Cupcakes: Sweet Opens in Boston!

At last! Cupcakes in Boston!

You know you're in trouble when one of your best friends starts working at a brand new, absolutely amazing cupcake shop just a short walk away from you. I'm sure you can tell I have a slight obsession with cupcakes. And now this obsession has been taken to a whole new level.

I love Boston to death, but it has seriously lacked in the cupcake department. There's a couple of bakeries with great cupcakes, but really not any specialty cupcake shop right in the city. Until now. If you're in the Boston area, you really need to go to Sweet, the new cupcake shop on Mass Ave. in Boston's Backbay.

As if a new cupcake shop isn't exciting enough; one of We are Not Martha's favorite people is working there. Yesterday was Sara's first day working at Sweet, so of course I stopped in for a visit and a cupcake or two.

Just a few of the many beautiful cupcakes at Sweet.

My first thought upon walking in was that the shop is absolutely adorable. Fun pink and brown wallpaper adorns the tiny but comfortable shop; jars filled with candy and fresh, beautiful peonies decorate the counters; lush pink seating lines the walls; and a huge plasma TV plays girly movies. When you think about what a cupcake shop should look like, Sweet is pretty much exactly what you're thinking of.

Giant flower cupcake. I need one for my apartment

Pretty peonies and jars of candy also adorn the counters

Pretty pink seating looking out onto Mass Ave.

The one and only Sara working her cupcake magic behind the counter

So, now you know the shop is incredible. What about the cupcakes, right? I'm not exaggerating when I say that the cupcakes are pretty close to perfection. I have to admit, I was a little bit nervous. I mean, not that I believe there's such a thing as a bad cupcake, but I've had plenty of cupcakes I've been pretty ehhh about. So the thought that Sweet's cupcakes may not make me giddy with cupcake love definitely crossed my mind. But luckily, my fears were not confirmed and Sweet left me incredibly happy and wanting more and more.

Of course, I had to taste a couple flavors. First, the cappuccino cupcake was the perfect consistency: light and fluffy with a deliciously dense frosting. With the smooth flavor of cinnamon, this cupcake went down easy (maybe a little too easy).

Full-size cappuccino cupcake

You know I always have to try the vanilla/vanilla cupcake everywhere I go. The vanilla/vanilla combination is basically the way in which I measure how good a shop's cupcakes actually are. Sweet passed the test on this one. Again, the cake was light and moist, but had the perfect amount of sweetness and vanilla flavoring. And the sweet vanilla frosting, while lighter than the cappuccino frosting, was full-flavored and fantastic. I would almost compare the taste to the frosting on a Party Favors cupcake, but definitely not as heavy. OK, so now I get why they call this place "Sweet."

The mini-size vanilla sweet cake

One of the best things about these cupcakes are their light fluffiness. They leave you feeling satisfied, but not disgustingly full. Of course, that also means you can probably eat quite a few of these cupcakes before you realize how many you've had.

Sweet sells their regular size cupcakes for $3.25 and their minis (for those of us who like to sample lots of flavors) for $2.25. Some people think they're a bit pricey, but when you taste them you really will see why. You can get an overly-processed, sickeningly sweet cupcake anywhere, but Sweet's cupcakes are all extremely fresh and natural tasting and worth every penny.

Other cupcake flavors at Sweet include lemon, organic karat, and dark chocolate; with many more flavors in the making. And while you're enjoying your cupcake, you can pick a cute little "pupcake" for your dog. There's also talk of having special "Vegan Wednesdays" in the future.

Oh, and I went back today. And I'm completely serious. I met up with some friends for lunch and knew they would love Sweet's cupcakes. I was right.

Sweet is going to be a very, very dangerous place for me. And once you go, it will be for you too.

Sweet
49 Massachusetts Ave.
Boston, MA 02115
617-247-CAKE

[Sues]

Made from Scratch Funfetti Cupcakes

Remember back in elementary school when everyone would bring in cupcakes on their birthday? How psyched were you when a kid brought in funfetti cupcakes? They were THE BEST. My friends and I still make and eat them on occasion. But I'm pretty anti- cooking from a box when doing it from scratch is so easy, so I decided to try and make my own funfetti cupcakes. I was going to a little gathering for the birthdays of two of my friends, and I decided it was the perfect occasion to make them, considering I've been friends with both birthday girls since elementary school.

I loosely followed a recipe I found on Baking Bites, making a few changes of my own. First whisk together the milk (1/2 C), egg whites (3 large), vanilla extract, and almond extract together. I find almond extract a bit overpowering, so I used the full 1/4 t the recipe called for, but then used a lot more than the 1 t of vanilla extract it called for. I'm a big vanilla extract fan!

In another bowl, combine the flour (1 1/4 C ), sugar (1 C), salt (1/2 t), and baking powder (2 t). Cut in the butter (6 T) at a low speed until the mixture is coarse. Add the milk mixture and beat at a medium speed for 1 1/2 minutes or so. Then stir in the sprinkles (2 T). Important note: If you use the little round sprinkles, the colors will likely bleed into the mixture. It's best to use the long sprinkles, or what we here in New England call jimmies.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 15-20 minutes.

Now you're ready to make the frosting. I didn't have a metal bowl like the recipe said to use, so I used a saucepan. Stir together the sugar (1 1/2 C), egg whites (2 large), water (1/3 C), light corn syrup (2 t), and cream of tartar (1/4). Put whatever bowl or pot you used over another saucepan filled with simmering water, but don't let the pan on top touch the water. Using a handheld mixer, beat on medium speed until the mixture "resembles soft marshmallow fluff" and then on high until it's nice and thick.

Take bowl off the heat and add vanilla extract (1 t, but I added more!) and beat another 5 minutes, until the mixture is cool.

Frost the cupcakes and add more sprinkles. This time, I used the round ones.

I popped them in my cupcake carrier, whipped up a few more treats, and went off to the party.

They ended up looking adorable and tasting delicious, though not quite like the original from-the-box funfetti. I really liked the marshmallow-like frosting and will definitely be using that recipe in the future. They really do look like the perfect birthday cupcake!

The girls enjoying the birthday celebration pre-going out!

[Sues]

San Francisco bound...

I'm off to San Francisco today :) The GPS is packed and I'm hoping to do lots of exploring around Northern California so I can bring back some goodies. One place I'm super excited to check out is Kara's Cupcakes. Check out the flavors... That alone could be worth the trip!

Can't wait to report back :)

In the meantime, some pictures from my last trip...

[Chels]

Lemon-Raspberry Cupcakes

When I got April's Bon Appétit in the mail, I immediately knew I had to make the lemon-raspberry cupcakes on the cover. Even though I'm not the biggest lover of raspberry-flavored things (LOVE fresh raspberries, artificially-flavored not so much), I just didn't see how these could be bad. They sounded like the perfect springy treat, so I decided to make them for Easter.

Fabulous idea. I often take a few times to perfect a cupcake recipe, but these tasted really, really good the first time I made them. One reason for this? I went to Epicurious.com and read reader comments before making them. I highly recommend you always do this whenever possible. Yes, I trust Bon Appétit , but when 8 different people are saying, "No! I made these and you need to cut down on the butter," it makes sense to listen.

The cake batter for these cupcakes was different than anything I've made before. First, the lemon peel. You really should use a zester (if you don't have one, they're cheap and very useful!), but you can use a vegetable peeler if you have to. Second, the butter. The recipe says to use 3/4 C (1 1/2 sticks), but everyone on Epicurious said that was way too much and to only use 1/2 C (1 stick). I ended up using a little less than 1 1/4 sticks and I thought it was just fine.

So, beat the butter (about 1 1/4 sticks), powdered sugar (1 1/2 C), and lemon peel (3 T) in a large bowl until fluffy and pale yellow. Then add the eggs (2) one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in self-rising flour (1 1/4 C) adding half it, then beating in buttermilk (1/4C) and lemon juice (2 T), and then the rest of the flour.

Now, the recipe says to drop a tablespoon of batter into each muffin paper. But the reader comments I read said to put more batter in because the raspberry jam you're going to add will sink to the bottom while baking. So I filled the cups more than half-way up with batter. The jam still sunk to the bottom. It wasn't a huge deal and they still tasted delicious and were pretty, but if I make them again, I'll probably fill the papers with batter and then add the jam on top. Or inject the cupcakes with jam. In this case, I added 1 teaspoon of raspberry jam on top of the already added batter and then covered the jam with more cupcake batter.




Put them in the oven at 350 for about 23 minutes. In the meantime, you can make the frosting, which is simply powdered sugar (1 1/2 C), lemon juice (2 T), and lemon peel (1 1/2 t). Whisk it until it's nice and smooth (don't get discouraged if it clumps up; just keep whisking). The recipe says to put this lemon icing on half the cupcakes and then stir in jam to the remainder of the icing and use that for the rest of the cupcakes. I wanted all my cupcakes to have pink icing, so I added the raspberry jam (1 1/2 T) right away. Spoon the icing over the cupcakes and let it set.

Since I was going to my parent's house, I used the awesome cupcake carrier my sister bought me. So cute and convenient!

When you're ready to serve, top with a fresh raspberry. These cupcakes were an Easter hit and I can definitely see myself making these past spring and all the way through summer. They were the perfect amount of moist and had a nice little lemony zing.

Hope your Easter was wonderful!

[Sues]

Warning: Cupcakes Ahead

My weekend consisted of a lot of cupcakes. This may have been the first time I've had cupcakes since the infamous Chicago Cupcake Crawl in January. And, oh how I've missed them.

TKTC brought cupcakes from Molly's Cupcakes (the best place for cupcakes in Chicago) and I bought cupcakes from Party Favors (the best place for cupcakes in Boston...or maybe anywhere).

Party Favors cupcakes usually have really beautiful frosting flowers on them, but since we are in Boston and it is St. Patrick's Day weekend, it was all about the shamrocks. They also had ones with big leprachauns on them, but they were a bit creepy.

We definitely had a bit of fun sampling the cupcakes. We would have rated them for you, but we were way too busy enjoying them. Just know that if you're in the Chicago area, you need to go to Molly's Cupcakes and if you're in the Boston area, you need to go to Party Favors.

And if you can get them both at once, well then, consider yourself pretty lucky.

[Sues]

Chicago Cupcake Crawl

I want to do all our Chicago readers a service and let you know that your city has some of the best cupcakes in the country. I should know. On my last trip to Chicago, I ate a lot of cupcakes. Just for you guys. Because I wanted to tell you what was the best. Aren't I nice? Awww, I know; you can thank me later.

Beth, Adam, and I created a cupcake crawl, hitting on what we think are the hottest spots to get the best cupcakes in the city. If you live in Chicago, you must do this cupcake crawl. Or at least read through it and go to our fave spots. If you don't live in Chicago, I'll try to do a Boston cupcake crawl soon and possibly a New York City one. Or feel free to create your own and let us know the results!

Our first stop was Sensational Bites (located at 3751 N. Southport Ave), and yes, it actually was sensational. The cupcakes at SB (yeah, we're on that kind of basis) were my second favorite in all of Chicago. The shop was super cute and perfect for the freezing cold (um, it was 0 degrees) snowy weather. SB had a huge selection of all kinds of baked goods, including tons of cookies and cupcakes. Beth and I sat in the shop for a while, eating cupcakes, sipping on coffee, and warming up. The cupcakes were perfectly sweet and the presentation was beautiful. Amazing start to our crawl.

Sensational Bites on Southport.

Vanilla cupcake with vanilla buttercream frosting $1.65

Chocolate peanut butter cupcake $1.75

And they get extra points for having Patriots cookies

Our next stop was Southport Grocery (located at 3552 N. Southport Ave.), an adorable little gourmet store/cafe/bakery. We spent a while just browsing the store, which is filled with gourmet food, books, and prepared foods. The cafe looked like a great place to lunch, but we only had cupcakes on our mind. So we picked up two and brought them home for later. They only had vanilla and chocolate, so if you are in the market for variety, Southport Grocery probably isn't the cupcake place for you. Also, they're not fancy-looking; just your basic cupcake. They tasted good, but weren't our faves; the cake tasted a bit too much like corn bread and the frosting was super sweet.

Southport Grocery and Cafe

Chocolate and vanilla cupcakes with buttercream frosting $2.00

Saturday was a new day and we had renewed appetites for cupcakes. Our first stop was Swirlz (located at 705 W. Belden). This shop is tiny and has a huge case just filled with all kinds of cupcakes. I love the fact that the cupcakes say "happy" on them. Swirlz also has lots of cupcake merchandise and I snagged an over-sized coffee mug that says, "Cupcakes make people happy." Yes, they do. I'm still mad at myself for not getting a t-shirt, too. Again, the cake part of the cupcake was a little too much like cornbread, but I would definitely go back to Swirlz. They have a huge selection, including a daily "surprise" cupcake. We tried the mint grasshopper and it was delicious.

Image from Planet99
Swirlz Cupcakes

Vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting $3.00

Chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting $3.00

Mint grasshopper surprise cupcake $3.00

While en route from one cupcake place to the next, I happened to see a giant blue and orange sign out of the corner of my eye. "Cupcakes...cupcakes...." I started stuttering. "Why isn't that on our list??" Adam swerved the car over, parked (much easier to do in Chicago than in Boston) and thus we found my favorite cupcake place in Chicago. Molly's Cupcakes (located at 2536 North Clark St.) has a fun, youthful atmosphere. It's a pretty big shop and has vintage toys decorating the walls and retro board games for you to play while you eat your cupcakes off of grandma's mismatched china with real silverware. There's a bar area where you can sit on giant wooden swings. And there's even an area where you can add toppings and decoration to your cupcakes. The cupcakes were the PERFECT amount of sweet and the frosting just melted in my mouth. The kind of cupcake that just makes you smile with every bite. They definitely weren't the prettiest of cupcakes, but maybe we could have remedied that if we added more decorations on our own.

Molly's Cupcakes

Vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting $2.00

Chocolate with vanilla buttercream frosting $2.00

Carrot Cake $2.00

Image from Yelp
Swing Seats at Molly's

Your cupcake crawlers loving Molly's

If you type in "cupcakes" on Google, the website for Cupcakes (located at 613 W. Briar Place) in Chicago is the #1 search result. So naturally I was extremely excited for the last stop on our crawl. Unfortunately I was disappointed (and not just because I was so full from cupcakes, I didn't even want any more). The shop was tiny and only had a place for 2 to sit. And the selection was sparse. So, we picked up a few and brought them home. As we ate them later, we weren't very impressed. Maybe it was because we had just come from Molly's, but while these cupcakes are really pretty, they just tasted pretty blah with a much too sweet frosting. The chocolate cake with pumpkin frosting was a unique idea and much tastier than the vanilla cupcake. Also, Cupcakes has dog cupcakes, which is a fabulous idea.

Cupcakes

Vanilla with vanilla buttercream frosting $2.50

Chocolate with pumpkin frosting $3.00

That ends our cupcake crawl, but I'm really disappointed and sorry that I did not get to visit Sweet Mandy B's (located at 1208 W. Webster Ave.) on this cupcake crawl. And you really, really should add it to yours. I think out of all the cupcake stops on our tour, Beth still claims Sweet Mandy B's is the best. So you know that must mean something.

Image from Cookie magazine

Sweet Mandy B's

Warning: after completing our cupcake crawl, I didn't even want to think about cupcakes for a month straight, so be prepared. It was so worth it, though. And I think I'm finally ready to gear up for the Boston cupcake crawl (as soon as Beth and Adam get here). Boston, get your cupcakes ready for us.

[Sues]

Did someone say cupcakes?

I am a huge fan of cupcakes. Obsessed you might say. If I could do anything, I would probably want to open my open cupcake shop. Unfortunately, I kind of missed the boat on that one as cupcakes are already all the rage and shops have already been opening everywhere within the last couple years.

And even though I live a two-minute walk away from the best cupcakes in Boston and surrounding areas (Party Favors), I still bake them whenever I get the chance. I use a combination of recipes and tweak them a little bit each time, but I mainly stick to the Magnolia Bakery's cupcake and butter cream frosting recipes. The best, in my opinion.



I think family and friends got the memo that I am cupcake crazy as these were some of the gifts I got for Christmas this year:




A cupcake dessert stand, so I can properly display my finished product.



And Crate and Barrel's cupcake carrier, so I can travel with my cupcakes. This really excites me as I never have a way of transporting my cupcakes to parties and events. And it holds 24 cupcakes!

Any other cupcake accessories I absolutely need?


[Sues]