As I said in my bio (albeit jokingly at the time), I thought my spot with ATC might entice my parents to get into the act.  Sure enough, while visiting them, my mother and I went out on a cupcake expedition.  In Ridgewood, NJ, we found a local cupcakerie with flavors to spare.

Cupcakes by Carousel is on Main St. in Ridgewood, next to the movie theater.

The product line starts with “Classic White/Chocolate with Fudge” and “Red Velvet” and moves on to “Vanilla Dirt Worm” and “Chocolate Pretzel.”  “Pink Marshmallow Snowball” and “Turtle” looked almost too pretty to eat.

The winners in our taste selection included “Key Lime Pie,” which my mother said included candied lime, made by taking lime zest and packing it in sugar (the moisture makes the sugar adhere to begin with until it soaks in).

Dad had the gluten free vanilla cupcake with vanilla icing and gave it a thumbs up.  This is a new product line for Cupcakes by Carousel, and, from pans used only for gluten free to individual cupcake holders for gluten free, it’s just the recipe for those with celiac disease.

I might just be going home to visit my parents again…soon!

American Cupcake's Red Velvet Fried Chicken (photo by Anthony Mylott)

San Fransisco restaurant American Cupcake decided that the world could use more red velvet.  AC’s owner Devon Alpert reckoned that if  everyone loved the flavor in cake and cupcakes, they would like it in fried chicken too.   And it looks like she was absolutely right. In the delicious words of urbandaddy:

At first glance, it’ll look like a heaping plate of leg, thigh and breast. But upon further inspection, you’ll see that the chicken has taken on a slight reddish hue. That’s because your precious fried bird has been pre-soaked in AC’s signature red velvet cake batter, then dredged in toasted, crumbled bits of red velvet cupcake before being dipped in a frying pan.

Because they don’t want their delicious fried chicken to be lonely, American Cupcake includes a side of cream cheese and garlic mashed potatoes, inspired by the frosting on the cake.

You’ve seen it here at All Things Cupcake, you’ve seen it everywhere:  the  pink and red and heart-shaped wave has come and it’s sweeping up our favorite little confection in its wake.  Red Velvet cupcakes are enjoying a seasonal bump in popularity (no surprise there) as cupcakeries across the nation make a run on flavors in the right color range. Ex-pat bakery Little Miss Cupcake is taking the trend to Paris with their special Valentine’s flavors La Vie En Rose, Linger, & Go All The Way.  In my own hometown, Cupcake Royale just came out with this year’s version of the Deathcake Royale,  a chocolate-packed supercake that’s only available for two weeks per annum right before Valentine’s Day.

This is just a proverbial taste of what is to come.  All Things Cupcake is here to bring you daily coverage on the latest in Valentine’s Day themed-cupcakes (and cupcake shaped items!).

Red Velvet is officially the cupcake flavor of the hour.  It’s been mentioned everywhere this week, including right here on All Things Cupcake. Personally, I suspect it has something to do with a certain romantic holiday on the horizon, a suspicion that is upheld by a recent Google image search that shows almost every red velvet cupcake accompanied by little heart decorations. But I should give credit where credit is due: the deliciousness of vanilla cake with a kiss of cocoa and topped with buttercream plus the dramatic presentation of red cake and white frosting makes red velvet cake (and cupcake!) a classic.