Trendy Fillings

Recently I've noticed a lot more bakeries are trying to add a little extra pizazz to their cupcakes. Anyone can make a cupcake but can you make one with a surprise filling inside? That is the question!

It seems to be a trend lately. I've come across a lot more cakes with fillings such as jelly, pie filling, cream, other cakes, and cookies. Seeing and tasting these gets me thinking about how I would make such a surprise. I've researched a few suggestions online, including cutting off a piece of the top after baking, scooping out a little of the middle, and filling it up, but I hate the idea of carving out cake after it's baked.

Then the other day I came across this posting. It is actually a review of a cake mix but the photos demonstrate exactly how to get chocolate chip cookie dough inside a vanilla cupcake. And while it isn't a glowing review of the mix itself, I would say I like where they were going with this...

The secret! (my ah-ha moment)

Beautifully baked.

Cupcakes and cookies. Sign me up!

Starbucks (had) Cupcakes

Since these are no longer for sale, I will make it brief.

Around Valentines' Day, Starbucks rolled out 3 new cupcakes - chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet. The idea was to inspire orders for V-Day as they were packaging and selling these little delights for your special someone. But I decided that all this really meant was that I needed to taste their cupcakes!


I didn't get to try all three - this man took 2 vanillas and there was only 1 chocolate left (long story) - but I did devour 2 of the 3. The chocolate, as extremely chocolately as it looks, tasted a little too much like a brownie. I ordered a cupcake though so I wanted a cupcake. I did not like this. But the red velvet was fantastic. The cake was spongey and moist with a nice dollop of cream cheese frosting and cake crumbs on top. I enjoyed this one and if they ever come back around for sale, I recommend it!

Hopefully they'll be back. I want to try the vanilla one!!

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Batch
Billy's Bakery
Buttercup Bake Shop
Butterlane Cupcakes
Crumbs
Cupcake Cafe
Dessert Club ChikaLicious
Eleni's
How Sweet It Is
Kitchenette
Lux Sugar*
Magnolia
Martha's Country Bakery*
Make My Cake
Out of the Kitchen
Royale Cafe and Pastry (sells Baked* cupcakes!)
Starbucks (limited time only)
Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Sweet Revenge
Tribeca Treats
Tonnie's Minis
Two Little Red Hens

*Borough bakeries

Cupcake Camp: NYC

Cupcake Camp is coming to New York City! Get excited!!!!

No idea what I'm talking about? I've put together some FAQs to help....You're welcome. :)

What the heck is Cupcake Camp? Designed for the cupcake lovers in all of us, Cupcake Camp is an event that brings together bakers and tasters. Bring a batch to share, volunteer to help, or just come and eat all the cakes for FREE.

When is it happening? Friday, April 10th from 7:30 PM - 9:30 PM

Where are these free cupcakes? Happy Ending Lounge - 302 Broome Street (b/t Forsyth and Eldridge)

How do I get tickets? RSVP your attendance, if you'll bring cupcakes and/or if you'd like to volunteer at cupcakecampnyc@gmail.com

Is it only in NYC? This event is but there are other Cupcake Camps being organized worldwide! Check out the cupcakecamp.org for more details.

Where can I find out more about the NYC one? Visit the official site at http://cupcakecampnyc.blogspot.com

Baked!

Oh. My. Gosh.

Seriously? SERIOUSLY?! Okay, maybe I'm getting a little too excited but I have to share. I just tried one of the Baked cupcakes (available in Red Hook, Brooklyn and at Royale Cafe in the city) and it was wonderful!!

I stopped by Royale Cafe and Pastry to try one of these cupcakes because Red Hook is a little much for me. Royale is a cute little corner bakery filled with Baked treats and their own sandwiches and salads. They offer all the traditional goodies including cookies, brownies, cakes, and of course, cupcakes.

There were lots of flavors to choose as each of Baked's signature cakes are also crafted into smaller sized cupcakes so it was a tough decision. After hearing about the selection I decided on the Oreo cookie cake which was chocolate cake, vanilla buttercream frosting, and sprinkled with oreo cookie crumble on top. Now, if you've read some of my previous entries, you will know that I typically do not like crumbly cupcakes and I'm getting a little tired of the same old a little too sweet buttercreams this city offers BUT this was an exception. The chocolate cake basically split in two but it was so tasty that I just didn't care. And the buttercream wasn't that usual grainy sugary icing but it was smooth and creamy and delicious. Wow! I may have found a new favorite. And for $2/cake I will need to sample many more flavors. Definitely stop here! So so so great!!


THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Batch
Billy's Bakery
Buttercup Bake Shop
Butterlane Cupcakes
Crumbs
Cupcake Cafe
Dessert Club ChikaLicious
Eleni's
How Sweet It Is
Kitchenette
Lux Sugar*
Magnolia
Martha's Country Bakery*
Make My Cake
Out of the Kitchen
Royale Cafe and Pastry (sells Baked* cupcakes!)
Starbucks (limited time only)
Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Sweet Revenge
Tribeca Treats
Tonnie's Minis
Two Little Red Hens

*Borough bakeries

Flavor of the Month

Recently I've been all about the lemon. Lemon zest, lemon filling, lemon girl scout cookies, lemon cupcakes...

I'm not sure what it is. Maybe the anticipation of spring? Are lemons even a spring time fruit?

Either way, I came across the following lemony cupcake recipes from Martha Stewart and thought I'd share. Enjoy!

Meyer Lemon Raspberry Cupcakes
[Recipe]

Glazed Lemon Cakes
[Recipe]
So these are more like muffins but I'm okay with that!

Martha's Country Bakery

Ah Astoria. Such a great little neighborhood. Astoria is where I currently reside and is probably best known for its variety of good eats! And, as you can imagine, I found the perfect little bakery.

It's called Martha's Country Bakery and it is quite lovely. The bakery has a warm, homey vibe to it and is a nice break from the big city living. This bakery will impress you. The cases of desserts look gorgeous and almost too good to be true. In addition to their large bakery selection (including yummy cupcakes!), they also have a coffee/espresso bar to enjoy.

I brought my Mom there when she came up for a visit last October. We sat at one of their outside tables and ordered their croissants, coffee and cupcakes. We were both very pleased. I selected the classic red velvet cupcake and Mom went with the chocolate cupcake with fondant icing. The red velvet was the perfect size and taste to satisfy this cupcake lovers palate. I know Mom enjoyed her as well.

If you are ever in the neighborhood, definitely make it a point to stop at Martha's. You won't regret it. Promise!

Note: Remove paper wrapping before enjoying.

Mom and her pretty little cupcake. It's hard to make out but there is a lovely little fondant flower on top.

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Batch
Billy's Bakery
Buttercup Bake Shop
Butterlane Cupcakes
Crumbs
Cupcake Cafe
Dessert Club ChikaLicious
Eleni's
How Sweet It Is
Kitchenette
Lux Sugar*
Magnolia
Martha's Country Bakery*
Make My Cake
Out of the Kitchen
Royale Cafe and Pastry (sells Baked* cupcakes!)
Starbucks (limited time only)
Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Sweet Revenge
Tribeca Treats
Tonnie's Minis
Two Little Red Hens

*Borough bakeries

Out of the Kitchen

Out of the Kitchen is by far one of my city favorites - at least for the traditional cupcakes. They don't have a wide variety (a la Crumbs) but they do have delicious chocolate, vanilla and red velvet cupcakes with the most wonderful frosting. The restaurant offers salads and sandwiches in addition to their sweet treats, but it is their cupcakes that keeps me coming back for more. And they are located near my office; very dangerous.

If you haven't tried one of these babies, I would say it's a MUST-HAVE. And at only $2.25 you can't go wrong!

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Batch
Billy's Bakery
Buttercup Bake Shop
Butterlane Cupcakes
Crumbs
Cupcake Cafe
Dessert Club ChikaLicious
Eleni's
How Sweet It Is
Kitchenette
Lux Sugar*
Magnolia
Martha's Country Bakery*
Make My Cake
Out of the Kitchen
Royale Cafe and Pastry (sells Baked* cupcakes!)
Starbucks (limited time only)
Sugar Sweet Sunshine
Sweet Revenge
Tribeca Treats
Tonnie's Minis
Two Little Red Hens

*Borough bakeries

P.S. I want to steal this sign...