Via Houston food blog Eating Our Words:
The cupcake company has partnered with MD Anderson Children's Cancer Hospitals's Art in Medicine program to raise awareness about childhood cancer.
Pediatric cancer patients have designed a logo for the project, which will be featured on all of the CRAVE Cupcakes's Childhood Cancer Awareness boxes. In addition to this artwork, a portion of the proceeds from each box purchased will go to support MD Anderson's crucial Art in Medicine program, which helps to provide a better quality of life for pediatric cancer patients through art instruction and therapy.
Even better, a portion of the proceeds from each box of CRAVE Cupcakes delivered anywhere within the Medical Center -- whether they're Childhood Cancer Awareness boxes or not -- will also go to benefit the program.
See Crave Cupcakes on Facebook for more information.
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas. Show all posts
Friday, September 16, 2011
Monday, September 12, 2011
Review: Red Jett Sweets Mobile Cupcakery in Fort Worth, Texas
Next up in my ongoing reviews of Dallas/Fort Worth area cupcakeries is Fort Worth's first and only mobile cupcakery -- Red Jett Sweets cupcake truck!
I should start by saying that the truck wasn't in operation when I was visiting, but the ladies of Red Jett Sweets (Christina Jett-Meyer and Natalie Gamez) drove out to Allison and Anthony's place to share their delectable baked treats.
Allison and her sister, Ashley, promised to provide ongoing coverage of the truck, which we hope to post soon.
Natalie and Christina, photo by Christina's fiance, Peter. Sweet!
Here are Natalie and Christina at Allison and Anthony's place with their boxes of cupcake love. Mmm, cupcake love...
Natalie and Christina have worked hard for the past year testing recipes, buying and outfitting a truck, switching from a commercial kitchen shared space to their own baking area, and getting Fort Worth's first mobile cupcakery in action. Their tag line is "Have sugar. Will travel."
The cupcakery began, I believe, with a senior class project for Natalie's business degree. She's the one with a family background in restaurants, and the business plan. Christina is the firecracker of the duo. She's in constant motion, with ideas just rolling off her tongue. I swear I don't think she sat still during our entire interview! (Her quite apt business card says "mover shaker, cupcake baker.") They make an excellent team and I am excited by their enthusiasm and energy.
The duo brought us (the tasters) four flavors to try, all decorated beautifully with fancy fondant toppers: Red Jett velvet (the red velvet), snickerdoodle, lemon blueberry, and dark chocolate-chocolate.
The Red Jett velvet:
The (best-selling) red velvet had cream cheese frosting, of course, and we all thought it was a natural-tasting red velvet. No hint of chemical aftertaste or the bitter tang of food coloring. The chocolatey-cocoa taste was subtle, but there. Anthony particularly loved this cupcake, and he's a red velvet fanatic, so it must be good. We all thought the frosting was rich and creamy but not too sweet, a perfect amount. The cake itself was dry, a bit crumbly, not usual for red velvets. Delicious cake and frosting combined together.
The lemon blueberry, with lemon buttercream frosting:
None of us like fondant, so we only ate the cupcakes and frosting and tossed the pretty toppers. This cupcake was delicious. Scrumptious. Excellent frosting, and piquant lemon taste, but subtle. And again, the cake was a bit dry and crumbly. Eaten together, it's a wonderful treat. We all liked the size of the cupcakes. Not too large, but not mini either.
Christina told us that she uses no oil or shortening (or gelatin!) at all in her recipes, she's an all-butter all-the-time baker. We approve. Mm, butter!
The snickerdoodle:
Yum, I am a snickerdoodle fan! This was a cinnamon-y, muffin-y cupcake, with tasty and vaguely citrus-y cinnamon vanilla buttercream. We all tasted what we assumed to be cream of tartar, but there was also a hint of some sort of lemon or lime taste. Again, the cake was dry, and more muffinlike than cakelike. But it was still good. Like the others we tasted, subtlety flavored but distinctive.
And last but by no means least, the dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache:
Ohh lordy this was a winner. The ganache frosting was light and almost mousse-like, rich and creamy and soft. Allison and I fought for the last bit of it, it was that good. If Christina and Natalie could overnight me a bucket of this I'd be the happiest camper (and no, I would not share). Once again, the cake was a bit dry, not overcooked, just dry. But the chocolate taste was exactly what you want in a dark chocolate cupcake. And it was airy and light to boot.
Natalie and Christina event left us an extra box of treats to share with the local nurses at the hospital where I was visiting a patient. Now that's sweet!
Natalie and Christina have worked hard for the past year testing recipes, buying and outfitting a truck, switching from a commercial kitchen shared space to their own baking area, and getting Fort Worth's first mobile cupcakery in action. Their tag line is "Have sugar. Will travel."
The cupcakery began, I believe, with a senior class project for Natalie's business degree. She's the one with a family background in restaurants, and the business plan. Christina is the firecracker of the duo. She's in constant motion, with ideas just rolling off her tongue. I swear I don't think she sat still during our entire interview! (Her quite apt business card says "mover shaker, cupcake baker.") They make an excellent team and I am excited by their enthusiasm and energy.
The duo brought us (the tasters) four flavors to try, all decorated beautifully with fancy fondant toppers: Red Jett velvet (the red velvet), snickerdoodle, lemon blueberry, and dark chocolate-chocolate.
The Red Jett velvet:
The (best-selling) red velvet had cream cheese frosting, of course, and we all thought it was a natural-tasting red velvet. No hint of chemical aftertaste or the bitter tang of food coloring. The chocolatey-cocoa taste was subtle, but there. Anthony particularly loved this cupcake, and he's a red velvet fanatic, so it must be good. We all thought the frosting was rich and creamy but not too sweet, a perfect amount. The cake itself was dry, a bit crumbly, not usual for red velvets. Delicious cake and frosting combined together.
The lemon blueberry, with lemon buttercream frosting:
None of us like fondant, so we only ate the cupcakes and frosting and tossed the pretty toppers. This cupcake was delicious. Scrumptious. Excellent frosting, and piquant lemon taste, but subtle. And again, the cake was a bit dry and crumbly. Eaten together, it's a wonderful treat. We all liked the size of the cupcakes. Not too large, but not mini either.
Christina told us that she uses no oil or shortening (or gelatin!) at all in her recipes, she's an all-butter all-the-time baker. We approve. Mm, butter!
The snickerdoodle:
Yum, I am a snickerdoodle fan! This was a cinnamon-y, muffin-y cupcake, with tasty and vaguely citrus-y cinnamon vanilla buttercream. We all tasted what we assumed to be cream of tartar, but there was also a hint of some sort of lemon or lime taste. Again, the cake was dry, and more muffinlike than cakelike. But it was still good. Like the others we tasted, subtlety flavored but distinctive.
And last but by no means least, the dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate ganache:
Ohh lordy this was a winner. The ganache frosting was light and almost mousse-like, rich and creamy and soft. Allison and I fought for the last bit of it, it was that good. If Christina and Natalie could overnight me a bucket of this I'd be the happiest camper (and no, I would not share). Once again, the cake was a bit dry, not overcooked, just dry. But the chocolate taste was exactly what you want in a dark chocolate cupcake. And it was airy and light to boot.
Natalie and Christina event left us an extra box of treats to share with the local nurses at the hospital where I was visiting a patient. Now that's sweet!
Since the Red Jett ladies won't sell day-old cupcakes, they donate leftovers (if there are any) to their local community center. I can't imagine them having too many leftovers though. And from what we've seen on their twitter account, they sell out early and often. Rumors hint that pupcakes will be available on the truck soon. Other rumors: franchising is possible. Stay tuned...
[And private note to Christina: Thank you from Michael and thank you from me.]
817.733.6422
817.458.6150
817.458.6150
cupcakes $2.75
dozen $25.00
Allergen-free cupcakes available upon request
All images (except the one labeled otherwise) by Stacie Joy for CTTC; see the entire set here.
;)
dozen $25.00
Allergen-free cupcakes available upon request
All images (except the one labeled otherwise) by Stacie Joy for CTTC; see the entire set here.
;)
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
TODAY: Cupcakes to Benefit Central Texas Fire Relief
From their Facebook Page:
"On Wednesday all profits will be split between American Red Cross and Austin Pets Alive to help Central TX fire relief.
Come buy dessert, and the next day we'll cut a check to these two charities.
We are thinking of all of our friends in the surrounding areas and hoping for their safety."
Friday, September 2, 2011
Review: Cupcakes to Go Go in Edmond, Oklahoma
Allison, Ashley and I were the tasters, with Allison's husband Anthony weighing in, and Ashley's kids Caroline and Cooper happily nabbing the leftovers.
Ashley, Melany, Allison and Anthony.
Melany showed up with two dozen (yes, two dozen) cupcakes, in lots of different flavors.
The daily eight:
(left to right, top to bottom) Sonoma valley vanilla, times square, chocolate cream cheese city, cookies and cream-capped mountains, black bottom beach, route 66 red velvet, chocolate town, I heart pbc, and some duplicates.
And...
(Left to right, top to bottom) cinnamon safari, sunshine state cake (with a lemon bar) hazelnut hotel, strawberry hill, carrot island, Havana banana with blueberries, chocolate del caramel, vanilla villa, kona kahuna, southern sour cream chocolate, sunshine state cake, and butterscotch land.
Cupcakes to Go Go has a travel theme, and even has a drive-thru, which I think is genius. How great is it to be able to pick up your cupcakes without getting out of your car? Love it. (Of course, I don't have a car and live in NYC with no drive-thru so I may be biased.) Melany explained that her business is based on the words motion, movement and travel. Her tag line is "a sweet destination," and the flavors are based on great travel destinations (Philadelphia cheesecake brownie, Japanese chocolate cherry blossoms, leaning tower of peanut butter). The pricing list is called "terms of travel!"
The Cupcakes to Go Go passport stamp.
Miss Melany is definitely an astute businesswoman. She has an MBA from University of Central Oklahoma, and runs her business, which is practically brand new, with an eye toward longevity. Her employees sign nondisclosure and noncompete clauses (something we don't hear about a lot), and she manages to raise her two young children (a three year old and a five year old) alongside her husband, who handles accounting for the business. She recounted how she knew exactly how many cupcakes she needed to sell each day to stay afloat and how many she would need to turn a profit. With a drive-thru window, a bakery/shop, and a cupcake truck, I am certain that we will be seeing more of Cupcakes to Go Go. But enough background info -- on to the cupcakes!
My go-to control cupcake flavor is always vanilla. And the vanilla villa did not disappoint.
Delicious. Light and flavorful, very real vanilla taste without being fake-extract-y. A great start. And the findings were sparingly sprinkled on top, so they weren't as annoying, nor did they distract from the taste of the cupcake. If anything the tiny crunch was a plus. I should also mention that while I was interviewing Melany, I was called upon to pacify Anthony's rumbling belly, so I sacrificed the Route 66 red velvet to him (so no pictures exist). He was suitably impressed (and loved the frosting especially) and the interview was able to continue at its previous pace.
With so many flavors (um, twenty?) to try, I wasn't certain we could get through them all. But I had a good crew and we were all willing. Next up, the cinnamon safari.
I could see actual vanilla beans in this one. All of us tasted it and we all loved it. An excellent pick. Not too spicy, so kids would enjoy it too, and the coordinated wrapper was a nice touch. Cinnamon-sugar frosting with a cinnamon-sugar cake. Win.
Then the sunshine state cake (with lemon bar topper) was our next cupcake.
The lemon bar was better than the cupcake. The bar was great, not falling prey to the overly sugary trap that most bars usually land in. It was something I craved long after it was gone. (Hm, may be time for a trip to Edmond, Oklahoma...) The cake itself we felt was too mild and not lemony enough, and we could taste lemon extract aftertaste. We felt the cake or frosting could have benefited from some lemon zest, but we agreed that it could be we were just overwhelmed with the superior lemon bar. Very refreshing and perfect for summer.
Then the southern sour cream chocolate:
Tee hee! I have to admit something that Anthony will deny. He actually moaned aloud when eating this cupcake. Moaned. Out loud. Ashley said it was fabulously light and delicious, Allison said it tasted like her mom's cake (possibly better), and I just shut up and tried to grab the last bite before it disappeared. Nothing was leftover for the kids. Sorry kids. Another winner.
Then we splurged on the chocolate del caramel.
This milk chocolate caramel frosting and caramel-filled chocolate cake (with brownie on top!) was another delight. Ashley loved it, said the brownie and cake were both good. I was hoping for a bit more caramel taste (okay, I am a caramel junkie) but this was another cupcake that didn't make it onto the kid's plate.
By the way, here's the kid's "plate:"
Allison and Ashley are sad over the cupcake carnage but I was happy knowing the kids would have lots of stuff to enjoy. If we didn't try to save them some we'd never have been able to work our way through two dozen cupcakes.
On to the Havana banana with blueberries:
This cupcake, with cream cheese frosting, blueberry toppers and filling and a banana cake, was definitely a muffin with frosting (masquerading as a cupcake). A banana muffin with frosting and blueberries. Light and kinda dry, it wasn't bad (in fact it was good) it just wasn't cake-y enough.
There were a couple of cupcakes I couldn't or wouldn't eat, the cookies and cream-capped mountains and strawberry hill. The Oreo one:
...because I don't care for Oreos, and the strawberry hill:
...because it was made with gelatin (an animal-based product not suitable for vegetarians like me). The cookies and cream-capped mountain was a chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting and topped with a cookie. Allison and Ashley liked the cake a lot but commented that they thought it would be better with a cookie baked into the cupcake, at the bottom of the pan. Or that the frosting needed more Oreo in it. But in general, a good cupcake.
The strawberry hill (strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting) on the other hand had the sad distinction of being the worst and only bad cupcake of the bunch; the only one that everyone hated. The comments I received were, "tastes like strawberry jelly" and "overcooked" and "artificial tasting." Allison said the chemical taste was so bad she didn't want to finish her bite. So, Cupcakes to Go Go, ya may want to work on that one.The only dud of the bunch; one out of 24 isn't bad.
We all agreed, however, that the I heart pbc was a delight. I heart this cupcake. It's a peanut butter and milk chocolate frosting with chocolate cake and a (partial) peanut butter cup on top.
...because I don't care for Oreos, and the strawberry hill:
...because it was made with gelatin (an animal-based product not suitable for vegetarians like me). The cookies and cream-capped mountain was a chocolate cake with cookies and cream frosting and topped with a cookie. Allison and Ashley liked the cake a lot but commented that they thought it would be better with a cookie baked into the cupcake, at the bottom of the pan. Or that the frosting needed more Oreo in it. But in general, a good cupcake.
The strawberry hill (strawberry cake with strawberry cream cheese frosting) on the other hand had the sad distinction of being the worst and only bad cupcake of the bunch; the only one that everyone hated. The comments I received were, "tastes like strawberry jelly" and "overcooked" and "artificial tasting." Allison said the chemical taste was so bad she didn't want to finish her bite. So, Cupcakes to Go Go, ya may want to work on that one.The only dud of the bunch; one out of 24 isn't bad.
We all agreed, however, that the I heart pbc was a delight. I heart this cupcake. It's a peanut butter and milk chocolate frosting with chocolate cake and a (partial) peanut butter cup on top.
Oh my goodness was this cupcake ever delicious! It was exactly what you'd want in a peanut butter and chocolate cupcake and nothing you wouldn't want. Just...zen pbc perfection. So good! I'm glad this cupcake is made daily (as opposed to the rotating seasonal flavors, of which there are something like 40+) because it is something I think I could eat every day and never get tired of it. So damn good.
The troops were getting full but we managed to try a couple more flavors before giving up. We had the butterscotchland:
...which surprised us by being a filled cupcake. A vanilla cake with butterscotch filling and butterscotch and vanilla frosting. And some minichips on top. We all felt this cupcake was a bit too sweet for our tastes but good for kids or those who like the extrasweet.
And our final tasting was the hazelnut hotel, a hazelnut chocolate cake with Nutella and vanilla frosting.
Allison loves Nutella so this cupcake was pledged to her. I admit to being oversugared so I wasn't the best judge but the consensus on this was that it could have used some more hazelnut or Nutella taste. A good cupcake, perfectly baked with good crumb, but probably would have has a stronger taste if we hadn't just eaten twenty other flavors.
All in all, we all loved Cupcakes to Go Go and Melany, and there was even talk about the Texas delegation driving the many hours north just to get another fix of the Oklahoma deliciousness. We talked about how impressed we were with Melany and her cupcakes, and how glad we all were to have had the chance to taste so many of her yummy baked treats. Melany even snail-mailed me a lovely thank you card after our interview, which touched me. If you are near Edmond, Oklahoma, or even happen to be in a 100-mile radius, you owe it to yourself to drop by. Tell them Stacie from Cupcakes Take the Cake says hi!
Cupcakes to Go Go
2524 West Edmond Road
Oklahoma, OK 73012
405.330.2190
Store and Drive-thru hours:
11am - 7pm
Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday
Cupcakes are $2.25
minis and jumbos available upon request
frosting shots 75 cents
orders [at] cupcakestogogo.com
Flickr/Twitter/Facebook
See the rest of my Texas cupcake shots here, all images by Stacie Joy for CTTC.
;)
2524 West Edmond Road
Oklahoma, OK 73012
405.330.2190
Store and Drive-thru hours:
11am - 7pm
Monday - Saturday
Closed Sunday
Cupcakes are $2.25
minis and jumbos available upon request
frosting shots 75 cents
orders [at] cupcakestogogo.com
Flickr/Twitter/Facebook
See the rest of my Texas cupcake shots here, all images by Stacie Joy for CTTC.
;)
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Cupcake-a-Doodle-Do!
Austin, mark your calendars for Cupcake-a-Doodle-Do: The Great Cupcake Challenge!
Saturday, October 22nd, Noon-5 pm
Central Market North
4001 North Lamar
Austin, Texas
Theatre Action Project (TAP) and Central Market present the “Cupcake-a-Doodle-Do: The Great Cupcake Challenge” on Saturday, October 22 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 4001 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX 78756. The event features family fun activities and crafts or all ages, and bragging rights for the Best Cup Cake in Austin.
Competing bakeries are eager to put their cupcakes to test while also supporting Theatre Action Project. TAP teaches young people critical life lessons through the power of theatre and the creative arts, including film, music, theatre, painting murals, and more. TAP serves 16,000 young people a year, PreK-12th grade, through a variety of in school, after school, summer camp, and evening based programs. TAP focuses on topics such as: bullying, diversity, dating violence, low self-esteem, eating healthy, literacy, and the environment.
This fundraiser will support TAP’s continued effort to reach more youth and empower them to create social change within the Austin community.
Suggested Donation of $5
Saturday, October 22nd, Noon-5 pm
Central Market North
4001 North Lamar
Austin, Texas
Theatre Action Project (TAP) and Central Market present the “Cupcake-a-Doodle-Do: The Great Cupcake Challenge” on Saturday, October 22 from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. at 4001 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, TX 78756. The event features family fun activities and crafts or all ages, and bragging rights for the Best Cup Cake in Austin.
Competing bakeries are eager to put their cupcakes to test while also supporting Theatre Action Project. TAP teaches young people critical life lessons through the power of theatre and the creative arts, including film, music, theatre, painting murals, and more. TAP serves 16,000 young people a year, PreK-12th grade, through a variety of in school, after school, summer camp, and evening based programs. TAP focuses on topics such as: bullying, diversity, dating violence, low self-esteem, eating healthy, literacy, and the environment.
This fundraiser will support TAP’s continued effort to reach more youth and empower them to create social change within the Austin community.
Suggested Donation of $5
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Review: Patty Cakes Bakery in Grapevine, Texas
Okay Texas people, thanks for your patience. I have so many Fort Worth-area places to review, so many wonderful cupcakeries to share with y'all, I am embarrassed that I am falling behind. In my defense I have to say that I was in Texas dealing with some personal issues that kept me from spending as much time cupcaking as I'd like.
So I am going to review the cupcakeries in a random way, no implied favorites in any way. First up is...(drum roll please!) Patty Cakes Bakery! Chef Patty (Wilson) was a delight to meet, as was her husband and partner, Kevin (quality assurance officer and chief dishwasher):
They welcomed (my fellow tasters) Ashley, Allison and I to their art-filled Grapevine cupcakery with a very laid-back vibe. No pressure at all.
Here are my fellow tasters Allison (and Ashley, with her back to the camera) outside the shop on Main Street.
Patty brought over a selection of her beautiful cupcakes:
Which we were happy to eat, of course.
Just look at these beauties!
Flavors, from left, clockwise: Tuxedo (chocolate cake, vanilla frosting), carrot cake, Patty's favorite, the Inside-out Tuxedo (vanilla cake, chocolate frosting), Kevin's favorite, the PB+C (peanut butter and chocolate), red velvet, and raspberry white chocolate (which I think was a special flavor of the week).
Not included on the plate, but spied on the rack in the kitchen was this stunner:
The Patty Cake Swirl. I nabbed it and brought it to the table. I had to have it! The Patty Cake Swirl is devil's food cake with vanilla/chocolate frosting swirl. Patty confessed, when we asked, that it was made with a bit of coffee, to give it an added depth. After learning more about Chef Patty I am pretty sure she uses the finest quality coffee she can find. At Patty's bakery she sources her ingredients very carefully and that shows in her goods.
See those sprinkles on top? Not the waxy jimmies we all dreaded. No, these (Patty called them vermicelli) are by Barry Callebaut. Unbearably good. We copped to wanting to eat them by the truckload. I seriously wish more cupcakeries would invest in higher-quality findings like these. Delicious!
The cupcake itself was subtly flavored, and we didn't taste the coffee but the cupcake was definitely a winner. Patty uses piping bags with no tips to mix and frost these beauties. She does the same pattern for school colors, special events, etc., photos of which she posts to Facebook and Flickr (links below).
Here's the shop's best-seller, the red velvet:
Gorgeous, and instantly recognizable as a Patty Cakes cupcake. Again, she uses piping bags without tips to create this signature look.
Here's Allison's hand modeling debut (see the oil slick?) with the bisected red velvet:
I get it, everyone in the south seems to love red velvet but I hate food coloring so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this. Which is to say that I wish I didn't have to keep taste-testing red velvet cupcakes.
The cake itself is very good, and moist, leaving a bit of an oil slick on your hands as you hold it. Patty uses half-and-half in her recipes instead of plain ol' milk, so the extra richness is noticeable. I believe this is an oil and vinegar recipe, or maybe oil and buttermilk.
The frosting was very sweet, too sweet for my tastes, but this is the cupcake every kid will demand once spied. There was a good crumb to the cake but Allison mentioned that she could taste the oil pervasively and it seemed to have an aftertaste of tortilla oil. (I know that sounds weird, but after she mentioned it, I could understand what she was saying -- it was an oil aftertaste, reminiscent of fried foods. I mean, I think that is what she was tasting. I didn't taste any tortillas in the mix.)
Here's that Inside-out Tuxedo cupcake:
The vanilla cake wasn't too vanilla-y, it was a light cake but the chocolate frosting was fantastic. When eaten together, it was a wonderful experience. The cake and frosting had a perfect marriage of flavors. This cupcake is a people-pleaser, great for picky eaters. It tasted like a cupcake your grandmother might have baked. Yum!
(As an aside, every baker I interviewed in Texas mentioned using their grandmother's recipes, Patty included.)
See those pearls on top? Those are rice crispie-based Callebaut pearls. So damn good. We all loved them. Ashley confided that she could sit in front of the TV eating those by the handful and never get tired of 'em. Again, Patty's dedication to best ingredients lead to a cupcake that would be hard to beat in any contest.
The carrot cake was up next:
Once again, you can tell right away that this cupcake was made with "the good stuff." It was so rich! Patty uses Plugra butter, a European high butterfat-content butter that bakers (and eaters, including me) adore.
We tossed the sugar carrot topper, so I can't tell you how that tasted (no one seems to like them).
We all liked this cupcake but felt it could use, well, something. I thought maybe nuts, or pineapple, Anthony (Allison's husband, who helped taste the few cupcakes we brought home) thought maybe a heavier hand with the spices. It was a more mild carrot cake taste but no doubt about it tasty. This cupcake is a great afternoon snack cupcake. Even if you are not a spice-cake fan, you will probably like this cupcake.
When I read over my notes for this cupcake, I noticed that Patty mentioned using Oklahoma pecans, but I am not sure I tasted them. Maybe if the nuts were larger, less chopped-up? She also mixes her cream cheese frosting with buttercream frosting, which we felt helped lighten and brighten the frosting. Light but rich!
Here's the PB+C:
Again, it was mild-tasting but high-quality. The peanut butter frosting was not like eating peanut butter plus sugar out of a jar (as so often happens with peanut butter chocolate cupcakes), it was a fantastic, fudge-y and rich frosting. But light, not dense. So delicious! The cake was a dark chocolate, again with excellent cocoa powder (not sure where she sources that). And yum, more of those terrific vermicelli.
I doubt I will be able to enjoy regular waxy sprinkles again.
Next up, the Tuxedo:
This cupcake's texture was perfect, you can tell it was baked to the exact nanosecond. It was a moist chocolate cake that was sweeter than the other chocolates we tasted. I was also taken with the extra-tall baking cups Patty uses. Simple and elegant, but easy to peel.
And those chocolate pearls again, so scrumptious. And they added a needed crunch/texture to the cupcake, helping to raise the vanilla buttercream to an exciting experience in the mouth.
The flavor of the week, which Kevin says Patty makes on a whim, was the raspberry white chocolate:
Patty says the flavor of the week appears once a year so if you missed this flavor you'd have to wait until 2012 to see it again.
We were over-stuffed (Patty's cupcakes are filling!), so we had to bring this flavor home to try it too. It suffered a bit on the trip home (I am sure that was due to the 110+ degree heat) but was no less tasty for the voyage.
Everyone liked this cupcake but we all agreed that it would taste better (gasp) without the white chocolate crunchies on top. They distracted from the excellent flavor of the cupcake. The raspberries were wonderful and refreshing, the cake light and tasty. We scraped off the findings and devoured it. I think there might have been a minifight for the last bite.
Some of the other things that make Patty Cakes Bakery special are the free wifi (made my techie heart happy!), they stay open late (for Texas, weekends until 9 pm), and all the wonderful local art available for viewing and sale.
And the cupcake display!
Like each cupcake is a precious jewel. Nice. Loved the old-fashioned display cases.
The bakery also sells cakeballs and cookies:
Here's where I have to admit something. I'd never had a cakeball before this trip to Texas. I know, I know, it's shocking, I am a cupcake blogger, but on this trip I tasted lots of them and could not figure out what the appeal is. It wasn't until Ashley and Allison explained how cakeballs are made that I got it. I wasn't aware that the cake and frosting are mixed together before being dipped or frosted. I am not a fan. I like the cupcake the way it is. Not sure why you'd want to mush it up with frosting and force it into a ball, but I see that they are very, very popular. And cute, and small, and affordable minitreats.
We were gifted with some to take home to Anthony, the red velvet (made with milk chocolate coating), and two pink strawberry lemonade (with white chocolate coating).
I didn't eat the cakeballs, as I discovered I'm not a fan, but Allison, Anthony and Ashley did and they thought the coating on the pink strawberry lemonade was spectacular (probably another top-notch chocolate, if I know Patty). The inside was only "okay."
Re: the red velvet cakeball, again, everyone loved the chocolate coating but didn't like the center. I thought they looked lovely, like truffles! Another hint is to have them at room temperature, they suffer from being refrigerated. (Of course the blazing heat of central Texas in August isn't the best time to try to carrying around perishables.)
Once back in NYC I found myself wishing there was a Patty Cakes Bakery close by, a breezy/laid-back place to drop in, have some coffee and cupcake, get some work done, see locals and tourists alike enjoy the space. If you are in historic Grapevine, or even close, drop by Patty Cakes Bakery and try Chef Patty's cupcakes. And tell her that Stacie Joy says hi.
Patty Cakes Bakery
417 South Main
Grapevine, Texas 76051
682.223.1471
Facebook/Twitter/Flickr/Blog/Email
Cupcakes are $33 for a baker's dozen, or $2.77 per.
Cakeballs approximately $1.50 each. (Although I could swear they were a dollar when I was there!)
Patty Cakes Bakery also makes gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free and three size cupcakes: regular, mini and petite (upon request/special order). Classes available, see the website for details.
You can see more of the shots from my trip to Texas here. All images by Stacie Joy for CTTC.
;)
So I am going to review the cupcakeries in a random way, no implied favorites in any way. First up is...(drum roll please!) Patty Cakes Bakery! Chef Patty (Wilson) was a delight to meet, as was her husband and partner, Kevin (quality assurance officer and chief dishwasher):
They welcomed (my fellow tasters) Ashley, Allison and I to their art-filled Grapevine cupcakery with a very laid-back vibe. No pressure at all.
Here are my fellow tasters Allison (and Ashley, with her back to the camera) outside the shop on Main Street.
Patty brought over a selection of her beautiful cupcakes:
Which we were happy to eat, of course.
Just look at these beauties!
Flavors, from left, clockwise: Tuxedo (chocolate cake, vanilla frosting), carrot cake, Patty's favorite, the Inside-out Tuxedo (vanilla cake, chocolate frosting), Kevin's favorite, the PB+C (peanut butter and chocolate), red velvet, and raspberry white chocolate (which I think was a special flavor of the week).
Not included on the plate, but spied on the rack in the kitchen was this stunner:
The Patty Cake Swirl. I nabbed it and brought it to the table. I had to have it! The Patty Cake Swirl is devil's food cake with vanilla/chocolate frosting swirl. Patty confessed, when we asked, that it was made with a bit of coffee, to give it an added depth. After learning more about Chef Patty I am pretty sure she uses the finest quality coffee she can find. At Patty's bakery she sources her ingredients very carefully and that shows in her goods.
See those sprinkles on top? Not the waxy jimmies we all dreaded. No, these (Patty called them vermicelli) are by Barry Callebaut. Unbearably good. We copped to wanting to eat them by the truckload. I seriously wish more cupcakeries would invest in higher-quality findings like these. Delicious!
The cupcake itself was subtly flavored, and we didn't taste the coffee but the cupcake was definitely a winner. Patty uses piping bags with no tips to mix and frost these beauties. She does the same pattern for school colors, special events, etc., photos of which she posts to Facebook and Flickr (links below).
Here's the shop's best-seller, the red velvet:
Gorgeous, and instantly recognizable as a Patty Cakes cupcake. Again, she uses piping bags without tips to create this signature look.
Here's Allison's hand modeling debut (see the oil slick?) with the bisected red velvet:
I get it, everyone in the south seems to love red velvet but I hate food coloring so I wasn't expecting to enjoy this. Which is to say that I wish I didn't have to keep taste-testing red velvet cupcakes.
The cake itself is very good, and moist, leaving a bit of an oil slick on your hands as you hold it. Patty uses half-and-half in her recipes instead of plain ol' milk, so the extra richness is noticeable. I believe this is an oil and vinegar recipe, or maybe oil and buttermilk.
The frosting was very sweet, too sweet for my tastes, but this is the cupcake every kid will demand once spied. There was a good crumb to the cake but Allison mentioned that she could taste the oil pervasively and it seemed to have an aftertaste of tortilla oil. (I know that sounds weird, but after she mentioned it, I could understand what she was saying -- it was an oil aftertaste, reminiscent of fried foods. I mean, I think that is what she was tasting. I didn't taste any tortillas in the mix.)
Here's that Inside-out Tuxedo cupcake:
The vanilla cake wasn't too vanilla-y, it was a light cake but the chocolate frosting was fantastic. When eaten together, it was a wonderful experience. The cake and frosting had a perfect marriage of flavors. This cupcake is a people-pleaser, great for picky eaters. It tasted like a cupcake your grandmother might have baked. Yum!
(As an aside, every baker I interviewed in Texas mentioned using their grandmother's recipes, Patty included.)
See those pearls on top? Those are rice crispie-based Callebaut pearls. So damn good. We all loved them. Ashley confided that she could sit in front of the TV eating those by the handful and never get tired of 'em. Again, Patty's dedication to best ingredients lead to a cupcake that would be hard to beat in any contest.
The carrot cake was up next:
Once again, you can tell right away that this cupcake was made with "the good stuff." It was so rich! Patty uses Plugra butter, a European high butterfat-content butter that bakers (and eaters, including me) adore.
We tossed the sugar carrot topper, so I can't tell you how that tasted (no one seems to like them).
We all liked this cupcake but felt it could use, well, something. I thought maybe nuts, or pineapple, Anthony (Allison's husband, who helped taste the few cupcakes we brought home) thought maybe a heavier hand with the spices. It was a more mild carrot cake taste but no doubt about it tasty. This cupcake is a great afternoon snack cupcake. Even if you are not a spice-cake fan, you will probably like this cupcake.
When I read over my notes for this cupcake, I noticed that Patty mentioned using Oklahoma pecans, but I am not sure I tasted them. Maybe if the nuts were larger, less chopped-up? She also mixes her cream cheese frosting with buttercream frosting, which we felt helped lighten and brighten the frosting. Light but rich!
Here's the PB+C:
Again, it was mild-tasting but high-quality. The peanut butter frosting was not like eating peanut butter plus sugar out of a jar (as so often happens with peanut butter chocolate cupcakes), it was a fantastic, fudge-y and rich frosting. But light, not dense. So delicious! The cake was a dark chocolate, again with excellent cocoa powder (not sure where she sources that). And yum, more of those terrific vermicelli.
I doubt I will be able to enjoy regular waxy sprinkles again.
Next up, the Tuxedo:
This cupcake's texture was perfect, you can tell it was baked to the exact nanosecond. It was a moist chocolate cake that was sweeter than the other chocolates we tasted. I was also taken with the extra-tall baking cups Patty uses. Simple and elegant, but easy to peel.
And those chocolate pearls again, so scrumptious. And they added a needed crunch/texture to the cupcake, helping to raise the vanilla buttercream to an exciting experience in the mouth.
The flavor of the week, which Kevin says Patty makes on a whim, was the raspberry white chocolate:
Patty says the flavor of the week appears once a year so if you missed this flavor you'd have to wait until 2012 to see it again.
We were over-stuffed (Patty's cupcakes are filling!), so we had to bring this flavor home to try it too. It suffered a bit on the trip home (I am sure that was due to the 110+ degree heat) but was no less tasty for the voyage.
Everyone liked this cupcake but we all agreed that it would taste better (gasp) without the white chocolate crunchies on top. They distracted from the excellent flavor of the cupcake. The raspberries were wonderful and refreshing, the cake light and tasty. We scraped off the findings and devoured it. I think there might have been a minifight for the last bite.
Some of the other things that make Patty Cakes Bakery special are the free wifi (made my techie heart happy!), they stay open late (for Texas, weekends until 9 pm), and all the wonderful local art available for viewing and sale.
And the cupcake display!
Like each cupcake is a precious jewel. Nice. Loved the old-fashioned display cases.
The bakery also sells cakeballs and cookies:
Here's where I have to admit something. I'd never had a cakeball before this trip to Texas. I know, I know, it's shocking, I am a cupcake blogger, but on this trip I tasted lots of them and could not figure out what the appeal is. It wasn't until Ashley and Allison explained how cakeballs are made that I got it. I wasn't aware that the cake and frosting are mixed together before being dipped or frosted. I am not a fan. I like the cupcake the way it is. Not sure why you'd want to mush it up with frosting and force it into a ball, but I see that they are very, very popular. And cute, and small, and affordable minitreats.
We were gifted with some to take home to Anthony, the red velvet (made with milk chocolate coating), and two pink strawberry lemonade (with white chocolate coating).
I didn't eat the cakeballs, as I discovered I'm not a fan, but Allison, Anthony and Ashley did and they thought the coating on the pink strawberry lemonade was spectacular (probably another top-notch chocolate, if I know Patty). The inside was only "okay."
Re: the red velvet cakeball, again, everyone loved the chocolate coating but didn't like the center. I thought they looked lovely, like truffles! Another hint is to have them at room temperature, they suffer from being refrigerated. (Of course the blazing heat of central Texas in August isn't the best time to try to carrying around perishables.)
Once back in NYC I found myself wishing there was a Patty Cakes Bakery close by, a breezy/laid-back place to drop in, have some coffee and cupcake, get some work done, see locals and tourists alike enjoy the space. If you are in historic Grapevine, or even close, drop by Patty Cakes Bakery and try Chef Patty's cupcakes. And tell her that Stacie Joy says hi.
Patty Cakes Bakery
417 South Main
Grapevine, Texas 76051
682.223.1471
Facebook/Twitter/Flickr/Blog/Email
Cupcakes are $33 for a baker's dozen, or $2.77 per.
Cakeballs approximately $1.50 each. (Although I could swear they were a dollar when I was there!)
Patty Cakes Bakery also makes gluten-free, vegan, sugar-free and three size cupcakes: regular, mini and petite (upon request/special order). Classes available, see the website for details.
You can see more of the shots from my trip to Texas here. All images by Stacie Joy for CTTC.
;)
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