Cupcakes in Vegas Baby!

I was scheduled a 10 hour layover in Las Vegas landing around 7:30 PM.  I frantically googled cupcakes within walking distance from our hotel and found Jean-Philippe Chocolates and Pastries at the Bellagio.

                                         

I introduced my cupcaking world to Lorena, one of the other flight attendants working with me, and invited her to make the short trek to the Bellagio. In the two blocks we walked, we passed vagrants, stray dogs, a vagrant with a pet cat (that's a new site for me), limos, limos with people sitting out the window screaming  and many street performers.  I had been to Vegas briefly two times before on the way to Hawaii, but I never seen the street performers.  I had an epiphany! Wouldn't it be cool if I got my picture taken with Bumblebee from the transformers.  I handed my camera to Lorena and said take a pic.  I walked up to the bumblebee dude and he literally stepped away from me and said "I work for money".   At that moment, I was totally mortified! I can be so small town sometimes! I had no idea that you had to pay people to get your picture taken with them.  I could understand paying street performers, ya know the kind that play the saxophone beautifully, or the dancers that are so awesome they make it on the show "So You Think You Can Dance", but he was just standing there! At least street performers have a tip jar so you know they want money! So anyway Lorena and I walked away with no picture of Bumblebee.  When we arrived at the Jean-Philippe Chocolates at the Bellagio, there was a crowd of people at the entrance taking pictures of a huge display. The display was the worlds largest chocolate fountain. The fountain stands 27 feet high and circulates 2,100 pounds of chocolate (120 quarts) a minute. It's quite impressive.

Everything at Jean-Philippe Patisserie looked wonderfully delicious! There were even little mini wedding cakes just in case you had one of those quickie Vegas weddings for $20 bucks a pop.

Photo by foodspotting.com

We looked at all the delicious desserts and finally came upon the cupcake section. There were only 3 to choose from but I had a feeling no matter which one we picked, they were going to be fabulous. I, of course, picked the Triple Chocolate cupcake and Lorena picked a Red Velvet cupcake. 

Our cupcakes were so pretty we didn't want to eat them.  Both our cupcakes were super fabulous.  I had never tasted a cupcake quite like it.  The frosting on each cupcake was more like a rich chocolate mousse and the cake was just so incredibly moist. Next time I am in Vegas I am going to try this little set up called a Sweet Trio. It has a rose macaroon, a mini creme brulee, and a peanut cake pop. 

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Photo by vanfoods.com

                                             

Curbside Cupcake Review

I found this mobile cupcakery from searching "cupcake" on facebook one day.   We happened to be in DC checking out CakeLove and thought how cool would it be to track down this cupcake truck! So, I checked out their latest status on facebook.  Their status said they were at Union Station on 1st. We drove in circles for over 35 minutes trying to find the pink Curbside Cupcake truck and just when we were about to give up, we saw a flash of pink driving down a road. Guess what? They were heading our way!  We pulled over for them to pass and then we followed them all the way to their next stop which was the Navy Yard.

 I was so excited that we found Curbside Cupcake that as soon as they stopped I jumped out of my car and ran to the truck order window and waited for them to open it (I don't know why I thought they would be just as excited to see me as I was to see them).  When the window finally dropped down and opened I was greeted by sourpuss 1.  He didn't even say hello! He just looked at me like are you going to order or what? I was a little taken back but I eventually spoke up and asked for a carrot cake, a pumpkin walnut (the facebook posts said they were the best) and at the last minute I ordered a red velvet cupcake.  Sourpuss 1 took my $9.00 cash (there is a minimum of a $15.00 charge for credit cards) and said I needed to go to the next window to pick up the cupcakes.  The next window was closed so I waited for the window panel to lower down and open up.  Guess who I saw behind that window? Sourpuss 2! Again, no hello, no smile, nothing.  He pulled out a paper bag and put my "gourmet" cupcakes in the brown paper bag.  I felt like I was paying for overpriced donuts by the way they were packaged.  I have visited many cupcake shops and none of them packaged their cupcakes in a brown paper bag, even at the grocery stores, they do not package cupcakes in a plain old paper bag.  However, the gentleman behind me in line ordered a half dozen cupcakes and they were packaged in a clear plastic container.  I guess I just didn't spend enough money.

Now, for the cupcake taste....one word...WOW.  We started with the carrot cupcake.  The cupcake frosting was all messed up from the paper, but this cupcake's taste and frosting flavor was perfect. The cupcake was moist and the frosting was a great tasting cream cheese frosting.  Next, was the pumpkin walnut.  Again, the cupcake was perfect.  Moist, very flavorful but the frosting on this cupcake was less desirable.  The frosting on this cupcake was a sugary buttercream.  We took the sugary mess off the cupcake and enjoyed this perfect cupcake without any frosting. It was "yum!" This cupcake would have been dreamy if the same frosting was used on it as the carrot cupcake.  Last, but certainly not least was the red velvet topped with the same sugary mess as the pumpkin walnut.  The taste and density of this red velvet cupcake is one of my favorites.  The chocolate flavor really comes out when you savor the flavor of this cupcake.  I have to say the Curbside red velvet cupcake (cupcake only) is one of my top 3 best tasting cupcakes.  Their choice of frosting on this cupcake has got to go or tone it down.  The frosting should accent a cupcake not weigh it down. 

The Gloater and His Heiny Cupcake



Tony's Red Velvet

 After we received our very mixed reviews from Julius and his friends in regards to my Red Velvet and Boston Cream cupcakes, Tony decided he was going to come up with a new and improved recipe for my beloved Red Velvet cupcakes.  I pulled out yet again all my baking stuff from my neatly packed moving boxes and began following his drill sargent-like instructions.  Twenty minutes later, out came a dozen of beautiful red velvet cupcakes.  As they were cooling, I snuck a bite from one that was still very warm.  I realized at that moment, I would now be listening to Tony gloat for the next few hours, or maybe days or even weeks about how his special recipe is THE recipe of our future cupcake corner shop. I waited till they were completely cooled and then frosted them with the cream cheese frosting that Tony also came up with (we are still perfecting this recipe). I reluctantly handed Tony his prized creation and waited for IT to begin.  I believe the gloating began the moment he touched the cupcake.  I admit that it was a damn good cupcake and I will pay dearly for admitting it, but it is what it is as they say.  Now that I have baked Tony's recipe, I now had a platter full of beautiful red velvet cupcakes and no one to eat them because I was leaving on a 4 day trip.  I packed those babies up and off to the airport I went to pass them out to all my Air Wisconsin friends.  On the way to the airport Tony just had to take a picture of his prized cupcake on the dash of his jeep.  Doesn't it look like a heiny?   I was walking into the terminal pulling my rollerboard in one hand and holding an armful of neatly frosted cupcakes in the other.  From the look on the people passing by you would have thought I was holding the Holy Grail.  Peoples faces just lit up upon seeing the cupcakes.  A TSA agent even asked me if they were from DC Cupcakes.  That was totally way cool.  I reluctantly said "no" and offered him one before sending the cupcakes through the x-ray machine.  He accepted and said they were awesome.  I made my way to my gate and handed off my box of treasures to one of my friends and in less than 2 minutes they were gone.    I now have new guinea pigs!

If I have a will...I will find a way!

It's Sunday evening, after being on home reserve for yet another day, I am climbing the walls.  All my baking supplies are packed except for the basic wooden spoon and cupcake tin.  I decided to go for it and make our new friend Julius and his coworkers the cupcakes I promised them.  I pulled out my Red Velvet and my Boston Cream recipes and began making my babies.  I can honestly say these cupcakes are totally homemade being hand-stirred and everything (I didn't dig out my mixer until I got to the frosting).  Half way through my baking adventure, I thought I would text Julius and let him know that tomorrow would be his lucky cupcake day!  He texted me back and said he was at the Redskins game (lucky dawg).  If only the Redskins would have gotten that field goal and won! Then my cupcakes would have been the frosting on the cupcake day for them!  

Red Velvet

SOUTHERN RED VELVET
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon fine salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
2 large eggs, at room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Fill cupcake pans with papers.  Fill 2/3 full.  Bake for 18-23 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Let cool completely.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 pound cream cheese, softened
2-3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 stick butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, or with a hand-held electric mixer in a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, sugar, and butter on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high, and mix until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (Occasionally turn the mixer off, and scrape the down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula.)

Reduce the speed of the mixer to low. Add the vanilla, raise the speed to high and mix briefly until fluffy (scrape down the bowl occasionally). Store in the refrigerator until somewhat stiff, before using. May be stored in the refrigerator for 3 days.

Boston Cream Cupcake

I will post the Boston Cream in the near future.

My Visit to Fluffy Thoughts Cakes

Tony and I stopped by this cute little cupcake shop while running a few errands in the area.  We usually buy an assortment of cupcakes to see if each store has a "signature" cupcake.  However, we have been making quite a few stops recently with each stop running at least $15.00 a pop not only leaving us very unsatisfied but also a little light in the checkbook.  So, today we decided to only choose one cupcake each.  I chose a red velvet (I am still looking for the "aha" moment or the "aha" red velvet cupcake) and Tony chose a german chocolate cupcake (only because it had a huge dollop of coconut on top).  When the girl handed us the cupcakes we immediately noticed how fresh they were (they passed our squishy test).   Both cupcakes we were tasty.  We did think that the frosting tasted similar to that of the frosting you would buy in the cake section of a grocery store (I can remember eating this frosting by the spoonfuls straight out of the tubs on a bad PMS day). All in all, this shop was all a shop should be.  We will definately be visiting again when we are back in the area.

My Visit to Baked and Wired

After Tony and I visited the nationally televised Georgetown Cupcakes, we just had to try out their competitors Baked and Wired! So I drug Tony out yet again (I do not attempt to drive the maze of roads in DC) to find this cute little cupcake/coffee shop on a dead end street. We were very happy to see that there was no line extending out the door as with Georgetown Cupcakes. They were extremely busy but not overwhelmed.   This place was exactly how I envisioned a little bakery/cafe and the cupcakes were jumbo sized with unique cupcake papers.  We ordered 4 cupcakes:
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1.  Chocolate Peanut Butter - A very moist cupcake with the perfect amount of peanut butter frosting, we  gave this cupcake a 5 out of 5. 

2.  Lemon Blueberry - I don't remember ordering this cupcake, but I am not that upset because it actually was quite tasty.  This cupcake had a ton of blueberries in it, but did not have a big blueberry taste. The frosting had a wow of a lemon taste. We gave this cupcake a 4.5 out of 5. 

3.  Carrot Cake - Again, another great tasting moist cupcake with bits of carrots and walnuts.  The frosting was not overpowering or too sweet.  We gave this cupcake a 5 out of 5.

4.  Red Velvet -  I am not sure if this was an old cupcake or what but the cupcake was very dry compared to all the others and it really did not have much of a flavor to it.   The frosting was a very tasty cream cheese frosting with just the right amount.  We gave this cupcake a 3 out of 5.

My ONLY complaint was that all the cupcakes were lined up at waist level and the labels were very hard to read making it very hard to stand back and ponder which cupcakes you would like to indulge in.

All in all...We believe Baked and Wired cupcakes HANDS DOWN beat Georgetown Cupcakes cupcakes.

I would seriously like to see a showdown between Georgetown Cupcakes and Baked and Wired!

My Visit to Georgetown Cupcakes

I was so excited to visit the famous Georgetown Cupcakes! I couldn't wait to taste the much hyped and Washington Post's top cupcake pick...the Chocolate Ganache cupcake.  Tony and I arrived in Georgetown around 7:30 pm on a rainy, humid and hot Thursday evening in August. We walked up to the corner of Georgetown Cupcakes and there was a line..a line out of the building and down the sidewalk of like 35 people! I couldn't believe it.   I really should have expected it because all the comments and reviews I had read talked about waiting lines going out the door of the store.  Tony hates waiting in lines, so we decided we would go have a light overpriced dinner of appetizers at J. Paul's (I love their soft pretzel basket) and wait till it was closer to when Georgetown cupcakes closed at 9:00 pm. in hopes of not having to wait in a long line. We headed back to Georgetown cupcakes around 8:50 pm and there was STILL a line, not as long as earlier but still a line! We only had to wait in line for like 15 minutes.  We ordered a half dozen; Peanut Butter Swirl, Chocolate Ganache, Cherry Cheesecake, Key Lime, Coconut and Red Velvet.  We rated them from best to worst.

1.  Chocolate Ganache - The absolute best one out of the bunch.  So rich, moist and chocolatey! Yum!   

2.  Peanut Butter Swirl - Same chocolate cupcake but with a peanut butter ... Heaven!

The 3 remaining we really didn't like at all...infact...all we needed was a bite out of each one and then we trashed them. We did take into consideration that it was the end of the night and that the cupcakes were most likely baked over 12 hours ago.

3.  Cherry Cheesecake - Cheese cake part was very good but the rock hard graham cracker crumbs on the bottom could have chipped a tooth.

4.  Red Velvet - Being a newby cupcake connoisseur ...I am not sure what a really good red velvet cupcake is suppose to taste like but I don't think this is it.  The color was very red though.

5.  Key Lime - It pretty much tasted like the recipe was not followed correctly. The frosting was nice and fluffy with a hint of key lime taste but too sweet for our tastes.

6.  Coconut - Same cupcake as the key lime but with a funny coconut aftertaste in the frosting and so much coconut on top of the frosting to make even a coconut fanatic say "no thanks".

Even though my review of Georgetown Cupcakes was not as good as I anticipated.  They have a super support group in town and DC loves them! I think they have a great reality show and look forward to watching them every Friday.

Red Velvet Surprise

In my head of infinate bits of useless knowledge, I had heard years ago that red velvet was difficult to make so subconciously I steered clear of red velvet recipes.  However, Red velvet cupcakes seems to be the flavor everyone talks about the most these days. I don't know where I have been hiding, but I actually never heard of red velvet until a few years ago when someone brought in a red velvet cake for a co-worker's birthday.  I honestly didn't know what all the hype was about.  The cake didn't taste all that great (must have been from a box). Then I tasted a red velvet cake from Cheesecake Factory. The Stephanie Red Velvet, YUM! Stephanie, the girl that created that lovely red towering cheese cake, was actually on an episode of Cupcake wars. The judges didn't seem impressed with her red velvet cupcake, but I tasted it and Cheesecake factory named a cheese cake after her recipe and we say it's "delish"!  So today in honor of National Cheesecake Day and Stephanie's red velvet cheesecake! I have made a Red Velvet cupcake.  I was suppose have made Triple Citrus, but that can wait.  I looked over dozens of recipes and opted for one that called for buttermilk. I heard in an episode of DC cupcakes that they use cidar vinegar as their secret ingredient for their red velvet cupcake (I think they have several secret ingredients), so I changed the white vinegar to cider vinegar.  I didn't pay attention to how the mixing of the indredients went together until it was too late. I thought it was the same as every other cake...cream the butter and sugar, sift non liquids, add eggs and you're done... not a red velvet. My first batch came out like chalky brillo pads.  I think my problem was I didn't follow the recipe and put it together the correct way.  Batch # 2 I followed the recipe and the cupcake was YUM! It was not as red as I liked, but it was at least April edible..not April sellable, but April edible.  Some recipes I have read called for an entire bottle of red food coloring. I am not so comfortable with that.  I am not like a health freak, but the thought of an entire bottle of a red chemical...not so sure that is a good idea.  but the other option I have read doesn't sound any better...beet juice.  If I could use one of those Mr. Yuck face icon to post I would.  I do think I will at least try beet juice.  I like pickled egss...so maybe beet juice isn't such a bad idea.