Beyond the Buttercream: Bits & Pieces 2

1. I’m back!  If you’ve been following along on Instagram or Facebook, you already know that I was in Ireland for a few weeks and I loved every minute of it!  The first week we were on a fabulous tour, which allowed me to see so many different places and the second part of the trip was spent in County Mayo to see where my dad is from.  Both parts were fantastic and I bakery hopped around that country like a champ.  The bakeries there are fantastic and the cakes were incredible!  I’ll be doing a few posts on Ireland in the next few weeks so stay tuned!

2. Chocolate Cake, as in Triple Chocolate Cake, as in Devil’s Food Cake with White Chocolate Mousse and Chocolate Italian Meringue Buttercream.  So, sometimes I hate parting with cakes and this was definitely one of those times…

3. My friend Hillary recently released her second cookbook, French Comfort Food.  You guys: Cheese Souffles In A Mug.  Enough said.  Hillary’s first cookbook is a staple in my kitchen and I can’t wait to get my hands on this one.  You can check it out here.

4. Nutella ice cream!  I repeat Nutella. Ice. Cream.  OMG, it’s only at Carvel for a limited time and I’m in love.  So obviously the first order of business when I got back from Ireland was to go straight to Carvel, because after a few weeks of bakery hopping, more ice cream is exactly what I needed…  My heart was set on the Nutella soft serve.  I saw the sign in the window and I basically skipped in, but then I was told the soft serve wasn’t ready!  At this point there was a mildly dramatic outburst on my part…

So I ended up getting talked into (not that it took much) the other Nutella ice cream that has chocolate crunchies and swirls of Nutella through it and it was so kick ass!!  Like soft serve, who? Then after we walked out, this little cutie comes outside with a cup of the Nutella soft serve all packed up, complete with a cone on the side.  Talk about the way to my heart!  After trying both I highly recommend the one with the crunchies, like I think it should be a permanent staple on the menu.  It’s only available for a limited time so check it asap!

5.  Speaking of sweet, these Peachy Bourbon Crumble Cupcakes have been pretty popular lately and I can totally see why.  My favorite peach crumble turned into a cupcake is a must try and peaches are gorgeous right now!  These are a great idea for the holiday weekend!!

I hope you all have a great holiday weekend and I’ll see you next week with a new recipe!