Cupcake Challenge 2009: Brave tasters report back

Melli Belli's lavender and gingerbreak cupcakes from Happy Go Marni

I was taking a sugar break this year, so a few bloggers with much sturdier sweet tooths than I took on the Cupcake Challenge judging this year. I really hesitate to use the phrase "cupcake porn," but if you check out these blogger's posts, I warn you, you're going to be wanting a cupcake.
HC from LA and OC Foodventures reports that that cupcake makers kicked up the creative ingredients this year, with flavors like lemon blueberry mascarpone and the Oinkster's chocolate brioche bread pudding.
My new Twitter friend Happy Go Marni reported that among the more unique flavors was a lavender cupcake from Melli Belli -- and this year she remembered to bring Tupperware. I remember that the best part of last year's challenge was scooping up all the leftover cupcakes to bring back to happy family members.
Winners to be posted soon.

My Sweet Cupcake: a sweet detour in South Pasadena

My Sweet Cupcake opened this week on Mission St. in South Pasadena, just a few doors down from The Little Parlor pizzeria and convenient to the Gold Line station. It's mostly cupcakes, but they'll be adding a few other items when they get settled in and will also make custom cakes. The shop is done up in homey red and white polka dots, and the adjoining gift shop has some ever-so-cute cupcake-themed gifts as well.
Cupcakes are $2.50 each, with rotating flavors each day. Today's selection was mostly classic flavors like Red Velvet, Simply Chocolate and Oreo Delight. I'm a little cupcaked out, so I'll let my tasters describe the cupcakes:
Sophie: "The Simply Chocolate had a surprise pudding center, with sweet, creamy frosting. It tasted homemade, in a good way. It wasn't a fancy bittersweet chocolate frosting, just very homemade and yummy."
Matt: "The Oreo Delight was all about the frosting, which really did taste like Oreos with its cookie topping. The cake was a supporting player, but was nicely moist."
On other days, flavors like Berry Blues, Coconut Snowball, the Java Fix and Dulce de Leche will make an appearance.
My Sweet Cupcake is open Tues. - Sat. at 954 Mission St., South Pasadena.

(and let's go easy on the comments this time please -- please post a comment only if you've tasted them at the new shop or are a regular commenter, and are are not friends of the owners, or the comments will go away!)

Cupcakes: End of the trend?

Maybe just one baker's decision, or maybe the beginning of the decline of the cupcake, but Maxmillion on Chowhound reports that Leda's Bake Shop in Sherman Oaks is closing up Oct. 18 to become a catering-only operation, at least for a while. They were one of the best, but it's not too surprising that this fad could be coming off of its sugar high. Can it really be more than three years that we've been obsessing over cupcakes? I'm afraid I peaked really early when writing this post, My Take on the Cupcake , nearly sent me into a diabetic coma. And yet, new cupcakeries continue to open, like the one in South Pasadena I mentioned recently.

How to judge a cupcake

Vanilla's lovely display
First of all, if you're asked to judge a cupcake competition, you might want to ask how many cupcakes you'll be trying. Even when the judges at the Cupcake Invitational were told "about 30," we didn't have a sense of what that would entail until we were completely stuffed and told we were only half done with the blind tasting.
Second, consider what you might like to drink with cupcakes and take some with you just in case. Maybe coffee, or milk? Or iced tea? In any case, realize that wine and cupcakes when it's 100 degrees at 1 in the afternoon might be just a bit much. root beer cupcakes on the right were a little strange

KTLA's Sam Rubin asked what we thought the criteria should be. "Frosting." "Cake - dry or moist?" "Ratio of frosting to cake!," the judges agreed.
While some of the usual suspects (Joan's on Third, Auntie Em's, Dots) were not participating, 10 of us bloggers and foodwriters (and Sam) got a chance to try cupcakes from some lesser-known places. My favorite cupcake -- and I'm usually not really a big chocolate fan -- was the Mandarin orange chocolate cupcake from Essential Chocolate Desserts in Culver City, which reminded me of Baskin Robbins Mandarin orange chocolate sherbet. My second favorite was the Key Lime from Vanilla Bakeshop, and I think my third favorite, raspberry lemon curd, was also from Vanilla. Theirs were among the prettiest, too. maple cupcakes
The event was put on by Drink.Eat.Play, which is affiliated with Cozmo Deck, and puts on food events around the country. I'll post the winners later today.
Here's a another report from Caroline on Crack, featuring the strange pistachio/pineapple cupcakes.
And here's one from Lesley Bargar's new food blog for Los Angeles Magazine.

Just in case you need more cupcakes...Lark Cakeshop

I've parsed the cupcake fascination inside and out for several years now, but I'm still kind of amazed that cake and cupcake shops continue to open at a feverish pace. Now we have our very own in Silver Lake, the stylish pale green Lark Cake Shop on Sunset at Micheltorena. I liked that the red velvet cupcake, left, was a very reasonable size yet with a healthy dollop of frosting nonetheless, perfect for frosting freaks. The cake part could use a little fine-tuning -- I'm used to Auntie Em's, which super moist. In case you've had enough cake, which I think maybe I have at this point, there's scones, cookies, tiramisu and coffee. Lark plans to stay open until 10 on weekends, just the place for a cupcake fix after dinner. Now if only someone could open a good bread bakery...
Lark Cake Shop
3337 W. Sunset Blvd.
(323) 667-2968

Cupcakes that died and went to heaven

Auntie Em's mini coconut cupcakes

I don't usually write about what we get delivered at Variety when we work late on Wednesday nights...it generally ranges from just ok to positively dismal. But this week, things took a major turn for the better when Auntie Em's catered our Wednesday night buffet. Those mini coconut cupcakes in the picture achieved cupcake godhead -- more so than Em's usual larger size. The proportion of cake to frosting was more ideal, although they caused the same sugar rush. People were hoarding the mini red velvet ones as well. We also enjoyed the skirt steak, stuffed chicken and mac 'n cheese. What an improvement!

My Take on the Cupcake

While each of the following places has its upsides and downsides, they all offer a tastier, more carefully assembled cake than you'll find at a supermarket bakery. And with flavors like chai latte, lemon coconut, passion fruit and mocha, they're definitely not just for kids. If you want to read more about cupcakes, check out the blog Cupcakes Take the Cake.

Leda's Bakeshop (Sherman Oaks)
Upside: I like that mini sized cupcakes are available, so you can taste a few flavors. My favorite thing about Leda's cupcakes is the curd fillings, which intensifies the flavor for a more grownup taste. The passion fruit was very nice. The decorations are cute, and help distinguish the flavors.
Downside: The mascarpone frosting on the carrot cake tasted like Crisco. There's a reason carrot cakes use cream cheese frosting -- because it tastes good, and mascarpone doesn't have the right tang.


Sprinkles Cupcakes (Beverly Hills)
Upside: The store is darling -- a modernist cupcake nirvana. This place is all about the concept. There are even lunchbox cupcake holders ($5) and vintage toy grabbags ($12) for your inner or flesh and blood child. Flavors rotate each day, but red velvet and the standards are always available. The strawberry cake is nearly unsweetened, almost like a muffin, which provides an interesting, if not completely successful, juxtaposition with the intensely sweet frosting.
Downside: The frosting is way too sweet for most adults, although some people like it that way. Again, the cream cheese frosting on the red velvet failed to provide proper tangyness, and the red velvet cake itself was bland. Cupcakes are pricey at $3.25 each, and the mini size is for dogs only.

Joan's on Third (on Third)
Upside: Chocolate frosting was very good quality, rich and slightly bitter. You can pick up a nice lunch while you're getting your cupcakes.
Downside: Attitudinal staff, limited flavor selection. The cake itself seemed too light and airy -- a bit of density would counter all these sweet frostings better. Photos in original review.

Auntie Em's (Eagle Rock)
Upside: Strong assertive flavors, rich red velvet. Tangy, buttery frostings. Large size -- one cupcake is easily enough for two. Coconut cake had nice density and flavor.
Downside: Cupcakes are too big for one serving. Some flavors can be dry. Photos in original review.

Toast (Third St.)
Upside: These cupcakes look like they could have come out of my own decidedly amateur kitchen, and taste like it too. If you're looking for a homey, traditional cupcake, this is the place. Red velvet is sweet and gooey yet satisfying. Excellent frosting on the lemon. Normal size, decent price ($1.95).
Downside: You could have made these yourself if only you had time. Only lemon, red velvet, chocolate and vanilla flavors. Not the cupcakes with which to construct your wedding cake.

Archived comments:

chronicler said...

Oh I will have to make the rounds to Auntie Em's, as they sound delicious! In enjoyed the Lemon coconut at sprinkles the best!

emery said...

hi there - i love your thoughts on food! i just moved here from new york a month ago, and you have already been a great help!

Well, i couldn't resist (and I don't have my own damn blog), so to add my 2 cents to the cupcake-analyzing fray: there is still no perfect cupcake place in los angeles yet. I have tried everyone on the LA list so far, and i think that the reason the NYC cupcakes are so much more amazing is because everyone can identify with the nostalgia of the classic cupcake in the classic flavors with the classic sprinkles. They can have that nostalgic experience ("which color should i pick -- pink or green?"), with improvement (they are hopefully better than whomever's mom's were that brought them to the birthday party). SO, I think these LA cupcake people are trying too hard to be foodies about something that should be completely down-home, and in that, neglecting a broader audience. Missed opportunity, guys! It irritates me that Sprinkles is called what it is, yet they use some sort of fancy flakes of chocolate on top - not what most would think of as the typical "sprinkles". What, Beverly Hills is too fancy for that? And let's not even talk about the $3.25 price. Gimme a break. The NYC places are such a hit because of their affordability. Embrace the democracy of the cupcake, already! Even the Upper East Side doesn't pass $3. For the price of a 2 cupcakes, you and a friend could whip up a whole batch... and get fat and/or sick, but whatever - one more reason cupcake shops are great - auto portion control! Anyway, I am still baking my own and hoping that Billy's of NYC (or Sugar Sweet Sunshine, or Cupcake Cafe, or even the dry old Magnolia) will franchise. People in LA seem to love franchises, right? ; ) Actually, Buttercup bakeshop seems to be already trying to do so. Anyway, I hope there's a hipster out there who will put it together in Silverlake or Los Feliz - I live on the westside, but I have a feeling that that's where the First Great LA Cupcake Bakery will be, with retro spirit, sane prices, and ghetto sprinkles, to boot.

Anonymous said...

I went to L. A. to visit my daughter who took me to Leda's Bakeshop and to Sprinkles and I found that Leda's cupcakes were exquisite. I liked the best the passion fruit ones.
Sprinkles cupcakes were too sweet and tasted just as regular frosting to me. Nothing really different.
About the shops.... There is no comparison between the two of them. Leda's has beautiful interior design and the display of their cupcakes is charming.

Sue said...

I am still puzzled by the cupcake phenom. And then my heart grows weak at the $3.25 price, as well.
If I am going to inflate my calorie count, I would much rather do it with some 7-layer pastry or at a panaderia.
The closest panaderia to my house in Thousand Oaks sells these cajeta empanadas that just rock my sugar-loving world....for 50 cents.
So for the price of one LA cupcake, I can stay on a sugar high for 6 1/2 days.

chef 'em out said...

What are you trying to do, sabotage my plan to loose 2 # this week?

Nic said...

Thanks for the great round up, Pat. Leda's curds are good, but I've only had the blood orange and I'll have to head over again to try the passionfruit. Sprinkle's prices are enough to keep me away, though.

Dan said...

Cupcakes are the most ridiculous fad since the cigar comeback of the mid-90s. I hate the fact that we are following NY's lead on this - we need to set the agenda on food. I say we celebrate the Panaderias or the Chinese bakeries in the San Gabriel Valley. A taro-filled ball of dough is just divine and the egg custards are sublime - and they run less than 50 cents a pop. Take that Emery and your "democracy of the cupcake."

Charlotte said...

Of all the sites I've visited, NOBODY has mentioned Canter's Deli/Bakery on Fairfax. They have the best cupcakes and high hats (upside-down cupcakes with a mound of frosting, then dipped in chocolate). They only have chocolate and vanilla, but that's all I need. The best part- they're less than $1 and available 24 hours a day!!

What's the big deal about cupcakes?

We were discussing this at dinner the other night, and then someone posed this very pertinent question on a long Chowhound thread . When we were in New York recently, the line at Magnolia bakery was way out the door. I'm no cupcake fanatic, so I didn't try Magnolia. But I can attest that the cupcakes from Clementine, particularly the coconut, are quite wonderful.
Update: I tried Auntie Em's cupcakes today. I had high hopes for the red velvet, but I was a bit skeptical when I dropped it three times on the way into the house and it remained completely intact. The cream cheese frosting was nice, but the cake was indeed overly dense and a bit dry. I prefer Doughboys red velvet, which is lighter and comes in more of a cupcake-on-steroids size. Auntie Em's coconut cupcake was quite nice, slightly moister with a subtly coconutty flavor.

Auntie Em's coconut and red velvet cupcakes
According to the Chowhound posters, here's the reasons cupcakes have become so popular in the last few years:
1) they're a decadent splurge which are nonetheless portion-controlled;
2) Everyone is looking for comfort and joy, which cupcakes seem to provide, but most people don't have time to bake;
3) they tap into the whole inner-child "I'm going to lick off all the frosting first" thing;
4) it's a fad, which like every other, will soon peak and die.

Archived comments:

Anonymous said...

You totally ROCK!!! I found your blog by searching for a review about Alcove Cafe, and now i think i've been on ur site for about 2 hours.

j gold said...

When I lived a couple of blocks from Magnolia in the Village, I was puzzled by the existence of huge lines while other, much better local bakeries wanted for business. (The fact that Magnolia was actively nasty to neighborhood children didn't help - the local third-graders all called the place Mongoloid Bakery.)
I finally figured out that what the regulars were hungry for were not the best cupcakes in the neighborhood, but the cupcakes most like the ones that their mothers used to make from a boxed mix. Add plastic-like buttercream frosting vividly tinted with food coloring and flavored with an artifical vanilla reek you could sniff from a block away, and you have the stuff of every six-year-old's red-state birthday party, festivity in the style of Duncan Hines.

Anonymous said...

The cupcakes at Auntie Em's have, indeed, gone a bit downhill in recent weeks. I didn't get it at first, but read on chowhound board that the one owner that used to do all the baking has officially left the building. Auntie Em's still has some respectable qualities, but sweets ain't one of 'em...
As for Magnolia's cupcakes---I've never understood the long lines. The cupcakes are dry as dirt and (as j gold says) the fake vanilla is a stench to be reckoned with. I'm all for the tapping into the cupcake memories from my youth---problem is, i had a mom who could actually bake!

Anonymous said...

i beg to disagree. the desserts at auntie em's are great. the cupcakes, cobblers, cookies, brownies, and the food. they have always had a baking team at night, and the woman who left was a half partner. i think with a place that does seasonal and different things all of the time there will be things people like and don't like. it is the nature of that type of place.

Anonymous said...

i was at auntie em's for lunch today. we stopped by because of the kcrw interveiw. (thanks) we had a cobb salad and a roasted vegetable torte with goat cheese, a piece of black berry pie and a red velvet cupcake. wow! great food, great desserts. what a find.

H.M.S. Pinafore said...

.. the regulars were hungry for the cupcakes most like the ones that their mothers used to make from a boxed mix. Add plastic-like buttercream frosting vividly tinted with food coloring and flavored with an artifical vanilla reek you could sniff from a block away

ABSOLUTELY! They bear the same relationship to gourmet baking as McDonalds does to gourmet beef