gin & tonic

Recently a great friend celebrated his birthday. To surprise him, I decided to turn his favorite cocktail into a cupcake! A must for any party, these gin and tonic cupcakes are stunning and surprisingly easy to make. Be careful when baking; the cake should be light and airy rather than hard and overcooked. The creamy frosting has a mild gin flavor, but feel free to add more or less booze to suit your tastebuds. My local market did not have citrus jellies, so I used sugar-coated lime slices as garnish. Homemade candied lime peel is another excellent option for garnish. To celebrate with your own gin and tonic cupcakes, read more

Creating a travel party menu was surprisingly super easy! I used popular foods from each country to define what I would make and the same strategy can be applied to the drinks. Each room will have still and sparkling water, plus a drink that relates to the country. Select drinks that highlight a different nation's alcohol and some that appeal to girly gals (sweeter, fruitier) and some that appeal to the tough guys (harder, non-sweet). In the Mexico room offer tequila sunrises. In the Japan room make guests take sake bombs (a shot of sake dropped into a cold glass of Japanese beer and pounded quickly). In the Russian room shake up vodka martinis and in the Cuba room Cuba Libres are an excellent option. Finally gin and tonics made with British gin (Beefeater or Martin Miller's) round out the menu. For the recipes to these classic cocktails from all over the world, read more