Cupcake Day at Ginger Elizabeth

My girlfriend Kristen invited me to a girl’s day out today. We met at Starbucks so I could get my newest obsession – a grande Pink Lime Frozt – so addicting. We then headed to Barnes and Noble to pick up some books – I wanted to get “The Help” and “The 17 Day Diet” – my SIL mentioned it the other day and says she’s never felt better following the plan. My entire book shelf of diet books proves that I pretty much jump on anything shiny and new when it comes to dieting. I find it hysterical that I bought the book before going to “Cupcake Day” at Ginger Elizabeth – even more hysterical that I read it at a small table outside while sampling cupcakes. 😉

We parked and walked around the block to Ginger Elizabeth Chocolates located at 1801 L. Street, Suite 60, in Sacramento, CA.  I had been there before thanks to Deede – she’s a huge fan of the place.

They are known for their chocolate and macarons. Ginger Elizabeth is a formally trained American chocolatier. All of her products are all-natural and contain no preservatives.

Kristen had pre-ordered cupcakes because last time she attempted to go to one of their special cupcake days – they ran out.

She picked up her box and we sat outside and sampled/shared the flavors.

The cupcakes were gorgeous, almost too pretty to eat. Note I said, “almost” – ha!

First up – The Peach Melba Cupcake – Vanilla Cake filled with House Made Good Humus Farm Organic Peach Jam, topped with Raspberry Buttercream.

The peach jam was incredible! I loved the peach/raspberry combination, it was my second favorite of the day.

The Red Red Velvet Cupcake – Ginger’s Grandmother’s Light Chocolate Cake topped with Cream Cheese Frosting.

Super light and fluffy,  the frosting melted in your mouth and the little malted chocolate balls were fabulous.

The Plum Elderflower Cobbler Cupcake – Buttermilk Yellow Cake filled with “Ginger’s Backyard Plum” Elderflower Compote, topped with Buttercream and Streusel  – This was so different from the others, the elderflower compote had a tartness to it, that the buttercream and struesel balanced out. We both liked it.

The Salty Caramel Cupcake – Rich Chocolate Cake filled with Fleur de Sel Caramel and topped with Caramel Buttercream – this should have been called the OMG, so good! cupcake. By far my favorite of the day. I ate it with my eyes closed… it was that sinful.

I was not kidding about chowing down on cupcakes while reading The 17 Day Diet book. It seems pretty similar to South Beach, but has some different requirements – 2 daily pro-biotic servings, no fruit after 2:00 p.m. and some other things I need to study up on. I’m going to give it a go starting Monday. I was doing really well in the area of weight loss and then had the back injury that took me away from exercise. I tend to deal with pain by eating comfort foods… so I have a fair amount of weight I’d like to take off. I know that the majority of my weight is in my stomach, so why not give this a go? BTW, my back is 100% better. It took over a month of rest from working out and babying it with ice,  heat, and Aleve – with lots of pool time thrown in for good measure.

From cupcakes to weight loss… yes, it’s been one of those weeks. If you are interested, I’ll check in with how I’m doing on the plan. I know this isn’t my old weight loss blog, but I’m guessing people might begin to wonder why I keep posting about salads, lean protein and nothing sinful.

After the cupcake extravaganza, we stopped at a little boutique – I saw a dress in the window and had to investigate. It was a “One Size Fits All” wrap dress – which I’m always skeptical about – but it did fit and I fell in love. It walked out of the store with me and some how a necklace jumped into the bag too.

All in all a successful day of good eats and shopping with a friend. It’s just what I needed after my crazy week. Thanks for the invite Kristen!

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7 comments

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    • Deb on July 30, 2011 at 1:42 pm

    Once again I finish your blog hungry. Promise me when I visit you someday we will go there for cupcakes. I would be interested in your progress with the 17 Day Diet. And I think you need to take a picture of you modeling your new dress and necklace!

      • foodiddy on July 30, 2011 at 2:23 pm
        Author

      They only have special event cupcake days, but I promise, we will find cupcakes… Come visit soon!

    • Dave2 on July 30, 2011 at 2:07 pm

    Oh no you didn’t. OH NO YOU DIDN’T!!

    Now I want a cupcake and it’s all your fault.

      • foodiddy on July 30, 2011 at 2:22 pm
        Author

      OH YES I DID! I take the blame, now go get yourself a cupcake stat!

    • Elinor on July 30, 2011 at 6:24 pm

    Well, I have been successfully eating well for weeks until this . . .
    I had to call my Aunt Elinor, who I have a co-deal with, to talk me down from getting in the car and driving straight to Ginger Elizabeth’s.
    And I live hours away.
    The pictures are worth a 1,000 bites.

    • Erica on July 31, 2011 at 9:27 am

    The cupcakes look absolutely scrumptious! So cool that you are going to start the 17 day diet. The turkey taco salad and eggplant parmesean are my favorite recipies in the book. I am sure with all of your culinary talent, you will be inspired to create new recipies. Good luck!

    • Kristen on August 1, 2011 at 9:42 am

    OMG! I can taste them all now…. I so loved the Salty Caramel one! Not surprising since the Salty Caramel Macaron is my fave there too! 🙂

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