PRIDE !

The Empire State Building lit up with rainbow lights !

The passing of New York's gay marriage bill could not have had better timing ! The last weekend in June is always PRIDE weekend in NYC and usually conveinently coincides with my dear friend Peter's birthday aswell. I took all of these circumstances as opportunity to make a trip down to NYC to celebrate. Sunday morning I picked up my best friend Frank in Connecticut and then we continued onto Astoria, Queens, where Peter's apartment is. We hung out and drank combination of champagne, vodka, and orange juice and then we got on the subway and headed into Manhattan. After meeting up with another group of our friends, we made our way down to the Meat Packing district - NYC's gayborhood. The first party we hit was at the Gansevoort hotel. The club was on the penthouse level and there was a beautiful terrace and roof top pool ! Swimming in the pool was soo fun and some people even decided to play the game catch the glowstick :P The terrace was a perfect viewing spot for the firework display over the Hudson River. After leaving the Gansevoort we made our way to a club called Greenhouse, where there was a Japanese DJ spinning classic anthems including an awesome remix of Madonna's 'Like a Prayer'. Peter and I absolutely did not want to leave the club but when it was about 4 AM we decided it was probably time to go. It was such an amazing celebration for so many reasons and was a great way to spend my last night out in NYC !

PARTY PEOPLE !

Boston Creme Cupcakes for Justin's Birthday !

My (not so) little brother, Justin, turned 20 this week !! I can't believe it. Everyday he inspires me more and more and is growing into such a responsible and impressive man. He's seriously the best brother anyone could ever ask for (hilarious, kind, level headed and so on). I believe his obsession with Boston Creme Donuts started with my grandma always having them at her house when we would go to visit. Last weekend when we were making an iced coffee stop at Dunkin Donuts, of course Justin also oredered at Boston Creme Donut, and it stuck me : that would be the perfect dessert to make for his birthday party. After a quick google search, I decided to use a basic recipe from Sandra Lee, the semi homemade goddess from Food Network.

I decided to use a Funfetti cake mix, to add to the festivity for a birthday party.


After baking the cupcakes and letting them cool for about an hour, I made the Boston Creme filling. This was simply instant french vanilla pudding mix and 1 cup of milk. I scooped the filling into my pastry filler (the blue dish pictured below).


To fill the cup cakes, I cut into the middle of each on with a knife, just to make it easier to insert the pastry tip. I used a medium tip on the pastry filler and injected each cupcake with a small amount of creme.

After filling all of the cupcakes, I made the topping. Again, it was very simple ! On the stove, I heated 1 cup of heavy cream, in a sauce pan, just until small bubbles started forming around the edges. I then poured 3/4 of a cup of semisweet chocolate chips in and stirred until they melted. Once they were melted, I repeated that step and incorperated another 3/4 cup of chocolated chips into the mixture.

Once everything was combined, I took the pan off of the stove. While the chocolate was still warm, I began dipping the cupcakes in it, to coat the top. I wanted to make sure the tops of each cupcake was completely covered, so sometimes I spooned a little bit extra on top.

I was distracted when I was chocalted coating the cupcakes and forgot one ! But it was good that way because one of my brother's friends isn't a fan of icing and claimed the unfrosted cupcake !

I didn't try one, but I got a lot of positive feed back and it seemed like people really liked them !


Ingredients :

premade Funfetti cupcakes from mix

French vanilla instant pudding

1 cup milk

1 cup heavy cream

1 12 oz bag semisweet chocolate chips

Bake cupcakes and let cool for 1 hour. Mix together instant pudding and milk and beat for approximately 3 minutes, then refrigerate for 1 hour. Fill piping bag or container with cold pudding. Cut into the center of each cupcake to allow for easy insertion of piping tip. Squeeze a small amount of pudding / creme filling into each cupcake. After filling each cupcake, heat heavy cream in saucepan on the stove, until small bubbles form around the edges. Gradually add chocolate chips and stir until evenly combined. Take chocolate mixture off of the stove. While still warm, dip the tops of cupcakes in to coat the tops. Let sit and cool for about 30 mintues to 1 hour before enjoying.