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.
;)
