Brooklyn and the Lower East Side

May's trip to New York City, plus recommendations from current and former residents, inspired a new round of dessert tasting when I was back in town in mid-June.

When impromptu city wandering led us to the Lower East Side, we couldn't pass up the opportunity to visit Sugar Sweet Sunshine, baker of delectable cupcakes. These cupcakes are infinitely superior to Magnolia's (though, alas, I did not see a single instance of purple frosting) in both cake and frosting. The cakes themselves are light - you can eat two cupcakes after a large meal, no problem - but are also moist and packed with flavor. The frosting is also light, but sweet and creamy and not airy. In addition, I appreciated the fun frosting colors and sprinkles. Behold the cupcake bounty below, with details from top left to bottom right:

• Black & White (chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream) - the chocolate cake was simply but richly flavored, and so moist! I think the bakery managed to find the perfect cocoa-powder-to-oil ratio. The vanilla buttercream frosting was light and fun, though I am still on the fence as to whose frosting I prefer (this bakery's or Sweet's). Of course, I greatly appreciated the cheerful pink coloring.
• Lemon Yummy (lemon cake with lemon buttercream) - this is the best lemon baked item I have ever purchased. The cake itself was citrusy and sweet - and almost creamy, as if it were a lemon tart that begrudgingly assented to being a cupcake. The frosting, of course, was pure heaven, and I am now motivated to make my own (confectioner's sugar, lemon juice, butter, and heavy cream, perhaps?).
• Ooey Gooey (chocolate cake with chocolate almond buttercream) - of course, the cake itself was divine. The frosting's almond flavor was a bit overpowering, most likely created via the more aromatic, and hence initially more flavorful, almond extract. Despite my antipathy towards nuts in baked goods, I think I would have preferred the actual-nut method - the extract permeated the chocolate, while discrete nuts would have added textural variety and isolated bits of flavor.
• Sunshine (yellow cake with vanilla buttercream) - this cupcake was pure vanilla excellence. If a bakery can do this simplest of cupcakes well, no wonder everything else is so good!
  

Sugar Sweet Sunshine will get my regular business on future New York trips. Next time, I am eager to try their Spiced Pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting!

That evening, we traveled to Brooklyn's Cobble Hill neighborhood to satisfy a long-time dessert desire. My roommate, a former Brooklynite, recommended The Chocolate Room when she first learned of my obsession, and while I wish I had made it there sooner, it was still worth the wait. Here, you can see the Brownie Sundae and Chocolate Pudding.

I was impressed with the majority of the sundae. The homemade brownie was moist and dark; the fudge sauce was bittersweet, which gets us to two distinct chocolate flavors in one dessert; the whipped cream was oh-so-light and sweet; the cherry on top had been rolled in chocolate shavings. The ice cream flavor was of your own choosing, and I went with mint chocolate chip, hoping for a tasty yet traditional take on that classic flavor. I was slightly disappointed. The chips were actually very thick shavings of delicious milk chocolate (three distinct chocolate flavors in one dessert, mmm), but the mint flavor itself was slightly too fresh and leafy. It did not go well with the bittersweet chocolate, and left an almost sour taste in my mouth. The chocolate pudding, however, was just what a chocolate puddding should be, with perhaps an extra kick of robust chocolate flavor. Other things in the Chocolate Room's favor: they serve you a small scoop of Vahlrona chocolate sorbet upon sitting down, and offer a variety of unique chocolate items (both Chocolate-Room-specific and other brands) for purchase at their bar in the front of the restaurant. What could have made our experience better? Maybe a chocolate martini to mask that mint taste!

Not Gingerly with Ginger

I recently made a ginger cake for Greg's birthday - or, more accurately, a double ginger cake. This baking adventure represented somewhat of a departure from bakings past, as your blogger does not share the cake recipient's enthusiasm for ginger. In fact, it's probably one of my least favorite sweet spices. However, Bon Appetit came through (again) with an innovative recipe that maximizes the ginger flavor for ginger lovers, all within the framework of a delicious sour cream cake coated in raw sugar crystals that can be appreciated by any lover of baked goods. The intense ginger flavor comes from two sources - ground ginger, which I use regularly in spice cakes and whose taste I find pleasant in that context, and chopped crystallized ginger, which is infinitely stronger, gooey, and sticky. The result was well-received! Here is the recipe, in case you have a ginger lover to please:

• Softened butter (for brushing pan)
• 1/2 C raw (turbinado) sugar
• 2 1/4 C all purpose flour
• 4 t ground ginger
• 2 t baking powder
• 1/2 t salt
• 1 C (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 2 C sugar
• 4 large eggs
• 1 large egg yolk
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 1 C sour cream
• 1 C chopped crystallized ginger

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Brush softened butter generously all over inside of 12 C Bundt pan. Sprinkle raw sugar over butter in pan, tilting pan to coat completely.
2. Whisk flour, ground ginger, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.
3. Using electric mixer, beat 1 C butter in large bowl until smooth. Add 2 C sugar; beat on medium-high speed until blended, about 2 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in 1 egg yolk and vanilla, stopping to scrape down bowl as needed.
4. Add flour mixture in 3 additions alternately with sour cream in 2 additions, beating on low speed just until blended after each addition. Mix in crystallized ginger. Spread batter in pan, being careful not to dislodge raw sugar.
5. Bake cake until top is light brown and tester inserted near center comes out with a few small crumbs attached, about 55 minutes. Transfer to rack; cool in pan 15 minutes. Gently tap bottom edge of pan on work surface while rotating pan until cake loosens. Place rack atop pan and invert cake onto rack; remove pan. Cool completely.

The cake mixes and bakes easily. Once you are ready to eat it, it tastes fine at room temperature, but a warmed slice will release its aroma oh so nicely. The sour cream batter provides a hint of sweet tang, which goes well with the spicy sweetness of the ginger. A delicious counterpoint to both tang and spice is the turbinado sugar crust baked over the exterior of the cake. Its sweet crunch really made the cake! I rarely rave about baked-item crusts, but this cake's edges are worth a rave and more. In fact, I think I will try crusting future Bundt baked items (my aunt's famous double-chocolate cake, perhaps?) in the sugar. One technical recommendation: be very precise about dollopping batter into the Bundt. Try to not have to scrape the batter around the pan to get an even distribution, as this will dislodge the sugar.

In other ginger news, I have a handful or two of crystallized ginger still left over from this baking...anyone want?

Red, White, and You

Sweet Cupcakes, already an inspiration for a past entry, recently released their summer cupcake lineup. One variety in particular stood out among the fruit-inspired confections: the “Red, White, and You” cupcake. Sweet describes this as “the vanilla bean Sweet [i.e., standard tasty offering] cake filled with Berry Bash jam and topped with homemade vanilla buttercream.” Behold the adorable little cupcakes, just released from their travel box.

And here, you can see them partially eaten through.

This cupcake is exceptional for several reasons. Firstly, the vanilla cake is dense, well-flavored, and somewhat crumbly. I welcome the confident vanilla, as the flavor is rarely employed beyond the token teaspoon in any given recipe. I also favor a slightly crumbly cake, as this suggests sugar and/or butter are not overused! Secondly, the berry jam is a pleasant mash of berries – I could taste blueberries and raspberries – and an enjoyable burst of color at the center of an otherwise-pale dessert. Lastly, the two tiers of frosting are, as with all Sweet frostings, delicious! I could eat just the frosting and forgo the cupcake if needed. Vanilla bean specks in the creamy white buttercream reinforce the vanilla theme. I particularly appreciate the first dollop being crusted in colored sugar – not only is it visually pleasing, but it provides an unexpected and fun textural change in a glob of gooey goodness. It sealed the deal, so to say, on this bold pronouncement: this is the best Sweet cupcake yet!

If Sweet Entry No. 1 did not convince you to get a cupcake, I hope this Entry No. 2 will!

So Much Goes to New York

Your blogger spent a recent weekend in New York City, and must share two noteworthy dessert instances with you!

To start, imagine my glee while wandering near Union Square on a Thursday evening, and stumbling upon a truck dispensing a variety of free desserts! Yes, that's right - the Dessert Truck had just finished taping an episode for the Food Network, and they had a truck's worth (ha) of desserts left over that staff were giving to passersby. It didn't matter that we were on our way to dinner - we nabbed brownies, a chocolate cupcake, cheesecake, and a waffle with vanilla creme fraiche. The waffle, creme, and cupcake were tasty, but average; the other two desserts were definitely superior and memorable. The brownie was fudgy and melted in my mouth, and packed a lot of chocolate flavor in a small square; the cheesecake was smooth, light, creamy, and moist. We had so much dessert...for so little! New Yorkers and visitors to the city, check the Dessert Truck's website for upcoming locations. Enjoy the desserterie-on-wheels concept as long as you can! (Boston, please start something similar?)

The other dessert experience was much more conventional. Magnolia Bakery, on Bleecker Street in the West Village, earned some level of popular awareness thanks to SNL's Lazy Sunday skit and a Sex and the City episode. The merits of snacks for the Chronicles of Narnia aside, the bakery's biggest draw, in my opinion, is their exceptional frosting. This sweet buttercream icing comes in a range of pastel colors (standard buttercream flavor) and a rich chocolatey brown (chocolate).

Ever loyal to my favorite color, my preferred Magnolia cupcake is a chocolate cake with purple buttercream frosting - but, I had to settle on pink frosting during this most recent visit when they ran out of purple. Much like the Dessert Truck cupcake, the cake itself is average if not slightly disappointing; however, the quality of the frosting more than makes up for any batter shortcomings. The best way to eat such a cupcake is to eat away at the base of the cake, leaving a thin layer for consumption with a mouthful of frosting.

The vanilla cupcake with yellow frosting was similarly average, but a hint of lemon in the batter proved to be a pleasant surprise.

I would go to Magnolia again to enjoy the frosting, but several native New Yorkers have recommended both the cake and frosting available at Sugar Sweet Bakery. Next time...

What Sweet Cupcakes!

There is a new cupcake shop in Cambridge! Sweet Cupcakes, whose first location is on Mass Ave by the Comm Ave intersection, now has a second location across the street from Cardullo's in the heart of Harvard Square. The attention of passersby will be grabbed by the gleaming, brightly-lit storefront - you can see a sparkling, spare space decorated in white, pink, and brown, with a refrigerated case containing brightly-colored cupcakes, from the street. I will admit that I was grabbed in such a fashion, though buzz about the Mass Ave location would have been enough to get me in there as well. Once you are inside and drooling over the case's contents, you may have two initial worries - I thought that (a) the cupcakes were rather small, and (b) there would be no seating available [two small tables are all they provide]. However, both concerns were readily allayed. Customers do not take a long time to eat a cupcake, so the seats rotate quickly - plus, you can always take your dessert to any bench or grassy expanse in Harvard Square if desired. And, oh my, the cupcakes! I would not have wanted a bigger cupcake considering their richness and intense flavor. Three varieties got the honor of being part of the initial taste test.

• DARK CHOCOLATE (Rich chocolate cake baked with Dutch cocoa, topped with buttercream frosting in vanilla or chocolate) - this cupcake was the perfect chocolate cupcake. The homemade buttercream frosting was also excellent, with a prominent creamy flavor. A fun added bonus of this cupcake selection was the choice of sprinkle color; yours truly (predictably) chose purple.
• CHOCOLATE CARAMEL (Chocolate oozes from inside moist chocolate cake topped with Sweet's delicious chocolate buttercream frosting and drizzled with melted caramel) - this cupcake had so many textures and flavors! Dense chocolate cake, fudgy chocolate cream, smooth chocolate frosting, and light, flavorful caramel all combined for a win of a cupcake.
• CAPPUCCINO (Delectable espresso flavored cake baked with Callebaut chocolate crowned with signature Sweet frosting and a dusting of cinnamon) - the cake could have had a stronger coffee flavor, and the chocolate was not readily apparent, but the cappuccino frosting was easily the best frosting in this taste test. The dusting of cinnamon was an extra bonus!

And, yes, Sweet gets extra points for stocking organic milk to help wash down the desserts! I had been hoping to find cupcakes on this side of the river that actually were kickass (Davis Square residents will accurately interpret that comment as derision toward an inaccurately-named cupcakery); thanks to Sweet, I no longer need to hope. Next time I stop by, I think I'll try the Big Poppy.

Beacon Hill Chocolates

Beacon Hill Chocolates is a quaint shop on the corner of Pinckney and Charles Streets (equidistant from the Common and the Charles T stop), in the heart of Beacon Hill. I first heard of this establishment while on a Boston Chocolate Trolley Tour – yours truly won a box of (4) chocolates from them, all of which were delicious. Over a year later I decided that four pieces were not enough, so I had to go back. What makes this chocolate shop unique?

• Beacon Hill. How could you lose with all those connotations implicit in the location?
• The shop stocks artisan truffles and various other chocolates from around the world. The candies – most in unique, tempting shapes and colors – are well-displayed in a lit refrigerated case at the front of the store.
• The rest of the store showcases the gift boxes for which they have become well-known: nostalgic seasonal and holiday prints, or classic Boston images, superimposed on light papier-mache boxes. I saved my tiny gift box, with a period image of the State House and Common, from the Chocolate Tour.

What was initially a casual check-it-out trip became a let’s-buy-chocolates trip after I saw the decadence within the truffle case. I purchased the following delights:

• Caramel Sushi (Chewy butter caramel and vanilla marshmallow rolled ever so slo-o-o-wly and dipped in dark chocolate) – the caramel and marshmallow were of a perfect texture, so that they were stiff enough to retain their shape but soft enough to melt happily in your mouth. The dark-chocolate dipping at the base of the spiral was the perfect touch. Mmm, mmm.
  
• Cookies and Cream Cone (Chocolate cookie & vanilla cream in a cone of dark & ivory chocolates) – I really enjoyed the vanilla cream, with flecks of chocolate cookie crumbs, alongside the different chocolate shells. This is probably the fanciest way I have tasted cookies and cream…and I would taste it again.
• Champagne Truffle (Dark chocolate blended with champagne and coated in cocoa powder) – the champagne flavor was very subtle, especially in the context of the strongly-flavored dark chocolate and cocoa coating. However, the subtlety worked in this case.
  
• Blood Orange Fleur de Lis (Dark chocolate ganache in a dark chocolate Fleur de lis shell) – the dark chocolate shell was enjoyable, and the shimmery orange-red coating on the fleur-de-lis was visually stunning, but the orange-flavored ganache seemed a bit artificial, and strong.
• Ginger & Lime Dragonfly (Dark chocolate blended with ginger & lime flavours) – the texture of crystallized ginger was noticeable in the candy, but both ginger and lime flavors were lost in the chocolate, and needed to be stronger.

These were a bit pricey, but I guess that is explained by the import process and neighborhood. The chocolate was interesting enough that I’m sure I will make several return trips!

A (Partial) Vegan Victory

I tasted the best vegan chocolate cake I had ever had a few weeks ago, when a coworker brought in said cake plus shamrock cookies for St. Patrick's Day. (Random, don't you think?) Fortunately, my coworker shared the recipe...which means I can share it with you! It's amazing how flavorful and moist a butter- and egg-free cake can be.

• 2 1/2 C flour
• 2 C sugar
• 2/3 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 t baking soda
• 1 t salt
• 2 C warm water
• 2 t vanilla extract
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp distilled white or apple cider vinegar

1. Preheat the oven to 350, and grease your pan(s).
2. Mix the flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add water, vanilla extract, oil, and vinegar. Whisk until all is smooth.
4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
   

Greg and I whipped up this tasty treat in no time, and had a hard time restraining ourselves from licking up all the batter. Here, you can see the smooth, fluid batter (with occasional bubble) pre-oven.

30 minutes and 350 degrees later, voila - a cake (represent)!

A good cake demands good frosting - so, I was hesitant to top this dessert with vegan frosting, which can be salty with an odd consistency. Enter the following (resolutely dairy-based) frosting recipe. I would suggest adding the heavy cream to the butter along with the dry ingredients, as I had a dusty mess on my hands prior to the cream's incorporation.

• 1/2 C butter
• 3 C powdered sugar
• 3 T unsweetened cocoa powder
• 4 T heavy cream
• 1 t vanilla extract

1. Cream the butter.
2. Mix the cocoa and sugar; gradually add to the creamed butter.
3. Add the cream and vanilla, and beat until frosting is well-blended and fluffy.

The finished product was delicious! The cake is light, moist, and chocolatey, and the frosting is cool, creamy, and sweet. This is the best chocolate cake - counting both conventional and vegan recipes - and chocolate frosting I have ever made from scratch! We washed this rich delight down with a dessert-like beverage which, like the baked good, had vegan and non-vegan components. The blend of dairy milk, soy milk, and Godiva white chocolate liqueur is a winner.

Don't you wish you could have a piece?!