Cake & Shake

Although I am super sleepy, not to mention worn out

I mustered up the strength to bake a banana cake

because I had some leftover homemade cream cheese icing in the fridge

can't let that go to waste can I?

I was feeling like a fun-loving, risk taker,

so I decided to add Nutella filling

because what could be better than banana and chocolate hazelnut?

nearly nothing, so I took a baby spoon and dropped a dollop of nutella into each cup of batter

I was totally inspired by this treats truck that was parked outside of

Washington Square Park called

Cake & Shake

I'm such an ice cream purist, I don't really drink milkshakes

but the cupcakes were really delish

and I'm a super picky when it comes to cupcakes

(I know where my loyalties lie)

I got the Heaven Split

caramel buttercream, banana cake & chocolate hazelnut

it was an artisan cupcake, ruffled liner

textured, piped creamy icing,

yummy dense cake, and a chocolate surprise on the inside

pretty doesn't always win with me, but this was nom

I think I might need to stalk this truck.

Beauty All Around.

The other night

I woke up at 5:04 in the morning to readjust my blanket

and I caught a glimpse of the sky

and it was just gorgeous

it looked like watercolor

so I did what anyone else would do...got out my camera and took some pictures

before I dozed off again

it reminded me of how much I love being home

I know I say it every single day

but to see the sky when I open my eyes every morning

just makes every day so much better

there's just beauty everywhere here, I'm never ever moving away

I mean, where else can you buy mini cupcakes right on the street

(at the Little Cupcake Lover Cart on Broadway, I recommend these noms)

it was like the size of my thumb and the frosting was so great

and the sprinkles were like technicolor

I must try the strawberry tiny delight

I'm so obsessed with mini noms

and eat vegetarian shrimp & southern fried chicken, all in a 4 block radius

even though it was so hot out today, I can't even imagine what 95 degrees feels like

I needed to have one nice stroll around Soho

before ascending into the whirlwind of being a full time intern.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine: My Home a Few Blocks Away From Home

I feel homesick today

but a different type of homesick

for my second home

which definitely is not Vassar,

but the cozy, warm, decadent heaven

of Sugar Sweet Sunshine

nestled on Rivington Street,

it feels just like home, with the sweet smells

of thick buttercream frosting,

sugar cookies, and chocolate

this was my after school spot

a great place to sink into an old floral print arm chair

and listen to people's cupcake orders, envious after consuming 2 cupcakes

instead of reading Wuthering Heights & the like

the floral print wallpaper, and odd array of furniture

make it pleasantly kitschy

this is really my happy place

I even took my Vassar interviewer there

and I had her at pumpkin cupcake

a delish concoction of pumpkin cake topped with

luscious cream cheese frosting & walnuts

that hurts my heart when I think about it,

for it has been so long since I've had the sweet tastes of home

I've been around the cupcake block,

Magnolia's, Crumb's, Butter Lane, Babycakes

and nothing compares

you can go to Magnolia's if you want a long obnoxious line,

Sex & the City fans, a dense, dry, cupcake with hard icing

and a huge tummy ache afterwards

Crumbs if you want massive, bland tasting cake with fun toppings,

Butter Lane for boring & pricey, and Babycakes for oh so sad vegan creations

Sugar Sweet Sunshine tops them all

oh, did I mention the Zagat says this is the best cupcake place in the city?

thats news to me, but the Zagat is holy and therefore is always right

a dollar fifty for a piece of utopia? they got that, and much more

like banana pudding, with Nilla wafers, and cookies in glass jars

but the winner of all noms is the pistachio cupcake

this little baby is the best, and I've never encountered anyone

who doesn't fall fast in love with this creation

topped with Satin Buttercream (the Moose) and crushed pistachio nuts

nom nom nom little green cake

the other best is the classic Sunshine

vanilla cake, with vanilla buttercream

in pretty colors like hot pink & seafoam (my favorites)

its so sweet, it feels like a hug & a kiss from your first crush (I swear)

what's even better than eating the cupcake itself

is the aftermath

they are so moist that cake sticks to the cupcake liners

and my personal favorite part of the whole experience

is hopefully and wistfully scraping the cake bits off the liner

to get that last, divine taste of harmonious delight

just 31 days till I get home

away from Vassar, and into the warm embrace of a Sugar Sweet Sunshine cupcake.

eat your heart out, this is food porn.

Prisoners Love Pastries Too.

In the library basement

I feel quite queer,

almost like a prisoner because I'm underground

and the windows are way above my head

and I can only see the clouds

moving really slowly across the sky behind some tree branches,

no buildings, no sidewalks, nothing in sight

just the ugly foliage print on the library carpet, 

and the steam rising from my tea

I'm trying to load up on brain food

like peppermint tea, almonds, and chocolate raspberry truffles

the truffles I deemed brain food by my own scientific study

so eat up all the raspberry flavored chocolate you want

and I bet you'll have the will to finish any paper

I gave up pastries for Lent

but I'm not really religious

I just like giving stuff up for Lent,

something must be empowering about the sense of communal sacrifice or something

who knows, 

either which way I died in Stop & Shop yesterday in the

Yesterday's Baked Goods section:

a small slice of heaven

what's better than sweets and a sale?

nothing besides a sweet sale on shoes

but the low priced chocolate cakes, raspberry danishes, sweet bread, lady fingers, and 

other nomlicious treats were off limits for me

even though I could have bought an entire birthday cake

complete with sprinkles for just $2.98

I settled for some 100 calorie packs of chocolate covered pretzels,

mixed berry english muffins (sent from heaven, sadly they are seasonal), and strawberries

but I still cannot get those cheap treats out of my head

so here is my little homage to all things buttery, sugary, floury and delish that my

poor little heart is craving in the prison of the library

Yes folks, a chocolate cupcake with raspberry buttercream and raspberry preserve filling

this is my ideal dessert, dainty & dangerous

I'm nuts for anything raspberry

its my anti-drug

Thumbprint cookies,

two words: I DIE

these happen to be a Christmas tradition in my family

I always get a small tin of them from my uncle & aunt, better than a typical gift any day

white chocolate raspberry cheesecake

this is the most romantic dessert I could ever think of

Lent is so anti-romance

oh little luscious berries, you are quite tart and bumpy naturally

but you produce the best peanut butter and jelly sandwiches 

cupcakes, chocolates and other sweet treats of my life

thanks for making everything more nom

for now, in my new life free from pastries

I'll just have to settle on saltines

one cracker with a touch of peanut butter, the other with a glop of jelly

a little bit of vanilla fro-yo in the middle

and I almost feel like I'm eating a cookie sandwich(from Milk&Cookies in the West Village)

I must be delusional.

New Year, New Woe: The Death of Penny Licks

Dear 2010,

2009 was particularly shitty

and I had some hope for what you were bringing to the table,

after celebrating New Years with 

pina coladas & the Puerto Rican masterpiece of a concoction: coquito

I thought that maybe you were on my side,

I thought wrong because 

ruin came to my holidays

Penny Licks is closed, for good

I get unusually attached to cutesy, kitsch 

dessert joints in my favorite neighborhoods

my first love was Sugar Sweet Sunshine

the best cupcake shop nestled on Rivington

where the pistachio cupcakes are to die for

and the soft, falling apart array of arm chairs

just suck you in

last year, around the New Year it was closed for a week

My heart sunk at the thought of its demise

no more Bob cupcakes with 

chocolate almond icing and no more strawberry cupcakes with sweet

cream cheese icing and 

heart sprinkles that gave me butterflies

luckily, I was not aware of their vacation period that fell right around Christmas, and my 

heart's joy was fulfilled when I could once again relish in their cupcakes galore

I loved this little place so much

I wrote about it in my Vassar college application & took my interviewer there

I like to think she loved me for me, but she might have just been wooed by the

decadent pumpkin cupcake I ordered for her 

anyway,

my life is ruined, for Penny Licks has left me

Williamsburg is weeping

the days of stopping in after hitting up my favorite vintage stores & the Salvation army 

are OVER

no more tiny, one dollar cones in assorted vegan flavors

that are actually better than real ice cream

or towering, lumpy scoops of vegan cookie dough 

topped high on a simple sugar cone

to scoop up with my vegan banana chocolate chip oatmeal cookie

yes, I said it: banana chocolate chip oatmeal cookie

a huuuuuuge award worthy cookie with fat chocolate chips and 

great banana flavor

my heart is sobbing at the mere memory

all I ever needed was a new pair of boots, a beautiful cone and a lumpy cookie and I was set

now where will I find that same love?

absolutely nowhere

never will I be able to soothe my ice cream craving & vintage obsession at the same time

so my verdict is that life sucks

and the world is going to the goons

that's the only way I can describe my feelings

because if I cannot have tasty vegan treats at my heart's desire

what can I have?

surely not happiness.