Green Tea and Honey Cupcakes

 

 

I added some flavor to Betty Crocker's Super Moist Yellow Cake mix and Creamy White Frosting to make Green Tea and Honey Cupcakes!

 

I couldn't decide whether to bake green tea cake with honey frosting or honey cake with green tea frosting so after mixing 1 1/4 cup of water, 1/3 cup of vegetable oil and 3 eggs with the yellow cake mix I decided why not do both!

 

Green Tea Matcha Powder

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

First, I added about 10 tablespoons of green matcha powder to half the cake batter and about 12 packets of honey to the other half. Then, while the cupcakes were baking, I added about 8 tablespoons of green tea matcha powder to half of the jar of frosting and about 10 packets of honey to the other half. The green tea matcha powder made the creamy white frosting thick while the honey made it runny.  They both looked so good I just had to give each of them a taste test. 

 

 

Green Tea cake batter

Honey cake batter

My green tea frosting was definitely "stronger" than my super sweet honey frosting and while both were subtle they really dressed up the otherwise "flavorless" white frosting. Next, I topped my green tea cupcakes with honey frosting and my honey cupcakes with green tea frosting and stuck them in the fridge so that the honey frosting would stay in place and also to insure that all of my cupcakes had the same consistency.

 

Green Tea frosting

 

Honey frosting

The honey cupcakes were moist and fluffy with a hint of sweet honey and the earthy flavor of the green tea in the frosting softly tickled  taste buds.  

 

The green tea cupcakes were dense and not as moist as the honey cupcakes. The honey frosting on these cupcakes was super sweet, but not at all overwhelming and complimented the green tea cake nicely.

 

A couple of my friends tried my latest cupcake creation: one loved the honey frosting and the subtleness of the green tea cake while my other friend liked the honey cake  + green tea frosting better.

 

 

Green Tea and Honey Cupcakes

 

While white frosting is sugary and sweet,  white is not a  flavor and neither is yellow for that matter.  I didn't want to add flavors to flavors so I added flavors to colors and this combo was perfect for my Green Tea and Honey Cupcakes!

Deap Vally @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014

The little ladies of Deap Vally brought big Bluesy Rock sounds to The Regency Ballroom when they opened for Band of Skulls last Thursday night.

Deap Vally @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Deap Vally @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

The L.A. based duo took the stage in S.F looking  like "bandaides" straight out of  Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous;  rockin' a bohemian hodpodge of ruffles, feathers, leather and lace and their sound emulated  the 1970's rock n roll bands of which the movie is based. 

Deep Vally @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Fans cheered as the hard rockin' grunge heard throughout their debut album, Sistrionix roared off the stage, engulfing the room with  raw, yet fun grit.
Ripping massive guitar and pounding heavy drums hit the crowd, leaving them head banging and toe taping along to every outspoken song.

Shouting hardly ceased as the set rolled on and grew louder when Lindsey told fans how happy they were to be back in  SF, showcasing their fun loving wit by adding "it just smells better...if you know what I mean."

Deap Vally @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

The pairing of Lindsey tearing it up on guitar and her deep almost raspy vocal range plus her redheaded counter part, Julie killing it on the drum kit are comparable to the likes of  The White Stripes. Like The Stripes, Deap Vally are  two passionate musicians, playing undisputable garage - blues - rock, making a lot of enjoyable noise and they're damn good at it.

Deap Vally @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Deap Vally@ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Deap Vally left San Francisco more than ready to keep rockin' with the headlining act, Band of Skulls.
Next time they hit the road, I think it just might be their turn to headline!

Deap Vally set-list May 22nd, 2014

1) Baby I Call Hell

2) Gonna Make My Own Money

3) Ain't Fair

4) Lies

5) Grunge Bond

6) 6 Feet Under

7) Walk of Shame

8) End of The World

These two bands are a great match, find out where their tour lands them next!

Band of Skulls @ The Regency Ballroom 5/22/2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Brand new album from Yann Tiersen, ∞ (Infinity) is out today!

∞ (Infinity) the 8th studio album from the multifaceted French musician Yann Tiersien is available as of today!

Produced and mixed by Tiersien with help from Gareth Jones and Daniel Miller the thematic new album features: Aidan Moffat (Arab Strap) singing in English, band member Ólavur Jákupsson singing  in Faroese and “Ar Maen Bihan”, a story written by Emilie Quinquis in the Breton language, was translated by amiina to Icelandic. Other contributors include a magical remix of "A Midsummer Evening" by trippy post-punk rockers Mogawi, listen to it here.  

His un-conventional classical taste takes a turn toward being more modern and is still as enchanting as his past work. Tiersen has always had a special way to invoke emotions, thoughts and senses through his music and that trend continues with ∞ (Infinity).

For your chance to win a copy of ∞ (Infinity) send an email to SweetSoundBites@gmail.com with your first and last name with Yann Tiersen #8 in the subject line!

YANN TIERSEN TOUR DATES:

5/14—ICA—London, ENGLAND **SOLD OUT**

5/16—Rough Trade East—London, ENGLAND

5/25 & 5/26—Teatro De La Ciudad “Esperanza Iris”—Mexico City, MEXICO

**BOTH SHOWS SOLD OUT**

5/28—9:30 Club—Washington, DC

5/29—Theatre of Living Arts—Philadelphia, PA

5/30—Highline Ballroom—New York, NY **SOLD OUT**

5/31—The Highline Ballroom—New York, NY

6/1—The Sinclair—Cambridge, MA

6/3—Club Soda—Montreal, QUE

6/4—The Opera House—Toronto, ONT

6/6—The Crofoot Ballroom—Detroit, IL

6/7—The Bottom Lounge—Chicago, IL

6/8—Cedar Cultural Center—Minneapolis, MN

6/10—Bluebird Theater—Denver, CO

6/11—Urban Lounge—Salt Lake City, UT

6/13—Neumo’s—Seattle, WA

6/14—The Rio Theatre—Vancouver, Canada

6/15—Wonder Ballroom—Portland OR

6/17—Regency Ballroom—San Francisco, CA
6/18—Rio Theatre—Santa Cruz, CA

6/20—The Fonda Theatre—Los Angeles, CA

European Tour Dates:

9/26—Royal Festival Hall—London, England

9/28—Vega (Musikkens Hus) —Copenhagen, Denmark

9/29—Debaser Medis—Stockholm, Sweden

10/1—Pustervik—Gothenburg, Sweden

10/2—Mejeriet—Lund, Sweden

10/4—Huxleys—Berlin, Germany

10/5—Gruenspan—Hamburg, Germany

10/6— Gloria—Cologne, Germany

10/7—Tivoli Vredenburg—Utrecht, Holland

10/8—Splendid—Lille, France

10/12—Gasometer—Vienna, Austria

10/14—Kaufleuten—Zurich, Switzerland

10/15—Kaserne / Reithalle—Basel, Switzerland

10/16—Epicerie Moderne—Lyon, France

10/17—Auditorium—Girona, Spain

10/18—La Riviera—Madrid, Spain

10/21— Kursaal, San Sebastian, Spain

10/22— Astrolab, Orleans, France 

10/24—La Carène—Brest, France

10/25—Antipode—Rennes, France

10/26—Ancienne Belgique—Brussels, Belgium

10/27—L’Olympia—Paris, France

Cinco de Mayo Cupcakes

1 Cupcake, 2 Cupcake, 3 Cupcake, floor! 

You won't get a hangover from these  festive Cinco de Mayo Cupcakes.

Strawberry Margarita Cupcake from CAKO

Moist strawberry cake infused with top shelf Patron glaze and frosted with a zesty lime cream cheese, garnished with lime flavored jelly candy.

   

Mexican Chocolate Ganache Cupcake from Kara's Cupcakes

chocolate cupcake with a spicy cinnamon and chile ganache frosting.

Margarita Cupcake from Sprinkles

Tequila-key lime cake topped with key lime frosting, a rim of fleur de sel and adorned with a patriotic green and red modern Sprinkles dot.

            





      


      







          Cups and Cakes Cupcakes

 Horchata

Cinnamon Almond Cake, Cinnamon Almond Buttercream 

Mojito

 Lime Cake, Peppermint Rum Buttercream

                 



                


               Mexican Hot Chocolate 

            Chocolate Cake, Cinnamon Cayenne Buttercream

              Margarita

               Lime Cake, Tequila Lime Buttercream

Mogwai @ The Regency Ballroom 4/18/2014

Friday April 18th marked the return of Mogwai at The Regency Ballroom since their last show there in 2008.  The thick, foggy haze that filled the room played into the introspective stoney vibe that the Scottish band is known for before they were even on stage. 

 

Mogwai at The Regency Ballroom April 18th, 2014
Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

 

 

 

 Currently on tour in support of their 8th album, Rave Tapes, which as one might imagine  based off of it's name alone has more electronic characteristics than any of Mogwai's past work, Friday night's  set consisted of tracks from across their post-punk discography. 

 

 

Mogwai @ The Regency Ballroom April 18th, 2014
Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

 

Deeply hypnotic, melodic rock cast the crowd in a  tranquil trance as a serious stage presence from each band member immersed us further into the show.  For the most part the members of Mogwai kept to themselves during their performance; however, lofty guitar solos, bass solos and Barry Burns' occasional bout on lead vocals allowed them to share the spotlight throughout the night.

 

 

Mogwai @ The Regency Ballroom April 18th, 2014
Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

 

Mogwai @ The Regency Ballroom April 18th, 2014
Photo by: Nikki DeMartini

 

The lengthy 90 minute set seemed to fly by, ending with a hearty encore and leaving SF in a fully satisfied daze.

  

Mogwai set-list April 18th, 2104

1. Heard About You Last Night

2. Friend of the Night

3. Blues Hour

4. Hunted by a Freak

5. I'm Jim Morison, I'm Dead

6. MasterCard

7. How to be a Werewolf

8. Mexica Grand Prix

9. Deesh

10. Remurdered

11. Mogwai Fear Satan

 

Encore

Rano Pano

Auto Rock

Batcat

 

 

                                             

 

 

 May 24th marks Mogwai's last show in the US before they bring the tour back to Glastow for their homecoming/tour ending show on August 30th!

 



Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater 4/17/2014

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Empire of the Sun played two shows at The Fox Theater on April 17th and 18th and it's an amazing production you have got to see to believe!

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

In a kaleidoscope of vivid lights, a stylistic stage design, and outrageous costumes complete with head dresses, the visually stimulating Empire of the Sun show is fit for a residency on the Vegas strip. With that said, more intimate shows like the sold-out show at the beautiful Fox Theater on Thursday night is an experience not to be missed!

 

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

 

 

 

 

Their unique music isn't easily describable but it's easy to see why their robust show is so enjoyable!  If you like Empire of the Sun's feel good glam-synthpop, you love seeing them live!

You can catch their amazing act this Summer at: The Governors Ball Music Festival New York , Ultra Korea in Seoul,  the Bunbury Music Festival in Cincinnati and the Pemberton Music Festival in Canada!

 

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

Empire of the Sun @ The Fox Theater April 17th, 2014
Photo by: Marc Fong

 

To see more photos from the sold-out show at The Fox Theater on April 17th head over to Marc Fong Photography.

 

Empire of the Sun set-list April 17th, 2014

 

1. Old Flavours

2. DNA

3. Standing on the Shore

4. Breakdown

5. Half Mast

6. We Are the People

7. Concert Pitch

8. Celebrate

9. Ice on he Dune

10. I'll Be Around

11. Surround Sound

12. Swordfish Hotkiss Night

13. Walking on a Dream

14. Tiger By My Side

15. Alive