Friday, December 30, 2011

Bonjour, bakerinas!

Hey everyone!
So, during my winter break from school, I went to Washington D.C. I am excited to say that they have many cupcakeries that I visited so I can  share with you that latest and greatest in cupcake innovation!
On the first day, my mom went to Sprinkles Cupcakes, http://www.sprinkles.com/, and came back to the hotel with  some cupcakes for my sisters and I. 
 For my sister, Emma, and I, she  brought  chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream on top. I liked this cupcake, but it had way too much frosting and was too sweet. The cake was nice and moist and crumbly. This cupcake didn't have an even cake-to-frosting ratio. There was too much frosting for the cake. My mom also brought back 2 gluten free cupcakes for my other  two sisters, Halle and Sarah as they sadly do not eat wheat. These cupcakes were red velvet, because that was the only gluten free flavor they had that day. 


Here is my gluten free mom's opinion on the red velvet cupcake:


My mom said, "I am not a huge fan of red velvet cupcakes,  but these were very good, as confirmed by one of my daughters who loves them and is also newly gluten free. She said they were just as good as any regular red velvet cupcake she had ever had, although she would have preferred a little less frosting. " 


My other sister, Sarah, enjoyed the gluten free cupcake very much and said so far, it was the best gluten free cupcake she had ever had.


I was thrilled because the next day I was able to go to Georgetown Cupcake, http://www.georgetowncupcake.com/, which has a TV show on TLC called DC Cupcakes and the long lines to prove it!
I hoped to meet the two owners, who are sisters, named Katherine and Sophie LaMontagne. 
But just as well because I was quite disappointed in the cupcakes, and so were my sisters and my mom. To my mind, they are way overrated.  The vanilla buttercream tasted slightly like cream cheese and there was a little to much of the frosting on the cupcake. The frosting was a bit too sweet and buttery. I like frosting that is sweet and a teensy bit salty, with a hint of vanilla. The cake was yummy, it was nice and moist and not too sweet. As I say, there was not an even cake-to-frosting ratio. There was too much frosting for the cake. My mom liked the gluten free cupcake, she said it had a yummy chocolate pudding filling and it didn't disappoint the way other gluten free baked goods often do. She said the cupcake was flavorful and had the texture of a regular cupcake. She thought the frosting was good, too. She said it was a yummy treat that she wasn't able to eat often because most gluten free cupcakes aren't very good. On the other hand, my two gluten free sisters didn't like this cupcake as much. My sister, Sarah, thought the vanilla buttercream tasted too much like cream cheese. Niether she or Halle seemed to like the gluten free cupcake as much as my mom. 


And now for Baked and Wired, http://bakedandwired.com/, my favorite bakery out of all I have been to so far, ever! The cupcake I ate, called "Karen's Birthday", which was a chocolate cupcake with vanilla buttercream. It was delicious. The cupcake was wrapped in paper, and had the perfect cake-to-frosting ratio. There was more cake than frosting, which is the way cupcakes always should be. The cake was moist and very fresh. It tasted like it was just baked. The cake was chocolatey, but not too chocolatey. The frosting was a medium layer, just the PERFECT amount I have been looking for! The frosting was sweet, but not too sweet, had a nice flavor of vanilla, a very tasty buttercream. I was excited to get to go to this bakery. Emma liked the cupcake she had, a chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache, but didn't love the  ganache. Sarah and my mom ate a chocolate gluten free cupcake with strawberry frosting. (Halle didn't try a cupcake because she was full from all the other cupcakes :P). They loved them. My sister and mom thought the cupcakes were delicious and the frosting only had a subtle taste of strawberry frosting. I don't get why this place didn't have as much publicity as Georgetown Cupcake. Their cupcakes were much better! I wish them the best, and I hope more people find out about them. They deserve it, there cupcakes are delicious, and from what I heard from Halle, they had the best vanilla latte she had ever had!
And pictures!
 Sprinkles!
 Me at Georgetown Cupcake!



 Me in front of the recipe book of Georgetown Cupcake!
 Baked and Wired!
Baked and Wired! If you can see, one of the cupcakes is chocolate with vanilla buttercream and is the one I ate! YUM!
I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope it guides you if you happen to go to any of these bakeries.


Sweetly Yours, 
Rosie

Sunday, December 25, 2011

Christmas!

Hello, Bakerellas!
Merry Christmas, everyone! I am very excited to be here with my family and I got many great presents, such as the Magnolia Bakery Cookbook and the Primrose Bakery Cookbook! I am going to try the recipes ASAP!
I plan on making Brownie Pudding, from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, for Christmas dinner!
Again, merry Christmas!

Sweetly Yours,
Rosie

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

ATTENTION ALL BAKERS!

Dear Bakerinas,


OMG! I JUST FOUND THE MOST DELICIOUS BRAND FOR JUST BAKE COOKIES. 
IMMACULATE BAKING CO. MAKES THE MOST DELICIOUS COOKIE DOUGH EVER, IF YOU'RE EVER FEELING LIKE FRESH COOKIES ON A BUSY DAY WITH NO TIME TO BAKE! Today, I made their all natural chocolate chip cookies. They use a lot of organic ingredients and their cookie dough is delicious! I think you should try it! Look for the brand at your local market!
Here's the link to their site: https://www.immaculatebaking.com/
Sweetly Yours,
Rosie