Cupcakes in Amy Thomas memoir Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (And Dark Chocolate

Today is the release date for Amy Thomas's memoir Paris, My Sweet: A Year in the City of Light (and Dark Chocolate). I'm about take it to the beach to read! you can see more photos on her Facebook page and stay tuned for news about events. Also available as a Kindle ebook.



From Paris, My Sweet by Amy Thomas, from the chapter "Cupcakes--The Comfort of Home," about being a New Yorker who loves cupcakes now living in Paris and about to test out Parisian cupcakes:

The longer I analyzed Cupcake & Co.'s menu, the more my taste buds perked up. Even better than feeling the cartwheels of anticipation in my belly, my spirits started lifting. Finally, I felt ready to make a decision: I chose the Scheherazade, an irresistible-sounding combination of pistachio cake with cream cheese frosting and a raspberry center, topped with a generous sprinkling of crushed pistachios and one perfect raspberry. I've always loved raspberries but since arriving in Paris had a newfound passion for pistachios, which were included in so many delectable desserts and pastries, either whole or ground with sugar into delicious marzipan...

I bit into my first Parisian cupcake. The cake was moist. The raspberry center was bright and jammy. The frosting was thick--not too much so--and savory more than sweet, the cream cheese adding just the right hint of sourness. I took a second bite and a third. It was an unforgivably delicious combination of flavors, textures, and surprises. Relief flooded me.