Cupcakery Review! Cupcake in Minneapolis!

I was in Minneapolis less than 20 hours.  Plenty of time for a 1 hour meeting and 1 hour of finding my way to Cupcake which is definitely worth the trip and completely worth fighting the current construction in their neighborhood.  The had at least 24 different cupcake flavors - not counting their Baby Cakes minis. 

 As this was only a few days before Paddy's Day, they were featuring an Irish Car Bomb Cupcake - you can see my recipe below - theirs was seemingly quite similar although I didn't try it.  I had taken a look at their extensive menu before I went.  There website is great and shows pictures of each cupcake but lucky for me, their bakers like to experiment!  If it's not obvious from my last post, I think the best way to consume booze is in cupcake form.  When I saw they had a "Bourbon Butterscotch Chocolate" cupcake, my jaw hit the floor and my mouth started watering.  And I'm so thrilled that I did.  If there was a Guiness World Record for the fastest cupcake consumption, I would definitely have won with the way I inhaled this completely amazing cupcake. Usually, I try to take only one or two bites of a cupcake (girl can not stay curvey on cupcakes alone!) but I couldn't even stop myself.   I'm not even sure I can accurately describe how this cupcake was constructed.  The frosting was amazing - I think it was either a whipped cream of some sort or a light swiss merigue - the key was that the frosting was just barely sweet and the bourbon was just enough to scent the cupcake.  If I had a bowl of this frosting, I would put my face in it.   I hope they keep this one on the menu as it would certainly earn its spot in their top sales category.

A friend I was travelling with ordered a Red Velvet and saved it for her flight home.  She later texted me to let me know that it was the best Red Velvet she's ever had.  Why these people aren't on Cupcake Wars, or in the Cupcake Hall of Fame (I just invented that!) or on the Ellen Show or some other fame creating device is beyond me.  

As a side note, the shop was really cute and the staff quite friendly.  They also have a load of cute vintage themed merchandise, much of which was cupcake related.  They serve regular food too - sandwiches, soups, salads, etc and looks like it would be a great place for lunch or a light dinner.  They have a pretty good selection of freshly baked breads too.  A great all-around bakery with a wonderful cupcake slant.  Stop by (or immediately fly to) Minneopolis to stop by Cupcake!

Sweet St. Patty's Day Shamrock Shake Cake

If you’re single and made it through Saint Valentine’s Day without slitting your wrists, I’m sure you’re looking forward to a more social holiday – Saint Patrick’s DAY!  Wahoo!  This month for me started out in Ireland and to continue celebrating my Irish heritage, I thought I’d devote this post to one of my favorite treats from this time of year:  The Shamrock Shake.  Since I don’t ever eat anything from the likes of a McDonald’s, it’s hard for me to look forward to something so delicious at a place that serves filler and chemicals and calls it food.  Since a SMALL Shamrock Shake is well over 500 calories (EEEK!!!), this is a treat that I get once a year at best – but really only once every two years since I  will only drink half.  YUM.  

The thing about the shamrock shake is that it has a sweet yet minty flavor combined with the fat in ice cream that makes everything better.  So if fat+mint+sugar=everything better, then what would we need to add to make everything better=everything awesome.  There is one clear answer – chocolate cake.  So I whipped up my standard chocolate cake in two 9in round pans. (recipe below)   I like this recipe because it turns out really moist with a deep flavor.  I used to omit the coffee and just use water but I think the coffee really does add an interesting note to the flavor – you can also use a flavored coffee for a slight change.  Anywho, while the cake’s a-bakin it’s time to make a minty green frosting. 

I used a standard buttercream frosting with about 2 tsp of peppermint extract and a smidge of green food color.  Then I chopped up some bittersweet chocolate for the chips in the frosting.  The only issue with this frosting is that the chips make it almost impossible to pipe.  The only way to really do it is to put it in a piping bag without a tip.  When in doubt, you can always pipe a dot border.  Mmmmm…minty green frosting dots. 

The cake turned out looking good and the frosting went way beyond my love of shamrock shakes – there are no bittersweet chips in the shake – take that McD’s!  Nor are there jimmies - I added the jimmies for dramatic effect - I think I got it.

CHOCOLATE CAKE!

2 c. sugar

1 3/4 c. flour

3/4 c. cocoa – dark cocoa is better if you can find it

2 tsp. baking soda

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 c. black coffee

1 c. buttermilk

1/2 c. vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla

Combine first 6 ingredients and set aside.

 In large bowl combine all other ingredients, mix. Add flour mixture a bit at a time until just combined, batter will be thin.

Beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Pour into greased and floured 9 x 13 inch cake pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 40 minutes.