Cupcake Review: Casey's Cupcakes

Casey's Cupcakes - Pop Up Shop February 12, 2015

Another pop-up shop vendor in the week leading up to Valentine’s Day. I’m always thrilled (yes, that’s the right word, I’m ruled by my sweet tooth) whenever we have a vendor for sweets and desserts. Especially thrilling when they’re a Cupcake Wars winner since I watch the show religiously.  Unfortunately I can’t remember the episode when Casey’s Cupcakes were on so either it was before I’d started watching the show (possible) or I just don’t remember the episode (probable). 

I tend to remember the cupcakeries on the show who are local to me so I could seek them out to try. Casey’s is from Southern CA so there’s no reason they would stick in my mind since it was unlikely I’d ever sample their cupcakes as they don’t ship. So it was great that they came to me. Well, not just me but you know what I’m sayin’.

What’s immediately obvious when you see a Casey’s Cupcakes display is that they’re all about the pink. Like, really pink. I thought it was cute but I’m a girl who likes pink. Not sure how guys or girls who don't like pink would feel about it. Then again, if you mostly care about the taste of the cupcakes, all that pink shouldn’t put you off. Because if it did, you’d be missing out.

Casey’s only had a limited number of flavors they offered in our pop up shop. Because they’re located in Southern California, they were doing a special run of cupcakes that they were making up here for our shop and by necessity, that precluded offering their full range of flavors. Which was okay by me since it wasn’t like I could eat more than one two cupcakes. This way, I got to sample 2 flavors: the red velvet and the chocolate. Each cupcake is normally $3.50 each so that’s on par with most cupcakeries.

I preordered my 2 cupcakes and picked it up when the pop up shop opened. I have to give super-duper props to Casey's for their classy packaging. Each cupcake is boxed in a specially made box that, when upright and closed, has custom-made "flaps" that come in to hold the cupcake in place. So it's not like they simply put a cupcake in a box and let it slide around in the empty space. The box itself is designed to hold the cupcake in place in the center of the box. Rather clever, I must say. 

I tried the red velvet cupcake first the same day I picked up my order. It was a good size, closer to Sprinkles than Kara's. My ultimate favorite red velvet cupcake is still Sprinkles but Casey's was also delicious. Good chocolate flavor, good texture. It wasn't dry but it wasn't as buttery-moist as Sprinkles. My friend Karen thinks Sprinkles is "greasy" (gasp on the blasphemy) so I think she'd probably prefer Casey's as it didn't have that you-say-greasy-I-say-buttery texture. The cream cheese frosting wasn't too tangy so that was a point in their favor as well. I'm not particularly a fan of coating red velvet cupcakes with red velvet crumbs as that seems more for looks than taste or texture so that was probably the only drawback to the cupcake. Otherwise, it was tasty.

In the interests of portion control, I did wait until the next day and had another workout under my belt before I sampled the chocolate cupcake. By definition, it wasn't as fresh as the red velvet since it was literally a day old but it still held up pretty well. Not quite as good as the red velvet to my mind but still a decent chocolate cupcake that probably would've been better had I eaten it the same day I bought it. It was a little more over the top with the chocolate since the chocolate frosting atop the chocolate cake was also liberally covered with chocolate curls. If you need a chocolate fix, this will meet your needs.

Overall, I'd give Casey's Cupcakes a favorable rating. I don't know that I'd go out of my way to seek them out if I was in Southern California (I have a high bar for cupcakes and there are so many cupcakeries out there) but if you get a chance to try one, I'd recommend it.

Butter Cupcakes dressed for Mardi Gras

Butter Cupcakes - made February 16, 2015 from Cupcakes by Elinor Klivans

Tomorrow is Fat Tuesday or Mardi Gras - traditionally the last gasp of partying, frivolity, drunken revelry and gluttony before Ash Wednesday ushers in Lent. At least it is if you celebrate or observe these traditions. Technically I don't but ever since I'd visited New Orleans, I have marginally more awareness of Mardi Gras.

I say marginally because I actually didn't realize until last night that tomorrow was Mardi Gras. Ha. I'd barely been aware of Valentine's Day then Mardi Gras comes along 3 days later.

No problem - we just switch over from red and pink to purple, green and gold (er, yellow). Traditional Mardi Gras dessert is King Cake but I didn't have time for that. There's probably no such thing as Mardi Gras cupcakes either so I'm calling these what they are: butter cupcakes who dressed up for Mardi Gras in the requisite colors. Thank goodness for colored sugars.

These are nice, simple, straightforward butter vanilla cupcakes under their gaudy colors. I liked the texture and the vanilla flavor so you can make these any time of the year. I made up my own frosting since the original recipe called for chocolate frosting but the colored sugars stand out more against a vanilla frosting so that's what I made. Laissez les bon temps rouler.

Cupcakes

1 ¼ cups cake flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup whole milk

Frosting

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1-2 tablespoons whole milk, more or less depending on desired consistency

1.     Make the cupcakes: Position a rack in the middle of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350˚F.  Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

2.     Sift the cake flour, baking powder and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until smoothly blended and creamy, about 2 minutes.  Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing.  Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is blended into the batter.  Add the vanilla and beat for 2 more minutes.  On low speed, add the flour mixture in 3 additions and the milk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and mixing just until the flour is incorporated and the batter looks smooth.

3.     Fill each paper liner with ¼ cup of the batter, to about ½ inch below the top of the liner.  Bake just until the tops feel firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes.  Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.

4.     Carefully place the wire rack on top of the cupcakes in their pan.  Protecting your hands with pot holders and holding the pan and rack together, invert them to release the cupcakes onto the wire rack.  Turn the cupcakes top side up to cool completely.

Frosting: Cream butter until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and beat until combined. Add vanilla and enough milk to achieve desired consistency. Beat until smooth. Frost cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with colored sugars for decoration if desired.

Restaurant Review: Von's Chicken

Von's Chicken - dinner on February 6, 2015, 4 stars on yelp

I’d never heard of Von’s Chicken before but when my friend Jenny suggested it as a place to meet for dinner last week and included an article that raved about them, I was sold. Yeah, it doesn’t take much. Von’s reminds me of Bon Chon Chicken. It’s set up like a cross between a fast food place and a casual restaurant. There were people ordering and picking up take out and others who opted for dine in. A server takes your order at your table but it looks like you can also order (presumably for takeout) at the counter. It took a little longer than I expected for our food to come out but I think I was comparing it (unfairly) to a place like Popeye’s or KFC where the chicken is already made and waiting to be served. Not so at Von’s as it appears they make it to order so it's similar to a sit-down restaurant in that regard.

At Von’s, similar to Bon Chon, you can order a combination of how many pieces and what kind as well as how you want it cooked. For this first visit, we kept it simple: a half order of crispy fried chicken (not to be confused with crunchy fried chicken) as a combination of drumsticks and wings plus we split an order of sweet potato fries.

The sweet potato fries came out first, hot and crisp. You know I’m a sucker for sweet potato fries so no complaints there. Our chicken came out a bit later and the half order was larger than I expected. For one person, it’s easily 2-3 meals. It came with a light glaze (you can order it mild or hot, I went with mild) that was a little sweet and a little spicy. I’m not normally a saucy/glaze-y person but this was hardly any glaze and was pretty tasty. I wouldn’t have minded more glaze. True to advertising, the crunchy chicken was nicely crunchy. In fact, I’m not so sure I’ll ever eat Popeye’s or KFC again if I can have Von’s Chicken instead. Never mind that I rarely eat fast food anyway so I’m not giving up much but this was pretty good fried chicken.

The price point is a bit higher than fast food and some casual restaurants: a half order of drumsticks and wings was $10.99 and the sweet potato fries at $4.99 came as a modest portion. Still, if you’re in the mood for deep fried food and a simple no-frills meal, this is a good option.

Coconut White Chocolate Butterscotch Blondies

Coconut White Chocolate Butterscotch Blondies - made February 7, 2015, adapted from Extreme Brownies by Connie Weiss (originally titled Bombin' Blondies)

Back with my one-track mind on trying out more brownie recipes from Extreme Brownies by Connie Weiss. I did make an effort to mix it up a little by going with a blondie recipe this time. Which then I had to modify to suit my tastes. I stuck to the main structure of the blondie’s foundations but instead of semisweet chocolate chips, I substituted white chocolate chips. And, because it pairs so well with anything brown sugar, I added butterscotch chips. The coconut I kept as is. Oh and I left off the chocolate drizzle. 

I don’t make blondies that often but when I do, I try to keep it purist. If the whole point of a blondie is to make a non-chocolate dessert, I don’t add (semisweet) chocolate chips or a chocolate drizzle. Otherwise I’d just make a regular chocolate fudge brownie.

In any case, my modifications worked pretty well. I loved the texture and brown sugar taste of the blondie bar itself. The coconut gives it additional texture and chewy moistness and the white chocolate and butterscotch chips complemented the blondie perfectly. Another fantastic recipe from Connie – this book is turning out to be a great investment and I’ve only made 4 recipes from it so far. Thumbing through it again for #5. Stay tuned.

3 sticks (12 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons
2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (1 pound 5 ounces) light brown sugar, firmly packed
3 large eggs, cold
1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons (15.5 ounces) bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded sweetened coconut
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup white chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 x 13 pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place butter and brown sugar in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Cook over the lowest setting until the sugar and butter dissolve, whisking to combine. Don't let the butter get too hot or it'll separate. Pour the sugar mixture into a large mixing bowl. Let cool for several minutes. 
3. Whisk the eggs into the butter mixture, one at a time, whisking quickly after each addition. Stir in the vanilla extract; scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4. Place the flour, salt and baking powder in a small mixing bowl; whisk together to combine. Add in thirds to the batter, stirring each addition until just combined. Do not overmix.
5. Add the coconut, butterscotch chips and white chocolate chips into the batter and pour batter evenly into prepared pan, smoothing the top with a small metal spatula. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes then lower the heat to 325 degrees and bake for an additional 18 minutes, until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Linzer Hearts

Linzer Hearts - made February 8, 2015 from Cookies Unlimited by Nick Malgieri

Last year I had done a mini series on treats you can make for Valentine’s Day, whether you make a dessert heart-shaped or add a heart or make it red velvet or just have some form of chocolate; it was Valentinesy enough. This year I didn’t have the time to focus on Hallmark’s Cupid’s holiday but I did manage to sneak in this recipe from Nick Malgieri’s Cookies Unlimited that I’d been meaning to try for awhile. (I’m always meaning to try recipes for awhile – so many recipes, so little time.)

pastry roller

I like and don’t like linzer cookies. I like the cookie part because I like the flavor and it’s really pretty with the bright red raspberry jam filling that marks a linzer cookie. But alas, I don’t like raspberry jam or jam in general so I don’t eat traditional linzer cookies from bakeries, available in a store or made by other people. But when I make my own, I can use any filling I want and that’s what I did with this recipe. Cookie butter! It’s been at least a few weeks since I’ve uttered those words but here I am spewing them again. Cookie butter!

But first, let’s talk about the cookies. For the nuts, I used a combination of toasted almonds and pecans, You can commit to one or the other but there’s nothing wrong with using both. Just toast them first to bring out the flavor and let them cool completely before grinding them up in the food processor. For this recipe, I highly recommend a food processor rather than a nut grinder as the food processor will grind the nuts more finely and that’s what you need for the linzer dough. Add the dry ingredients in 3 batches and beat until just combined. Don’t add the dry ingredients all at once or your dough will be dry and crumbly and may not come together without a lot of beating.

As it was, my dough took a little extra mixing before the flour was absorbed enough. It didn’t make a cohesive dough but when I could squeeze handfuls of it together and it stayed together, it was good to go. Here’s a simple trick for working with this kind of dough. If you have a pastry roller, use it. If you don’t, I am here to enable you. This may be one baking gadget that’s worth the investment. I dumped the dough into a small cookie sheet and used the pastry roller to roll it into a smooth rectangle. Much, much easier than trying to coax it into submission with a rolling pin and the nature of the pastry roller meant I didn’t have to worry about the sides of the cookie sheet. In fact, the sides were an asset because they helped the dough remain a captive audience in the right shape.

Once the dough is rolled out nice and smooth, cover it tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour or two. When you’re ready to bake, while your oven is preheating, cut out the cookies. The hallmark of a linzer cookie, besides the jam that I eschewed, is the cutout on the top cookie so you can see the filling. My only concession to Valentine’s Day is I used a heart-shaped cut out. If you don’t want to bake the little cutouts, simply add them back to your dough scraps to reroll and cut out more cookies. You don’t need the linzer cookie cutter, just a round one with smooth or scalloped edges plus a little one for the cutout.

My only mistake was I should’ve used a large cookie sheet when I rolled out the dough. The small one I used didn’t allow me to roll out the dough as thinly as I should have or I would’ve run out of room. So my cookies, once sandwiched together, were a little, uh, hearty. That didn’t stop me from being generous with the filling because – you know – cookie butter. You can fill one of two ways: either simply spread the filling over the bottom, non-cutout cookie, mound a little more in the center, place the cutout cookie on top and press gently together, allowing the mounded center to rise up to fill the cutout space. Or you can spread a thin even layer on the bottom cookie, press the cutout cookie on top, heat some of the filling slightly and “fill in” the cutout  with the warm filling. The first method is easier, the second method probably gives you a smoother look. Either way, these cookies taste great. My prejudice against jam fillings aside, the cookie butter nicely complemented the cinnamon, nutty flavor of the cookies themselves. I skipped the traditional dusting of powdered sugar on the top cookie. That might make it look prettier but it adds unnecessary calories. You want to reserve your calorie budget for a generous helping of cookie butter filling. At least you do if you're me. Happy V-Day.

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
4 ounces (about 1 cup) whole blanched almonds, finely ground in the food processor
1 cup cookie butter (Speculoos or Biscoff spread)
confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

1. In a bowl, combine the flour and spices; stir well to mix.
2. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the butter and sugar until soft and light, about 5 minutes. Lower the mixer speed and beat in the almonds and the flour and spice mixture, one at a time.
3. Remove the bowl from the mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough. Scrape the dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and shape it into a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Wrap and chill the dough until it is firm, about an hour, or up to several days.
4. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
5. Cut the dough into three parts and refrigerate two of them. Place one third on a floured surface and flour it lightly. Roll dough about 1/4 inch thick. Use small fluted cookie cutters to cut the dough. Use a smaller cutter to cut a center in half of the cookies.
6. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and arrange cookies evenly. Bake the cookies for about 15 minutes or until a very pale golden color. Cool on the sheets on wire racks. When completely cool, dust the center-cut cookies lightly with powdered sugar.
7. Warm cookie butter slightly, 10-12 seconds in the microwave. Pipe in the center of the uncut cooled cookies and place a center-cut cookie on top. Repeat with remaining cookies.

Cupcakery Review: Cako

Cako - visited February 2, 2015

I first heard of Cako when I saw their little kiosk at my local shopping mall. It was set up in the center, a square formation of display cases showing cupcakes, regular size and mini. I didn't try it the one at the mall though as these days I only go shopping when I'm on a mission to find something and I didn't have time for cupcake dawdling. Gone are the days when I browse or do retail therapy. My wallet thanks me; my closet does not.

Anyway, last week I was in San Francisco for a conference and lo and behold, near my hotel was a Cako cupcake shop. I didn't even know they had an actual shop and for some reason only kept picturing them as mall kiosks.

Since I was there, I had to try it, right? The shop itself is rather small but cupcake shops don't need a lot of retail space. I would think they'd want more room for the kitchen so they can bake onsite and ensure fresh cupcakes daily. As a consumer, I know I would.

Although not very big, the display cases held a nice assortment of cupcakes. It's always hard to choose just one so I went for two. Ha. The first choice was easy - Samoa. Not only is it one of my favorite flavor combination (chocolate, vanilla, coconut and caramel - what's not to love?) but I have fond memories of the Samoa cupcake I'd had from Sift and was hoping for something similar.

I waffled over the second choice. It was a toss up between the Salted Caramel and the Snickers but the Snickers cupcake won: a chocolate cupcake topped with caramel buttercream, drizzled with caramel and topped with a chunk of Snickers.

There was a Maple Bacon cupcake but I've never been a believer in bacon in my desserts and am indifferent to bacon in general so that was easy to pass up. My bacon-lovin' friends just gave me the side eye, I know it.

The packaging on my two cupcakes was cute and exactly like the one from Minicakes by Tasha - both cupcakes anchored in a plastic shell that fit inside a cellophane bag, folded over and stickered with the cupcakery's logo. Cute.

I have to admit, when I bought the cupcakes, it was after dinner and I was full so I didn't actually eat them that night. If I'd been thinking properly, I shouldn't have bought them until the next day so they could be as fresh as possible but my Pavlovian response as soon as I saw the Cako shop was typical - must buy now.

So I did what was normal for me. Got up early the next morning, ran 4 miles in the hotel gym and had the Samoa cupcake for breakfast. It was good although I have to give the nod to Sift's Samoa cupcake as being better. The frosting from Sift that I raved about was better than Cako's and so was their cupcake. In fairness, that could be because I had the Cako one when it was technically "day old" but I still think Sift's was better.

Since even I tend not to eat 2 cupcakes for breakfast (I'd run only 4 miles after all, not 14), I waited even longer to try the Snickers one. It held up pretty well. I'm still not a frosting person so I ate mostly the cupcake. It was good but I think it was like something I could make. In a blind taste test, I'm not sure I could distinguish it from the chocolate cupcake from Crumbs Cookies n Cream mix. Which still makes it a good cupcake, just not one that would particularly stand out in the sea of cupcakes I've eaten and will likely continue to eat.

Each cupcake was $3.50 and Cako also offers mini cupcakes for $2 each so their pricing is in line with other cupcake shops. It always amazes me how many cupcake shops there are. Less amazing is I will likely try every one I come across.