Ketchup Cupcakes

I have A LOT of bloggy catch up to do! I sampled cupcakes across New York City and Washington, DC and am way over due with my reviews. I've since returned from the East Coast and provided party cakes for another 1st birthday (this time with a theme to follow) so I've got lots of blogging to do. So much catch up that I think I'd better quit writing about how behind I am and just get on with it! Soooo.....

New York City is the epicenter of the current cupcake trend. From birthday BBQs in Queens (left), to fabulous pastery shops in the city (that a few years ago only displayed elegant tarts and fluffy-puffy sweets in the window)(below), cupcakes in bread bakeries, cupcakes were everywhere!

As we know, Sarah Jessica Parker is the epitome of New York Fashion and everything she touches turns to gold, so not surprisingly, many speculate that the national cupcake trend was kicked off with the ladies of Sex and the City's visits to Magnolia Bakery. It is true that there are now Sex and the City tours in NYC that will take you to Magnolia. I hear the lines there are atrocious and the cupcake goers just obnoxious trend whores, so I avoided it entirely (I'm a little disappointed in myself for not at least getting you a photo of the lines). I have the Magnolia cook books and adore their Vanilla Vanilla cupcake, but I felt confident enough in my re-baking of their famous cakes that I didn't really feel the need to trek over there, stand in line, get annoyed, feel like a tourist... well you get it, I didn't go to Magnolia. And I'm sure that the Cupcake Wars of New York City will go down in the history books (or at least the cupcakes blogs) and I am a bit sorry to not have sampled each and been able to report back. Instead I avoided both Magnolia and Buttercup Cafe and ventured on to the much hyped cupcakeries I'd read about on other cupcake blogs, magazine articles, and flickr galleries. I only had 2 1/2 days in the City so I read all the reviews, visited websites, and mapped out a few hot cake spots. I had a few disappoints and some nice surprises along the way. So here we go...

SUGAR SWEET SUNSHINE

Goddammit! this place is CUTE! Located on the Lower East Side/Bowery on Rivington Street (which I'd never even heard of and had a bit of a long walk -in the sweltering NYC heat- trying to find) Sugar Sweet Sunshine is a cutey cutey cute cute cupcakerie tucked away among used clothing stores, boutiques that sell $100 t-shirts, and scummy old bodegas that remind you of what this neighborhood used to be like.


SSS has a mixed reputation, some say they make the best cakes in the City and some say their cakes are just overly sweet and bland. I would disagree with each of those statements. The cakes were definitely not the best in the city, and were quite possibly the worst of the three bakeries I sampled. However, they weren't bad at all. The ladies who started SSS hail from Magnolia Bakery, and I would agree (having not visited Magnolia but baked their cakes at home, strictly following the recipes) that these cakes are just as sweet as Magnolia's and maybe not quite as tasty. But these were the first cupcakes we had in the City and I thought they were good. Not great, but good. I would bring these cakes to a party and not be ashamed. Of course, I only sampled two flavors, maybe the most boring choices, but I feel that cupcakeries should be judged on their ability to make a great chocolate and vanilla cupcake.

SSS offers a variety of yummy sounding flavors, which is one of the reasons I chose to visit. However, based on my statement above, and probably just my mood that day, as well as the fact that it was fucking hot out and we were to be walking around the city all day, it wasn't feasible get flavors to go, and I didn't feel like eating more than one cupcake. From the choices below, I went with the Black & White, because I was in NY and I love a b&w cookie. I had high hopes. My husband tried the Ooey Gooey.

Sunshine: Yellow cake with vanilla buttercream

Bob: Yellow cake with chocolate almond buttercream
Ooey Gooey: Chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream
Sexy Red Velvet: Red velvet cake with "“The Moose"
Black & White...Just Right: Chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream
Pistachio: Pistachio cake with "“The Moose"
Pumpkin: Pumpkin cake with cream cheese icing
Lemon Yummy: Lemon cake with lemon buttercream
Coconut: Coconut cake with meringue

The b&w was pretty yummy; the chocolate cake was not chocolatey enough for my taste but the vanilla buttercream was sweet and vanilly with a perfect texture. If I were to make a "black and white" in New York City, I would make an almondy white cake with their chocolate almond buttercream. But that's just me.

The Ooey Gooey was the same blah chocolate cake (good texture, density and moistness, just sweet without enough chocolate). The chocolate almond buttercream was good, but also wasn't very chocolatey. I liked the addition of almond and will try that at home, but I would have liked a chocolate chocolate cake to taste like, well, chocolate. My husband said "it taste just like yours" before he realized that was the wrong thing to say and correct to "I mean... it's disgusting?" He was a good sport and let me drag him all over the city in search of the perfect cupcake, so I didn't put up much of a fight. But I think mine are better.
One last thing. The women in the photo above came in after us and ordered 2-3 cupcakes. She sat in a chair near us and spoke into a cell phone (with a British accent) making appoints at her next cupcake stop (I didn't catch which one). She said (into cell phone) that she was a calling from some magazine I'd never heard of, it sounded to me like she was doing an international story on NYC cupcakes. I found this exciting but was too shy to approach her and find out more. Interesting...

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AMY'S CUPCAKES

My main goal in New York City cupcake hunting was to track down Amy Sedaris's famous cupcakes. I loooooooooooooove Amy Sedaris and I've read so much about her cupcakes that I was more intent on trying them than any others. I read that she sells them at Joe's in Greenwich Village, where she lives. I had fantasies about strolling into Joe's, ordering a couple of Amy's cupcakes and turning around to see her strolling in with a fresh batch. A girl can dream. Instead, I walked all over New York in the sweltering heat of an East Coast summer day, and landed at Joe at 5:00 pm. I walked in, spotted the baked goods and noticed immediately that there weren't any cupcakes in it. Sadface. No Amy Sedaris cupcakes for me. I didn't end up in the Village again so I never had the chance to sample these famous cakes. The only consolation is that upon my return I discovered that while Amy was out promoting Strangers with Candy the movie (yay!!!) she did an interview on NPR and they posted her much coveted recipe for vanilla cupcakes. I haven't yet tried them, but will do as soon as it stops being so hot in Portland. Here's the recipe for now, I'll report back once I've made them.

Oh, and here is another article where she reveals her much coveted recipe, I think there are a few differences, hmmm. Take note that the write says she sells her cakes at Gourmet Garage. Actually, Amy sells her cakes at Joe (except when I'm there!) and her famous Little Smokey Cheese Balls at Gourmet Garage. See, I did my research!


Oh oh, one more thing before I move on, this article both confirms that Joe sells her cakes, but that they are rarely there, and that my fantasy was a realistic one. I guess I'll have to allow more time on my next trip, so I can stalk her properly.

I did end up having an Amy's cupcake, but it didn't come from the comic queen, it came from Amy's Bread located in Hell's Kitchen. We were on our way to "Restaurant Row" for dinner when I spotted some beautiful cupcakes in the window of this bread shop (I do have an eye for cupcakes). I darted inside and ordered up each available flavor (there were only 3 flavors left): Definitely Devil's Food Cupcake with Chocolate Silk Frosting, Simply Yellow Cupcakes with Mellow Milk Chocolate Frosting and Yellow Cupcakes with Pink Frosting! Their menu of cakes looks so intriguing, I wish wish wish I'd been able to try the Monkey Cake! Oh well, next time.

Anyway, the lovely ladies working behind the bread counter gave me my cupcakes in a cute little box and sent me on my way. Unfortunately (for the cupcakes, good for us) we at a huge delicious meal at Becco that left us way way way too full for dessert. The cupcakes sat in my dad's fridge for 2 days untouched while we ran around the city stuffing our faces with everything we could find. Yum, I love NY.








Anyway, on ourlast morning in NY, before we picked up our car and drove to DC, I decided we should try out these Amy cakes with our coffee. And I'm so glad I did. Even after a few days of refridgeration these cakes were delicious. The cake itself was very dense and very flavorfull. The yellow cake was quite possibly the best I've ever had. The chocolate devil's food was also dense and delish, perfectly chocolatey, not too sweet, perfection. The Chocolate Silk frosting was so divine that I'll be attempting to replicate it soon. Divine. Delish. Dense. YUM. The pink frosting was beautifully and delicately pink, but wasn't the best buttercream I've had. It was nice, but the milk chocolate on the yellow was way better than the pink on yellow. And the silk chocolate was better than the milk. This was certainly the best surprise of my cupcake hunting. I can't believe I haven't heard more about these cakes. And I wonder if their expertise in breads, which they are famous for, has any influence on how the cakes are made. Maybe there's a special bread technique that carries over into cupcake baking. Hmm... She does have a cookbook that I've put on hold at the library, I'm hoping for some cake recipes! As always, I'll report back.

pretty wrapping in lieu of cake cups, i like.

*foto of Amy Sedaris not by Posy, obviously.

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cupcake cafe ~ casa cupcake

CUPCAKE CAFE AKA CASA CUPCAKES IS #1 IN MY BOOK!
AS MATT AND I WALKED TO OUR HELL'S KITCHEN, 9TH AVENUE, CUPCAKE DESITNATION, I WAS SURE WE WERE IN THE WRONG PLACE. SOMEHOW I'D WRITTEN IT DOWN WRONG. SURELY THIS RENOWNED AND COOKBOOK'D CUPCAKERIE WAS NOT STATIONED NEXT TO A FOOD BANK AND HOMELESS SHELTER. EVEN AS I APPROACHED, AND THE STENCH OF 100 DEGREE URINE FILLED MY NOSTRILS, I THOUGHT "THIS ISN'T GOING TO BE AS GOOD AS I'D EXPECTED." HA HA! HOW I WAS WRONG! ONCE YOU ENTER THIS LOVELY LITTLE CAFE, THE SOUNDS OF A CAPUCCINO MACHINE SCREECHES OVER CHIT-CHATTING PATRONS. AS WE LINED UP IN FRONT OF THE COFFEE STATION WE WERE INFORMED THAT CUPCAKES WERE IN THE BACK (HOW DID HE KNOW THAT'S WHY WE WERE THERE?).

THE CASE OF BEAUTIFULLY FLOWERED CUPCAKES WAS A BIT OVERWHELMING. I WANTED TO ORDER ONE OF EACH JUST SO I COULD PHOTOGRAPH THEM. LUCKILY THEIR WEBSITE HAS A
GALLERY OF THEIR CUPCAKE ART.
THE MENU OFFERED A VARIETY OF FLAVORED CAKES AND FROSTINGS: VANILLA, CHOCOLATE, LEMON, ORANGE, CARROT AND WALNUT CAKES, ACCOMPANIED BY CHOCOLATE, VANILLA, MOCHA, VANILLA CREAM CHEESE, MAPLE, AND LEMON FROSTINGS.

THOUGH I READ COMPLAINTS ABOUT THESE CAKES BEING PRICEY, I THOUGHT THEY WERE WORTH EVERY PENNY. NOT ONLY ARE THEY EXPERTLY DECORATED, BUT THEY WERE COMPLETELY DELICIOUS!




MATT ORDERED A CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH MOCHA FROSTING. IT WAS ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! WHILE I OFTEN ADD COFFEE TO MY CHOCOLATE CAKES, I HAVEN'T YET MADE A MOCHA FROSTING. YUM! THEIR BUTTERCREAM IS PERFECT, DELICATELY FLAVORED AND THICK. THE PERFECT AMOUNT OF SWEETNESS TO COMPLIMENT THE CAKE, BUT WITH A FLAVOR OF ITS OWN. DOUBLE YUM TOPPED WITH A PRETTY PINK TULIP!
I ORDERED A WALNUT CAKE WITH MAPLE FROSTING.
OH...MY...CUPCAKE GOD! THE WALNUT CAKE WAS DENSE, KIND OF LIKE CARROT CAKE OR BANANA BREAD, BUT STILL CAKEY. IT HAD JUST THE RIGHT AMOUNT OF WALNUTS IN IT WITH A PERFECTLY PERFECT TASTE OF WALNUT AND THE SWEETNESS OF CAKE. I'M HUNGRY FOR ONE JUST THINKING ABOUT IT. THE MAPLE FROSTING WAS TO DIE FOR. SERIOUSLY. AGAIN, A PERFECTLY THICK BUTTERCREAM WITH JUST OVER A HINT OF MAPLE, WITHOUT TASTING SWEET AND MAPLEY LIKE A MAPLE BAR. YUMMY YUMMY YUM YUM YUM. CAN I SAY "YUM" OR "PERFECT" ENOUGH TIMES? NO. WHAT'S BETTER? THE BEAUTIFUL ROSE ON TOP! OH, IT JUST COULDN'T HAVE BEEN BETTER.

ANNNND! THEY HAVE A COOKBOOK! I'VE GOT IT ON HOLD AT THE LIBRARY AND PROMISE TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT AT THEIR CAKES. I WILL, OF COURSE, REPORT BACK ON THAT. I MAKE NO PROMISES, HOWEVER, THAT MY CAKES WILL LOOK ANYWHERE NEAR AS PRETTY AS THE PROFESSIONALS. AND DESPITE MY CONFIDENCE IN MY ABILITY TO BAKE, I'M A LITTLE NERVOUS ABOUT THIS ONE. HOW CAN I LIVE UP TO IT? I'LL FOLLOW THE RECIPE STRICTLY AND LET YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.

Oh so there you have it! After 2 1/2 hours of blogging in my hot attic-office, I'm far too sweaty to tell you about the fabulous cupcakes I discovered in Washington, DC, or the 1st birthday cakes I whipped up last weekend. Please stay tuned for that report (I promise not to take such a long break this time!). xoxo