Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend

A very sincere thank you and appreciation to all of you out there that have so enthusiastically responded to my recent fascination with all cakes "cup". Back in October when I launched the cafe, no one could have told me that someday my crème fraîche demands would outpace my monthly investment in cane sugar. Even such statements that I have found myself saying in the past few weeks such as: "oh man, you should see my crème fraîche bill" and "do you sell crème fraîche in a drum?" don't seem to ludicrous to me anymore. Yet somehow I don't tire of it. If I kept it at home, it would still find its way into every savory dish I make. I suppose that's why I relegate it solely to the cafe. So much for taking one's work home.

22 flavors down and another dozen or so left to go. I'm officially taking requests. That's right... the haughty chocolatier is asking for feedback and suggestions. For a limited time only (jk! I'm always happy to hear suggestions!)

Seriously though. Drop me a comment here on some of your favorite dessert concepts and I will try to stuff them into one of these little cakes. It's officially a challenge. The only caveat to this is that the fillings need to be shelf-stable (so don't take it personally if I can't make a cake filled with pastry cream and such).

And now for the fun announcement of which this post is really all about: my upcoming Cupcake Extravaganza Weekend!

That's right. An entire weekend devoted to these little gems. July 4th, 5th, & 6th we will have all 30-some cocoa-crazy cupcake flavors available. Even better, they will be buy-2 get 1 free! All in efforts to discover which of mass will be destined to become part of the permanent "collection". We're inviting everyone to come in and try them out and offer us your feedback on your favorites. Each purchased cupcake will come complete with a review form (for feedback and score) and the top 18 cakes will be knighted as Eclipse-worthy.

BUT WAIT! There will be fabulous prizes, too. Each review is actually an entry into the crème fraîche-ist lottery ever!

One lucky winner of the raffle AND the person who purchases the 2000th cupcake will receive a VIP Eclipse Pass good for one complimentary box of 9 cupcakes each week for 2 months! There will be a number of smaller prizes allotted, too.

So read up on past cupcake posts, offer your suggestions for new flavors by commenting on this post, and start fasting now to ready your tummies for that fateful weekend at the end of the month.

And for those of you who aren't regular visitors, here are all the cupcake posts at your convenient perusal:

Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Onze
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Dix
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Neuf
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Huit, AKA Babies Love Cupcakes
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Sept
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Six
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Cinq
Even More Crème Fraîche Cupcakes
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Trois
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes-Part Deux
Crème Fraîche Cupcakes

23 comments:

Sharon said...

A cupcake extravaganza weekend is the stuff dreams are made of! Though not as sophisticated as some of your past cupcakes, I'd jump at the chance to try a smores cupcake.

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

Hm... yes. I do love me my marshmallows. I have a Marshmallow Almond, and a Burnt Caramel Marshmallow, but I also have my Gingerbread Crumbs that find their way into chocolate bars and brownies. I'm totally up for a S'mores version topped with those goodies. Good suggestion!

DanM said...

You may have this already (your numerical French cupcakes names confuse poor lil' me :-P), but I would suggest SUPER DARK CHOCOLATE GRASSHOPPER cupcake.

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

Ah yes... Dan, my friend. I have been considering a chocolate-mint concoction. Maybe something topped with peppermint candy? I'd be tempted to make it Rosemary Mint, though. Crazy me!

Anonymous said...

The baby and I have been devouring butter pecan ice cream around here. All the other flavors sound great though. We're going to have to try to get in there this week.

Anonymous said...

Peanut butter and chocolate: the cupcake of champions!

Something with graham crackers might be really tasty. And just once, I think you should try some sort of actual cream (creme?) filling, because who needs Hostess when we have you?

Thanks again for the Sundae and Thai Iced Tea this afternoon! They were amazing! My friend tried some of her cupcakes as soon as we got back to her place. I think she's still in a coma of joy.

Roger said...

WOOHOO! This'll be a real treat after finals!

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

I'd love to do a cream-filled cake, but alas to make it shelf-stable would require all sorts of terrible chemical additions. Yes, Hostess, I'm pointing in your direction!

I will say this, though. I haven't done a post on it yet, but I ran out of cakes mid-day and had to bake more. I've already got a Salty S'mores cupcake in my case, thanks to an earlier suggestion here.

Anonymous said...

i LOVE extravaganzzzzas! the cupcake kind are really the best. I'm going to stop eating today... and start thinking of flavors. yum!
(josefine)

Doug Easterly said...

I have to say, thought, that Cupcake Extravaganza sounds like either a Bond girl or a drag queen. Or maybe both.

Ellen said...

hmmm You've got me thinking!

Dark chocolate pistachio
Rosemary peach
Blueberry basil
Strawberry balsamic
Browned butter-hazelnut-espresso
Pear-chocolate-chardonnay
Spiced chocolate (along the lines of cinnamon, nutmeg, chili pepper)
Something with tahini

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

Awesome, Doug. But since this is El Cajon and Alabama, I think we can narrow it down to "drag queen".

MelloPie said...

yes yes! will, you must do a play on the classic hostess, you must!

also, salty bacon caramel. hmmmm, bacon!

Anonymous said...

Huh, a second Ellen! I love her suggestion of a cinnamon-chocolate or chile-chocolate cupcake. And a salty S'mores cake sounds *wonderful*! Salty *anything* is always awesome.

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

MelloPie (Jonathan)... You've got me both worried and intruiged. You didn't have the chance to try the cocoa-glazed bacon at Mom's Day, but I would totally put that stuff ontop of a cupcake. Though, I'm not sure anyone beyond you or I would try it. I will add it to a poll here and find out.

Doug Easterly said...

You kidding? I'd try MelloPie's idea of salty bacon caramel. Everything's better with bacon. Well, my doctor says something about cholesterol... blah blah... stroke blah blah, but forget that. Sweetness and bacon are good.

BTW, Sheri is already salivating at the thought of the extravaganza, so I guess we're going to be there to try out some new cupcakes....

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

Wow... first ten minutes and we're at 3 yes, 3 maybe, and 2 no. Sounds like I should try this one out. I'm thinking Bacon-Dulce de Leche. How could that be bad?

Doug- You, Sheri, and MelloPie will need to eat them all if they don't sell!

Doug Easterly said...

I'm not sure I can get Sheri to commit. Just gonna be me and MelloPie eating all the bacon dulce de leche.

Unknown said...

I'm no expert in the cupcake game, but summer and fresh fruit seem to always go hand in hand, there must be a way to intermingle the cake and the fruit?

Jennywenny said...

I always love cherries and frangipane, that would go together lovely, maybe with an amaretto white chocolate instead to lighten things up...

I recently did an opera cake with these flavors and they were lovely.

Owner, Eclipse Chocolat said...

For the Daring Bakers, right? Nice! Sounds like a lovely flavor challenge. I've always wanted to make marzipan from scratch. And I just picked up some fresh cherries! What a convienent cupcake to create this week. Keep an eye out for this one!

Anonymous said...

I would love to see a choc/ hazelnut cupcake-mmm... nutella!!! :)

Anonymous said...

How about--
Caramel and Salted Peanut
Cornmeal, Rosemary with Raspberry