The Icing on the Cake by Alison Kent
This delicious recipe comes from Michelle Snow-Bracken, co-owner of Frosting A Cupcakery in Chevy Chase, Maryland. Snow-Bracken’s true romance with her husband, Todd, is featured in Alison Kent’s latest romance novel, The Icing on the Cake, one of the first from the True Vows imprint.
Kent shares her excitement about the new book – and imprint – in a recent post on her blog:
I’m also getting excited about the release of THE ICING ON THE CAKE. It’s been seen in the wild, and I’ve sent out review copies, and the reaction so far is so flattering and lovely. It was a great honor to be tasked to tell Todd and Michelle’s story, and hearing them say how right I got their personalities is humbling. I can’t wait for the book to find its way into the hands of readers! Very very excited, too, by all the press the TRUE VOWS series is getting. Fun stuff being part of a new imprint’s launch!
CAMPFIRE (S’MORES) CUPCAKES
Cake
- 1 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
- 1 pound graham cracker crumbs
- Cream butter and sugar until smooth. Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, blending well between each addition. Add graham cracker crumbs and buttermilk alternately until all ingredients are incorporated.
Prepare muffin cups with paper liners. Fill cups about 1/3 full with cake batter. Bake at 325 degrees for 17 minutes.
Ganache
- 9 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, chopped
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 Tablespoon light corn syrup
- Place the chocolate and light corn syrup into a medium bowl. Heat the cream in a small sauce pan over medium heat. Bring just to a boil. When the cream has come to a boil, pour over the chopped chocolate mixture, and whisk until smooth.
- Add thin layer of ganache to cool cupcakes. Ganache needs to set for at least one hour before frosting is piped on top.
Frosting
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 Tablespoons water
2 egg whites - 1 (7 oz) jar marshmallow creme
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Combine sugar, egg whites and water in a double boiler and beat with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Whip in marshmallow crème. Remove from heat and beat in 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract. Pipe frosting on top of ganache and dust with graham cracker crumbs.
About the book:
Matchmaker, matchmaker, make me a match . . . dot.com. An on-line dating service is not Michelle Snow’s idea of how to find love but when the Big 3-0 hits, Michelle decides she has nothing to lose since she hasn’t brought a date home in ten years, she’s professionally burned out, and her climb up the corporate ladder has come at the expense of abandoning her sweet dream: to own a boutique cupcakery.
Todd Bracken, early thirties and a successful technology consultant, isn’t exactly a player after being off the market for ten years, and pours himself into his dual passions of martial arts and home-sweet-home renovations. Only there’s no one to come home to so he decides to give Match.com a try. Todd isn’t so sure the Internet dating scene is his thing – until a message pops up in the wee hours on a weekend night: “I like your smile.” Todd likes – a lot – the whole package that glides into a French bistro in Washington, D.C.
It’s serious mojo-at-first-sight but there’s a glitch: Todd and Michelle live in different cities. Will love find its way in the digital age with a You’ve Got Mail courtship when video cam kisses just aren’t enough? And when Todd challenges Michelle to not only go for her dream but also let him share it, will they be able to make it happen together despite obstacles more plentiful than a shower of rainbow sprinkles?
Find more details at http://www.alisonkent.com/
