Pepero—a popular South Korean Snack manufactured by Lotte Confectionary
I thought it would be fun to do a snack series on Flavorful Journeys, where I feature different snacks from around the world and discuss their history and cultural significance. After all, who doesn’t like snacks, right? In today’s busy world, we don’t always have time to sit down and eat three meals a day; sometimes snacks play a critical role in tiding us over until our next meal and getting us through a long, hectic day.
Chocolate-Raspberry Glass Cupcakes with Buttercream Icing
Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays. I love its spookiness, as this allows me to embrace morbid concepts in fun ways. For example, these chocolate raspberry cupcakes play on hyelophobia, or fear of glass. The sugar glass–its jagged edges covered in red food coloring–looks very much like broken shards of glass smeared with blood. The buttercream icing with red swirls further plays on this theme.
Glass Cupcakes Topped with Buttercream Red Swirl
Coconut Cupcakes with Chocolate-Sriracha Ganache
I love cupcakes, but not as much as my sister Sadie. She’s a cupcake fiend! She visited me in Miami over the Fourth of July weekend, and there were two things that she absolutely had to do before leaving Miami: go jet-skiing and make cupcakes.
Jet skiing was an adventure—at some points I wasn’t sure that we were going to survive! I’d never driven a jet ski before, and at first it was scary. It’s easier to steer at high speeds, but to go that fast is intimidating. So I started out really slow, which made my steering horrendous.
Brandy Snaps with Cream
Corey and I recently had afternoon tea with our neighbors, and these brandy snaps with cream were a big hit. Their shells reminded us of the crispy layer of crème brûlée. In fact, I’m playing with the idea of creating these again and using a crème brûlée filling.
A Cannoli Meets Crème Brûlée
These brandy snaps are rich, creamy, sweet, and crispy . . . what more could you want in a dessert? Consider whipping them up for Valentine’s day, afternoon tea, or any festive occasion. Their appearance is also striking and elegant.
After being invited to my first baby shower, I decided to bring a striking, elegant dessert. I thought about making these fondant cherry cupcakes, but ultimately opted for something new. I discovered these beautiful butterfly cupcakes on Annie’s Eats and instantly fell in love.
The butterflies look quite realistic, and their outspread wings give them dimension and the illusion of flight. They’re gorgeous perched atop the colored buttercream icing. Even better, the butterflies are pure, delicious chocolate!