Hot mama!

I'm usually not one for spicy food, so I wasn't sure what to think when I heard about one of Cafe Moxo's new spring cupcakes, the Hot Mama. It's chili pepper-infused chocolate cake with cinnamon buttercream frosting.

Although the cupcake overall was great quality -- fresh, with Moxo's typically great frosting -- I could have lived without the kick. And I was disappointed with the weak cinnamon flavoring in the frosting. I love cinnamon, and that was what I was looking forward to most with this cupcake. I think it's great that Moxo is doing something different, and I'd recommend the Hot Mama to anyone who likes heat in their food. I'll be sticking with strictly sweet cupcakes.

I also decided to try one of Moxo's Furry Friends cupcakes.

These are clearly for kids, but I couldn't resist the bright colors and simple recipe -- the four varieties of "Sesame Street"-inspired treats come in red (Elmo), yellow (Big Bird), green (Oscar the Grouch) and blue (Grover), the one I chose. Each came in chocolate or white cake, and I loved the clever touch of chocolate chips to accent Grover's eyes. I wolfed this one down after getting through only half of the Hot Mama. Without the mound of frosting topping most Moxo cupcakes, Furry Friends are ideal for a small indulgence that won't leave you with a bellyache or in a sugar coma. And they're great for a smile, too! I recommend them to kids AND grownups who are kids at heart. Like me. :-)

Give low-cal cupcakes a chance

After splurging on two Cafe Moxo cupcakes last week and not exactly making the best food choices over the weekend, I decided yesterday that it was time to head back to Grand Avenue Deli for a couple of D'Lynn's Delights' low-calorie cupcakes.

I tried D'Lynn's Chocolate Fudge several weeks ago, and although it was extremely dry, the frosting was decent. It was good enough to lure me back for seconds. I had been craving orange for several weeks, so I went with D'Lynn's Orange Creamsicle and added a Vanilla Bean for good measure (since they're low-cal, after all!).

I had a feeling the cake would be dry, considering that it's reduced fat. Anticipating the dryness helped, I think, because I didn't have the same expectations that I'd have for cupcakes from other bakeries.

While both cupcakes were dry, I realized as I sampled the Vanilla Bean that its density reminded me of a cake doughnut. It wasn't unpleasant once I made that association, especially in combination with the top-quality frosting. Thick and sweet, I never would have guessed it was low-fat or low-calorie. D'Lynn's owner Debra Swihart has said she uses yogurt and applesauce in her cake and tofu and spun sugar in her frosting, and that each cupcake has 60-65 calories. These cupcakes are pretty dang good considering the calorie count is that low. Imagine no more than 130 calories for two -- TWO! -- cupcakes! For that, I can forgive some dryness.

I do have to point out that I was a bit disappointed to find the Orange Creamsicle was made with yellow cake, and only the frosting was orange-flavored. I had hoped for a touch of orange in the cake, too. But overall, I was pleasantly surprised by this pair, and I'm looking forward to returning for the final two, Strawberry Cream and Caramel Spice. (Together! For 130 calories!)

Return to Moxo!

I had long awaited Cafe Moxo's unveiling of its spring/summer cupcake menu, and I finally got a chance to swing by and check it out this past Friday. I was able to try a new flavor (raspberry lemonade) and an old favorite (peanut butter, which I first tried several years ago). 

The raspberry lemonade cupcake had a base of moist white cake with a delicate raspberry filling, and it was topped with a generous cap of thick, creamy and subtly-flavored lemon frosting with a drizzle of raspberry sauce. This raspberry-lemon cupcake was delightfully fresh and light on the stomach. I expected lemon cake instead of white, but I think the vanilla cake worked well in this instance because it ensured that the lemon wasn't overpowering. 

The true highlight of the day, however, was Moxo's peanut butter. I remembered loving this one the first time I had it, but I wanted to try it again for the sake of this blog (and, well, because I knew I would love it a second  time!). Oh, wow. This is hands-down the best Moxo cupcake I've had. It's one of the best cupcakes I've tried, period. What I loved about this one versus some of the other peanut butter cupcakes I've tried (most of which have had a Reese's bent) was the simplicity in the combination of chocolate and creamy peanut buttercream frosting. Much as I love Reese's peanut butter cups, sometimes adding them to a cupcake can make it more complicated than necessary. Moxo's peanut buttercream frosting is so decadent that it would almost be a shame to cover it over with bits of candy. The flavor is such that it should be savored independently of any distractions (other than the bit of chocolate syrup and peanut halves sprinkled on top). The frosting works in perfect concert with the fabulously fresh chocolate cake, but who are we kidding -- I could eat a gallon tub of the frosting all by itself. For anyone who loves peanut butter, this is a must-have!

I'll take a real milkshake, please

I'm still working on the frozen stash of Sweet Art cupcakes, and last night I pulled out the Milkshake, which the bakery's website describes as swirled vanilla and chocolate cake topped with malt buttercream, ganache and an old-school cherry.

This wasn't a bad cupcake, although the cake, as typical for Sweet Art, was on the dry side. There just wasn't anything about it that particularly stood out to me as a quality that would make me want another. I didn't pick up on the malt flavoring in the frosting -- in fact, I assumed it simply represented the whipped cream on top of a milkshake. It was definitely a lighter, fluffier frosting. Again, not bad but not my favorite frosting texture. The whole cupcake, frankly, was a little blah. My favorite part was the "old-school" cherry on top. The chocolate ganache was a nice touch, too. Still, I'd skip over this one if I ever went to the shop.

I have one Sweet Art cupcake left to try, so we'll see how it goes. Chances are pretty good I'll try it this weekend. Then I'll be back to Springfield cupcakes -- perhaps Cafe Moxo, which has launched its spring/summer menu. The Moxo bakers have come up with some interesting new choices. Check 'em out here: http://www.cafemoxo.com/docs/Cupcake5-27-11.pdf.

A hot cup of ... cupcake?

I've never been a big coffee drinker. I like the occasional mocha or latte, but you'd never find me pouring a cup straight from the pot. I'm just not a huge fan of the flavor, and I can only handle the bitterness when something else is masking it.

Enter yesterday's cupcake, a coffee-flavored creation from my frozen Sweet Art stock. When I first saw it in the box Camille brought back from St. Louis, I thought it was a cinnamon cupcake. I got my hopes up, as a matter of fact, but it wasn't to be.

The base for this one was white cake and vanilla frosting. Mixed into both parts was ground-up coffee. The frosting, a thick and generously applied buttercream, was far stronger than the cake, and it was somewhat of a battle to eat the whole thing. The cake was on the dry side, like most I've tried from Sweet Art, but I barely noticed because I depended on it so much to offset the overpowering frosting.

Most coffee lovers would probably like this cupcake (dry cake aside). As for me, now that it's gone, I think I'll renew my search for a cinnamon cupcake...

Buttercake-chocolate bliss

This week's cupcake day brought another selection from Sweet Art in St. Louis. It didn't take the Harmony long to thaw in our warm kitchen, and before I knew it, I was biting into a buttery yellow cake topped with luscious, creamy chocolate frosting.

You may recall from my last couple posts that Sweet Art specializes in organic, preservative-free and vegan cupcakes. Two of the three I tried up to this point were dry, but still pretty good. The Harmony was also a bit dry and crumbly, but the rich, buttery flavor of the cake, which Sweet Art calls vanilla butter cake on its menu (http://sweetartstl.com/index2.php), easily made up ground, and if the cake had been moist and gooey like typical butter cake, this cupcake might have found a spot in my all-time favorites. As it was, I wanted a second. The rich, smooth and super-creamy chocolate frosting, which reminded me a little of pudding, was one of the best I've tasted from a bakery so far.

If we ever return to Sweet Art, I'll definitely order seconds.

One bite just isn't enough

Out of the eight cupcakes my husband Camille brought home from St. Louis' Sweet Art on Friday, the only one he wanted for himself was the Come-Hither Carrot. Luckily for me, he let me have a bite before bed Sunday night. I used that bite to make my best evaluation (and afterward, I wished he had brought home two Come-Hither Carrots!)

Of the three Sweet Art cupcakes I've tried so far, the carrot was my favorite. The cake was just as I love carrot cake -- free of nuts, raisins and other nonsense. Just long ribbons of carrot baked into moist cake. Yes, moist. This was the moistest of the Sweet Art cupcakes so far, and it was a pleasant surprise. I had surmised that, because Sweet Art specializes in organic and vegan cupcakes, that they must tend toward dry cake. But this one restored my hope and delighted my taste buds. The cream-cheese frosting, which I'd already sampled on the red velvet, was excellent as well. 

I'm thankful my dear husband shared this one with me. If the tables had been turned, I'm not sure I could have done the same ... :-)

Back again ... already!

OK, I wasn't kidding when I said I wouldn't be able to resist the Sweet Art cupcakes in the freezer for long. (Actually, I went all day Saturday without caving in, so I'm pretty proud of myself!) Anyway, today I chose what I think was the Strawberry Lemonade.

The cake was definitely lemon (possibly the most subtle lemon cake I've tried), and the frosting could have been strawberry or raspberry -- Sweet Art has lemon cake with both of those frosting flavors -- but the website lists strawberry as being on the Friday menu, so that's my assumption. The cake, like the red velvet I tried on Friday night, was dry, and I'm wondering if the way the cupcakes are made contributes to the dryness. Sweet Art's products are all preservative-free and organic. Based on my recent experience with cupcakes from Food Fantasies, which also offers organic (and vegan) cupcakes, I'm guessing that cake made this way might just be dry by nature. Food Fantasies' cupcakes turned me off so much that I won't go back to try more, but so far Sweet Art is considerably better. (While it's a bit dry, I didn't need a chain saw to cut into it like with the Food Fantasies cupcakes.)

The frosting had a pleasing fruit flavor, and while it was a whipped-cream consistency rather than my preferred thicker buttercream, I still liked it. It's lightness actually helped offset the cake's density. Tiny bits of strawberry (I think) were also mixed into the frosting, serving as a reminder of its from-scratch quality. The cherry on top was a nice touch, too.

I'm looking forward to more Sweet Art!

Bittersweet and artsy cupcakes

This past week was the last at the SJ-R for my coworker and fellow cupcake taster, Jayette Bolinski. Saying goodbye is never fun, but she went out in sweet style on Friday by treating the newsroom to several dozen cupcakes from one of our favorite bakers, TL Cuppycakes. The cupcakes Tracy of TL created for Jayette were, of course, newspaper themed, answering the question, "What is black and white and read all over?"

Photo courtesy of TL Cuppycakes

The chocolate cupcakes with thick red-and-white vanilla buttercream frosting and a light, red-dyed filling, were EATEN all over the newsroom. It was my first time trying a simple chocolate-vanilla cupcake from Tracy, and I loved it so much that I ate two. I just couldn't help myself! She's every bit as talented with classic flavors as the more elaborate ones she creates. 

If the two TL cupcakes weren't enough, I arrived home from work Friday night to discover that my husband, Camille, had brought home eight cupcakes from a bakery called Sweet Art in St. Louis, a place that I had heard about but never tried. As it turns out, Sweet Art specializes in baked goods made from scratch, with no preservatives. 

Here's the selection Camille brought back: 

Sweet Art's cupcakes are most definitely artistic and beautifully decorated. Of course, I couldn't resist trying just one right away, so I went for a red velvet, since he had brought back two. (The red velvets are the ones with the heart-shaped candy garnishes.) My first impression upon biting into the red velvet was that the cake was a bit on the dry side, although it had a good flavor. The cream-cheese frosting was at the same time light and creamy, and it was quite delicious. 

After the red velvet, I had to shore up my self-control (or what was left of it) and stash the rest away in the freezer. I'm sure it won't be long before I sneak in for another, though. Let's just say it's inevitable!