cake before he could POUNCE!  That would NOT have been a good picture had he reached the cake and took a big swipe out of it. 

The cake is almond with an amaretto filling.  I asked for the cake to be tinted green.  I don't know if Angelina Jolie's cake was green, but I was determined that mine would be!  The Sweet Tweets staff suggested tinting the amaretto filling purple - I trusted their judgment and I looooove the result!

Under the fondant, the cake had the most sinfully, smooth frosting.  The cake was perfectly moist and delectable.  The cake had a circle of edible gold chocolate pearls around it.  So delicious!

Several friends who could not join me for "the big day" requested cake, so my freezer is filled with slices carefully wrapped that will be distributed later this week.  (And for Mr. Cardamom Monroe - sometime hopefully in August if his relocation to Florida occurs soon!)

I can't get over what a beautiful job Sweet Tweets Cakery did on my birthday cake.  I know at age 974, I probably shouldn't have a birthday cake with a cartoon character on it ... but life is short!  Do I really want to be on my death bed thinking "I wish I had had a Maleficent cake?"  I can tell you my answer is a booming, resounding, resolute "NO!"  

My friend Ms. Wisconsin asked me if I was going to keep the Maleficent cake topper.  I said "You bet, I am going to freeze her and bring her out to top French toast, hamburgers, anything I am eating I am going to stick her in!"  (And I was only half joking!) 

(Side Note:  I picked up my cake the day before my birthday. Since I and my friends have no willpower, I picked up a four pack of Sweet Tweets cupcakes to keep any hungry cake eaters away from my beautiful, beautiful cake.  I also learned an important lesson - my new Kipling purse [birthday gift to me!] can hold a four pack of cupcakes!  I can just hear my friends saying "where are our cupcakes?" the next time we go to the movies.  "You bragged on your blog that your purse can hold a 4 pack of cupcakes, so we expect you'll be smuggling in cupcakes to any and all movies we see!"  Sigh ...  Darn these friends of mine!  More income will be going to Sweet Tweets in the future!)

White Wedding, Peanut Butter, The King and Banana Cupcake - because why have one when you can have FOUR?

Normally I'd crop my gnarly feet out of the photo but I would like to point out that
my zebra flip flops match my black and white skirt - which is about as color coordinated as I get.
But even more important, I can fit FOUR JUMBO SWEET TWEETS CUPCAKES
in my new Kipling purse!  

After eating the most beautiful cake ever, I had a wonderful birthday celebration at Armani's Italian Restaurant.  This is my most favorite place to go to watch the sunset over cocktails and a platter from their large antipasti bar.  If you are in Tampa Bay, you must go.  It is a memorable experience.

The view from Armani's

Our selected antipasti from the large antipasti bar

Two Desserts In One Day?  Well, it is my BIRTHDAY!

Armani's is at the top of the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay Hotel.  I love this hotel for its location by the Bay and a lagoon as well as its restaurants Armani's and Oystercatchers.  They have a slightly elevated walkway along the edge of the marshland off the Bay.  It is a gorgeous walk where you can often times see waterfowl.  I once took my sister to brunch at Oystercatchers and there was a Japanese anime convention at the hotel.  It made for delightful people watching.

On the grand occasion of my birthday, the Grand Hyatt did not disappoint.  A "motorcycle enthusiasts" group made up of retired military, police, fire fighters and other helpers/first responders was having a convention at the hotel.  I have never seen so many motorcycles in one place!  And I have never seen so many bikers with so much alcohol in one place!  

(For the record my answer to "what did you do for your birthday?" is now "Partied with a hotel full of bikers."  OK that wasn't exactly the truth but we talked to three leather-clad gentlemen in the elevator as we were leaving and I took a picture by about 100 motorcycles.  That counts, right?)

The service at Armani's is always stellar.  We had two gentleman waiting on our table that night.  The head waiter Jerry was very attentive and helped us select some great options.

My 974th birthday was a wonderful event -- an amazing Maleficent cake, a wonderful birthday dinner with a wonderful view, wonderful service, wonderful company, wonderful conversation, wonderful food, wonderful motorcycle enthusiasts (ha!) ... just plain wonderful.

(Side Note:  Share my beautiful Sweet Tweets cake on Pinterest!  Click here to pin!)  

No Cake For You, Chibby Kitten!!!!!

And like all fairy tales, my night ended happily ever after!

Whether you are looking for an amazing cake or an amazing place to watch the sunset and have a great meal, Tampa Bay has some amazing options!  I hope you will check out both Armani's and Sweet Tweets!
   
P.S.  When did my little blog surpass 150,000 page views?  I turn around and I am already at 151,000+!  Thank you, thank you, thank you for reading my wacky tales!  I know other blogs may get 150,000+ page views an hour (or a minute!) but I'm just a wacky person in Tampa Bay so I appreciate every single page view.  Thanks for making my day!

Because Sometimes You Just Want Booze In Your Cupcake - Three Olives Loopy Vodka Cupcakes

Hello LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers:

It's cupcake time!  Today's blog post is about "The Loopy Jason Cupcake - a double-frosted cupcake consisting of an almond and Three Olives Loopy vodka flavored cupcake with Three Olives Loopy vodka glaze and then topped with a Cream Cheese and Three Olives Loopy vodka butter cream frosting."  Excited? 

Today's blog post could not have happened without inspiration from three gentlemen - F&G who bought me my very first taste of Three Olives Loopy (like Kellogg's Froot Loop cereal-flavored) vodka and Mr. Jason - who when I whined that I wanted a cupcake, sent me a link to a cupcake recipe containing vodka.

Being half-Polish, I frankly am surprised that I haven't put vodka in my cupcakes a long time ago.  I have used Bailey's Irish Cream in frosting and I drink copious amounts of vodka in a mad variety of flavors.  How did I not ever think of putting together vodka and cupcakes?  (Maybe because I drink too much and my creative brain cells have long since left the playground.)

But perhaps one creative brain cell stuck around because when I looked at the link Mr. Jason sent me, I thought "sure vodka in a cupcake would be good (why not?), but LOOPY VODKA in a cupcake - now THAT would be really something!"  Like MacGyver with a paper clip and some bubble gum, I set off searching the internet for various boozy cupcake recipes and any recipe imitating a Kellogg's Froot Loops cereal flavor.  I was on a MISSION!

I posted on Facebook that I would not only perfect a cupcake with Three Olives Loopy Vodka but that I would name it in honor of Mr. Jason, my cupcake muse.  And ladies and gentlemen, that was how the LOOPY JASON CUPCAKE was born!

Now before I give you the details on how to make Loopy Jason cupcakes, let me tell you a little about the man behind the inspiration for this cupcake.  

I have known Mr. Jason for many, many years. (and no, he doesn't require anyone to call him Mr. Jason, nor do I refer to him to his face as Mr. Jason - but for some reason [perhaps too many vodka cupcakes] I feel like calling him Mr. Jason today.  And no, he's not a dog groomer or a hairstylist in Beverly Hills.)  I first met Jason (ahem - Mr. Jason) in La La Land -- yes, Los Angeles, California.  Jason was splitting his time between an apartment in New York City and a house near Venice Beach.  I was living in a one bedroom apartment in Hollywood that had nightly transvestite hooker action in the alley.  I split my time between horror and dodging crackheads.

Jason has one of those personalities where everyone just wants to hang out with him.  I'm pretty sure he was a priest or cult leader in a former life as I instantly feel calm and zen when I am around him.  Kind of a beatnik, modern day laid back just cool dude.  And he can cook!  I, like many people, just think that Jason is the bees' elbows.  People just want to be around him.

Oh and by the way ... do you want to know something else about Jason?

I hate him.

Yes, don't tell Jason, but I hate him.  

Why, you ask?  

After such praise and insect appendages and cult leader status?  

Yes, yes and yes.  I hate him.  

And lean in closer, because I'll tell you the two reasons I absolutely hate Jason.

Number one -- he's a savant.  Do you know how on occasion you may get an itch to try something new?  Like you decide you want to try pottery, so you take some clay and after much concerted effort you make ... ta da, a round ball!  

Well with Jason, when he gets an itch to try something he goes from amateur to masterpiece creator in about 1.3 seconds.  

Oh Jason wants to try sculpting?  How did that go?  Oh a garage full of museum-quality pieces on the first try.

Oh, Jason wants to try his hand at woodworking?  I did woodworking in 6th grade.  Do you know what I made?  A cutting board - 2 pieces of wood fused together.  And a bookstand - 3 pieces of wood fused together.  

Do you know what Jason made for his very first woodworking project?  A gigantic king-sized bed frame - reminiscent of something you would see at some ridiculously ritzy $1000 a night eco-lodge in the middle of a rainforest.  

Jason is so good at everything he decides to try on a whim that I just want to choke the life out of him.  

After he makes me a house full of furniture, that is.

Number Two --  The second reason why I hate Jason is because he works in New York City at an office where they have every beverage known to man or beast.  My company won't even pay for my internet and Jason has 900,000 beverages at his disposal each and every day.  

People, beverages are important.  And I'm not just talking about "Oh you have BOTH Pepsi and Coke products?"  No, I am talking about: 

"Hey Jason, I had this wild peyote-induced hallucination where I rode a pegasus to a forest inhabited by gnomes and they served this crystal clear nectar that they plucked from giant Avatar the movie-like flowers, fermented for 100 years and then served lightly carbonated.  Do you have any of that on hand?"

"Sure Lily, do you want the soursop flavor or the jackfruit flavor?"

"WHAAAAAT?  I thought they discontinued the soursop flavor because it causes seizures in giraffes?"

"No, they just told uncool people that so the cool people would have an ample supply."

"I KNEW IT!  Wait, does this mean I'm not one of the cool people?"

"Ummm... uhhhh... hey, did you want this drink on ice?  We have crushed, shaved, cubed and a guy in the back who will carve little ice heads shaped like the members of The New Kids On The Block."

I hate you, Jason.  I hate you and your savant ways and your unlimited supply of magical drinks.  Beverages are important and in this life Jason obviously has an incredible store of beverage karma.  While I, on the other hand, get giddy if I have a Smartwater every now and again.

Now some of you out there may be thinking: "Hmmm Lily, your `hatred' actually sounds like textbook jealousy."  To which I would respond "Shut up, Dr. Freud- nobody asked you!"

Is it no wonder that Jason the savant would also be the ultimate cupcake muse?  So while I hate Jason, I love that he inspired me to actually use my oven ... In Florida ... In the summer.  That takes a lot of chutzpah, moxie and a lot of desire to have booze in my food.

Jason had sent me the link to the Chocolate Vodka Raspberry Rock Star Cupcake.  I took one look at the recipe and knew it was too much work for a lazy baker like me.  I needed something much easier and this is what I came up with ...

(P.S. Three Olives Vodka sent a blogger a bottle of S'mores vodka and she made cupcakes with it.  I want Three Olives Vodka to know that they can send me free vodka any time they want ... I am here, ready willing and able to accept free vodka.  My absolute favorites are the Loopy vodka, of course - but I also keep a bottle of Three Olives root beer vodka in my freezer at all times.  The darling little Ybor City bar Fume Bella [Beautiful Smoke] turned me on to Three Olives root beer vodka in their root beer highballs and I have been a fan ever since!)

Loopy Jason Double Frosted Vodka Cupcakes:
Makes 24 cupcakes

For my base cupcake recipe, I started with a modified version of TheBakingRobot.com's Cake Vodka Cupcakes.  I am not going to repost his/her/robot's recipe here in my blog because I don't own it and I do believe in blogger etiquette.  And I hope anyone who wants to try my Loopy Jason cupcake recipes will credit LilyOnTheLam.com appropriately.  (Thanks!)

- Cake Vodka Cupcake recipe

Lily's modifications - I followed the recipe except I put in 2/3 of a cup of Three Olives Loopy Vodka instead of the 1/2 cup of cake-flavored vodka and 1 1/4 tsp. almond extract instead of the vanilla extract.  I used Hello Kitty cupcake wrappers, because they're incredibly cute.  

TheBakingRobot.com says to mix the batter until it is just combined.  I totally overmixed and had dense cupcakes because of it.  So next time I am paying better attention to TheBakingRobot.com!  Live and learn!

My recipe made 24 cupcakes, TheBakingRobot.com's makes only 16, so not sure how that happened.  I use a standard size cupcake pan.

After filling the cupcake tins 2/3 full I sprinkled each cupcake with either True Lime or True Lemon crystallized juice.  (So 12 of my cupcakes had lime topping and 12 had lemon.)  If you are using the packets (versus the shaker bottles) of True Lime and True Lemon, I used about 1/2 a packet per cupcake.  It makes a slight crunchy cupcake top with a burst of citrus that adds to the Froot Loop-like taste.

I baked the cupcakes for about 21 minutes - I should have only baked them for about 18 minutes.  The browning of the True Lemon and True Lime is a bit deceptive, so test with a toothpick in the center of a cupcake to see if the cake is fully cooked.    

The lightly browned True Lemon or True Lime crystals made a bit of a crust on top.  I should have taken a toothpick and poked holes about 3/4 inch deep into each of the cupcakes before I did this next step.

Loopy Vodka Glaze:

I took two cups of powdered sugar, three True Lime packets, one True Lemon packet and 1/2 a cup of Three Olives Loopy vodka and mixed well to make a vodka and sugar glaze.  I drizzled a small spoonful of glaze over each cupcake while it was still slightly warm.

I did this for two reasons - my cupcakes were overcooked, so I wanted to add some moisture back in to the cupcake.  This is to give it a kind of rum cake feel where the cake is saturated with alcohol.  

I also wanted to replicate that sugar-sweet citrus POW! of flavor that kids' sugar-frosted cereals give.  

If you are watching your calories, stop eating cupcakes.

Ooops, I mean if you are watching your calories, just brush the tops of the warm cupcakes with Three Olives Loopy Vodka instead of the sugar glaze.

I then let the cupcakes completely cool and let the glaze harden.  

Loopy Vodka Cream Cheese Butter Cream Frosting:

While the cupcakes were cooling,  I took a recipe for White Russian Cream Cheese Frosting from CulinaryConcoctionsbyPeabody.Com.  I swapped out the 2 Tbsp of Kahula and 2 Tbsp of Vanilla vodka with 5 Tbsp of Three Olives Loopy Vodka.  I also added 2 packets of True Lime.  

I put the finished buttercream frosting in the refrigerator for about two hours before using to let the flavors develop and the butter cream to set.  I also tried my best to not stop by the refrigerator frequently to stick my finger in the frosting bowl.

Please note - while supposedly the alcohol content of the vodka cooks out of the cupcake as it is baking, the glaze and butter cream frosting have straight vodka in them with all of its lovely alcohol content in tact.  In other words, 21 years old and up age limit for these cupcakes.  Don't give them to your children, please!

After frosting the glazed cupcakes with the cream cheese butter cream, I tried my hand at decorating.  I smashed some Kellogg's Froot Loops cereal and dusted the top of a cupcake with the crumbs.  I found however that this made a giant mess when I tried biting in to the cupcake.  So I prefer just a couple Froot Loops on top for style purposes and a cleaner looking cupcake.  Just because your cupcake is boozy, doesn't mean it needs to be sloppy.  Or at least that has always been my life's motto.

So how did it taste?  Really sweet and citrus-y with a Loopy vodka kick.  It's like you put a splash of vodka in your morning breakfast cereal.  (Frankly something I consider from time to time ...)

The almond cupcake balanced the rich sweetness of the glaze and the cream cheese butter cream.  It definitely had that "This is too sweet to be a part of my balanced morning breakfast" feeling that I get when I eat sugared cereals.  If I had not over-mixed and over-baked the cupcake batter, this would have been an A+ recipe!

And there you have it - LilyOnTheLam.Com Readers - The Loopy Jason Cupcake - a Three Olives Loopy Vodka cupcake!  Try out the recipe and let me know what you think in the comments section!

P.S. Three Olives, I'm serious - send me some free vodka.  ;)

Welcome Autumn: The Best Mulled Cider I Have Tasted In Years

Restaurant:  Mornings in Paris Old World Cafe
When Visited:  September 2012

Happy Autumn LilyOnTheLam.com Readers:

My October resolution is to write more blog posts since the last 6 weeks have been horrifically anemic.  I not only blame Anderson Cooper for this (read why here), but also "Sons of Anarchy" creator Kurt Sutter for killing off one of my favorite characters on the show.  (I won't reveal who in case you haven't seen the episode - no spoiler alert here!)  Needless to say, I have been too broken up to blog!

(All kidding aside, the real life death of former "Sons of Anarchy" star Johnny Lewis was a very sad footnote to the TV show scripted death of another character.  The loss of someone so young with so much potential to alleged drug use and mental illness is truly tragic.)

As usual, I have been on the Lam (hence more excuses for not blogging).  I was in Portland, Maine for a 4 day weekend last week.  It was a "see Fall colors, get to wear sweaters, see Comedian Margaret Cho at Downtown Portland's State Theatre (front row seat, baby!) and eat as much lobster as humanly possible" weekend and success was had on all accounts.  I have another trip coming up, but since you all like to stalk me on a regular basis I won't reveal where I am going until after I have returned.  So nyah-nyah-nyah.  ;-)

In the next few weeks, look for my "Lobster Rolls of Portland, Maine" blog post where you get to see my reviews of the 9000 Lobster Rolls I devoured while in Portland.  (OK maybe it just felt like 9000).  Also, stay tuned for an eventual Clam Chowder blog post (but in the meantime, check out my San Francisco clam chowder blog post).  OK basically my trip to Maine was one big eat-a-thon that I did solely and purely out of the goodness of my heart so that I could relate food knowledge to you, my readers.  I am practically Mother Theresa.

(BTW, if you don't know who Comedian Margaret Cho is - check out her website here or look to the left of this blog post for her picture on my blog - she's the sassy Asian woman holding up the "Hi Lily" sign and NO, that was NOT photo-shopped.  (Read all about how this picture came into being by reading the blog post here.)

I have lived in many winter climates, including - Minnesota, Wisconsin and the home of "help, I'm buried under 30 feet of snow" Buffalo, New York.  Living in Florida, I can soundly say that I do not miss snow, ice, sleet, hail, slush, freezing weather, black ice, fishtailing when I drive, scraping windows, blizzards and other manner of winter weather fiascoes.  I don't miss it at all!  But I do miss the change of seasons - when the fall colors emerge and we go from green to a firework storm of golds and reds.  

I also miss the culinary aspects of fall - crunching into a crisp apple with the autumn wind blowing on my face, slightly coloring my cheeks pink with the cold air or diving into a bowl of beef stew in front of a fireplace.  For my first ever trip to Maine, I packed my sweaters and closed-toe shoes (no Flip Flops this time!) and a hunger in my belly for some autumnal food and drink.

The first day in Maine was bright and sunny - very summery.  My three remaining days in Maine were cold with incessant rain.  I walked around the Old Port of Portland but peppered my walk with many shopping and dining stops to duck out of the rain.  On one of the coldest days, I spotted this cute cafe called "Mornings in Paris Old World Cafe."  Why is it that "Mornings in Paris" sounds romantic and alluring whereas "Tea Time in Hoboken" or "Dusk in Tampa" just sounds sad?  (Sorry Hoboken!  Not sorry Tampa!)

The line was out the door of this lovely cafe and that seemed like a good sign that I needed to check this place out!  There was a sidewalk sandwich board sign advertising hot mulled apple cider.  Now THAT was exactly what I needed for my "Celebrate Autumn/Get out of the rain" festivities.  

I stood behind a couple who basically decided that they needed to have every pastry in the bakery case.  "Ohhh I'm getting the cream-filled horn ... no wait, the tiramisu ... no wait ..."  I tried to enjoy the situation for its mirth and merriment, however the bitter wannabe hipster in me rolled her eyes discreetly.  I knew immediately what I wanted.  There was no "oh wait, no --" dialogue going on in my head.  It was hunger at first sight when I spied an apple cider cupcake with cinnamon frosting.  HELLO AUTUMN!  HELLO CUPCAKE - get in my BELLY!     

After I placed my order, I watched the woman behind the counter ladle the mulled cider into my cup.  A traditional mulled cider is apple cider steeped with "mulling spices" such as cardamom, clove-studded oranges, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg and brown sugar.  I don't know what Mornings in Paris used for their mulling spices, but I could tell you it smelled incredible. I knew just on smell alone that this cider was going to be very authentic.  

Even with the long line, I outfoxed some of the patrons and snagged a prime table in the back of the cafe.  It gave me a great view for people watching - especially the hottie barista who was way behind in making espresso drinks for the not so patient line in front of him.  He could best be described as a military lumberjack ... a hot military lumberjack.  Every cup of mulled cider should be accompanied by a gorgeous view - fall colors, children playing or a hot military-style lumberjack ... beauty is found everywhere!

While I let my cider cool slightly, I took a picture of my recent shopping acquisition - a gift for my sister from an Old Port gift store store named "Something's Fishy."  Since my sister and I refer to each other as "Feeesheeee" (a long drawn-out, over-emphasized version of the word Fishy), I knew I had to get her a gift from this store.  I texted the picture to my sister and she texted back "Is that a cupcake under that bag?"

  

To bastardize a line from the movie "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" - "Cupcakes move pretty fast, if you don't stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss them."  My hyper-alert sister was not going to miss a cupcake sighting.  Obviously you can tell we are related.  

I have to say that without a doubt Mornings in Paris' hot mulled apple cider is the best mulled apple cider I have had in years.  You could tell that the mulling spices had been steeping for quite sometime.  The result was rich, complex and belly-warming.  It was autumn in a cup.  Plain and simple.  It was beyond delicious.  If you are near Portland, Maine, you need to have a cup of this seasonal beverage while it's still in season!  

The apple cider cupcake was not as apple-y or as cider-y as I would have hoped.  The frosting was either old or had a tremendously high fat content as it came off in one piece and was pretty hard.  I figured this was God's way of telling me to skip some calories and fat.  I ate the cupcake instead.  It was large with discernible apple pieces and a nice texture.  If it had just been called an apple cupcake, I would have been happy - but "apple cider cupcake" made me think of a much more spicy, pungent cupcake.  Like a rich spice cake studded with apples.  So the name was more of the let down.  I expected more.  But it was still pretty tasty and the hot mulled cider helped up the moisture content when paired with the cupcake.  

If you're looking for a great autumn-flavored cupcake, go to East End Cupcakes (only a few blocks away from Mornings in Paris) and get their pear cupcake with honey buttercream frosting.  You won't regret it!  (Stay tuned to future LilyOnTheLam.com posts where I write about East End Cupcakes and just how many cupcakes I ate from their store!!!)

Overall, I loved the atmosphere at Mornings in Paris Old World Cafe.  The service was friendly.  The long line of patrons obviously adore the place - which is admirable in an area that has many coffee house and tea house options.  The hot mulled apple cider was the best I have tasted in years and they had a nice variety of baked goods to satisfy any sweet tooth.  The only drawback I saw is that you may be paralyzed by how many wonderful choices of pastries there are ... here's my advice: order them all!  ;-)

If you're not in the Portland Maine area, here are some recipes online for hot mulled cider.  I plan on making some in my crockpot when it finally cools down in Florida.  There may not be snow outside my Tampa Bay window, but I can still enjoy the flavors of autumn.

Mulled Apple Cider Recipes from the Internet:

The Pioneer Woman

Crockpot Mulled Apple Cider

Chef Bobby Flay's Mulled Cider

(And for those who enjoyed alcohol, Chef Bobby Flay's Mulled Red Wine Sangria recipe.)

P.S. Today is Chef Floyd Cardoz's birthday - celebrate my reading my blog post on Chef Floyd's cooking class and also my blog post on Chef Floyd's North End Grill.

P.P.S.  Check out Margaret Cho on tour now - her comedy show is fabulous!

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Fat Cats and Cupcakes

I love Saturday mornings.  I wake up and think it's a work day, but then I realize it's SATURDAY and I sink back into my pillows with a contented smile.  On this particular Saturday, I rolled over and grabbed my phone to check my email.  I was unwilling to leave my big bed and start the day.  Waiting for me in my in box was a news forward from my step dad.  Apparently CNN had an article on the obesity epidemic in pets.  There are many ways I like to wake up.  Many of these ways start with a delicious man with a shaved head laying next to me ...  But I digress.  On the list of all the ways I like to start my day on a Saturday, reading a CNN article on obese pets just does not make the list.  SHOCKING, I know!

To put the cherry on top, in addition to the CNN article was tips from my step dad that my cats should be on a treadmill and eating broccoli snacks.  Happy Saturday Morning!  If my cats could type, they'd be scribing some choice words for my step dad.

Eventually when I finally left the warm loveliness of my bed, I grabbed my laptop and sent my step dad the following picture with the subject line:  "Finnerty Cat asks: Is this broccoli?"

(And nooooo, animal lovers- I did not feed Finnerty a chocolate cupcake.  I know chocolate is bad for dogs and I am pretty sure it doesn't make cats feel all warm and fuzzy inside either.  Please do not send me hate mail.  No cats were harmed in the making of this blog post.)

My step dad wrote back: "That doesn't look like broccoli."

Moral of the story - if you're going to send me an article on pet obesity, I am going to send you pictures of "Cats Gone Wild."

If you're a regular reader of Lily on the Lam, you'll know that the above pictured cat (Finnerty J. Moomaw) is an a--hole.  As evidenced in not one, but two posts on this particular blog.  (Click here for Evidence One and Evidence Two.)  I fully expect that Finnerty will be sending me a bill for "modeling" in the above cupcake photo.

This picture was taken in December 2011.  I was at Datz Deli in Tampa, Florida and saw this gorgeous cupcake.  I rationalized that for the sake of this blog, I needed to try out this cupcake!  Seriously, my readers need to know about local cupcakes, right?

I tried to take a picture of the cupcake and a certain a--hole cat decided he needed to be in the photo as well.  Perhaps Finnie will spark a new trend - cupcakes and kittens.

I really like Datz Deli.  I like the vibe, the atmosphere, the alcohol selection and their creative food selection makes me feel like I am in a more sophisticated city.  (Sorry Tampa!)  However, this gorgeous cupcake from Datz Deli's bakery section was highly disappointing.  This cupcake was the sexy guy at the bar who can't stop talking about his case of foot fungus.  On the outside, it looked so promising.  And then you take a bite and it's just a lot of sadness!  The chocolate ganache was the best part - rich, sweet and delicious.  But the cupcake was dried out.  We're talking desert in July, dried out.  And the cake to filling ratio was way off.

Now normally the sight of this much filling in a cupcake would drive me to drool uncontrollably.  However instead of a delicious, soft, creamy filling; it was a hard, thick mass of flavorless buttercream.  At least I think it was buttercream.  It tasted like lard mixed with dried out wallpaper paste.  I wondered how long this gorgeous cupcake was sitting in the Datz Deli bakery case.  Was the cupcake ever good?  Is it just a victim of old age?  Or was it bad from the start?  Disappointment, thy name is dried out cupcake.

For lunch today, in honor of my step dad, I had a bowl of steamed broccoli sprinkled with lemon juice, cayenne pepper and freshly ground garlic.  It was bright green, crisp and lovely.  My cats didn't want to eat it, but I did.  And it was tasty.

Score 1 for broccoli and zero for cupcakes today.

P.S.  Finnerty is still an a--hole but is available for cupcake modeling.
    

To Glee or Not To Glee ... That is the Question!

Last night was the season premiere of "Glee" on Fox.  If you read my Jesus' message through Diet Coke post, you'll know that I loves me some "Glee."  And luckily I have some brilliant friends who also love "Glee" and like to plan entertainment around such fabulous events.  For the season premiere, friend LM threw a fan-tab-ulous dinner, but the highlight of the dinner was dessert.  LM made cupcakes ... but not just any cupcakes ... cupcakes that looked like slushees!  Talk about working in the best theme ever to go with a "Glee" premiere party!

And they were absolutely delicious.  I ate two of them and I am not ashamed to admit it!

The only thing that could have made the night better is if Glee's very own Noah "Puck" Puckerman Mark Salling came over and gave me a lap dance while I was watching one of "The Glee Project" runner-ups Lindsay sing "Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better." 

Mark, the ball's in your court ... I'll bring the slushee cupcakes ...