 |  |
 |
Defeated, we headed off to The Baltimore Cupcake Company:
 |  |
Baltimore, I'm disappointed in you.
In an effort to cheer me up, Nate drove me by Charm City Cakes later that night:
 |
The next morning Nate and I hauled ourselves out of bed at 4:30am and hopped on a plane to Kansas City, Missouri. Our friends Kurt and Kendra picked us up at the airport and we immediately set out on an eight hour drive to Denver, where we were attending a New Year's party. Curious about my cupcaking, Kurt and Kendra agreed to stop at several cupcakeries along the way. Our first break was at 11am when we pulled off the highway in Topeka.
Daddy Cakes
Topeka, KS
Daddy Cakes is located in a freestanding building in the parking lot of a strip mall. (I've seen this before with fast food restaurants, but never with cupcakeries. Awesome!) We had a bit of trouble getting to the strip mall owing to the 10" of fresh snow on the ground, but eventually we managed to trudge up to the door. The inside of the cupcakery was small, but super cute. My friends were immediately enthralled with the wide selection of cupcakes, and our plan to "just get four" quickly went out the window. I tried to reign them until I saw one of the bakers bring a fresh tray of Key Lime cupcakes out from the back. My kryptonite! We ended up with half a dozen regular cupcakes and one "Daddy Sized" cupcake which we took to go. (There was only enough seating for two people inside the cupcakery.) As we walked back to our car my friends excitedly asked "Are all cupcake places that cute?!" Heehee.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
All of us wanted to try the delicious looking Margarita cupcake, so we ended up purchasing a "Daddy Sized" one to split. The cupcake was even larger than a standard sized muffin, and consisted of a pale lime cake topped with a tequila/lime buttercream. The cake was soft and crumbly with an alcohol-tinged sweetness that reminded me of a banana nut muffin. It didn't taste like lime at all. The frosting was light and airy with a sweet lemon flavor that became more and more bitter as time passed. The texture of the frosting was fairly greasy and it left a buttery coating on my lips. Overall this average-quality cupcake tasted more like bitter lemon and not so much like a margarita.
The Curious George was comprised of banana cake with chocolate buttercream topped with crushed peanuts and chocolate sprinkles. It had an intoxicating smell not unlike that of a Snicker's bar....yum! The smooth banana cake was soft and moist with the flavor of real bananas. Very natural, very delicious. The chocolate frosting was super light and fluffy with a rich milk chocolate flavor. It was really good, and tasted like high quality chocolate. The overall flavor of the cupcake was delicious; nice and sweet and rich and natural.
The Pink Lemonade is one of Daddy Cakes' "Skinny Cakes", under 200 calories and fewer than 5 grams of fat. According to its description, this cupcake consists of a light lemony cake topped with a pink meringue frosting. Originally I intended on splitting this cupcake with Nate, but our attempt to cut it in half was a total disaster. The frosting had developed a super thick "skin" that was not easily pierced by a knife. Instead of parting under the blade, the skin was pushed down onto the cake with the frosting underneath squishing out of the sides. The frosting that leaked out was goopy and runny, and it instantly deflated outside the shelter of the skin. The cake also compressed as I tried to cut it, squishing into about half its normal size by the time I was done cutting it in half. The sight of the cupcake at this point was so unappetizing that both Nate and I considered just throwing it away. A review is a review, however, so I gathered my resolve and ate it.The cake was very spongy and kind of soapy, in that it kind of bubbled away as it dissolved on my tongue. It was light and sweet with no clear flavor -- I certainly didn't taste any lemon. It kind of reminded me of angel food cake, but a wetish, flavorless one. Deflated, the frosting was about 1/8" thick with the exact color and consistency of pepto bismol. It tasted salty and chalky. GROSS. Although I commend Daddy Cakes for trying to make a low-fat cupcake, this cupcake should never have left R&D. My advice to Daddy Cakes patrons: stay away from the skinny cakes.
The next morning we headed over to the Denver Pavilions outdoor mall to grab some breakfast at Yum Yums Delights. (Sidenote: Who came up with the brilliant plan of building an outdoor mall in Denver?? In the time it took us to walk from our car to the bakery my entire face froze!)
Yum Yums Delights
Denver, CO
We approached Yum Yums Delights about five minutes after its opening time, but we found the door locked and the bakery deserted. I was just starting to feel disappointed when the owner of the store across the way came out and said "She had to go run a quick errand; she'll be right back!" Whew! Rather than stand outside and continue to lose feeling in our extremities, we decided to kill the time in a cafe we spotted a short distance away. I bought a bowl of steaming hot oatmeal to warm me up which turned out to be a fantastic idea - not only was it the best oatmeal I've ever had, but it was probably better for an empty stomach than a handful of sugary cupcakes.
A half hour later we headed back to Yum Yums where we spent a fair bit of time ogling the various cupcakes. Although I had originally listed them as a "bakery" based on the menu on their website, their display cases were stocked entirely with cupcakes. I think the cakes and cheesecakes are by special order?
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
This classic Black Forest cupcake had a chocolate cake that was light and fluffy with a rich dark chocolate flavor. It had a slight buttery/greasy/shortening-esque taste to it. The vanilla buttercream was fluffy and sweet, and quite buttery. Overall the taste and texture of the frosting dominated the cupcake, making it sweet and buttery with a dark chocolate aftertaste. The dark chocolate shavings were a nice touch, and melted creamily on my tongue. Overall I enjoyed the flavor of the cupcake, but found it to be a bit too greasy and buttery for my liking.
The Chocolate Duchess sounded like a chocoholic's dream - dark chocolate fudge cake topped with chocolate buttercream and teeny tiny milk chocolate shavings. The chocolate cake was light and fluffy with a rich dark chocolate flavor that was not at all bitter. Delicious! The chocolate buttercream had a fluffy, silky smooth texture. It had a rich, buttery milk chocolate flavor; good, but a little bit too buttery for my taste. The taste of the cupcake was initially a refreshing milk chocolate flavor, but deepened as time passed to a rich dark chocolate flavor that was stronger and headier. Good, but not extraordinary.
With a name like Joanie Loves Chai Chai, how could we pass up this cupcake? The aptly named cupcake consisted of yellow chai cake topped with vanilla buttercream and a dusting of cinnamon. The speckled yellow cake (perhaps it had some cardamom mixed in?) was light and airy, neither dry nor moist, with a sweet, fairly subtle chai flavor. The light and fluffy frosting had a silky, buttery texture. It tasted primarily like sweet cream, with a hint of nutmeg and cinnamon peeking through. Overall this light and delicate cupcake had a sweet, refreshing flavor, with a hint of spice that gave it some kick.
Last but not least, the Strawberry Cloud. The white cake was light and fluffy, but surprisingly not very sweet. It had a slightly buttery flavor, and that alcoholic-tang of vanilla extract. The vanilla buttercream was super light and silky with a creamy sweet taste. Absolutely delicious. (It tasted just like the frosting on the Joanie Loves Chai Chai, but without the spices.) The frosting added some sugar to the cake, hiding its lack of sweetness. The taste of strawberries dominated the cupcake, but not in a bad way as real strawberries = delicious. The overall flavor of the cupcake was sweet, cool, refreshing, and tangy, though I could still detect that weird extract tang underneath.After finishing our cupcakes from Yum Yums Delights we hopped back into the car and drove over to Happy Cakes.
Happy Cakes
Denver, CO
Earlier in the week, Cupcakes Take the Cake linked to an article about both Yum Yums Delights and Happy Cakes. Several days later, on the same day we visited the Denver cupcakeries, Cupcakes Take the Cake posted an interview of Happy Cakes. When asked about their grand opening on December 7th the Happy Cakes crew replied:
Amazing...we're in a great neighborhood who has really embraced us. People squeal when they walk in, they're so excited. Denver doesn't have anything like us...a dedicated cupcake bakery.I was a little surprised by this response considering that the Rocky Mountain News article released several days earlier prominently featured Yum Yums Delights. I try to keep up with the pulse on the cupcaking scene, and I recalled reading about Yum Yums opening in October, before Happy Cakes.
As a businesswoman myself, I can tell you that the first thing my company does when beginning development on a new product is to thoroughly research the competition. If I was planning on opening a cupcakery in a city that already had one, you'd bet I'd go over to the rival (disguised as an ordinary customer) and check them out. Did Happy Cakes somehow miss the fact that Denver had another cupcakery? Or did they simply not consider Yum Yums Delights their competition? Either way, I think the Happy Cakes ladies may want to go over to Yum Yums Delights and see what they've got going on...
We initially drove right by Happy Cakes; if I hadn't been familiar with their logo from their website, we would've driven right by them again the second time - the writing on their sign is minuscule Seriously! Look at the pictures! It can't be more than 3 inches tall! I have no idea how people are supposed to be able to read that from the road.
Anyway, once we figured out where the bakery was we quickly found a parking spot and headed inside. The store is so cute. I love modern decor, and Happy Cakes was no exception. From the green and brown color scheme, to the spherical light fixtures, and the sleek curves of the countertop - I loved it all. I especially liked the super cute cupcake prints hanging on the wall and the adorable aprons they had for sale. Again, our plan was to exercise constraint, and again, we failed. The delicious looking (and super cheap) day-old cupcakes totally threw us for a loop. I also couldn't pass up the Gingerbread cupcake; the gingerbread man who dove headfirst into his cupcake was just too adorable. We ended up with half a dozen people cupcakes and a mutt cake for my dog, Honey.
 |  |
 |  |
 |  |
The cake in the Egg Nog cupcake was a bit dry and had a rougher texture than I'm used to. It had a slightly sweet nutmeg flavor that reminded me of apple cider. The frosting was super super thick - just how I like it! - with a sweet taste of cream and nutmeg. The texture was very sugary; I could feel the sugar granules on my tongue. As you would probably guess from looking at this cupcake, there was way too much frosting for the amount of cake. The sugary texture totally dominated. In fact, you wouldn't even be able to taste the cake underneath if it wasn't for the cake's slightly rough texture allowing it to shine through. Although I really enjoyed the flavor of this cupcake, there was nothing about it that really reminded me of egg nog - it was more like an autumn spice cake.
At $1.50 this "day old" Lemon Drop cupcake was a total steal! The moist cake was spongy and dense with a tart lemon flavor. You could definitely taste the lemon zest in the cake. Yum! Although I loved the frosting's super thick texture, I found it to be a bit too sugary for a cream cheese frosting. In fact, it tasted more like vanilla icing than cream cheese frosting. Overall the cupcake was super, super sweet with a nice tart lemon flavor. My only complaint about this cupcake was the excessive amount of frosting that overwhelmed the nice, soft texture of the cake (though luckily the amazing tart lemon flavor was still able to shine through).
The cake in this "cosmopolitan" little cupcake was very muffiny; it reminded me of cranberry bread, but with a softer, cake-like texture. The cake was slightly sweet with a fruity bready cranberry flavor. The enormous mound of frosting was super thick with a very tart lime flavor that slaps you in the face. Yum, just how I like it! (I could even see the lime zest swirled right in!) There was a flowery, almost bitter aftertaste to it that kind of reminded me of lavender. Unfortunately I wasn't a big fan of the thick, super sugary (almost gritty) texture. Saying that there was way too much frosting for the amount of cake would be an understatement. It totally dominated the cupcake, drowning out any hint of cranberry fruitiness. All I could taste was the overly sweet, tart lime flavor of the frosting. The cupcake was ok when I removed 2/3 of the frosting, but was still a bit too heavy and thick. One bite was enough to put me into sugar shock...two bites and I felt nauseated.Last week Martha Stewart featured this cupcake as one of her "favorites" on her show. If anyone from The Martha Stewart Show is reading this, I have to say I have no idea what you were thinking. Dozen's Cosmo is much better. How many vodka/lime/cranberry cupcakes did you try before selecting this one as the best? When you assembled your sample, did you frost the cake with two whole inches of frosting, just like Happy Cakes serves it, or did you cover it with a normal amount of frosting? Either way, I call shenanigans.
The Orange Cranberry's cake was soft and slightly dry with a nice citrusy cranberry flavor. The citrus tang and tart, fruity cranberry were well matched - refreshing and delicious! The mound of thick, sugary frosting had a tart and bitter flavor. It kind of tasted like orange zest, but zest that was ground too deep so that some of the bitter white membrane got mixed in. I did like the nice, tart flavor, but the excessive sweetness totally overwhelmed it and made me feel a bit sick. Once again, there was way too much frosting! The overall flavor of this cupcake was bitter citrus with an aftertaste of fruity cranberry. At the end of the day I think this cupcake would be much stronger without the frosting.
Another "day old" cupcake, the Jack and Coke consisted of chocolate cake topped with a burboun frosting. The cake was moist and soft with a mild chocolate flavor. It was really really good, one of the best I've had. I absolutely loved the mild, unassuming flavor - it wasn't bitter like many chocolate cakes. However, I didn't taste any trace of coke in it. The super thick, super sugary frosting tasted primarily like sugar, with a tiny hint of masculine alcoholic flavor. Unsurprisingly, the "pile of sugar" on top of the cupcake totally overwhelmed the awesome chocolate flavor of the cake. If you handed me this cupcake and asked me what flavor it was, I would've said "sugar and chocolate" - I never in a million years would've guessed it was Jack and Coke. At the end of the day, the awesome chocolate cake would've been much better "naked".
How could I pass up this super cute Gingerbread cupcake? The cake was slightly moist with a dense, rough texture and a strong ginger flavor. Whoa! The super thick, super sugary frosting had a generic, "sweet" flavor. It's possible that there was a tiny hint of lemon to it, but I might've been imagining that. I think it was just regular old "white" frosting, akin to the white icing that tops many gingerbread cookies. The frosting tempered the bite of the ginger, making it palatable, but the oversaturated sugary texture made me feel (even more) ill. The flavors didn't really work together; the gingerbread was good, sharp gingerbread and the frosting simply existed to tone it down and sweeten it up. Jeffe, the super cute gingerbread man cookie adorning my cupcake, tasted like a mild store-bought gingerbread cookie. Cute, but a bit disappointing.If you couldn't tell, these "sugar bomb" cupcakes weren't really my thing, but many of my sugar-loving friends were all too happy to take the other halves of these cupcakes off my hands. If you're like me and prefer a more balanced, thinly-frosted cupcake, I'd recommended frequenting Yum Yum Delights. If on the other hand, you're more like my friends and can't get enough sugary frosting goodness, I'd suggest hitting up Happy Cakes for your cupcaking needs.
Last, but not least, the Seattle cupcakeries! When thirty of my college friends decided to gather at a friend's family's ranch in Denver for New Years, I sent an e-mail out to everyone asking if anyone would be so kind as to bring me cupcakes from their home cities. Two of my friends from Seattle leapt to the challenge, frantically visiting four Seattle bakeries before hopping on their plane to Denver. (THANK YOU Mark and Des!!) At each bakery they asked an employee for their "favorite" cupcake, which they lovingly packed into tupperware containers in their carryon baggage. Although they delivered the cupcakes to me on the same day they were purchased, I was a bit cupcaked-out from the ten half-cupcakes I'd eaten earlier in the day. I ended up waiting four days before eating the cupcakes from Seattle, so you should take these reviews with a huge grain of salt.
Cupcake Royale
Seattle, WA
This modern looking Red Velvet cupcake had reached its saturation limit for food coloring, so much so that it actually stained the white plate I ate it on. The cake was crumbly and very slightly dry (probably due to its age) with a sweet, mild milk chocolate flavor. Yum! Cupcake Royale gets points for making a red velvet cake that I actually like. The frosting was sweet with a very sugary texture. Initially the flavor was of mild cream cheese, but it got sweeter and sweeter until it just stopped short of being oversweet. It was ok, but nothing special. The overall flavor of the cupcake was sweet with just a hint of milk chocolate and cream cheese. Somehow, the sweetness of the frosting cut through all of the other flavors pretty strongly, which was too bad. I enjoyed all of the components separately, but their flavors kind of disappeared when combined.New York Cupcakes
Bellevue, WA
According to the cupcakery's website, the Pure Joy is comprised of white cake topped with buttercream frosting and white chocolate curls, but this cake was definitely yellow. The cake was moist and buttery with a faintly sweet, sightly salty taste. I think it had a hint of vanilla to it. It was pretty good - remarkably moist for being five days old and at altitude. The sweet frosting was super thick with a silky texture. Its only flavor came from the shavings of white chocolate on the top. There was way too much frosting for the amount of cake; it totally drowned out what little flavor the cake had. Overall the cupcake tasted predominantly "sweet" with a hint of white chocolate. I'm a bit confused that "Pure Joy" seems to be vanilla/vanilla - when I think of "joy" and "ecstasy" I think of something bold and strong, like rich, decadent chocolate or sweet caramel. Not boring old vanilla/vanilla. I think the proprietors of New York Cupcakes need a little spice in their lives =)Trophy Cupcakes
Seattle, WA
When I opened the individual-sized Trophy Cupcakes box I was immediately struck by how well preserved the Holiday Peppermint was, aesthetically. The beautiful cupcake was comprised of chocolate cake topped with a perfect dome of white frosting that was rolled in crushed candy canes, forming a hard shell over the top of the cupcake. The crushed candy canes glittered in the light, highlighting the cupcake's perfect construction.I'm not sure if it was due to the age of the cupcake, but the wrapper was difficult to remove; I eventually pulled it off in strips. Despite the hard feel, the frosting was remarkably easy to cut through, though the cake provided some resistance. The cake was slightly dry (unsurprising as it was five days old) with a nice, rich dark chocolate flavor that was not at all bitter. Yum! The frosting was sweet with a bold but not overpowering peppermint flavor. The candy cane shards on top gave a nice crunch to the smooth, sugary frosting. Delicious! The texture of this cupcake was amazing - soft cake with sugary frosting and slightly softened candy canes. Flavor wise the balance was perfect; the initial taste was of peppermint with the rich, dark chocolate slowly pushing to the forefront. I'm almost positive I would've given this cupcake a perfect rating if I'd eaten it fresh.
The Erotic Bakery
Seattle, WA
For obvious reasons, I'm not posting pictures of these cupcakes in this writeup. If you want to see what they looked like, you'll have to visit The Erotic Bakery's profile page (NSFW).
Vanilla/Vanilla (with marzipan penis) - Honestly, this cupcake looked exactly like a vanilla/vanilla grocery store cupcake, but with a marzipan penis on top. And frankly, that's exactly what it tasted like. Too bad I'm not a fan of marzipan. The marzipan penis had a bitter almond flavor; I passed it off to some friends after one bite, and being marzipan lovers, they enjoyed it. The vanilla cake was buttery, neither moist nor dry, and had a slightly salty vanilla flavor. The white frosting was very sugary with a thick, granular texture. It had no discernible flavor other than "sweet". At the end of the day this cupcake tasted like grocery store cake topped with generic tubbed frosting. Clearly the point of this cupcake is not the taste.
Chocolate/Vanilla (with marzipan breasts) - As I'd disliked my bite of the marzipan penis on the Vanilla Vanilla, I went ahead and passed the boobs off to my friends who like marzipan. They enjoyed it, though I was a bit disturbed by how porn-star esque they looked. The wrapper was very difficult to remove, and it was almost impossible to cut the cupcake in half with a serrated butter knife. I had to press really hard to cut through the top of the cake! As expected from this experience, the chocolate cake was super hard. The "muffin top" part of it was crunchy with a nice mild chocolate flavor that tasted a bit buttery and slightly salty. The frosting was super gritty with a greasy, buttery texture and a sweet, slightly sour flavor. Blech! I hated it so much that I didn't take another bite of the frosting. Unfortunately the frosting totally overwhelmed the mild chocolate flavor of the cake. Again, the point of this cupcake is clearly not the flavor or taste. Ewww.
Well, that's about it for my New Year's cupcake exploits. Stay tuned for my writeup of Singapore, Japan, and Brazil!
No comments:
Post a Comment