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!

It's all in Black and White

Today's cupcake, courtesy of the freezer, was Moxo's Black and White -- chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. In my last post, I surmised that Moxo's cupcakes might not be best frozen, based on the slight dryness of the cake. Today's tasting confirmed that for me. The Black and White wasn't bad, by any means, but I could tell by the texture of the frosting that fresh would have been better. I've mentioned several times that Moxo's vanilla frosting reminds me of a thicker version Mel-O-Cream's vanilla filling. The frozen version of the frosting barely resembled that of the fresh, which was disappointing. Like last weekend's Bistro (yellow cake with chocolate frosting), I'll need to try this one fresh to accurately evaluate it. It was good for sure, but I had the feeling its time in the freezer was masking its greatness. Fortunately, both of these are regularly part the Moxo rotation, regardless of season, because they're basic flavors.

I'm ready for a trip to Moxo next week. From now on, I'm keepin' it fresh.

Caramel apple in a cupcake

Today was the transition from Heavenly Delight to Cafe Moxo, and I must say it was seamless. It's just as easy to get excited about Moxo cupcakes as HD, and months of new flavors lie ahead. Today I picked Moxo's Caramel Apple. It seemed like an ideal choice for an early November day, and it would be a dream for an apple pie lover. Apple pie isn't my favorite dessert, but I enjoyed the cupcake anyway.

With apple buttercream frosting, apple cake, a "caramel" filling that actually tasted like apple pie filling (little chunks of apple and all) and a drizzle of Ghirardelli caramel on top, it was quite a treat. The cake was moist, especially with the filling, but the frosting was what stood out for me. I love Moxo's vanilla frosting (I didn't detect any apple flavor, but no matter) because it reminds me of the filling Mel-O-Cream uses in its doughnuts. The Caramel Apple's tower of frosting was nearly equal to the depth of the cupcake itself, and I delighted in scooping frosting off the top before even touching the rest of the cupcake. If I were an employee of Moxo, I'd be in constant violation of the health code because I'd be licking the frosting bowl every day!

Workday S'more

A cold rain was coming down when I left the house this morning, and yet, somehow, in my cupcake-induced rush to get downtown to the farmers market, I failed to consider that the wet weather might put a damper on attendance -- customers AND vendors -- at the market.

It was a cold, wet realization when I parked the car and scrambled the half-block to Adams Street, looked to my left, where Heavenly Delight's stand usually resides, and saw the empty space. No HD cupcake this week.

Fortunately, just behind me was Cafe Moxo, where my fall/winter cupcaking stint starts in two weeks, after the market's season wraps. I had a Moxo cupcake in August, the week HD put its stand at the Illinois State Fair instead of the farmers market. That time, I chose the Shortcake cupcake, with white cake, a filling of chopped strawberries, and vanilla frosting. I adored the cupcake, with frosting that I thought resembled the cream in Mel-O-Cream doughnuts.

This time, the selections were fall-flavored, and the one I chose was the S'more.

The S'more scores high on presntation, with a graham cracker resting on top of a thick layer of marshmallow cream frosting covering the foundation of chocolate cake. Crowning the creation was an extra dollop of frosting serving as base for a square of Hershey's milk chocolate. The cake is moist and light, and the marshmallow frosting had a hint of marshmallows' stretchy texture. (I wondered how they would accomplish marshmallow frosting, and they did it quite well.) My only complaint was that the graham cracker had softened from being sandwiched between two layers of frosting. The staleness didn't keep me from eating the cracker; I simply broke off the bottom half of the cake so I could fit the rest of the cupcake in my mouth without taking the cracker off. The flavor of the graham cracker blended with the cake and frosting, and the cracker's texture became, for the most part, a nonissue.

Moxo's more heavily decorated cupcakes aren't the easiest to eat, but this particular one was worth the effort. I'd certainly order it again, once I get through the rest of the fall flavors. Moxo has 25 cupcakes on its menu, and it features certain flavors during different seasons. Some, like S'more, Caramel Apple and Pumpkin Spice, obviously fit with a particular season, but others, such as the Black & White (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting) and the Bistro (yellow cake with chocolate frosting) are basic enough to fit any season and pop up on the restaurant's display year-round.

I'll probably wait a couple weeks, until after next week's final farmers market, to return to Moxo, but when I do I think I'll try the Caramel Apple. I love fall for its colorful leaves and sweatshirt-wearing weather, but I hate what it ushers in. At least I have a tempting fall selection of cupcakes to anticipate. Bring 'em on!

Cupcake excess (wait, is that possible?)

It's been quite a week for cupcakes. Between our visit to Jilly's on Sunday and my weekly Heavenly Delight stop yesterday, you might think I've run the risk of being cupcaked out. You'd be wrong.

This week's stop at the farmers market sweet stand yielded two new varieties -- Snickers and a yellow cake with chocolate frosting. Actually, the yellow cake was a stripped-down version (and I mean that in the best way possible) of the Butterfinger of a few weeks ago, which was luscious, so I knew I'd adore its more basic cousin.

I'm calling this one "Golden Chocolate" because I can't remember what H.D. had printed on the cupcake's little label at the stand. It was yellow cake with chocolate frosting and a garnish of chocolate sprinkles.

Here's the 411: The cake was melt-in-your-mouth moist, and the chocolate frosting was perfectly light and fluffy – milky, not fudgy. Another of HD’s fall-apart fresh cupcakes, its beauty was in its simplicity. No need for frills here. Although I loved its Butterfinger-garnished cousin a few weeks ago, this classic combo doesn’t need dressing-up.

The Snickers, which I actually tried first, didn't thrill me quite as much. It featured chocolate cake with caramel-flavored frosting and a garnish of chopped peanuts and little balls of caramel.

I was a tad underwhelmed by this one. The chocolate cake was good and the caramel frosting was decent, but I wished it had been richer and more flavorful, like the caramel icing Mel-O-Cream spreads on its doughnuts. That is the caramel frosting by which to compare all others, as far as I’m concerned. I wanted to scrape off the little balls of caramel that garnished the cupcake because I’m not a fan of chewy caramel. I think I would have liked it better without the caramel balls, but it still would have lacked the richness and depth of flavor of some of HD's other creations. At least it wasn’t cloyingly sweet like their other caramel cupcakes I’ve tried. This wasn't a bad cupcake. It's just that I can think of many others I'd spend my $2.50 on instead.

All in all, another not-so-shabby day of cupcake tasting!