Jen Bowles Design

Dear Magnolia Bakery...

Dear Magnolia Bakery,

I was wrong about you.  So. Very. Wrong.

When I made my first visit to your shop at Rockefeller Center in 2009 it was late on a Friday night.  It was my first trip to the city since the cupcake craze really took off--and I wanted to be a part of it.  Though I was tired from a long day of exploring Manhattan on foot, I ventured out from my hotel room at 11pm.  Your shop at Rockefeller was charming, albeit small and crowded.  I purchased two vanilla cupcakes with pink buttercream and hurried back to the room to share my goodies with my mom.

I settled into my hotel club chair and took a bite. The cake was dry and rather tasteless, the frosting like sugar weighed down with its own sweetness.

I was not impressed.  I did manage to eat the entire cupcake--you know, just in case it got better.  It didn't.

Fast forward to last Friday.  I once again found myself in New York City, this time accompanied by Ebby.  For her first trip to the Big Apple, our itinerary was full-on tourist.  We hit several hot spots:  Times Square, Central Park, Tinsel Trading...Like her mother, Ebby is a cupcake connoisseur.  Even given my less than stellar experience at Magnolia last time, I was willing to give it another shot.  For Ebby's sake.  Our first pass by the Rockefeller Center bakery presented us with a line out the door.  We decided to find some lunch and then return.  Our second try met with the same results: a line out the door. We had to move on, we had many more stops on our agenda.

However a few hours later, fate intervened.  Maybe it was the Cupcake Godesses, who's to say.  We were on our way to Dylan's Candy Bar, walking by Bloomingdale's on 3rd Avenue when I saw it, out of the corner of my eye.

A Magnolia Bakery.  Inside Bloomingdale's.  With hardly any line.

We immediately walked in.

Oh. My.

So delightful.

Turns out the Magnolia in Bloomie's just opened in June and it is lovely.   Beadboard, vintage cakestands, jars of colored sprinkles and paper straws.  Mmm, swoon.

Oh, and yes, the cupcakes.

I ordered a coconut cupcake:  vanilla cake with vanilla meringue buttercream topped with shredded coconut.  And as I found out around my 3rd bite, a lovely touch of lemon filling.

One bite and I was a Magnolia convert.

Delicious.  Light, airy frosting paired with subtle, moist cake and tangy lemon filling.  Yep, still thinking about it...

Ebby sampled a chocolate cupcake with purple (vanilla) buttercream.  It met with her approval ;-).

The decor might be my all time favorite for a bakery.    Right up there with Back in the Day in Savannah.  Perfect vintage colors, details and accessories.   

Sweet sigh.

So, congratulations Magnolia Bakery, you are now on my good side.  My very good side :-)

P.S.  Sprinkles NYC, I was underwhelmed.  Quite.

Cupcakes at the Beach

After a week straight of beautiful, sunny skies the clouds have finally returned to Eastern Massachusetts.

Not so on Sunday when I combined Ebby's love of cupcakes with my love of the beach and ended up with a whole bunch of fun photos.

Here's the story...Recently a new cupcake shop, Wicked Good Cupcakes, opened up in nearby Cohasset.  I've driven by it several times but restrained myself from stopping--because really, once you walk inside a cupcake shop what else is there to do but indulge?  Walking through the door is pretty much the point of no return.  This past Sunday I decided it was time to break the ice, so to speak.

It was simple really.  I told Ebby and Danielle that I'd buy them cupcakes if they'd pose for some pictures.  At the beach.  With the cupcakes.

Danielle is highly cooperative.

Ebby really loves cupcakes.

After selecting a Red Velvet (Ebby) and Chocolate and Vanilla Dream (Danielle), we headed for the beach.  I must admit, the whole idea of a photo shoot with cupcakes was inspired by this adorable, award-winning shot by my talented friend, North Carolina photographer Candy Howard.

Can you stand the cuteness?? 

 As luck would have it, I just so happened to have a case of vintage books from the 1920s and 30s in the back of my car--sometimes it pays not to unload your Saturday yard sale treasures right away.

Here are the results of our photo shoot--and no, neither one of the cupcakes ended up in the sand :-).

Ebby, Danielle and the cupcakes       

 

Ebby was wearing a headband which made it challenging to balance a cupcake and a book so we just went with the cupcake.

And then this happened

Oh Danielle ;-).

Cupcake and book=success!

Then it was Danielle's turn.  She gave me a variety of expressions.      

Hilarious!

Finally I gave them to ok to dig in.       

What a beautiful sojourn with 2 wonderful girls and 2 great cupcakes!

Cupcake Quest: Coccadotts, Albany, NY

Last week over school vacation, Ebby and I were able to pack up and head west for a quick overnight trip.  We went to visit my bff Kathy and 2 of her 3 daughters.  Kathy's husband and oldest daughter spent the week in London (and Edinburgh and Paris...).  Rather than feel sorry for ourselves that we weren't also touring Europe, we headed out in search of cupcakes.

Just as good, right?

The company, yes.  The cupcakes, not actually as good as a European vacation.  My expectations may have been a bit high...

After a few quick google searches we settled on our destination:  Coccadotts Cake Shop in Albany, NY.

Note:  all opinions are mine, based on my taste, design aesthetic, and rigorous cupcake standards ;-).

Location Whereas I'm not familiar with the area, it's a bit harder to judge the location of the shop.  It seemed pretty good to me.  Located in a freestanding building on a city boulevard, it's close to the highway, numerous car dealerships as well as endless big box stores including Joann, Etc. ☺.  Parking, to the front and side of the shop, was ample and easy.

Shop Appearance

Exterior:  The brick building was a bit commercial looking, but the cheerful awnings and colorful signage definitely upped the curb appeal. Besides, what's not to love about a neon CUPCAKE window sign?

Interior:  The black/pink/polka dot theme from outside is carried into the shop as well.  I would describe the decor as craft store chic--again, cute, but the vintage charming feel that I'm partial to.  The pink striped walls were fun, as were the giant paper mache letters spelling out Coccadotts.   The polka dot fabric valance over the bakery cases was a nice touch but the white feather boa stitched along the bottom was a bit much.  The signage on the baked goods was clear and easy to read but I felt missed an opportunity to add some of that elusive cupcakery charm. 

The shop itself is cozy but not tiny.  They do have one high top table with 3 stools located in the front corner.  The girls sat and ate one of their cupcakes. It was a bit crowded with Kathy and I also standing there given that the table is right next to the shop door.  We had to ask for napkins and we didn't see any drinks for sale, so it definitely seems like more of a to-go location than a cafe.

Cupcakes

Variety:  Coccadotts scores high here!  There were at least 17 different varieties available when we arrived at 3pm.  Great selection.

Appearance:  The cupcakes looked good.  Many were cute, with a creative or thematic twist.   Several cupcakes also had fun names (Sex in the City, Almond Joy).  Slightly disappointing was the fact that most of the embellishments appeared to be pre-made or out of a package (Strawberry Shortcake picks, hard sugar flowers).  On the other hand, the duck and bubbles on top of the Rubber Ducky cupcake were adorable.

Taste: There were 5 of us and we each selected 2 cupcakes.  It was too hard to chose just one, what with all the yummy sounding choices in front of us.  The girls got Red Velvet, Peanut Butter Cup, Cookies & Cream and Coconut.  All flavors got a thumbs up from the 13 and under crowd.  Now, onto the more sophisticated palates.  Kathy and I both got an Almond Joy and a Strawberries and Champagne.  I had my Almond Joy at the shop.  In a word: disappointing.  I guess I had fantasies of a coconut cake infused with chocolate ganache and a nice crunch of almonds.  I may have watched one too many episode of Cupcake Wars...Anyway, what I got was this:  yellow cupcake, chocolate frosting that literally tasted like Betty Crocker out of the can, a sprinkling of flaked coconut that provided texture but no taste and 2 almonds (which were crunchy and good).  Kathy tried the Strawberries and Champagne.  Her reaction:  no hint of champagne and the strawberry that was encased in the yellow cupcake tasted not fresh but rather coated in a sugary gel much like pie filling.  Now don't get me wrong, we ate them.  And they were good.  But there were more grocery store good, not cupcakery good.  Overall the cupcakes and frosting tasted like they were created using mixes and prepackaged ingredients rather than from scratch.  And for many people, including several patrons that came in while we were there, that's fine. 

Value:  At $2.50 a cupcake, Coccadotts is reasonably priced for average sized cupcakes at a city bakery. 

Overall 

The staff  (and the shop decor) was friendly and cheerful and the variety of cupcake offerings was great. Cupcakes were good, but not gourmet. And while  our trip to Coccadotts was a fun excursion,  when we visit Kathy again I'd rather search out new cupcake lands to explore.

Fun bonus:  We saw the Coccadotts cupcake truck parked in the side lot.  During the milder weather, that would be a cheery sight to see!

Stay sweet,

BabyCakes Bakery at Downtown Disney

A couple of weeks before Christmas we were fortunate enough to take a family vacation to Walt Disney World.  Joined by both Bubbe (my mom) and Nana (my mother-in-law) we spend 5 fun-filled days at the 'happiest place on earth'.  While there we saw lots of Disney characters:  Mickey Mouse, Chip and Dale, Mary Poppins, Erin McKenna...

What's that?  Erin McKenna isn't a Disney character??

You're right, she's not but she is a cookbook author and the proprietress of BabyCakes, New York's premier vegan, gluten-free bakery.  In the past year  BabyCakes has expanded beyond the Big Apple, opening a bakery in Los Angeles last January and more recently, at Downtown Disney in Florida.

It just so happened that our first day at Disney coincided with the grand opening celebration at BabyCakes Downtown Disney.  Hello free brownie bites and Erin McKenna book signing.

Just to be clear, no one in my family has any issues with gluten, dairy or sugar.  We (I) just love yummy baked goods and after baking up a few treats from Erin's first cookbook last year when I checked it out of the library, I was hooked. 

{psst...Erin has another cookbook coming out in a few months}

In fact, Bubbe declared her BabyCakes vanilla cupcake one of the best she's ever had.

Serendipitously,  it was my birthday.  Thus my family (i.e. the boys) had no choice but to bow to my wishes.  And my wish was to trek to BabyCakes between 1-2pm, buy a cookbook and some cupcakes and meet Erin☺.

Mission {deliciously} accomplished.

And now thanks to Erin's helpful message inside my cookbook, baking Babycakes treats at home will be smoother than ever ;-).

 

Have Cupcakes, Will Travel: Georgetown Cupcake

It started innocently enough on my part.

I was emailing back and forth with my Uncle who lives in the Washington DC area.  He was making plans to come and attend my mom's OMG 70! party.  We hadn't seen one another in a number of years, so there was some catching up to do.  In the course of one of the emails we exchanged my uncle mentioned he enjoys taking long walks around DC on the weekends.  Fresh off of watching DC Cupcakes on TLC this summer, I asked him if he had ever visited the Georgetown Cupcake bakery in his travels.  He replied that he generally tried to avoid foods were less than friendly to his aging waistline. 

Fast forward to the evening of the birthday bash.  My Uncle, having taken a plane, train, bus and an extra long walk to the house thanks to being misdirected in the darkness, arrived at the party with two large shopping bags.  One bag contained gifts for my mom.  The other contained...cupcakes!

I was so surprised, and amazed, and touched that my Uncle had taken it upon himself to not only visit Georgetown Cupcake on a busy Friday morning, but  purchase a dozen cupcakes which he then transported all the way to Massachusetts!  Incredible.  And so generous and thoughtful. 

We {reluctantly} put the cupcakes aside and {very much} enjoyed the party.  In the wee hours after midnight, we took a peek into the pink box.  Sure, they were travel weary, but the cupcakes looked wonderful to me.  Come to find out, my Uncle brought another surprise--specifically for Ebby.

Look at that, a great Georgetown Cupcake t-shirt!  She was psyched, she watched the show with me this summer and knew all about the bakery.

The next day, Ebby & I set about discovering exactly what flavors we had in our box of cupcakes.  My Uncle, having gotten a sense of my cupcake fascination, included two Georgetown Cupcake menus, which are drool-worthy in and of themselves.   It was a tough job, but over the next couple of days we managed to identify (and consume) almost all of our cupcakes.  As they say, it was a tough job, but someone had to do it ;-).

Among the flavors we were treated to:  Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip, Vanilla² , and Coconut.  All quite delicious.  Ebby was particularly enamored with the fondant shapes that topped several of the cupcakes. My hands down favorite  was the Red Velvet.  I remember watching an episode where the sisters showed how they made their Red Velvet.  Oh. My. Goodness.  So good.  The cake was moist and flavorful and the icing had just the right amount of tang and creaminess.  In fact, I think it's safe to say it was the best Red Velvet cupcake I've ever had.  So far, anyway...

As a result of my Uncle's generosity, I took away from our traveling cupcake experience several tidbits.

First, cupcakes make a wonderful souvenir.  Second, people have the power to surprise and delight one another.  And finally, next time I'm in Washington DC, I'm going to Georgetown Cupcake and getting a Red Velvet cupcake.  And I'm not sharing it with Ebby☺.

Wishing you a wonderful, sweet weekend!