Dr. Pepper Cupcakes

Cupcake Ingredients:
1/2 c. cocoa
2 1/2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 c. butter
5 eggs
1 c. Dr. Pepper
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon

Baking Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 F.
Add all dry ingredients together and set aside.
Beat the butter, add sugars then add eggs beating after each one, add vanilla.
Alternately add dry ingredients and Dr. Pepper to the cream mixture.
Bake for 18 minutes.

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Icing Ingredients:
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
2 c. powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon (or more depending on the strength you want)

Icing Directions:
Cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla together. Slowly add the powdered sugar and cinnamon.

When cupcakes have cooled, frost with icing and enjoy your Dr. Pepper cupcakes.

[Posted by The Cupcake Chair]
VOTE for this cupcake as part of the Iron Cupcake: Earth's Soda Pop Challenge.

Cupcake Baking Contest

Each month Iron Cupcake: Earth hosts a cupcake challenge across the globe and they're recently posted the following details for their May bake-off.

The IronCupcake:Earth challenge for May is SAVORY!
Have you ever looked at your favorite food and thought, I wonder how that would work as a cupcake? Now is your chance to really test your wild side with the MAY 2009 challenge - SAVORY CUPCAKES. Whatever you make...IT MUST LOOK LIKE A CUPCAKE. This is a cupcake competition, so it should be cake-based, however...creative interpretations will be accepted.

FINAL POSTING DAY is SUNDAY, May 24 at 12 noon. All times are CENTRAL time.

Full contest details can be found at Iron Cupcake: Earth. Good luck!

Cupcakes and Champagne

This Wednesday evening Butter Lane is hosting a special FREE event. The details are below (courtesy of Cupcakes Take the Cake).

Wednesday, April 29th
7:30 - 9 PM
Learn to Frost! Meet the Owners!
Free champagne, samples, and icing demonstration


About Butter Lane
Butter Lane opened in the East Village this past November and is devoted to making you the perfect cupcake. With a focus on pure ingredients like real vanilla bean, pure cocoa, and dark chocolate — along with locally sourced dairy ingredients — we hope to give foodies something to sink their teeth into besides straight sugar (although we'll have some of that too).

Blackberries are in season

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream
From Sarah Howard of Creative Loafing:

Cupcakes have been hip and trendy on the food scene for quite some time now, and have taken over specialty bake shops which produce them in every flavor imaginable. From simple chocolate to lemon, coconut and red velvet, these indulgences are one of the biggest crowd pleasers you can bring to celebrate special occasions, or surprise an office full of hungry co-workers. This particular variety was inspired by an especially gorgeous batch of plump blackberries that I stumbled upon, along with yet another workplace baking commitment.

When it comes to creating the perfect cupcake, simplicity is best. I like to make a basic vanilla cake that can be paired with a variety of frostings and toppings depending on your mood, and will be subtle enough in flavor to carry an extra rich buttercream. The cake featured here calls for whole eggs along with an equal ratio of egg whites to keep it light and fluffy and maintain the pure color. The use of the vanilla bean makes a big difference in the fragrance and overall taste of the cake as well, so go ahead and splurge in the spice aisle. After you’re done scraping out the tiny seeds, throw the pod into a mason jar with baker’s sugar, keep it in the cupboard and use the vanilla-infused sweetness to add an extra dimension to your recipes.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes

3 cups baker’s (superfine) sugar
3 eggs
3 egg whites
3 and 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 and 1/2 cups milk
1 cup vegetable oil
3 and 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 vanillla bean

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line muffin tins with baking cups.

In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat sugar and eggs/whites together until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes. Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl. Add the flour mixture, milk, oil, and vanilla to the eggs. Split the vanilla bean from end to end and scrape the seeds out with a knife. Add to the mix and incorporate the ingredients together slowly, just until the batter is smooth. Fill each muffin cup 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven for 12-14 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool completely while preparing the frosting.

Blackberry Buttercream

1 cup butter (2 sticks)
1 8 ounce package cream cheese
5 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup seedless blackberry preserves
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the butter and cream cheese in a mixer bowl and whip together until creamy. Add the powdered sugar one cup at a time. When combined, add the blackberry preserves and the vanilla and mix well. Can be held in the refrigerator overnight and re-whipped prior to frosting the cupcakes.

Makes 3 dozen frosted cupcakes.

I Take It Back!!!

Dear Amy's Bread,

I'm sorry for the things I said about you. I was wrong. I take it back. Your cupcakes, or at least the Red Velvets, are delish. Thank you for a pleasant afternoon treat.

With Love,
Ali

* * *

I decided to try a cupcake from Amy's Bread again....I don't know what they did last time but this cupcake today was delish!

I choose the Red Velvet cupcake and thoroughly enjoyed it. Maybe the one that I had many months ago were special cupcakes (remember it was for a charity?) and not their regular batch? Or maybe they read my blog and changed their recipe? Ha! That MUST be it.

Sugar Sweet Sunshine

The long awaited decision on Sugar Sweet Sunshine is finally here! This bakery is one of the most talked about in the city. If you were to stop a random New Yorker on the street and ask them what their favorite cupcake was, it is likely they would say one of three bakeries: Crumbs, Magnolia, or Sugar Sweet Sunshine. Although it is not as much of a heated debate as the division between Crumbs and Magnolia lovers, it is certainly on a lot of people's lists as the best bakery in the city. So now I am throwing my two cents into the mixture.

Let me first say that cupcakes for a $1.50 is a sugary sweet deal indeed. Prices that low would bring a smile to anyone's face.

For this tasting I tried the Ooey Gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream) and the Bob (yellow cake with chocolate almond buttercream). The almond buttercream certainly makes for a new and unique flavor and it stood out to me a great deal more on the yellow cake.

Both cupcakes had traveled a great distance in paper bag before being devored and I was pleased to find that the cake itself was still fluffy and moist. But when compared to each other I have to say that I liked the Bob cupcake better. The buttercream wasn't too sweet (unlike Magnolia, Buttercup, and Billy's which are waaaaayyy too sweet) and the almond flavoring gave it a nice new ring to a traditional cake. The Ooey Gooey however seemed like any other chocolate cupcake. It really wasn't anything special. And with a name like Ooey Gooey I was expecting it to be rich in chocolately goodness but it just felt plain. The almond buttercream seemed lost among the chocolate. It stood out on the yellow cake but I could barely taste it with the chocolate.

I would never turn down a cupcake from this bakery and I would certainly stop in there again but is it my absolute number one cupcakery? Unfortunately not. Baked still reigns supreme in my heart!

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House RIP
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Baked*
Baked by Melissa
Batch RIP
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

Cupcakes at Cold Stone Creamery

While these may not be your traditional cupcakes, they are certainly worth talking about. I recently purchased a 6-pack of the Cake Batter Delux cupcakes from Cold Stone and let me be the first to tell you, they are fantastic!

The ice cream cupcake is comprised of a chocolate cup filled with red velvet cake, fudge and cake batter ice cream (my personal fave) and topped with a pink frosting and rainbow sprinkles! Wow! They are heavenly. James and I have had constant cravings for them ever since. We were like children with a limited vocabulary. The only thing we could say was "These are sooooo good!".

They also have a Sweet Cream cupcake and a Double Chocolate Devotion (topped with an Oreo cookie). The cupcakes are new at Cold Stone though so hopefully they'll stick around so I can try the others. For all you ice cream cake lovers, this may be the perfect treat!

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

It is a cold and rainy day here in NYC but I am busy day-dreaming about the warm summer months and refreshing sweets to eat. As I stumbled across this Lemon Meringue Cupcake recipe, I thought to myself, 'What could be better?'. And I decided it was only fair to share...

This recipe is from my girl Rachael Ray.
Fun Fact: My dad likes to call me Rachael because I am so fond of her meals. :)


Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup buttermilk 1 tablespoon lemon juice 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, softened

1 2/3 cups sugar, plus more for decorating 2 tablespoons finely grated lemon peel, plus thin strips of peel for garnish 2 large eggs plus 4 egg whites, at room temperature One 10- to 12-ounce jar lemon curd

Directions:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350°. Line mini-muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the buttermilk and lemon juice.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter on high speed until creamy, about 1 minute. Add 1 cup sugar and the lemon peel and beat until fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the 2 eggs, one at a time, and beat until combined, scraping down the sides between additions. On low speed, beat in a third of the dry ingredients, then a third of the buttermilk mixture. Repeat, alternating ingredients, until the batter is smooth.

3. Spoon the batter into each liner, about three-quarters full. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

4. In a heatproof bowl, whisk together the remaining 2/3 cup sugar and the egg whites. Place over a saucepan of barely simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the bowl, and heat just until the sugar dissolves, whisking constantly. Remove from the heat and beat on high speed until stiff, glossy peaks form.

5. Spread a thin layer of lemon curd over each cupcake and dollop the meringue on top. Toss the lemon peel strips in sugar to coat, and place one on each cupcake.

Black and White Cupcakes

One of my favorite signature New York eats is the black and white cookie. When made correctly, they are essentially flat pieces of cake with vanilla and chocolate icing on top. Delicious!

This recipe from Bon Appetit is black and white cookie meets cupcake and it looks like it will be a very tasty endeavor. Hello Black and White Cupcakes!


Ingredients

Chocolate icing:
* 1/4 cup whipping cream
* 1 tablespoon light corn syrup
* 4 ounces bittersweet (not unsweetened) or semisweet chocolate, chopped
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

White icing:
* 1 cup powdered sugar
* 2 tablespoons whipping cream
* 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

Cupcakes:
* 3 large eggs, room temperature
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
* 1 1/2 cups cake flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon salt
* 1 1/4 cups sugar
* 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 1/3 cup buttermilk

Preparation

For chocolate icing:
Bring cream and corn syrup just to simmer in heavy small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Add chocolate and vanilla; whisk until melted and smooth.

For white icing:
Whisk all ingredients in small bowl to blend. Let both icings stand 1 1/2 hours at room temperature to thicken.

For cupcakes:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Line 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners. Whisk eggs, vanilla, and lemon peel in medium bowl to blend. Mix cake flour, baking powder, and salt in another medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Gradually beat in egg mixture. Beat in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions each.

Divide batter among cups. Bake until tester inserted into centers comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool cupcakes in pan on rack 5 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and cool completely.

Spread chocolate icing over half of each cupcake. Spread white icing on second half of each cupcake. Let stand until set, about 1 hour. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Store in single layer in airtight container at room temperature.)

Amai Tea & Bake House Closing!!

Just read this on Serious Eats:

Amai Tea & Bake House is sadly saying goodbye this weekend. Stop by for a $1 cupcake (peanut butter, chocolate, green tea, and whatever else pops out of the oven) all weekend until 6 p.m. closing on Sunday. 171 Third Avenue (b/n 16 and 17th Street) 212-863-9630

Here's the announcement from the Amai:

We are sad to say that Amai will be closing. Sunday, April 19th will be our last day. Please stop by to say hello and enjoy some farewell specials. Thank you to all of our wonderful customers. We will miss you and will keep you posted on where we end up!

Gotta get there...they're on my list! This is the second bakery on my list to close (see Batch) recently. Times are tough, even for cupcakes.

Red Velvet Cake Balls

How awesome do these look? I found this recipe on Bakerella and can't wait to make them! They look so simple and so delicious. The recipe calls for a box of red velvet cake mix but I haven't been able to find this in stores. However, you can really use any type of cake or, better yet, make it from scratch!

Red Velvet Cake Balls

Ingredients:
1 box red velvet cake mix (cook as directed on box for 13 X 9 cake)
1 can cream cheese frosting (16 oz.)
1 package chocolate bark (regular or white chocolate)
wax paper

Directions:
1. After cake is cooked and cooled completely, crumble into large bowl.
2. Mix thoroughly with 1 can cream cheese frosting. (It may be easier to use fingers to mix together, but be warned it will get messy.)
3. Roll mixture into quarter size balls and lay on cookie sheet. (Should make 45-50. You can get even more if you use a mini ice cream scooper, but I like to hand roll them.)
4. Chill for several hours. (You can speed this up by putting in the freezer.)
5. Melt chocolate in microwave per directions on package.
6. Roll balls in chocolate and lay on wax paper until firm. (Use a spoon to dip and roll in chocolate and then tap off extra.)

Tip: Only melt a few pieces of chocolate bark at a time because it starts to cool and thicken. It's easier to work with when it's hot.

Baked By Melissa

A co-worker introduced me to these little cuties a few months ago. They are bite sized cupcakes from Baked by Melissa. My coworker is friends with Melissa so she sent us a box of cupcakes to try for free. At this time she was still baking all her orders in her apartment kitchen -- can you imagine the mess?! -- but nowadays she sells her treats out of a storefront on Broadway and Spring.

The idea is simple and brilliant. Everyone loves cupcakes but, women especially, hates the guilt of craving and eating more. So Melissa decided to make mini cupcakes that are about the size of a quarter so you can snack almost guilt free! Of course, this idea only went so far with me. The only thing a bite sized cupcake tells me is that I can eat all of them because they're so tiny. And so I did. I tried 6 of the 7 flavors (the peanut butter and jelly didn't sound appetizing to me) and they were all delicious. They were perfectly moist and had a great burst of flavor for such a little cake.

Baked by Melissa offers the following flavors: Cookie Dough, Red Velvet, Cookies and Cream, S'mores, Peanut Butter and Jelly, Peanut Butter Cup, and Tie-Dye. The minimum order quantity is 100 but I think you can buy packages of 6 if you stop by the store. I'm not sure how reasonable her prices are but even if you don't buy, they're great to window browse as well!

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Baked*
Baked by Melissa
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

Dessert Club Chikalicious

Thanks to NY Mag's recent article on the New York cupcake scene, I decided to bump Dessert Club Chikalicious to the top of my list of places to try. The NY Mag article had these cupcakes in the number one spot and while I can say they were delicious, I don't think I can rank them above my current fave, Baked. Here's why:

I tried the caramel cupcake (left) and the s'mores cupcake (right) for $2.25 each. I enjoyed the caramel more than the s'mores which actually surprised me because I had imagined it would have been the other way around.

The caramel cupcake was moist, the icing was soft and frothy, and there was some caramel in the center. My roommate asked me if I was okay with the filling (see previous post) and I said I could make an exception for this one. I think the filling really added something to the cake because honestly without it you wouldn't know it was caramel.

On the other hand, the s'mores cupcake consisted of a moist graham cracker-like cake with a slightly charred marshmallow topping and a chocolate filling in the center. This time the filling wasn't as welcomed. It was almost as if the baker had stuffed a solid piece of chocolate into the center and left it there. It just didn't fit in well for me. I think the concept was there and you could tell what type of cake it was without the filling (unlike the caramel) but the chocolate made it less enjoyable. I had my roommate sample some and she agreed with this point too.

All in all, they made a pretty delicious caramel cupcake and a decent s'mores but is it the best? I don't think so but maybe you should be the judge for yourself. I still have Baked in the number one slot because of the two cupcakes that I've tried thus far I have LOVED both. Unfortunately I can't say the same for Dessert Club Chikalicious. Sorry S'mores! We can still be friends.

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Baked*
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

April Fools Cakes

A few days late but better late than never, right?

Can you tell which of the following images are actually cupcakes?

Spaghetti anyone?

Mmm! Mashed potatoes and gravy.

Itza Pizza Pie?!?!

Summer corn on the cob...

If you guessed that they are all cupcakes -- you're right! Pretty good though, huh? I think some of these would certainly make my mind play tricks on me. I'd be about to bite into the corn on the cob cupcake and my brain would be thinking that I'm going to taste corn but then it's a sweet cupcake instead! I love these.

Oh, and one other new favorite. This is a unique new flavor that isn't for the faint of heart.

Who is up for the spinach flavored frosting garnished with sardines?

Ha! This prank-cake actually fooled the cupcake blogger over at Cupcakes Take the Cake. It took me a few minutes of starring myself but I just couldn't believe that anyone in their right mind would actually put these two ingredients on a sweet little cake.

Happy April. Bring on SPRING!!

Stealing My Cupcake Thunder...

A friend sent me the link to the following article over the weekend.

"Gramercy Tavern’s Nancy Olson Rates New York’s Cupcakes"

So this Nancy thinks she can steal my cupcake thunder?! Ha! When I am on the Food Network traveling the country and sampling cupcakes, we'll see who has the last laugh! :)

Although Nancy missed a few of bakeries (CRUMBS!?!) on my list she hit up the more popular joints (except CRUMBS!?!?) and seems to have some similar thoughts on the popular treats. Check out her New York Magazine feature and let me know what you think.

Here's a breakdown of her final list:
#15 Babycakes
#14 Tonnie's Minis
#13 Buttercup Bake Shop
#12 Butterlane
#11 Billy's Bakery
#10 Sugar Sweet Sunshine
#9 Cupcake Cafe
#8 Sweet Revenge
#7 Magnolia
#6 Baked
#5 Two Little Red Hens
#4 One Girl Cookies
#3 Kyotofu
#2 Batch
#1 Dessert Club, Chikalicious

I have some issues with the rankings but you will just have to wait and see how everything stacks up once I'm done with the full journey. Looks like I still have some more tasting to do!

Read the full article here.

Points for Cuteness!

As much as I dislike Magnolia, look how cute they've packaged their cupcakes for Easter!


These are available for $20 at each Magnolia location. That is, if you like that sort of thing...ha

Two Little Red Hens

My roommate spoiled me by picking up this baby the other night. I think it is (appropriately) called the "Death By Chocolate" cupcake from Two Little Red Hens. It is difficult to see the actual size of this cupcake via the photo above, but let me just say it should just be called CAKE! It was so ginormous and so heavy that if it weren't in the traditional cupcake shape, you would undoubtedly call it a piece of cake.

I read a critique of the above "cake" and one of the things this taster didn't like was the icing but that was my favorite part! The critic said that the icing was too thick but I thought it was appropriate for the size and type of cake it was. I had to eat it a day after receiving because I had already ate a few cupcakes that day (trying to behave) and the cake was still moist. My one complaint, aside from the size and $4 price tag, was that it had a chocolate pudding filling. Honestly I am getting tired of this filling nonsense. I bought a cupcake, not pudding! I want to eat the cake, not some surprise filling inside, you know? Sigh. And it only seems like this trend is picking up. I am already over it.

All in all, the "cake" was very good but I can't say it was good enough to warrant a second visit. I'll keep Baked at the top of my favorites list as they serve true, delicious cupcakes at a very reasonable $1.75 price. :)

THE JOURNEY:
Amai Tea and Bake House
Amy's Bread
Babycakes
Baked*
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

Spring Strawberries

It's strawberry season! Strawberries are by far my favorite fruit, so as you can imagine, strawberry cupcakes are always a favorite too. Here's a recipe to bring out the spring baker in you!

Sprinkles Strawberry Cupcakes
Sprinkles is a famous LA-based bakery that features of variety of cupcake flavors. This recipe for their strawberry cupcake comes from Martha Stewart's website.

Ingredients

Makes 1 dozen

• 2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt
• 1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 2 large egg whites, room temperature
• Sprinkles' Strawberry Frosting

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.
2. Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended.
5. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.
6. Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

Baked Goodness

James and I just made a special visit to the real Baked in Red Hook this evening -- it is quickly becoming my favorite cupcakery. I had the red hot red velvet this time and it was delicious. I really can't say anything bad about this place. The icing is so fluffy and creamy and the cupcake is perfect. James tried the oatmeal raisin cookie and said it was the best he'd ever had. :)

Red Hook is a little out of the way but if you are making the trek to Ikea it is very close by. I definitely suggest stopping in if you are in the neighborhood. You won't be disappointed.

And don't forget, Royale Cafe in the city sells Baked goodies as well.

Sweet Revenge

Another cupcake in the (work) neighborhood. Sweet Revenge is not your typical bakery. While they push their cupcakes as one of their signature treats, they offer a bunch of other foods for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I have yet to try anything other than their cupcakes but the place is pretty cute and the food sounds appetizing.

So let's get into it. The cupcakes are somewhat unusual looking, particularly the frosting, and they remind me of the iconic Sydney Opera House. Strange, I know. I've tried a few of their "signature cupcakes" including the Pure (vanilla), Dirty (chocolate), and Crimson & Cream (red velvet). And while I enjoyed each there's just something about them that is...interesting. I'm not sure if that's the right word. But the cakes are moist and the icing is plentiful. I'm interested in trying some of their "special of the day" cakes too.

I guess it's not a bakery that I crave but I can't really complain about it either. They are good - just not great. I give them points for creativity though for sure!

Sweet Revenge also offers frosting shots and cupcake wine and beer pairings. Very unique. I like!


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