Friday was a day that Mer and I felt we had been training for all of our lives. Our friends Matt and Clarice are getting married next spring, and are arranging the details of the wedding. As part of that, they wanted to sample different possibilities for the cake, and to that end, they ordered three sets of one dozen cupcakes as samples. Since, for some reason, they did not feel equal to eating thirty-six cupcakes by themselves, they used it as an opportunity to invite friends over, and asked for our feedback. Needless to say, Mer and I did not need to be asked twice.
Matt and Clarice moved a few weeks ago to a new townhouse. Mer and I used the GPS to find it, so we had no trouble. It is in a cute townhouse development that has a pond, and a walking track, and a good number of trees. The place is a two-story affair, with a good-sized common room and a kitchen downstairs. Clarice and Matt were allowed to paint, so they repainted with fun colors, and it turned out well. They also found a great deal on a huge kitty condo/climbing tree that Mer and I were jealous over. It was at least five feet high. It is cute and strange to be staring eye-level at a kitty.
In addition to Matt and Clarice and me and Mer, I think there were five other people, so it was a festive gathering. Matt and Clarice had also set out chips and pretzels, and while I am not usually tempted by those foods, these were really good, and I had more than my fair share. There were also, of course, the cupcakes. Mer and I both had all three kinds, just as a favor to Matt and Clarice.
There was a strawberry cupcake. This was good, but was not a filled cupcake. Since the other two cupcakes were filled with frosting, this one never really had a chance in our book. The second one I tried was a coconut-creme-filled cupcake that was excellent. That would make a fine cake. The last one was a fudge-filled cupcake. I was reserved on this one as a decent cupcake, until I hit the fudge filling. It was wonderful, and put that cupcake over the top for me. Mer liked the coconut-filled one slightly better, but we both agreed that either one would be fantastic.
The party itself was also a lot of fun. I got to see two former CVCA students whom I had not seen in some time, and it was good to catch up with them. Matt had The Sting playing on the TV all throughout the party, so we watched that some during the brief lulls in conversation. With all respect to Robert Redford, Paul Newman is the man.
Should anyone else ever need help with cupcake tasting, Mer and I now have valuable experience.