Colossal Cupcakes

Last weekend, we were in the neighborhood of Three Brothers Bakery, a local bakery I've always wanted to try, so it was the perfect opportunity to grab some sweets. Well, we were in for some seriously large cupcakes that they referred to as "jumbo." They were about twice the size of standard cupcakes.

The husband and I decided on four. My choices were cheesecake (top left) and black velvet (bottom left). The husband selected red velvet (top right) and Italian cream (bottom right).

I started with black velvet, which was chocolate cake topped with cream cheese frosting and cake crumbles. The cupcake was good. It was a bit cold, so they appear to refrigerate them, which leads me to believe they aren't truly fresh baked. Refrigeration keeps cake fresher longer, but reduces the moisture. Some of the gourmet cupcakeries will actually instruct you NOT to refrigerate their cupcakes to ensure they retain their true flavor.

My second cupcake was the cheesecake. There wasn't a description of this cupcake on their website, but it seemed to be a yellow cake with a bit of cream cheese filled in the middle; topped with cream cheese frosting and white chocolate curls. This one was a bit more moist than the black velvet, but still refrigerated.

This bakery is family-owned and has been around since 1949. More than cakes and cookies, they also have hearty baked goods like breads and bagels. The cupcakes were good, but I prefer the cupcake-specific shops. However, I would try this bakery again sometime for cakes or breads.

Drop, Stop, Cake Pop

A few months ago, I purchased a Bake Pop cake pop pan. Try saying that five times fast. So, I decided to give it a try this past weekend.

Aside from some of the usual ingredients like eggs and oil, I used Betty Crocker Super Moist cake mix in French Vanilla, Kroger brand French vanilla pudding mix and Kroger brand vanilla candy coating. The Bake Pop instructions said to add another egg and substitute the one cup of water the cake mix called for with a half cup of milk. Supposedly, these modifications make the cake more dense. If you've had cake pops or cake balls before, they are usually denser and more moist inside than the usual fluffy cake.

After preparing the mix, I sprayed the cake pop pan with no stick baking spray containing flour; filled the pan with batter and stuck it in the oven at 350 degrees. The Bake Pop directions said to bake it for 25-30 minutes, but I reduced it to 20 minutes.

When removing the pan from the oven, the batter sort of exploded outside the little vent holes. After cooling for about ten minutes, I heated up a little of the candy coating in the microwave, dipped the cake pop sticks in the candy coating and inserted them into the cake pops. I also bought a styrofoam block to hold the pops upright and stuck them in the freezer for another ten minutes.

Once cooled, I heated the remaining candy coating in the microwave according to the instructions on the package and began dipping the pops. This was a messy project. The coating dripped a lot or the sticks fell out or the pop. For some pops, I added some sprinkles. In the meantime, I made another batch with the remaining batter, reducing the bake time to 15 minutes. After the last batch was done, I just went with cake balls. The total cake pop/ball count made was 27.

Here are the results...

While they look pretty good and tasted fine, they weren't as dense or moist as ones I've had from other people or places. Between making multiple batches, mishaps, cleaning in between, etc., the process took about two and a half hours. Baking cupcakes takes a lot less time. I will likely make cake pops again sometime, but not for awhile and not very often.

Slow on the Cupcake Front, but King Cake Season is Here

The cupcake selections and opportunities have been a bit slow. However, it is Mardi Gras season, so this is a good time to indulge in a king cake since they're usually only available for about a month. The past few weekends, the hubby and I sampled a few from local grocery stores. They weren't comparable to a true Louisiana king cake, thereby not worthy enough to feature a full blog post. But between HEB and Kroger, the clear winner is HEB. If you plan on getting one, make sure you get the cream cheese filled flavor. I sampled the pineapple and wasn't a fan. Kroger's version wasn't bad, but just tasted like a cinnamon roll.

Anyway, back to the cupcakes. Several weeks ago, I had a chance to try Sprinkles Triple Cinnamon cupcake during a coworker's birthday lunch. While I failed to get a photo, here's more info about the cupcake itself from Sprinkle's website: http://www.sprinkles.com/gourmet-cupcake-flavors/triple-cinnamon-cupcakes/. It's a lightly spiced buttermilk cupcake topped with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and dusted with cinnamon sugar. This one is much better than their cinnamon sugar cupcake as this has frosting. It truly had a lot of cinnamon flavor and was moist.

Then, a few weekends ago, we made a trip to Gigi's. The flavor selections were the same as what I've featured before, but we did get a chance to try a different featured flavor this time; German Chocolate. It's German chocolate cake topped with homemade chocolate cream cheese frosting, toasted coconut and pecans.

The cake, frosting and consistency were good, but I just don't care for coconut and pecans. I realize this is typical of German chocolate, so it's just me.

February Cupcake Specials

Here are the specials...

Sprinkles

February 1-24:

• Raspberry Chocolate Chip: Chip-studded Belgian dark chocolate cake topped with raspberry frosting.
• Salty Caramel: Fleur de sel granules compliment the sweet, buttery caramel, which flavors both the cake and frosting. My favorite is back!

Crave

February 9-14:

• Strawberry on Chocolate: Dark chocolate cake with strawberry frosting. I had this one when it was featured last year; pretty good if you like dark chocolate and strawberry flavors.

Sugarbaby's

Tue/Thu/Sat:

• Smores: Chocolate cake with chunks of graham cracker and milk chocolate chips, topped with marshmallow buttercream, a drizzle of ganache and toasted marshmallows.

Wed/Fri:

• Candy Bar: Chocolate cake with a Snickers® baked inside, topped with caramel buttercream, roasted peanuts, and drizzled with caramel and ganache.
• Banana Split: Banana cake with a swirl of strawberry puree, topped with strawberry buttercream, whipped cream, chocolate syrup, and your choice of rainbow jimmies or chopped peanuts.
• Cookie Dough, I love you so...: Chocolate chip cookie inspired cake with an eggless cookie dough frosting. This is one of my favorites at Sugarbaby's.

Gigi's

Gigi's now offers three gluten-free cupcake options every Friday. Each Friday, they serve Birthday Surprise, White Hot Chocolate and Wedding Cake. Some locations bake additional gluten-free flavors and offer them on other days as well, so check with your local Gigi's for more information.

Success Gone Awry

In recent weeks, two dessert experiments took place. One of which that turned out well, a red velvet cupcake mix from Williams-Sonoma again. The other, not so well, was a white chocolate blondie brownie mix purchased at Marshalls.

First, the Williams-Sonoma red velvet cupcakes. Ingredients called for the usual suspects, but a few others that were not so usual like buttermilk and white vinegar. I followed the directions except substituted buttermilk for skim milk and a few tablespoons of butter.

Cutting baking time down a few minutes shy of the recommended time and making a few additional cupcakes in excess of a dozen, all turned out great! Taste and consistency were perfect and the buttermilk substitution didn't seem to affect the flavor.

The next experiment was something called Tasty French Bakers Blondie Brownie mix. I spotted this at Marshalls and thought I'd give it a try. It called for simple ingredients like eggs and butter.

I used an 8 X 8 inch square glass pan. The baking time said 40-45 minutes for cake-like brownies. I set the timer for 35 minutes. About 25 minutes in, the brownies looked about done. Edges turned brownish and started to appear dry. I took them out of the oven, stuck a toothpick in and it came out dry. I was worried it may have been overcooked.

After cooling about 10 minutes, I began cutting into it and it was wet as if it was nowhere near done. This was confusing since I did the toothpick test and it was dry. So, I put it back in the oven for another 7 minutes or so. At this point, the top looked more brown, so I figured they had to be done now. Toothpick test again came out dry. Cooling another 5-10 minutes, then cutting, it was wet again on the inside! I don't get it?! The taste was good, but rich. The consistency came out all wrong. I was disappointed.

January Cupcake Specials

Happy New Year! Check out this month's cupcake specials...

Sprinkles

January 4-27:

• S'more: Graham cracker-lined Belgian dark chocolate cake filled with bittersweet chocolate ganache and topped with toasted marshmallow frosting.
• German Chocolate: Topping is a rich, golden caramel laced with fresh coconut and crunchy pecans, piled high atop a light chocolate cake.

January 7-10:

• The King: Just in time for Elvis' 78th birthday, celebrate his favorite flavors with fresh banana cake topped with creamy peanut butter frosting; adorned with a shiny gold star.

Sugarbaby's

New Seasonal Flavors:
Tue/Thu/Sat:

• Italian Cream: Traditional Italian cream cake with pecans and coconut, filled with vanilla cream cheese and topped with cream cheese frosting.
• White Chocolate Raspberry: Light cream cake with white chocolate chips, topped with raspberry buttercream and white chocolate shavings.
• Saint Arnold Stout Chocolate: Moist chocolate cake infused with Houston's own Saint Arnold Winter Stout beer, topped with whipped chocolate ganache.

Wed/Fri:

• Banoffee: Banana cake filled with dulce de leche, topped with whipped cream and caramel buttercreams, sprinkled with graham crumbs..
• Coffee and Donuts: Light spice cake reminiscent of cinnamon sugar cake donuts, topped with coffee buttercream and 1/2 a mini donut.

Sugarbaby's also offers gluten-free vanilla cream cupcakes now in store on Fridays and Saturdays or by special order Tuesday through Thursday.

Sorry for the Delay - Blame it on the Holiday

Since my last update, there have been a few dessert events to report.

While I wanted to bake at home for the first time in my new house, there just wasn't enough time. I recently spotted a little bakery in a shopping strip center that I thought we'd give a try. Memorial Bakery is a bit more of a true bakery; not solely a cupcakery. They have cakes, pies and cookies, plus a seating area with wi-fi. You can get both a sugar and caffeine high, thereby doubling your efficiency on the computer.

Our selections were: White Chocolate (top left and bottom left), Carrot (top right), Red Velvet (middle left), Raspberry Cream Cheese (middle right) and Sweet Strawberry (bottom right).

My first cupcake was raspberry cream cheese. There is no detailed description on the website, but it seemed to be a standard white cake with raspberry cream cheese frosting, topped with a dried raspberry. The taste was good. It seems like they refrigerate the cupcakes to keep them fresh longer because it was a bit cold. It wasn't very moist, but not yet dry.

Second cupcake was sweet strawberry. Also was a white cake, but with strawberry frosting. It was quite similar to the raspberry cupcake, but a tad bit drier.

And last was the white chocolate cupcake. This was the best tasting out of all three. Except I was so full at this point that it was difficult to enjoy. It was white cake again with either white chocolate or vanilla frosting and white chocolate shavings on top.

I did have a bite of the husband's red velvet, which was also decent. You could taste the chocolate flavor in it more than some red velvet cakes.

Memorial Bakery was a nice diversion. I would still stick with my favorite cupcake shops before going here for cupcakes though.

On New Year's Eve, I used another cookie kit from Williams-Sonoma. This one was chocolate marshmallow crinkle and usually retails for about $18.95, but I got them for $14 using a buy two deal and a coupon.

I followed the recipe exactly and didn't overmix the batter this time. I reduced the bake time by a few minutes and the cookies turned out perfect.

These cookies were good, but I liked the toffee chocolate chunk flavor a bit better.