Calling all cupcake lovers — chef Michelle Ciccarelli will reveal her secrets behind her delectable delights at Cups Organic Bakery a Cooking With Love Class on Sunday, July 18, from 3-6pm. The event will benefit the Ronald McDonald House of San Diego, which provides a home away from home for families staying at the house while their child is being treated for serious, often life-threatening illnesses at San Diego hospitals. The class will be held in the state-of-the-art kitchen at the new Ronald McDonald House.
 
The hands-on cupcake baking experience will allow participants to get into the kitchen, bake with Lerach, and learn how to make batters, frostings, fillings, and toppings. Held in the expansive six-island kitchen at the new Ronald McDonald House, bakers will crack the eggs, mix the sugar, scoop the flour, pop them in the oven, and then decorate.  
 
An accomplished lawyer-turned-chef, Lerach has taught multiple sold-out cupcake classes at Sonoma's famous Relish Culinary Adventures Cooking School. She will create four different cupcakes including the signature Ronald McDonald House Love Cup, a lemon-vanilla bean cup with lemon curd center, topped with lemonade Swiss meringue frosting and fresh strawberries. For every Love Cup sold at her downtown La Jolla Cups Organic Bakery location, half of the proceeds will be donated to Ronald McDonald House.
 
Other flavors include:  the PB Cup (a dairy-free chocolate cup with creamy peanut butter-cream); Banana Crème (a banana cup topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting); Chocolate Truffle (a rich, truffle-filled chocolate cup topped with a  rich, dark chocolate frosting); and Velours Rouge (a red devil’s food cup with tangy-sweet cream cheese frosting).
 
To participate in the hands-on cooking session the cost is $75 or to observe is $50. With a state-of-the-art kitchen and six individual cooking stations, as many as 24 people can participate in the class to learn the hands-on techniques of preparing the selected dishes. Participants, audience members, and Ronald McDonald families will then enjoy the menu together.
 
Refreshments will be provided and all attendees will receive programs in which to write down the techniques they learn. To RSVP please contact Sarah Lara-Toney. (858/598-2445, slara-toney@rmhcsd.org)