Side Note

I'd like to point out one of my favorite things in Dallas - Central Market.  I am a HUGE fan of Whole Foods, but in Dallas HEB has come up with the Central Market concept which is very similar.  I always like to pop in and try some of their fresh selections.  They also have cool cooking classes every week.

Also they have an amazing gelato bar that I like to hit up on my way out.  

Enjoy!
J

Apple Pie??

On my last trip to Dallas I had to get back to Society Bakery (societybakery.com).  As mentioned before the smell is just intoxicating when walking in the door.  Then when you arrive you are faced with this case of beautiful cupcakes! 

Now, last time I was in Society Bakery I had to try the banana chocolate chip to compare with Sweet Mandy B's here in Chicago, but noticed they had an apple pie flavor.  I was very intrigued by this as I have never seen an apple pie cupcake. 

Apple Pie: 1)the cake - Just a plain yellow cake - good flavor and consistency.  2) the icing - Vanilla buttercream with Apple Pie filling on top.  So good! Just the right amount of icing to go along with the apples.  It was light and fluffy.  3)Presentation - I like the "rough" presentation.  Large cupcake with a blob of icing and then apple filling plopped on top.  Totally my style.  4)Creativity - VERY creative.  Like I said, I have never seen an Apple Pie cupcake 5)overall happiness - extremely happy!  This was so delicious.  The combination of the cake with the vanilla icing and apple topping reminded me of apple pie a la mode.  Very much enjoyed this cupcake and might try to make it myself when apple season roles around!

While on this trip I had to pick up a gift for someone so I stopped in Creme de la Cookie (cremedelacookie.com).  I absolutely fell in love with this place.  It is adorable.  The cookies looked amazing and they had a good variety, but nothing too crazy.  However, my favorite thing about this place was the little gift boxes.  Such a great idea - They were perfect.  I really wish we had one of these shops in Chicago!

Enjoy Texas!

J

High Society

On a recent trip to Texas I was accompanied by my regional manager, Matt.  I love when Matt travels with me, because he lived in Dallas for several years and knows all the hot spots.  When I told him about batter up he said he knew of an amazing bakery right down the street from his old house - Society Bakery (www.societybakery.com). Society Bakery is located in the northern part of the city by "M"Streets.

The smell of baked goods smacks you right in the face when you walk in the door.  It is heavenly.  I could have sat there all day.  They offer more than just cupcakes and their entire selection looked phenomenal!  After a lot of back and forth I decided on a banana chocolate chip cupcake.  Now, normally I would never choose a banana flavored cupcake, but I loved the one Katie ordered at Sweet Mandy B's and I wanted to see if Society's would compare.

Just looking at this cupcake is enough to make your mouth water.  1) the cake - a yellow cake with chocolate chips.  Loved it.  I love yellow cake and the chocolate chips give it the perfect texture contrast.    The flavor was divine and the consistency of the cake was perfect.  2) the icing - AMAZING! It was a light fluffy banana icing that just melted in my mouth 3) presentation - just right.  Simple large swoop of icing.  Honestly, all of their cupcakes looked so good on the rack I had a really hard time deciding.  4) creativity - eh, not that creative.  Banana is pretty common in the cupcake world, and a lot of times it is paired with chocolate.  5) overall happiness - I was beaming after I ate this.  It was so delicious.  When I sat down I told myself I would only have half because I had spent the last couple days indulging in some tex-mex...well that didn't work out so well.  I think I was actually licking the fork for the final crumbs.  


This is by far the best cupcake I have had in Dallas!  If you are in the area you MUST make a stop at society bakery.  Parking is not the easiest, but once you get in there you will see it is worth the hassle.  I can't wait to get back down south to try more flavors!

Everything's Bigger in Texas

Not in the cupcake world.  While in Dallas I stumbled upon The Cupcakery (www.thecupcakery.com).  I was instantly a fan when I walked in because almost all of their varieties also have a mini option. I absolutely love tiny food: mini cookies - amazing, tiny tacos - perfect, auntie annes pretzel bites - duh.  Since there were tiny options I was able to taste 2 flavors: strawberry shortcake and a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.  I love fruity cupcakes because they  remind me of spring/summer so that was an easy choice. Yellow cake with chocolate icing has been my favorite dessert since I was a kid so you will probably see me pick that flavor often.  Like Chicago, I will rate them individually.  

STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE  1) the cake - it was moist and flavorful. I thought it was baked just the right amount of time.  2) icing - eh.  Not impressed. It was a heavy strawberry flavored cream frosting.  If anything I would say there was just too much strawberry.  If they used a vanilla buttercream this cupcake would have MUCH better! 3) presentation - well they also come in a Chinese take-out box like the more cupcakes so that was a disappointment.  I prefer something a little more unique.  I think they could have been less jazzy with the icing since it was such a small surface 4) creativity - mediocre at best. It was strawberry on strawberry and the flavor wasn't a knockout so I would have liked to see a little more - perhaps actual strawberries in the center 5) overall happiness - disappointed with my selection. 

YELLOW WITH CHOCOLATE ICING  1)the cake - same as the strawberry. Perfect texture decent flavor.  If you can't get a yellow cupcake right you may as well just close up shop.  2)icing - not right.  This combo should have a creamy milk chocolate frosting but instead they served a thicker darkish chocolate flavor.  It was way too rich to go on such a tiny cake 3)presentation - this was okay. A simple chocolate swirl topped with some white sprinkles.  I wasn't overly impressed but I also wasn't disappointed 4) creativity - there isn't much room to work here since with was a classic choice.  5)overall happiness - not good.  I really had high hopes for these tiny cakes but once again was left dissatisfied.

I loved the concept of having small and large versions, but in the end they didn't do it for me.  Initially I had no future plans to return to The Cupcakery, but after looking at their website and seeing some of their seasonal flavors my plans have changed.  Maybe I made a poor choice, so I will be sure to stop in again to try one of their flavors of the month. They also have a shop in Vegas so maybe I should head west to see if they make em right in Sin City


Until next time