A Cupcake For Our Captain

I've spent a good chunk of my day watching hockey in preparation for May 30 aka Game One of the 2012 Stanley Cup Finals.  From watching the Western Conference Finals game to clips from Media Day, my day has been pretty blissful.

In keeping with my hockey day, here is the second installment of Kings Nickname cupcakes.  This one is actually near and dear to my hockey heart.

Many years ago, I was a young intern working for my favorite professional sports team.  During an autograph session, my co-workers and I were getting ready to distribute wine to the players.  But after looking at the roster, which at the time had a lot of players who were called up from our AHL affiliate due to an unfortunate string of injuries, we determined that some of the guys would be leaving empty-handed, including an 18-year-old Dustin Brown, who did not get a bottle of wine because he was not of legal drinking age.

Fast forward to 2012 and Dustin is the Kings captain, the only player left from my intern days and one of the team's best players during its first Stanley Cup run since 1993.

*tear*  <-- I cry because a) I'm glad Dustin is doing well, b) the Kings are in the Finals, and c) I'm getting old.

And since this is a Kings Nickname cupcake, Dustin is the inspiration for the Dustin Brownie Chunk cupcake, a chocolate cupcake topped with a ganache frosting, brownie chunks and caramel drizzle.  Go Kings!

Because It's The Cup(queques)

Bacon lovers - sit tight...I'll get to you in a minute...I promise.

For the third year in a row, I've created a cupcake that embodies the best sport in the universe (which according to Philadelphia Flyers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov is "humongous big").  Only difference is this year, my Los Angeles Kings didn't get bounced in the first round and are in the STANLEY CUP FINALS! 

OMGOMGOMGOMGOMG!!!

I've spent three rounds of playoff hockey trying to figure out what to bake.  A hockey rink cupcake? A black and silver Gretzky jersey cake? A hockey stick cake? I've already made a puck cake (which was super fun) and a Stanley Cupcake (which was a bit of a failure), but this time around, I needed more inspiration.

And inspiration is exactly what I got during the Western Conference Finals Game 5 against the Phoenix Coyotes:

Although his regular season stats were less than stellar, Dustin Penner has proven to be a fan favorite, not only for the gamer that sent the Kings to the Finals, but also for his very entertaining sense of humor. 

During the season, after injuring himself during his pancake breakfast, Penner earned himself the nickname "Pancakes" - I call him "Panqueques" because it's one of my favorite words - and turned the media attention into a fundraising event at IHOP benefiting Kings Care Foundation. 

Bacon lovers - are you still there?  Yes?  Good.

So, in honor of Dustin Penner, his amazing game-winning overtime goal and his Wookie-like playoff beard, I introduce the Maple Bacon Cupqueque - a buttermilk pancake cupcake with maple buttercream frosting and candied bacon.

Check back tomorrow for the next installment of Kings Nickname cupcakes...

GO KINGS!