Best of NYC: The First Cupcakery Experience

I recently had the opportunity to visit the establishment that started it all for me – the Cupcake Cafe, located in the Hells Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan. The cupcakes were as beautifully decorated as I remember them being when I first pressed my fingers to the glass as a child. The icing quickly softens outside of the refrigerated case, and the flower petals are delicious to savor before biting into the moist case beneath.

 

With a mixture of nostalgia and just the right delivery of sugar, this place remains a favorite near and dear to my heart, as well as one of the original sources of my awakening to all of the wonders that are cupcakes.

Until next time,
SugarSource

Travel Spotlight: Sweets of the South

In addition to a trip to San Francisco, I have been lucky enough to sample sweets in several other cities this summer. Oddly enough I didn’t manage to capture the sweet experiences on camera, but hopefully my descriptions will do them justice!

Louisville, KY

– Graeters: I have heard about the renowned Graeter’s for quite some time, and finally had the opportunity to try this famous Cincinnati offering. Established in 1870, this company has been churning out ice cream treats for almost 150 years, and from the few flavors I was able to sample, it’s no small wonder why they are legendary. The mint chocolate chip was pure mint flavor – no green dye used here as a part of the process – and the dark chocolate pieces seemed to be whisked into every bite. Later I learned that they add warm chocolate into the ice cream while it is mixing to create chocolate ribbons, distributing delicious chocolately particles throughout the entire batch. The lemon and raspberry sorbets were refreshing, but the clear star was the ice cream. I will be back to try another – rumor has it the peach is amazing.

– Homemade Ice Cream and Pie Kitchen: This is the first time I have ever seen or experienced an upside-down cupcake. This local establishment flips over the conventional cupcake and coats it in a glaze-like icing (slightly reminiscent of what is used on doughnuts). It proved to be a bit too sugary for my taste, but I had the opportunity to sample multiple flavors in one sitting – the Oreo, strawberry, chocolate caramel, and vanilla. The cakes were quite large, dense and moist. The Oreo was a little dry – I’ve found this to be the case with a few cookies-and-cream flavored baked goods – and the strawberry tasted artificially flavored (the brilliant pink hue did not help assuage this feeling). The chocolate caramel did not have a particularly strong caramel taste – it was as if they didn’t fully allow the flavor to develop before glopping on the frosting. Though appropriate for the birthday celebration, I do not feel compelled to try them again.

Atlanta, GA

– Piece of Cake: Only in town for a short period of time, I quickly Yelped the nearest bakery to my location, and Piece of Cake appeared. Off we sped, and we sampled a variety from the glass case – caramel, white chocolate, orange, and cookies and cream cupcakes. The cookies and cream, like others before it, was quite dry and only vaguely reminiscent of the chocolate sandwich cookies from which it was presumably derived. The orange reminded us faintly of an orange-cream popsicle (but came nowhere near the dreamsicle version discovered in Denver), and the caramel was about average. Though the white chocolate did not possess a strong flavor profile, it was still pretty good as a stand-alone treat. If or when I return to ATL, I will be checking out the other cupcakeries in the area for comparison.

Charleston, SC

– Kaminsky’s: The attraction of the beautiful frosted cakes proved to be too strong to resist, and I finally entered the shop after passing several times. Close to conventional dinner time, the establishment was pretty full and I made the decision to forego a traditional dinner, replacing it instead with a monstrous slice of German chocolate cake. The lush, coconut glaze led to layers of moist chocolate cake that were rich enough to have a flavorful chocolate experience without overwhelming the walnut- and coconut-packed fillings in-between. Though I ended up in a bit of a sugar coma, easily remedied by a long evening stroll, I would do it all over again, trying a new kind of cake the second time around to sample more of the wonderful offerings of this local favorite.

With a few more travel plans left, I’m ready to buckle up and try more of what America has to offer…

Until next time,
SugarSource

 

NYC: Summer Samplings

Though New York summers are often defined by weekend trips outside of the city (the Hamptons or the Shore are both defaults), I have opted to explore more of what the boroughs have to offer, fighting through forests of tourists and battling the trapped humidity of the grid. These are a few of my discoveries…

– Buttermilk Bake Shop: I was quickly transported to my childhood with the ice cream cone cupcake at the recently owned establishment in Park Slope. Upon entering the store, you are greeted with a small selection of items including neat rows of ice cream cone cupcakes. Frosted in vanilla and chocolate with small multi-colored sugary discs as decoration, they are nice, easily-transported and seasonally appropriate desserts (without the mess of actual ice cream). The funfetti-esque cake has a slightly strange flavor to it – difficult to discern – but the overall experience overrides that temporary question mark. The triple chocolate cookies are also delicious, especially when the chocolate chips are still melty.

– Momofuku Milk Bar: From noodles to high-end dining to delightful sweets, Momofuku has New Yorkers covered. The cereal milk soft-serve tastes like cereal milk – I imagine they have bowl after bowl of cereal soaking in the back to authentically infuse this taste into the creation. The blueberries and cream cookie was soft and chewy, but did not have a particularly strong blueberry flavor, which I found disappointing. The confetti cookie, however, was just as I had expected – soft, chewy, extra-sugary vanilla dough with rainbow sprinkles distributed throughout the palm-sized delight. The final sampling was a birthday cake truffle – a small ball that managed to encompass all of the delight of funfetti cake into a manageable bite-size arrangement. I had my eye on the crack and candy pies, but they will have to wait until next time.

Maison Kayser

– Maison Kayser: I have yet to be disappointed by the delights at this boulangerie/patisserie, which has locations dusted throughout Manhattan. The almond croissant is divine – almond paste filling, toasted slivered almonds and a light powdered sugar coating make this a baked good that would take any breakfast to the next level. The petite desserts deliver powerful punches in small packages. You can sample several croissants at petit dejeuner, delivered in a burlap sack and adding an unexpected twist to the presentation. For dessert, the raspberry tarte was light, and the custard filling complemented the tart, sweet fruit well. The chocolate mousse was amazing, and necessary to share due to the layers of rich, dark chocolate (and heavy cream). Though I have been on several occasions, I continue to return to try more, as it provides a feast for the eyes as well as the stomach.

– Big Gay Ice Cream: Summer would not be complete without ice cream, and Big Gay Ice Cream offers intriguing combinations. On a hot July day, I tried the Salty Pimp with dulce de leche “injections” as recommended by the helpful gentleman behind the counter. With precision, he rotated the soft-serve and injected the sweet caramel, finally drizzling it over the entire swirl before submerging it into chocolate. The final flourish was a dusting of sea salt. The chocolate coating provided a slight crunch (and required a few napkins for post-consumption clean-up), and the soft serve-caramel combination was delightful. I have also tried the American Globs, with the slight crunch and saltiness of pretzels distributed throughout the cone. Though they offered cupcakes by the same name, I would stick with the namesake of the establishment.

With more establishments opening by the minute, I know that the urban exploration will never truly end in the city that never sleeps.

Until next time,

SugarSource

 

Travel Spotlight: San Francisco Summer Sweets

I was able to visit San Francisco this summer, and could resist trying the new treats the city has to offer, especially given that several of the places I had previously tried have closed since originally sampling their sweets. I left the city with a smile and a roster full of bakeries to visit upon my return.

Raspberry Chocolate,
Kara’s Cupcakes

– Humphry Slocombe Ice Cream: After a long day of walking, we stopped by this Mission District creamery. Though disappointed that the Milk flavor was unavailable (as one of the local favorites, it was no real surprise they ran out by mid-afternoon), the strawberry left me smiling. Fresh strawberries blended with just the right amount of milk, cream and sugar – absolutely reminiscent of the fruit and quite satisfying.

– Kara’s Cupcakes: Though technically tasted in Napa, there is a location in the city itself as well. The raspberry chocolate was fantastic. The raspberry frosting was light and packed with natural raspberry flavor – you would really taste the dimensions of the fruit, including a slight tartness, which was assisted by a layer of fresh raspberry jam sandwiched between the frosting and the cake. The chocolate cake was moist and rich, and though I tried to savor the experience, it was over too soon.

– Hot Cookie: Known for the massive male genitalia-shaped chocolate-covered macaroon, I decided to sample a few of the other items available at this small sweet outpost in the Castro. The salted caramel chocolate chip pretzel cookie had quite a bit going on – almost too much. The caramel was delicious, the pretzel added a nice crunch, and everything managed to combine into one fantastic bite after another. The Butch Bar was a layer of peanut butter followed by a layer of chocolate fudge topped with chocolate ganache. As you can imagine, it was quite rich and necessary to split amongst us. If I work up the courage, I may one day try the bakery’s signature item.

Hot Cookie

– Susie Cakes: Located in the Marina, this little shop quickly developed a line around dinner time. I tried two of the flavors – blueberry pancake breakfast cupcake (one of the specials at the time) and the flourless chocolate cupcake. The blueberry pancake reminded me of a muffin (slightly) – there were fewer blueberries and less of a maple flavor than I had anticipated – and overall I was expecting a little more of a twist. The flourless chocolate cake was on par – rich, chocolatey with a slight crust on top.

– Batter Bakery: Though there are a few locations sprinkled throughout the city, I stopped at the storefront in the Embarcadero. The cupcakes looked a little worse for wear – the store was near closing time, after all – so I opted to try some of the cookies, which were individually packaged and waiting for inspection. I selected the polk-a-dot, which seemed to be the bakery’s version of an M&M cookie, and the coconut oatmeal. The polk-a-dot was fine – an average choice for your basic chocolate candy cookie. On the other hand, the coconut oatmeal left me wanting more. Generally speaking I am quite the coconut fan, and I was impressed by the flavor, texture and overall experience of this cookie. Soft, chewy, not-too-sweet and well-balanced, I wanted to run back to the store to purchase another.

I was pleasantly surprised by the sheer number of remarkable places I uncovered on this visit, and I can only imagine what I will experience on a future trip to the Bay Area…

Until next time,
SugarSource