Cupcake code blue

When my friend Jen, a nurse, brought me a jumbo-sized cupcake from Memorial Medical Center’s cafeteria last week that she said she bought for just under $1, my first reactions were shock and disbelief. Most of the jumbo cupcakes I’ve found during my sampling journey have cost in the range of $3-$5. Another friend suggested that the low price might be due to a hospital food subsidy. A third thought it might simply be a day old.

I’m pretty sure the third friend nailed it.

In all fairness, I had to freeze the cupcake for a few days because of a surprise box of cream-filled Krispy Kreme doughnuts from my husband that needed to be eaten ASAP (a delicious story for a different post). I wasn’t too worried about freezing it because I could tell the day I received it that it wasn’t at its freshest.

Pulling it from its paper lining three days later and taking a nibble, I found the yellow cake to be dense and dry – so much so, in fact, that I left most of it, eating just enough to counteract the sweetness of the vanilla frosting. I loved the texture of the thick, creamy icing, and the flavor was rich, but it was too sweet for my taste. Considering the cake and frosting as a whole, I wouldn’t find it necessary to buy this one again. I’m curious about any other flavors Memorial might make, and Jen reported that the carrot cake is quite delicious, especially if you can overlook the posted calorie content.

In other news, the Heavenly Delight cupcake stand has not been at the downtown farmers market or the Illinois Products market the past two weeks. I would assume that’s due to the heat, and I can’t blame the owners for that. The last time I went to the stand, two Saturdays ago, the frosting was melting off of the sad-looking display cupcakes. No cupcakes should ever go to waste! With temperatures forecast to be close to 100 degrees again this Wednesday, I’m guessing it will be another HD-less week. I hope a cold front comes through, because the summer is quickly advancing, and the weeks for cupcakes tend to fly. 

Peanut butter paradise

This morning's trip to the farmers market was fruitless in the sense that I found it lacking Heavenly Delight's stand. I had been anticipating cupcakes all week after going sweets-less for three straight days, so when I got to the end of the three-block row of stands and found no giant Heavenly banner proclaiming the presence of my favorite treat, the increasingly boiling temperature felt that much more like hell.

Fortunately, I had a back-up plan. At home in the freezer was an HD Reese's Peanut Butter cupcake from a couple weeks ago, and on the daily menu at nearby Cafe Moxo was that eatery's Peanut Butter cupcake. The time had come for another of my side-by-side cupcake comparisons. (Slow HD weeks are always good for these extracurricular cupcake activities.)

 Left: Heavenly Delight's Reese's Peanut Butter. 

Right: Cafe Moxo's Peanut Butter

This was my favorite side-by-side comparison to date. Peanut butter is high on my list of irresistible cupcake flavors, and I had tried both of these at least twice prior to today -- never together, though. The first thing I noticed, alternating bites, was that the salty peanut flavor stood out in Moxo's peanut buttercream frosting, compared to the more dominant sweetness of HD's. No right or wrong here -- both were rich and creamy with luscious flavor. I can't say I liked one more than the other, although I did appreciate the emphasis on peanuts in Moxo's. 

And now, moving on to the cake: Both were chocolate, but one was much better. Moxo's was quite dry compared to HD's, which incorporated bits of peanut butter. My history with these two places has shown me that moist cupcakes are about as common at HD as dry or stale cupcakes are at Moxo. I can count on one hand the number of times I've been disappointed with the texture of an HD cupcake. That doesn't mean I love all of their varieties, but not many HD cupcakes, whether I've cared for the flavor or not, have disappointed me in the category of technical quality. That said, I've had Moxo's Peanut Butter when the cake was fresh and moist, and I could find no flaws. The quality of Moxo's cupcakes tends to vary depending on the day, which is why I've retried several flavors. I've found HD's quality to be consistently good.

I also liked each cupcake's garnishes -- the mini Reese's Pieces on HD's and the peanuts and drizzle of chocolate syrup topping Moxo's. Each establishment took a different approach with its peanut butter cupcake, and I can appreciate both. In the end, though, quality counts, and since Moxo's cake wasn't as moist this time as it has been in the past, I have to base my judgment on today's tasting. Therefore, I give HD the prize in this cupcake battle royale. 

Doughnut detour

I know this is typically a cupcake blog, but when I found out that Friday, July 13, was Krispy Kreme doughnuts' 75th birthday, my craving started kicking in. Then I saw a picture on Mel-O-Cream's Facebook page of a commemorative coin marking that company's 80th anniversary. That's when I knew I had to work in some sort of doughnut post.

The problem: Krispy Kreme's nearest store is Bloomington, and I knew I wouldn't be taking any roadtrips this weekend. My only options were a local grocery store or gas station that sells shipped-in Krispy Kremes.  It happens that Shop N Save, my regular grocery store, carries boxes of several varieties.

On the other hand, it would be easy to swing by a local Mel-O-Cream store and pick anything I wanted from the menu. I decided, because cream-filled doughnuts are my favorite and Shop N Save carries "chocolate-covered, kreme-filled" Krispy Kremes, that I would put that doughnut head to head against Mel-O-Cream's chocolate-covered cream-filled. I've had both of these doughnuts many times, but I've never had the chance to taste them together.

 

Viewed side by side, Mel-O-Cream's doughnut, left, took the prize in terms of size and generosity with frosting. Both doughnuts' chocolate frosting was rich and fudgy.

But let's face it: The part of the cream-filled doughnut that matters most is, hello, the cream! I can say, after alternating several bites of each, that the Mel-O-Cream and Krispy Kreme are on an even playing field cream-wise. Double yum.

Really, these two are pretty comparable. I have to cut the Krispy Kreme some slack because I wasn't able to buy it fresh from the store like the Mel-O-Cream. I could tell it had been around a little longer. But it wasn't a deal breaker for me by any means. Taking freshness and size into account, the Mel-O-Cream would come out ahead. But otherwise, this is pretty much a draw. I must say I would be happy with either one any time.

Happy birthday, delicious doughnuts!

Where's the toffee?

My stop at Qik-N-Ez after work tonight yielded two Java Express cupcakes -- the Chai Latte I wrote about in  my last blog post and a Chocolate Toffee. Both were flavors I'd never seen at Java. I suspect the coffee shop has expanded its selection since it started selling cupcakes at the gas stations around town.

The devil's food cake wasn't the freshest or moistest, which I attribute at least partially to the fact that the guy behind the counter said the batch had been in the store for two days (albeit in the refrigerator while not in the display case). And overall, I liked it a lot. The frosting was especially good -- creamy and light with a milky chocolate flavor. What puzzled me was the lack of detectable toffee. Guy Behind the Counter had said the toffee was in the frosting. It must have been ground up to a fine powder, because I sure didn't taste it or feel the crunchy texture. It was quite good as chocolate cupcakes go, but it didn't live up to its name. Somebody get these cupcakes some toffee bits!

Chai, chai again

I started out today with the intention of picking up a Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcake from Cafe Moxo for a side-by-side comparison with Heavenly Delight's Reese's Peanut Butter, which I've had in the freezer since last week's market. But silly me got my days confused and forgot that Moxo offers Chocolate Peanut Butter on Wednesdays, not Thursdays. This means that I will most likely pit the peanut butters against each other next week instead.

Not all was lost, though. Moxo did have the final two spring/summer menu cupcakes I hadn't tried yet -- Pina Colada and Chai Tea -- and I decided to go with the Chai.

Fast forward to later in the day, when I stopped at the Qik-N-Ez by our house to check out the tip I'd gotten that the gas station and convenience store was carrying cupcakes from Java Express on Peoria Road, the coffee shop from which I've tried cupcakes several times. I've had my ups and downs with the cupcakes there, although I've mostly loved what I've had (there was a Chocolate Peppermint cupcake last winter that was so stale  with frosting so overloaded with shortening that I had to throw most of it away). Favorites I've had from Java include Lemon Raspberry, Cherry-Almond and Pumpkin. I'm on the lookout for a peanut butter that I've heard great things about from a coworker.

On this particular day, I found three flavors: Lemon Raspberry, Chocolate Toffee and ... Chai Latte! Who knew I'd stumble on two chai cupcakes at two different places in one day? Just like that, I had recovered my side-by-side experiment.

Cafe Moxo's Chai Tea  

Java Express' Chai Latte

Even though I wasn't able to try the two cupcakes at the same time (I had the Moxo Chai in the afternoon while at work and the Java Chai when I got home a couple hours later), my memory of Moxo's was still pretty clear when I tasted Java's. They were similar in cake and frosting: both featured a lightly spiced cake covered in vanilla frosting dusted with a bit of the spice. Moxo's was a bit more creative in appearance, with a mini straw emerging from the frosting. 

Neither cupcake was particularly moist, but Moxo had a bit of an edge in that category. When I asked the guy behind the counter at Qik-N-Ez how often Java delivers the cupcakes and when today's had arrived, he told me they come twice a week and this batch had been in the store since Tuesday. Two days seemed a bit iffy to me, but he insisted they'd kept the cupcakes fresh in the refrigerator until they put them on display in a plastic case at the registers. I have to admit I was skeptical when he said they keep the cupcakes in the refrigerator. I've had bad luck with cake hardening in the refrigerator, so I usually store it in the freezer. (My one exception so far is Moxo, whose cupcakes I only eat fresh the day I buy them since I had a series of cupcakes from there dry out and otherwise lose their freshness in the freezer.)

I also noticed that the Java Express Chai's icing had become slightly crusty, although that doesn't bother me with frosting as much as it does with cake. Moxo's frosting was the restaurant's usual light, fresh and fluffy vanilla, which nicely complemented the spice cake. I had never tried chai tea, so I wasn't sure how well the cupcake represented the drink. My coworker and co-sampler Marilyn, who loves chai tea, reported that, while the cupcake didn't taste exactly like the drink would, the spices were reminiscent of the drink. That was good enough for me. 

One major difference between the two cupcakes was size; Moxo makes traditional-size cupcakes while Java deals in the jumbo variety. But the biggest difference of all, and the one that put Java's Chai a nose above Moxo's in my opinion, was the cream cheese filling in the Chai Latte. Delicious and just the right complement to the rest of the cupcake. It also helped offset the cake's dryness, as did the generous topper of frosting. 

I'm a sucker for a good filling, so I have to give props to Java Express for going the extra mile in that regard. Both bakeries need to work on being consistent with moistness and freshness of cake, but overall these were both quite tasty.

Mounds of goodness

It was a one-cupcake day at the farmers market today, with the majority of Heavenly Delight's selection comprised of cupcakes I'd already tried. They were offering Mounds, however, and I'd passed that one over  on a couple occasions for flavors that looked more interesting.

I do believe I underestimated the Mounds.

It's a rather simple concept -- dark chocolate cake topped with creamy vanilla frosting and a sprinkling of coconut shavings, as well as a few bits of coconut inside the cake. But oftentimes the simplest cupcakes are the most satisfying, and this little beauty was perfection. I don't like cake to be smothered in coconut, but this cupcake had just enough to impart the flavor without forcing my jaw to work overtime chewing it all. My biggest issue with coconut is the texture.

My coworker, Kathy, split this one with me, and we both agreed it was yet another delectable selection from HD. One thing we did notice, however, was that the ingredients label listed cream cheese. The frosting was undoubtedly vanilla, so we couldn't figure out where the cream cheese was hiding.

I also realized, while eating this one, that HD has never had a traditional chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting. The bakery has several with that combination of cake and frosting, but they all have some sort of extra ingredient, like this one. A classic "tuxedo" cupcake seems like something every bakery should offer. HD's basic flavors are so strong that I think the bakers should offer them consistently. HD's farmers market stand sells White (vanilla cake with vanilla frosting) and Chocolate Dream (chocolate cake with chocolate frosting) cupcakes most weeks, but HD also makes an excellent yellow cake with chocolate frosting that I've only seen at the stand once. I wish I could buy all four of the basic combinations (including chocolate cake with vanilla frosting) any week if I wanted to.

Bacon strikes again

It's not often you hear the phrase, "Breakfast for dessert." It applied to my choice of cupcake yesterday, when I took a break from Heavenly Delight cupcakes just long enough to make a long-awaited return to Cafe Moxo. It was Saturday, and Moxo had a spring/summer menu cupcake that I hadn't tried yet -- the Wakin' Bacon.

I'm not gonna lie -- I wasn't exactly looking forward to trying another bacon cupcake. The last time I tried one, More Cupcakes' Bacon Bacon Bacon during the Chicago cupcake crawl last July, I took a few bites and had to throw away the rest. The combination of vanilla, bacon and maple syrup very nearly tested my gag reflex. I'm a fan of pancakes and bacon with maple syrup, but that's not exactly the same as mixing it all together in a cupcake.

So I was wary as I had my Wakin' Bacon packaged up to go. Presentation-wise, it was pretty cute -- two small strips of bacon criss-crossed over white and yellow frosting made to look like a sunny-side-up egg.

As I strategized how to eat it, I debated taking the bacon off and eating it first, then tackling the cupcake. But  then I realized that taking it apart would defeat the whole purpose of the cupcake. Alas, it was time to be brave and take an all-encompassing bite. I have to admit, with that first bite I liked the flavor combination more than I had expected. The saltiness of the bacon sort of complemented the sweetness of the vanilla frosting, and the bacon bits baked into the cake were subtle. As I continued to work my way toward the middle, I discovered maple syrup soaking the cake. I had gotten that far, so I was committed to finishing, but the combination of the vanilla frosting, bacon and maple syrup was starting to get to me. Thankfully, Moxo's cupcakes are a smaller, more traditional size compared to More's jumbo cupcakes, so it wasn't such an undertaking to finish the Wakin' Bacon.

All things considered, this cupcake was one I never need to try again. I'm glad I did, though, because one of my goals in writing this blog is forcing myself to try new things, even if they're not my taste (or I think they won't be my taste). I know there are lots of people out there who love bacon cupcakes (my friend and former colleague Jayette Bolinski one of them), and for those people I would highly recommend Moxo's Wakin' Bacon.

Breakfast for dessert, baby!

Nuts and berries ... and zucchini

I had some catching up to do on new cupcake flavors after my visit to Heavenly Delight's stand at the farmers market this week, so I once again recruited some help from a coworker. The trio of the day: Lemon Blueberry, Italian Cream and Zucchini.

Lemon Blueberry took the best-of-three award for both of us. This was pretty much a perfect cupcake. Moist lemon cake with a filling of fresh blueberries; creamy, zesty lemon frosting; and a little dollop of blueberry jam on top. We also loved the combination of flavors. HD's Lemon Drop is one of my favorite cupcakes, and it's hard to say which I love more between it and its blueberry cousin. I guess I'll just have to try them side by side sometime and find out. Oh, what a hardship!

We also really liked Zucchini. I had had zucchini bread but never cake, and I really like HD's carrot and pumpkin cakes, so I was looking forward to trying this one. The cake was very spicy, and we could see the tiny bits of zucchini in it. I wondered if the frosting might be cream cheese, but it was vanilla. Although I love cream cheese frosting, I wasn't at all disappointed because HD makes an excellent vanilla and it complemented the cake quite well.

We wrapped things up with the Italian Cream. I wasn't sure how I'd feel about this one, with all the nuts. I'm not a huge fan of pecans, and the cake was full of big chunks of them, as well as coconut. I like coconut better than nuts in cake, so that didn't bother me. I don't mind nuts in cake as much when they're ground up or chopped smaller. But the chunks bothered me with this cupcake. Nuts aside, though, it was a high-quality cupcake. The white cake was moist, and the vanilla frosting, of course, was great. Again, I wasn't crazy about the nuts on top. But Italian Cream apparently is all about coconut and pecans, so I have to give HD  props for doing the cupcake up right even though it wasn't my taste. (I have to note that Kathy loved it. She likes nuts in cake, though.) So to all my friends who love their nuts, I recommend the Italian Cream!

Independence Day cupcake

I love mid-week holidays, and I love them even more when they include cupcakes. I had picked up a Chocolate Butterscotch from Heavenly Delight at the farmers market last week, and I was saving it to try this week. (I also picked up several new flavors; more to come on that in my next post.)

Although the cupcake was good overall, the butterscotch promise came up a bit short. Mini butterscotch morsels covered the vanilla frosting (which had no butterscotch flavor I could taste) and the chocolate cake, while moist and delicious, also had no traces of butterscotch. I was hoping for the flavor to be more incorporated into the body of the cupcake. Alas, this was one that wouldn't stand out to me at future farmers markets, although if I were in the mood for a basic chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting, I'd certainly consider it.