Cupcakes for a Cause

Those of you who have read this blog for a while know I love a good cupcake so imagine how delighted I was to learn about Cupcakes for a Cause earlier today. This is a week-long (October 15-21) national campaign that has participating bakeries donating profits from cupcake sales to Cancercare for Kids.

I was on this like buttercream on chocolate cake. Unfortunately, despite the plethora of cupcake stores and bakeries here in Seattle there is not a single participating shop in the entire state of Washington. Shame on you. Someone should have stepped up to the, um, plate. Our neighbors to the south do have a bakery taking part: Saint Cupcake in Portland. If you live down there stop by, have a little something sweet ans support a good cause.

All is not lost for us in Seattle (and elsewhere) however! You can create and send e-cupcakes to you friends and for every e-cupcake sent, the sponsors of Cupcakes for a Cause will donate $1.oo!!!!

In fact, I will enter everyone who sends me (glides4funATyahooDOTcom) an e-cupcake by the of the campaign (10/21) in a drawing for a fun, cupcake related prize! And I will also send you a cupake in return, thus doubling the donation.

So head on over to Cupcakes for a Cause and pipe yourself some virtual icing, it's a sweet thing that won't add to your waistline!

Ahoy, Albatross to Starboard!

Albatross rows knit since previous post: 6, p.

Well, it is a bit anticlimactic, given that I hit the halfway point on my Albatross, I mean, baby blanket a week ago, but I finally have a picture for you to see:

It was sunny a couple days ago so I ran outside and snapped a few pictures. I'm no photographer but you'll get the general idea.

I'm now a bit further along than seen above and I am start to contemplate a few tweaks to the pattern. First I think I am going to make it a bit shorter, maybe take off six pattern repeats. It is large-ish blanket compared to some other patterns out there (pattern claims a 35"x40" finished size, my gauge must be a little loose because I am on track for 37"x42"). If I limit it to 30 pattern repeats I'll get a blanket that is approximately 37"x37". The other thing is that the blanket is getting heavy - Blue Sky Alpacas Hand Dyed is soft but has some weight to it (no fluffy nothingness here!) so 5 skeins in this blanket is no longer a lightweight.

Second, the endless navy is getting to me. I love the color, it is very rich but I'm thinking maybe it is a bit much sooooo... I'm thinking of putting in 2-3 stripes of a beigey color (BSA Organic Cotton in Sand, I have almost a full ball in my stash). I would put them near the end of the blanket so I'll have an asymmetrical thing going on. I think it will add some visual interest and also will emphasize the rippled pattern which kind of gets lost in the darkness of the navy at the moment. What do you guys think? Leave as is? Add the stripes? How many? One? Two? Three? (I'm leaning towards 1-2)

And to answer a question from my previous post - A Hummingbird cupcake is a tropical fruit flavored cake...I forget what the three fruits were exactly, pineapple, something and something :)

Seattle Cupcake Tour, Part 4

"Albatross" Rows Completed Since Last Post: 13, good.

And now onto the good stuff!

If you have read my previous cupcake posts, you know that I have adhered to a format for each cupcake where I broke down the cake and the icing and then gave you my overall impression. For this stop on the cake train I am abandoning the form, the goodies are so delish I have to just gush and gushing cannot be corralled into a strict composition. And, I have to apologize for the lack of photos, I mistakenly assumed I could get a couple photos off the website and ate most of my test subjects before I realized I needed to take my own pictures.

So here goes: If you live in the Seattle metropolitan area get your tushies to Trophy Cupcake & Party in Wallingford and treat yourself ASAP! Seriously, these are the best cupcakes I have had so far and it will be difficult to top them. Trophy offers a range of interesting and original flavors: Hummingbird, Strawberry Lemon, Green Tea and Peanut Butter & Jelly just to name a few. They have five standard flavors available every day: Vanilla Vanilla, Chocolate Vanilla, Vanilla Chocolate, Triple Chocolate, and Red Velvet. Then they have the fabulous flavors that rotate throughout the week - you can check their website to see what is offered on which day.

Cupcakes are available in the normal size for $2.25 and then mini versions of some of the flavors are also offered (sorry, I forgot to note the cost of the minis).

I loved all the flavors I tried and just for you, my loyal readers, I really pushed myself and samples four flavors (not all in one sitting thank you very much). The sacrifices I am willing to make for research. I started with the Vanilla Vanilla and let me just say the icing is amazing! I'm not sure how they do it (buttercream meringue??) but the icing literally melts in your mouth and is as light as air... like a cloud on your tongue (I could whip out a few more similes but I think you get the point). I bit into the cake and I could taste the icing but it was as if it had disappeared on contact. The cake itself was light but still dense, not fluffy and hole-y. A few sprinkles on top completed the masterpiece.

The Chocolate Vanilla was a divine chocolate cake version of the original. again, the icing melted away. The cake was rich and chocolately (according to their website they use Valrhona cocoa and Callebaut chocolate). MMMMMmmmmmmmm....

Next up was the Chai Cardamom, a specialty flavor available on Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday. Deliciously spicy yet sweet, like a wonderful cup of the hot beverage on a chilly day. Both the cake and the icing are infused with the chai flavorings so there is not flavor let down depending on where you take a bite. the icing was not quite as light as the vanilla buttercream but I hardly want to quibble with so much deliciousness at hand.

Finally was my favorite: the Snickerdoodle Cupcake (Tuesdays and Thursdays only, sadly). It was mind blowing to bite into all that cupcake texture and taste the crisp on the outside, soft on the inside, slightly cinnamony sugar cookie goodness of my childhood. This was no cupcake masquerading as a Snickerdoodle flavor, this was a Snickerdoodle. The cake itself tastes of sugar cookie, awash in buttery sweet goodness. The icing is a cinnamon sugar concoction sure to please. And, what is that, sitting on the surface of the cake itself, visible at the edges where the icing doesn't quite reach? Why it is cinnamon sugar! Baked right onto the top of the cupcake, just as a real Snickerdoodle is rolled in cinnamon sugar before baking. This little touch really puts the cupcake over the edge. I'm sure the cake would be wonderful even sans icing (but really, no need to deny yourself).

While Trophy is a bit more expensive than my previous stops on tour, it is well worth it. A certain cupcake purveyor in Ballard better watch out or its status as top cake may well be threatened. A few other notes on Trophy: If you really like chocolate, try the European Hot Chocolate - it is like sipping a brownie (I suggest a small size, it's really too rich to drink much). The shop also carries adorable vintage party favors and cards and things that will put a smile on your face and take you down memory lane.

And so my friends, get thee to a cupcakery!

Seattle cupcake Tour, Part 3

For the third part of my cupcake journey I popped down the road a bit to Ballard. I still can't believe how much Ballard has "grown up" since we moved to Seattle nine years ago. You can imagine my surprise when it took me twenty minutes to park down near the main drag on a weeknight. I can remember when it was no difficulty at all to park right on Market on a Friday or Saturday night... but enough of that, it is time to talk cake.

At Cupcake Royale I sampled two cupcakes, the Ballerina and the Lavender

I'm going to start first with the Lavender, a choocolate cake with lavender flavored frosting decorated with purple and white sprinkles:

• The Cake - The chocolate cake was more cocoa-y in flavor than a rich fudgy flavor. It was a bit dry for me but still acceptable.


• The Icing - The icing was creamy and has a strong lavender scent which enhances the flavor (so much of taste is scent) which keeps the icing from being overwhelmed by the cake. Lavender is probabbly not a flavor that is commonly enjoyed but I have always liked it. the way the floral scent/flavor plays across your tongue is something I find intriguing.

The Ballerina - A vanilla cake with buttercream frosting decorated by a small candy flower.

• The Cake - A wonderful yellow cake with just the right amount of richness. It was a bit denser than I normally like; I like a moist but light cake, not to dry but with fairly large air pockets. This cake was not too moist (I'd guess that overcooking the cake even the teeniest bit could send it into the dry side but luckily the bakers pulled the cake in time and so it remained yummy) and had very tiny air pockets which create the denseness that is sometimes created through moisture. Does this make sense, I'm having a hard time describing it which is why I'm not a food critic I guess...


• The Icing - One word: YUM. This is how I like my buttercream, buttery and sweet but not cloying. Good texture and mouth feel. Creamy, not grainy, to balance the ever so slight dryness of the cake.

Overall Impression: I enjoyed the Lavender but will be the first to admit that this flavor may not appeal to everyone ("you want me to eat flowers?"). I urge you to give it try however. Cupcake Royale does a good job of balancing the flavor of the chocolate with the flavor of the lavender icing so that neither is overpowering. You don't lose the lavender in the chocolate and you don't get too much floral. Cupcake Royal also offers a yellow cake with lavender icing.

The Ballerina is the best vanilla cupcake I have tasted thus far and is almost perfect in my book.

By the way, if you try the Lavender and find you like the chocolate-lavender combination, or if you already know you like the two together, let me suggest the Lavender-Honey Caramel from Moonstruck Chocolate Company in Portland. It is quite tasty (as are all of the company's luscious looking offerings that I have sampled). The truffle is part of the English Garden Collection (unfortunately only available from April thru September, I'd like to nibble on these all year long). Luckily, you can order Moonstruck's chocolate online which is good for me since I no longer frequently travel down 405 to Portland now that I am a stay at home mom. Be sure to check out their absolutely adorable Spring Collection - what knitter wouldn't want an Extra Bittersweet Lamb?

So there you go, two cupcakes and a bonus truffle!

Seattle Cupcake Tour, Part 2

Last week, I found myself at a local mall and what should thrust itself in front of me, demanding the full attention of my taste buds? New York Cupcakes. And thus, I have the second installment of my buttercream infused journey through the landscape of Seattle's cupcake purveyors.

I agonized over my flavor choices (so many and I am weak)... I decided that in the spirit of comparing apples to apples I would definitely try the white cake with vanilla icing to see how the Starbucks cupcake stood up to this latest entry in the cake stakes. But, I decided that I would also try one (or two) of NYC's specialty flavors to see what it was like. In the end I picked Vanilla Bean Dream, The Don Cappuccino, and the NY Black & White. Three cupcakes. The lengths I will go to in order to bring you critical cupcake information know no bounds.

Left to Right: NY Black & White, Don Cappuccino & Vanilla Bean Dream

1. New York Black & White - This is NYC's signature cupcake. The cake is half white and half chocolate cake and sports a chocolate buttercream frosting garnished with a milk and white chocolate straw.
• The Cake - The chocolate cake half of this cake is far superior to the white cake. I found it rich and fudgy (in taste, not texture). The white cake was nice but not as rich tasting as I prefer (generally I like my cakes to lean more towards a yellow cake than white). Both cakes were moist and dense without being heavy.
• The Icing - If you like your chocolate icing fudgy tasting (like those made with melted chocolate) you may be disappointed by this icing. I, on the other hand, found this icing delectable. It was a delicate chocolate flavor (I'm guessing they use cocoa powder) that maintained the underlying buttery-ness inherent in a buttercream. It was also wonderfully light and melted on my tongue. Yum.
  
2. The Don Cappuccino - A white cake with cappuccino frosting, garnished with a coffee bean.
• The Cake - The same basic white cake as in the NY B&W above, so adequate but not outstanding.
• The Icing - Well, I live in Seattle so I like coffee, ergo, I like this icing. A nice strong coffee flavor (if you are one of those people who likes her sugar and cream with some coffee to flavor it, you might find it a bit much). Like the chocolate buttercream, the icing was smooth, creamy and light.
  
3. Vanilla Bean Dream - This is a white cake with vanilla bean buttercream frosting garnished with a small piece of waffle cone.
• The Cake - Same white cake, same story.
• The Icing - Like the Starbucks cake I sampled last time, this vanilla buttercream also displayed the telltale bean "specks". Unlike the Starbucks icing, this one had a richness to it that gave my mouth a treat. I could taste the vanilla but it didn't "flatten" the flavor to one note, the underlying butter nature was maintained.

My Overall Impression: I would love to have the Vanilla Starbucks cupcake with the Vanilla Bean Dream icing from New York Cupcakes. That would be an almost perfect vanilla cupcake specimen (for me at least). As it is, I would stick to the chocolate cupcakes next time I visit NYC but I would go with any flavor icing since I found all three I tried to be quite tasty. If I had to pick my favorite from the three I tried on this trip it would be the New York Black and White without hesitation.

So there you have it, two down and at least two to go... I am on the lookout for additional cupcakes that need "testing" so let me know if you have any suggestions.

On the knitting front, since this is, ostensibly, a knitting blog, I am still knitting. Unfortunately, I am still plugging away on The Albatross (I'll never describe a baby blanket as small again). I am making progress but at sloth-like pace and I don't want to bore you with nearly identical photos of the blanket in progress so I'll hold off on that until it is at least halfway complete. I am also trying to squeeze in a few rows on my baby wrap sweater so hopefully I'll have something to show soon.

When The Albatross is complete I'll have to work on some smaller projects so I can take more photos and at least try to fake being entertaining. Until next we meet, vive le buttercream!

Can I see that calendar?

Happy Thursday, y'all! I have to tell you I am embarrassed to say it took me 45 minutes this morning to realize today was Thursday and not Friday... I woke up and thought, "Friday. Got to get Pooh Bear up so we can make the mom's group meeting at ten. Keep moving. Parking will not be easy. Let's get going..." On this went for 45 minutes while I changed and dressed Pooh Bear and fed her a bottle and some breakfast. As I raced around to try to make my hair look presentable, it hit me. NOT Friday. Thursday. While a relaxing thought at the time, all it really means is that I get to repeat the whole procedure tomorrow. I enjoy my group but I am not a morning person (and neither is Pooh Bear) so the need to be somewhere on time before eleven is somewhat stress inducing.

I thought I would have some knitting related content today (stash enhancement pictures) but alas, by the time we returned from our errands the sun was gone and the chances of my getting a good picture was nil so... maybe tomorrow?

In other news, the Seattle Cupcake Tour will resume tomorrow with a report on New York Cupcakes. I know, I promised Cupcake Royale but my plans didn't work out as I thought they would and NYC just showed up in my path one day and really, "least Resistance" and all that.

And one last note before my daughter wakes up from her nap (type faster, type faster!). I want to send a big thank you to Melissa who became my first "official commenter" earlier today. I feel so proud that someone out there liked what I wrote (driveled on) about enough to take the time to leave me a sweet nothing! *grin* Melissa, I'd send you an email thanking you but Blogger is being weird and I can see your profile but not your address... oh well. One more thing to add to my "Things to Figure out How to Do with this Darn Blag" list.

Seattle Cupcake Tour, Part 1

My sweet tooth seems to increase ten-fold when I am pregnant so I thought I would take advantage of that fact and really put my nose to the grindstone for all of you out there and taste test some of the cupcakes that are popping up all over Seattle (I know, an extremely tough job, but I think I'm your gal).

First up on the docket: the Vanilla Cupcake at Starbucks. I had this as a snack earlier today accompanied by a sugar free Cinnamon Dolce Latte. Here's my takeaway:

• The Cake - The yellow cake was just what I like, spongy and moist but not gummy. Sweet but not overly so. I'd call it a classic yellow cake taste (some get really vanilla-y but this one stopped short of that with more of a buttery undertone).
• The Icing - Honestly? A disappointment. Just kind of blah. I was really excited because the icing showed evidence of the vanilla bean (the telltale little black specks) but the richness wasn't there. Not cloyingly sweet, which was good, but, if you'll pardon the pun, just plain vanilla taste-wise. Also, I had a problem with the raw sugar decoration around the rim of the icing. It made for a very nice presentation but the resulting crunchy icing was just the wrong texture for me. I want my icing to be smooth and melty, not like I accidentally dropped my cupcake in the sand at the beach.
• Overall Impression - Not bad, but not great either... The cake itself I would go back for but the icing did nothing for me. I'll skip the cupcake next time and have something else. If I am going to pay for a cupcake (which I can quite easily make at home to good effect), it had better be outstanding.

A final note: I apologize for not having a picture to accompany this post but I was halfway through the cupcake before the inspiration for the Cupcake Tour hit. Next time there will be photos...

Next up on the Cupcake trail: Cupcake Royale in Ballard (I already have a trip planned for the middle of next week). I also have Trophy Cupcake in Wallingford on my list of places to go but if you have any suggestions for Seattle area cupcake havens let me know.