Were gonna chalk this one up in the "W" column.

So my plan changed only a total of twice when making these little treats. Overall, I'm pretty pleased with this total shot in the dark. I've gotten approval from one of the roomies thus far, and I have a whole panel of judges waiting for me at work tomorrow morning. Appearance wise I would def. use black cupcake liners for any dark batter, the white for sure takes away from the rest of the package visually. SO...I opted for sea salt to be the final ingredient. Made a few mental notes along the way regarding this decision. First, I waited entirely too long before adding the sea salt to the top. The icing had set and not as much as I would have liked actually staid on top of the cake. So I basically should have just applied it sooner and/or used a textured icing tip so the top of the cake would have had grooves to catch the salt. The salt was an absolute must...some may think it to be crazy...but it improves it about 10 notches. What's a Turtle without the sweet AND salty?

I didn't take as many pics of the process because A) my phone was dying, and B) my camera was MIA. But I did snap a lil before and after action...

Ok...so the final product. Cake- Devil's food chocolate fudge; Filling-Caramel; Icing-My own variation of a wHipped chocolate ganache (emphasis on the H...why? because we just watched that episode of Family Guy); Topping-Chopped pecans and sea salt.

I've also discovered the secret to a great ganache is sweet dance moves. I was gettin' it. Before I go to bed I need to write down this recipe while it is still fresh in my mind. Once I fall asleep, there is no telling where that precious information will go.

Have I mentioned how much I love this process? I'm pretty sure I've been smiling all night. Now all I'm waiting for is some constructive feedback tomorrow, and it will be on to the next. It's looking like the next cupcake up for domination is going to be the "Chocolate Covered Strawberry." Strawberry cake with a wHipped white chocolate ganache. I think the presentation will be pretty fun with that one, with the use of fresh strawberries. Ok, off to jot down the recipe and a lil shut eye.

Sweet dreams!