CHERRY BLOSSOM CUPCAKES

Have you ever swum in a pile of freshly fallen cherry blossoms?

it's cool.

you oughta try it.

My little girls love spring in Vancouver when the whole city is bursting with blossoms. Our favourite bunch of Cherry Trees are located at Queen Elizabeth Park and there is a little triangle of land that has the hugest blossoms and the thickest tree trunks I've ever seen. Every spring, since they were born, we take a whole bunch of pictures of the girls with the same blossoming cherry trees. It's kind of neat to see the girls growing up with that kind of backdrop.

And what do cherry blossoms have to do with cupcakes? Well, the cherry blossom colours inspired me to bake some for a recent staff potluck. I made mini chocolate cupcakes using my favourite recipe. I used the whole recipe and found myself with 96 mini cupcakes. That's a lot of cupcakes, folks. I swirled pink buttercream and kept it simple.

I took 2 of these trays to the potluck

What's with the bird?

This is Ariel--not named for the Disney mermaid. I would never be so cheesy so as to do that. I thought of this name long before Disney did! He's named after a character from a Shakespearean play of course! How else would an English teacher name her pets?

Well, he has nothing to do with spring or cupcakes. However, he does love spring. And he gets all excited when he sees buttercream. Hey. He's omnivorous. Hey, it's okay. It's not as if he's eating a whole cupcake. The mini ones are twice the size of his head! He just licks my finger.

Ariel is a Green-Cheeked Conure from Bolivia. Actually, he's from Mission, B.C. He was born in a local aviary and I got him when he was a wee little birdie and had to feed him with a syringe. He doesn't know how to fly really. His wings have atrophied. I haven't clipped him in years. Actually, he can fly if he wants to, but he chooses not to. I leave his cage door open and he walks wherever he wants. I've never had to leave his big cage door closed. He just doesn't have the personality to leave the nest. He's happy as a clam climbing around using his feet and his beak.

Before I had kids, I used to let him walk all around my kitchen table while I did things like marking. He'd chew the corners of essays and sometimes pooped on kids' papers when I wasn't looking. The poop was kind of hard to explain to the students, but he's not exactly a big bird so fortunately his poops are tiny. He is "potty trained" however, and could "shake a claw" for treats. He even could say in a raspy voice "pretty bird"... kinda. My previous Green-Cheek was talkative, funny, smart, curious and had a wicked temper! He was a good flyer too. Ariel on the other hand is like a little baby and kind of "chicken" about trying lots of things.

Except buttercream. And ice cream. He's a sucker for desserts but I usually don't give him anything so don't worry. He won't lose his girlish figure. I actually don't know if Ariel's a "he" in fact because with conures you can't tell unless you have them tested. Ariel could be a "she". I wouldn't be surprised given Ariel's nature.

Anyway, it's spring. Birds are chirpin', flowers are bloomin' and it's time for cupcakes! Here's a few pics from Queen Elizabeth Park by the way. It's one of the best views in Vancouver.Since the Parks Board decided to top the trees, the city is way more visible than before. In fact, none of these buildings could be seen before. All you could see were the mountains.

The North Shore mountains in the background, Burrard Inlet and just peeking behind the tree tops is Science World (the glass ball).

Downtown Vancouver with its skyscrapers and in near the bottom centre, BC Place Stadium (with its puffy white roof)

In this pic (above) I aimed the lens towards East Vancouver, where I grew up. Beyond is Burnaby.

I grew up in a waterfront house which was perched on a cliff in the East Side, overlooking the North Shore mountains. We could hear tug boats lowing and trains shunting; we could smell salt air from the Burrard Inlet and see seagulls and eagles on a daily basis. On a clear day in the winter, with binoculars, you could see little people skiing down Grouse Mountain...and even make out the colours they were wearing! To the west, you could see the downtown waterfront. I miss that environment and don't think I'll ever forget the sensory beauty of living near the sea.

Do come and visit! We have great food too!
The Cherry Blossom Cupcakes were frosted with a Wilton 1M tip.
the cupcakes were so tiny you could pop one in your mouth...fleeting beauty and joy...much like Cherry Blossoms.

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