Summer Birthdays- Oh the Beauty of Lazy Weekend Events

This will likely be part 1 of a series on summer birthdays (and the summer is coming to a close already).  I've got a big family, and therefore lots of birthdays to celebrate!  Summer is great because these birthdays always end up lingering, and being celebrated for weeks... with barbeques, dinners, brunches and cakes.

In late July, we celebrated with the niece + Vicky.  (It was part one of the niece's 6th birthday celebration)... We had quite the feast on a mellow Sunday afternoon.  The star of the show was Enjoy Cupcake's beautifully crafted gems.  I had been dreaming of them forEVER, when Amber of Enjoy Cupcakes had tweeted that week about starting to experiment with gluten-free cupcakes.  I was instantly consumed with the thought of finally being able to taste these scrumptious looking goodies.  Hours later, the opportunity presented itself when RayRay (that's what my niece used to call him) told us that he'd be in Santa Barbara for the weekend, visiting on his maturing wine.  I took advantage of this information, and suggested that while he checked on his wine, he go pick us up some cupcakes as well.



Ray agreed to pick up the cupcakes for the B + Vicky's birthday party, which gave me license to peruse the list of flavors.  I narrowed it down to 2 flavors for the gluten free cupcakes (it was a minimum order of a dozen)- 1. Chocolate Salted Pudding (a.k.a. Miss V.) or 2. Chocolate Blackberry Syrah.  I decided on the "Miss V."... the flavor and name were very appropriate for Miss Vicky's birthday.

Without further ado... here are the pix:

Birthday Girls: Miss V + Miss B

Miss B + Balloon

GLUTEN FREE MAC + CHEESE (I was so spoiled, by the g-f foods, it felt like MY birthday!)

Black Truffle Chicken Breast, foreground.

Grungrygirl + Corqueblog + Shoppingandinfo!

Enjoying too much- not the most flattering pic, but very truthful!

The finale!  The salted chocolate pudding cupcake was moist, richly textured with just a right hint of salt.  It was an absolute hit, and perhaps more popular than the gluten cupcakes at the party!  The frosting was perfectly delicate, and was perfectly paired with the deeper flavor of the cupcake.  I also want to note that the cakes had the most beautiful and smooth aftertaste.  (I tend to think that most prepared gluten-free baked goods have a strange aftertaste- perhaps due to the baking mix used).

I want to thank Amber a million times over for baking up this special order for us.  I felt so special and spoiled that day, with my gluten free cupcakes and my gluten free mac + cheese!  It was a really great occasion. 

Visit Amber at Enjoy Cupcakes:

Los Olivos

2971 Grand Ave. Los Olivos, Ca 93441(in the Saarloos & Sons tasting "house") 

Open Thursday Through Sunday from 11:00 until 6:00 (unless we sell out before)

Solvang

1661 Mission Dr. Solvang, Ca 93463 (in the "Olive House")

Open Thursday Through Sunday from 11:00 until 5:00 (unless we sell out before)

phone  805-451-0284

Come see more posts on Gluten Free Desserts + this weeks "World Peas" Theme!

Next up on the summer agenda... E's Birthday!