Enjoy the weekend!!

Donut is the new Cupcake

Is it donut or doughnut??  I see it both ways.  Personally I prefer donut because I am lazy and it is less letters for me to type.  Anyway...I have always been a fan of donuts.  I'm going to blame this love on my grandfather.  I spent a lot of time at my grandparents house as a child, and my grandfather would always wake up, drive to the local bakery, and come back with a dozen donuts!  I LOVED those donuts and the quality was great.  Much better than the manufactured Dunkin and Tim Hortons we eat today.  Don't get me wrong, if I pass a Tim Hortons I will still stop and get a little box of Tim Bits.

It appears the donut trend is catching on outside of the chains we have grown up with over the years.  Not too long ago a hole-in-the-wall shop popped up in downtown Chicago - Doughnut Vault (http://thedoughnutvault.tumblr.com/).  Located just around the corner from Gilt Bar (love).  I call it hole-in-the-wall because it is just that.  You walk into a hallway where there is one girl a register and a couple bakers racks of donuts - that's it. 

One Friday morning, my friend Justin and I decided to go see what the hype was all about.  We had heard many stories about people waiting in line for an hour so they could get their donut of choice - I'm not kidding.  I didn't want to wait in line for an hour, for a donut, that's absurd.  Doughnut Vault opens at 8:30AM so I figured arriving by 8AM was reasonable.  30 minutes for a donut = not absurd.  I am not great at the whole twitter thing, but I tried following doughnut vault that whole week because they post tweet updates on the line and the inventory.  From my research 8:00 seemed perfectly reasonable.  When we arrived, there was only one other person waiting outside.  We were a bit confused as we expected to be arriving to a line of at least 20.  We quickly pulled out our iPhones and mapped the nearest Starbucks (lemons into lemonade).  There was a bux around the corner, so we went and grapped a cup then headed back to the vault.  By the time we got back there were about 10 people waiting.  This was at 8:20AM.  Not too bad.  They finally opened the doors and the line quickly grew behind us.  As you may know I am incredibly indecisive (read: i had to get one of each flavor).   I decided to bring a dozen back to my team for everyone to try.  I was able to try a piece of each flavor - I had to in order to judge fairly!

I LOVED the simple boxes

Heaven

The "stacks" came in these great little sacks (sack of stacks!)

Perfection

Buttermilk Old Fashioned

Gingerbread

Vanilla Glazed

Chestnut Glazed

Chocolate Glazed

Overall, I loved the doughnut vault and thought they were all delicious.  My favorite was the vanilla glazed and my least favorite was the buttermilk old fashioned.  They also have flavors of the week from time to time so I will have to go check those out.  My guess is that there won't be much of a line once winter actually hits here in Chicago.  I would def reco going and trying each one, but get there early because according to their tweets they are usually sold out of their best flavors by 10AM. 

enjoy!
j

Ann Arbor is a W

onderful little spot to grab a cupcake.  This fall I made my first trip to Ann Arbor. Growing up in Ohio I was pretty much raised to hate all things Michigan.  Now, ironically I spend at least 40% of my time there.  I spend most of my time in Western Michigan, but occasionally journey east. During my first trip to Ann Arbor I turned to my trusty Yelp! app to find some cupcakes.  I ended up at just baked.   

I didn't realize until later that this is actually a chain of cupcakeries located throughout Eastern Michigan. I normally don't love chains, but it was a rookie mistake.  Since it was fall I decided on the Apple Cider cupcake.  You better believe I spent a good long time going back and forth between the Pumpkin Pie and Apple Cider, but let's face it...the icing was much more appealing on the apple cupcake.  

1) Icing - Great texture and flavor.  I could def taste the cinnamon. 2) Cake - Very moist and perfect consistency.  I think it could have used a smidge more apple flavor.  3) Presentation - I am a big fan of the large icing swirl.  4) Creativity - I believe apple cider is quite creative in the cupcake form.  Would have been perfect with a side of spiced rum!  Just like college. 5) Overall - very happy with this cake.  I would absolutely go back and get it again.  

So, if you are ever in Ann Arbor (or pretty much anywhere in Eastern Michigan) I would def reco just baked.

enjoy!

j

Welcome Back!

Happy New Year!!!! I hope you all rang in the new year in style.  I decided to hit up NYC for NYE and it was amazing.  Now that I have recovered from my 4 day bender I am back and ready to blog it up.  I apologize for disappearing for the last couple months, but I have good reason.  I was baking my tail off for the holidays.  As you know I generally stick in the cupcake world, but I decided to completely engulf myself in Christmas cookies.  I baked probably 15 different types of cookies.  Yes...15.  Then, for some ridiculous reason I thought it would be a great idea to gift them to all of my family and friends.  That would have been fine if everyone was here in chicago - nope.  I flew with lbs and lbs of cookies from Chi to Cincy and then to Florida.  I lost a lot of cookies to breakage in transit, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Regardless, the cookie madness is over and I am back to cupcakes.  I have quite a few to catch you up on that I baked/tested since last October, so stay tuned!


xx
j

I'm the worst!

I realize I have not posted since October (the end of October), and I apologize.  I know the 5 of you that read this are wondering what the h happened.  Well, I got crazy busy.  Like super cray.  Don't worry I have still been baking my behind off and trying different cupcakes all along the way.  No worries I'll be back in action after the holidays!


xo
j

Food Truck Friday

Food trucks are all the rage these days.  I don't know about other cities, but these trucks are buzzing through the streets of Chicago like a swarm of bees.  They come in all shapes and sizes and carry all different types of cuisines.  Being the good friend that I am, I accompanied Matt so he could scope the goods these mobile kitchens had to offer.  It just so happens there was a cupcake truck - Sweetie Cakes - mixed in with the sliders, mac n cheese, and tamales.  Obviously I had to check it out.  I decided on "spice me up"- spiced sweet potato zucchini cake with a brown butter buttercream frosting aka fall in your mouth.

1) The Cake - Similar to a spice cake.  I liked the flavor a lot, but it had more of a muffin consistency.  This makes sense considering the ingredients.  2) icing - good flavor, but VERY sweet.  It works with the cake though.  3) Presentation - so, I didn't get to see the cupcake before purchasing which I didn't love.  Once purchased I thought it looked delish and obvi loved the holder so I could carry it back to my office without smearing the frosting.  4)creativity - very creative.  Can't say that I have come across another sweet potato zucchini cupcake.  5)overall happiness - so happy.  As I mentioned earlier it was like biting into fall.  The combo was perfect together and I absolutely appreciated that they were delivered right to me!

If Sweetie Cakes parks out front again I will be sure to stop by and try another one!

enjoy!

j

Cincinnati Love

Well, it is no secret that I have mad love for Cincinnati.  Unfortunately..Cincinnati does not have mad love for cupcakes.  sigh.  How is it that I, cupcake lover and connoisseur, came from a city without a phenomenal cupcake?  I started asking myself how I even fell into this addiction hobby.  I traced it back to Chicago.  On a trip to the windy city to visit my friend Katie, she took me to Sweet Mandy B's.  Those cupcakes are the only reason I even moved here.  Kidding! kind of...I do keep moving closer and closer to the shop.  Anyway, I have always had a sweet tooth, and that my friends began in Cincinnati.  While they may not do cupcakes well, they have some stellar bakeries.  I have favorite treats at each one and not a single one is a cupcake.  On that note, I will give you a brief tour of Cincinnati's best.

First, The BonBonerie (bonbonerie.com).  This is a cute little shop located in Oakley.  You can smell the sugar when pulling into the parking lot.  It is small and always crowded, so if you are impatient like me it is best to get there early.  Especially if you are visiting near a holiday.  Madness

The cases are packed with some of the most beautiful and delicious sweets I have ever had.  My go-to...

Sugar Cookies!  I never pick sugar cookies...EVER.  If faced with a cookie decision the absolute last choice would be a sugar cookie.  The only place that rule doesn't apply is The Bon Bonerie.  These cookies are a-ma-zing!  not only are they beautiful, but they are so good.  I usually think if a dessert is pretty it wont be good.  Not here.  Aren't they so cute?  They change them up for every holiday/season, but you can also get custom cookies.  They make such a perfect gift

No one is ever mad about getting a little pink box!

Next...Busken! (busken.com) There is more than one Busken location throughout the city, but the one pictured below - open 24 hours!

Busken also has cases packed with treats, but they are most well known for their smiley face cookies.  As you can see they also make them in support of the Reds (love).

They created "the skinny cookie" - the healthier version on the smiley cookie.  One word - gross.  Don't waste your time on these.  Like eating chalk.  Just get the original cookie and try to have some self control to not eat the entire box in one sitting.

They are a very creative bakery - hence the "boosken" onesie.  They have clever billboards all throughout the city which are too funny.  I think there is even a book of all the billboards.

Always love canine support!

I have 2 favorites at Busken.  The first...

Chocolate tea cookies!  They have other iced ones, but the chocolate are the best.  My friend Erin got me hooked on these bad boys.  When I lived with her she would always come home with a bag of fresh cookies and we would just sit there and snack away.  Now I crave them and have to get some every time I go back to Cincinnati.  My other favorite at Busken is Schnecken.  If you are not familiar, Schnecken is a german type cinnamon bun.  You can only get it around the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays, so yes, I am waiting patiently for Schnecken season.

Lastly, Servatii (servati.com)  Also, multiple locations.

Servatii's is bringing out all the German we have in Cincinnati.  When I think of this bakery I think of coffee cakes more than actual cakes.  My mom would pick one up from here each weekend.  Two of my best friends worked at Servatii's in high school.  I also blame them for my sweet tooth since I had cakes, cookies, and anything else they offered right at my fingertips!  Those were the days...

My favorite...not even a sweet!  I am obsessed with their pretzel bread.  I would always pop in and pick up a couple of the pretzel bagels for sandwiches, or to snack on plain.

They also make the best rolls.  

So Cincinnati, I forgive you!  You may not have any outstanding cupcakes, but you have the best bakeries.  I will now be counting down the days til Christmas as this post has made me super homesick.

enjoy!

j