Celebrate Memorial Day with Cupcake Flag

Last Memorial Day my husband and I were riding our bikes across Italy. On this particular day we came across the Florence American Memorial Cemetery for World War II. It was a humbling experience, as we took the time to remember the fallen soldiers that helped us maintain our freedoms.

Memorial Day has always been a fun day -- BBQs, no work, swimming, etc. But this year, I am going to pause to remember how lucky I am to live in this wonderful country. Of course, I will still enjoy my BBQs and swimming because that's why those soldiers fought for our country -- so that we can be happy and live how we want.

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Cookies and cups has a great cupcake cake design for Memorial Day. The Cupcake Flag is made from 40 cupcakes and thick, homemade buttercream frosting. You can find instructions and more photos on cookies and cups blog.

Happy Memorial Day!

Cannoli Cupcakes

My recent trip to Italy included a large indulgence in all kinds of wonderful treats! The most satisfying, rich dessert I had was a cannoli. I haven't seen many places in California that sell cannolis, so I usually buy one when I find them.

When I saw these cannoli cupcakes on Sugarcrafter's blog, memories of Rome flooded my mind. Oh, how I miss Italy (and the desserts)!


If you are looking to make the real deal, Sugarcrafter also posted a recipe for cannolis. I'm so glad that someone realized that ricotta cheese is wonderful in a dessert!

Found: Cupcakes in Rome, Italy

I searched far and wide, high and low, and finally found what I was looking for...cupcakes in Italy!! It wasn't until the second to last day of my trip that I found Josephine's Bakery. It was hidden on a small street in Rome. You should have seen the smile on my face when we walked in!


Josephine's Bakery was a breath of fresh air. When I walked inside I was greeted by a display of cupcakes, brownies, cheesecakes, and cakes. I wanted to try everything!


On the day that we visited, Josephine's had three types of cupcakes--vanilla, lemon, and coconut (they were out of chocolate). I bought one vanilla, one coconut, and a mini cheesecake.


When I first started to peel the wrapper away from the cupcake I noticed that wrapper was stuck. Never a good sign. But then I realized the reason why. The frosting was hard. What was going on here? When I took my first bite I realized that even though the frosting was hard, it was good.

I inquired about this to Vanessa, the girl who was helping me. She said that the owner is from England so her version of cupcakes is a little different than America's version. The owner uses royal icing instead of frosting, which is the reason the frosting is hard. This also explains why the wrapper stuck to the cupcake: the icing was holding it in place.

Vanessa also revealed that they use twice the butter in their cupcakes, which explains why the cake of the cupcakes was so moist and delicious. Once I knew this, I took another bite and savored the goodness of the cupcake. It may have been different, but it was delicious!

Vanessa said that most people who come into their bakery don't know what cupcakes are. That's crazy!

If you find yourself in Rome and have a cupcake attack, relax....you can get your fix. Josephine's Bakery is located near Campo de Fiori. Their cupackes sell for $2.50 Euro ($3.75 USD), well worth the cost of finding a cupcake in Rome.

Sweets in Italy

Even though my cupcake search in Italy was not yielding the results I had hoped for, Italy was not short on sweets. Not one day went by without a visit (or two) to the gelato shop.







NEXT: Do I have you in suspense yet? The final results of my cupcake search in Italy coming up!

Review: Dolci Centazioni

Italy is full of pasticcerias. They were my favorite places to visit! Every morning we would stop by a pasticceria (pastry shop) for breakfast. I would pick out two of the most delicious-looking pastries. And then I would spend the next few hours burning off the calories as I rode to our next destination.

Since my husband and I biked though Italy, we came across many towns that were not full of tourists. One of our favorite towns was Faenza. On the afternoon we were there, we stopped in a small pasticceria called Dolci Centazioni.

Of course the first thing that caught my eye was a display of mini cupcakes. Did I really find cupcakes that easily?!

They looked like cupcakes. They were in cupcake wrappers. The real test was did they taste like cupcakes?

Sadly, the answer was no. But they were still good. The "cake" was actually some kind of shortbread cookie and the "frosting" was a dollop of whipped cream on top of a thin layer of chocolate. The good thing about these treats was that they only cost 0.40 Euro each (which is about $0.60 USD). No cupcake in the US would ever be that cheap.

Stay Tuned: the quest for cupcakes in Italy continues...

Italy, Here I Come!

My search for cupcakes will be expanding to Europe. My husband and I leave for Italy on Saturday! Neither one of us have been to Europe before, so this should be quite the adventure. And when I say adventure, I really mean it.

Our journey will start in Venice, where we will stay for one night. Then, we will be on our way to Rome via road bikes. Yes, we are riding bikes across Italy! Biking by day, camping by night, and lots of Italian food in between.

I've been doing a little googling about cupcakes in Italy. Josephine's Bakery seems to be the place I'll be stopping by in Rome. Maybe I'll find some other hidden gems along the way.

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I'll be checking in as often as I can while I'm gone. Wish me luck! Ciao!