2 kinds of pre-birthday cupcakes!

Yesterday I had a little pre-birthday celebration with friends. Since I was going to be out of town on my actual birthday, I held a little fake birthday party last night that involved some yummy Jamaican food (and a whole lotta rum drinks) and a night of shuffleboard and good times at the ol’ Legion. A good mix of veterans, hipsters, karaoke, shuffleboard, cheap drinks and good friends equals fun times for all! Of course there were 2 kinds of cupcakes made by yours truly. Cornelius and I strapped 2 containers full of the frosted treats on the back of our bikes and made the short 4 km trek with only a few face-planted cupcakes. I shrieked every time I could see a cupcake bounce up and over whenever Cornelius hit a bump in the road!

And how were the cupcakes? Delicious! I made 2 different kinds–a vegan spicy chocolate cupcake with a fluffy peanut butter frosting and a limoncello & coconut cupcake filled with lemon curd topped with a lemony buttercream. While it was hard to pick which cupcake I liked best, I’m definitely on the side of the lemon filled ones while Cornelius liked the spicy chocolate ones best. My friend Carley however thought they both were the best cupcakes she’d ever eaten. High praise indeed!

More on the spicy chocolate cupcakes below. For the lemon ones, I used a homemade limoncello that I had made to give as gifts at Christmas. I saved a bottle or two for myself, of course. If you don’t have lemon liqueur on hand, you could use lemon juice, lemon oil or lemon extract to no ill effects. With the frosting, I’m not one to really measure things out. Just let your tastebuds and the resulting consistency be your guide. Buttercream is really easy to make so take my recipe as a guideline and make it work! The lemon curd was adapted from a recipe by Baking Bites. It was tart, lemony and tasted incredibly fresh. It was the perfect counterbalance to the sweet frosting.

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The spicy chocolate cupcakes were just a riff off of the standard wacky (cup)cake recipe that I’ve made before. I just spiced these up with cinnamon, cayenne and a few other spices and decided to top off the whole thing with a peanut butter frosting. It was a match made in heaven as the spiciness of the cupcake worked deliciously with the fluffy peanut butter. Yummy.

32 comments to “2 kinds of pre-birthday cupcakes!”

  1. 1
    VeggieGirl   May 4, 2008 at 3:53 pm

    happy birthday!!!!! sounds like your PRE-birthday celebration was particularly fun!

    oooh, love the limoncello & coconut cupcake varieties; and of COURSE I’m loving the spicy vegan ones, as well :0)

  2. 2
    Bijoux   May 4, 2008 at 5:34 pm

    Sounds like you had a great time celebrating your pre-Birthday!!

    Enjoy your trip to Oregon!

    I’ve got my eye on the lemony cupcakes for a change of pace, as I generally tend to be a chocolate fanatic. I wish I could have a cupcake right now.

    Happy Birthday!!

  3. 3
    linda   May 4, 2008 at 5:40 pm

    Happy Pre-Birthday. I celebrated at the Legion this year as well. On quiz night (sunday) I have not had that much fun in a loooong time.

  4. 4
    va5el1ne   May 4, 2008 at 9:12 pm

    You need one of those special cupcake tupperware container thingymabobs!

    Happy Birthday!

  5. 5
    Jacqueline   May 4, 2008 at 2:48 pm

    Lovely jubbly! Happy Birthday!

  6. 6
    Ivana   May 4, 2008 at 10:55 pm

    Happy Birthday!!
    I love limoncello, I try to do it!!

  7. 7
    hag   May 4, 2008 at 5:18 pm

    Happy pre-birthday to you! Sounds like a great time, I love the Army & Navy club on Main… I learned that I am not a bad shuffle board player! The cupcakes look and sound delicious! I like the idea of a vegan version… especially the peanut butter icing. I think you and the gang will have a great time in Oregon. Enjoy all the micro beer!

  8. 8
    www.ifoods.tv   May 5, 2008 at 2:11 am

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  9. 9
    liberal foodie   May 5, 2008 at 7:40 am

    happy birthday! sounds like you had a good time.

    by the way, I am excited to read about bloggers or people in general, biking to their destinations. I live in a sparse midwest city so biking is impossible but love reading about it on your blog. I especially like the photo of the cupcakes on the back of the bike. I am vicariously living through you until we move to a pedestrian and bike friendly city.

  10. 10
    Patricia Scarpin   May 5, 2008 at 9:41 am

    Happy Birthday, dear Kickpleat!

    Those are some fingerlicking cupcakes.

  11. 11
    tanvi   May 5, 2008 at 10:50 am

    Happy birthday!! You have totally inspired me with these Limencello cupcakes- what could be better than lemon curd filled cupcakes? Nothing, in my opinion 🙂

  12. 12
    kickpleat   May 5, 2008 at 12:35 pm

    thanks holler!

    thanks veggiegirl, it was a fun birthday and today i feel fully recovered 😉

    shuffleboard is the best, hag!

    these lemon versions are pretty tasty, bijoux! thanks for your well wishes.

    linda, i’m so curious about sunday trivia nights! i love trivia especially when there is beer involved.

    va5el11ne, i do indeed!!

    ivana, thanks 🙂

    thanks private chef!

    biking is never impossible, but it certainly does help to have a bike friendly city! bike lanes are key.

    thanks patricia, they were indeed!

    i know, tanvi, and it was so easy to whip up.

    urban eater, i’m refering to the canadian legion…we have them too! except there is no chain smoking since vancouver is a smoke-free city. thanks for the oregon tip, we’ll try to stop by!

  13. 13
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  14. 14
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  15. 15
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  16. 16
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  17. 17
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  18. 18
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  19. 19
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  20. 20
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  21. 21
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  22. 22
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  23. 23
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  24. 24
    Wheeler's Frozen Dessert   May 5, 2008 at 1:44 pm

    Aw those cupcakes are so cute! Happy Birthday 🙂

  25. 25
    jenn   May 5, 2008 at 6:32 pm

    sounds like fun and those cupcakes sound divine! Happy birthday!!!

  26. 26
    The Urban Eater   May 5, 2008 at 12:29 pm

    Okay, are you refering to the American Legion? I’m a bit ‘tarded.
    My confusion lies in that you live in BC, so why would there be an American Legion in BC? It’s not America?
    Oh god, I’m so confused.
    IF you are referring to the American Legion. Please ignore the lines above.
    LOVE IT! You gotta love the cheapest drinks of any bar, shuffle board, an oldy but goody country jukebox and chain smoking veterans. Dreams are made and lost in that kind of enviroment.
    Have fun in Oregon. My hubby’s old restuarnt closed (Tuscany Grill) but the former owners opened a cool little foodie shop: The East Moreland Market and Kitchen
    Try it out and tell us what you think.

  27. 27
    Q   May 5, 2008 at 5:54 pm

    These look delish. I’m turning 40 in eight days and have been thinking about what to bring into my office to celebrate (not going to try to feed my whole bar association, with whom I’m trapped into lunch that day). These look like they might hit just the spot. Thanks!

  28. 28
    The Urban Eater   May 6, 2008 at 7:08 am

    Wow, after reading my comment, I realized the neccesity of having coffee before blogging in the AM. I swear I am not one of those Americans that asks friends in England what they are doing for Thanksgiving.

  29. 29
    cookinpanda   May 7, 2008 at 4:49 pm

    These look fabulous. Both types. I’m really impressed with the container strapped to the bike. Transporting cupcakes is so difficult! And, happy birthday!

  30. 30
    Cakespy   May 15, 2008 at 9:28 pm

    Those lemon ones are absolutely for me! 🙂 Happy belated…I love the delivery mechanism too! Looks like it was a delicious and totally sweet time!! 🙂

  31. 31
    kickpleat   May 16, 2008 at 11:52 am

    merci boucoup, wheeler!

    q, these are really quick to whip up so i’m sure you’ll have no trouble feeding a crowd!

    thanks jenn, they were tasty!

    haha, urban eater, it made me laugh 🙂

    cookin panda, i’ve done it before and when the cupcakes are tightly packed there isn’t much of a problem.

    thank you cakespy. maybe we’ll do a belated birthday trade…my lemon cupcakes for your coconut pie!

  32. 32
    scienceandjazz   March 17, 2009 at 7:40 pm

    I made the Limoncello and coconut cupcakes last night and I can’t thank you enough for the recipe! They were divine!

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