We're Getting Hot & Bothered for Valentine's Day

Call it a Hallmark holiday if you like, but we take Valentine's Day very seriously here at With Love, From Brooklyn. That's why we were thrilled when the fabulous Nichelle Stephens, editor of Cupcakes Take the Cake and a WLFB Tasting Panel member, agreed to curate a gift set for Valentine's Day. She decided to kick V-Day up a notch by picking out naughty spicy-sweet treats from Brooklyn's top artisan confectioners. Hot & Bothered is the perfect moniker for this gift set which includes: Jacques Torres Wicked Hot Chocolate and his Wicked bar, Spoonable Chili Caramel, and Nunu Chocolates Mezcal-Chili truffles.

To celebrate this collaboration, Nichelle and With Love, From Brooklyn teamed up to host a Hot & Bothered event at Dean St., a Prospect Heights watering hole. Tickets sold out in a flash for this cupcake and confections extravaganza. The scene was set for a spicy evening with candlelight, cupcakes, and Cole Porter songs playing softly in the background. 

Guests were greeted with an array of delectable samples from Brooklyn faves Kumquat Cupcakery, Danny Macaroons, Butter Lane, Treats Truck, and Heavenly Crumbs. Drizzled with salty caramel, Danny Macaroons were a crowd favorite. Guests scarfed down Heavenly Crumbs tart lemon mini-cupcakes and Kumquat Cupcakery's tiny delights in seconds. Treats Truck butterscotch squares, also with a dash of salt, were the perfect foil for Butter Lane's generous cupcakes (pictured) in creative flavors including: vanilla with sea-salted chocolate icing, chocolate with maple pecan icing, and banana with cinnamon honey icing. 

Blogger Emily Hanhan from Nominvorous stopped by to preview Vanilla-Smoke and Ripe Raspberry marshmallows, featuring her homemade preserves, from her recently launched Sweet Tooth Labs artisan marshmallow company.

To spread the love even further, With Love, From Brooklyn hosted a V-Day Sweet Shoppe so guests could stock up on Brooklyn's tastiest artisan treats. Liddabit, Salty Road, Butter + Love, Nunu Chocolates, and Whimsy & Spice were well represented in the pop-up candy shop. Crowd-pleasers included the Liddabit Bernadette bar, a decadent combination of tart raspberry gelée, crunchy milk chocolate & hazelnut filling, dipped in milk chocolate, and Salty Road's special V-Day saltwater taffy flavor, Raspberry-Rose, which they personalized just for us. 

To cap off the evening, we gave away a Hot & Bothered gift set to one lucky guest. We don't know if it was the Happy Hour cocktails, the ample samples, or the spicy chocolate, but all guests left with a satisfied smile on their faces. Here's to getting Hot & Bothered this Valentine's Day!