Baker's Dozen: A Batch of Sweet Links!

A brilliant and beautiful unicorn cake by Retro Bakery in Las Vegas.

Speaking of Retro Bakery, remember when I went there?

IMPORTANT: How to make a fondant unicorn cake topper.

YUM: Apricot Lemon scones!

Wow! Look at this earth cake, with a three level core! (thanks, Farida!)

Enticing to a spy: Undercover cake!

In case you missed it: why cupcakes are nutritious!

I hope this becomes a trend on restaurant websites: dessert  gallery!

Great idea: Zipzicles!

The best kid-cakes in NYC for birthday parties? Right here.

Cronuts go viral; doissants, not so much.

Banana Twinkie Bread Pudding. I wanna carb-o-load on it!

Remember this? Chocolate covered cake on a stick.

Donut sundae. Let's make this a thing!

Homemade Andes Mints. I like this!

Why Cupcakes Are Nutritious

Cupcakes are totally nutritious! I say this, of course, as someone who makes a living writing about and drawing pictures of cake, so please take that into account if you're listening to me. Oh, and I should probably tell you that in no way, should I or could I be confused for a dietitian. Actually, perhaps I should re-title this post "Why I'll Never, Ever, Ever Be a Dietician"? Because what I'm going to do now is spend the next several inches of your internet telling you exactly why eating cupcakes is a great idea for your health. 

You know you love it. Let's go!

You Burn Calories Eating Cupcakes! did you know that you burn 102 calories per hour while you're eating? That's right: eating is exercise! That means that if you manage to eat 10,000 calories of cupcake in one hour sitting, really, you didn't break the 10k mark because you burned 102 just simply by eating. And that doesn't include the calories you burned taking the wrapper off! Whew, I feel like I've exercised merely by thinking about it. Go get me a cupcake! 

My kind of egg!

Eggs are a low-cost, high-quality protein. They also have high amounts of something called choline, which is important as an anti-inflammatory, an assistant in maintaining membranes...and, most importantly, maintaining the brain's health. Over 90% of americans are deficient in choline. Clearly, we need to be eating more of it. Cupcakes have eggs. Eggs have choline. Eat more cupcakes!

Sugar gives you energy. Candy makes you feel dandy. That's because it's made of sugar! This is an ingredient that also figures prominently into cake and frosting, the main components of a cupcake. Sugar sends glucose straight to the blood, causing insulin levels to increase while you experience a quick burst of energy. PARTY TIME! 

Flour gives you energy, too. It recently came to my attention that eating white flour gives you blood-sugar spikes, just like white sugar. Well, I don't know about you, but when I eat sugar I feel invincible. So it would stand that if I eat flour AND sugar, at once, I'll be double-invincible! Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to jump from the window and see if I can fly. Gluten, yeah!

Butter: The world's most reliable source, Men's Health, wisely tells me, "Fat, like that in butter, is necessary in order to help your body absorb many of the healthy nutrients found in vegetables. For instance, without fat, your body can't absorb carotenoids—powerful disease-fighting antioxidants found in colorful vegetables—or fat-soluble vitamins, such as vitamins A, D, E, and K. So go ahead, eat butter, and do it without guilt." How is cake going to be healthy without butter!? 

Vanilla: As I learned here, It can reduce stress, help with nasusea, and assist in regulating menstruation. You heard it here: cupcakes as a cure for morning sickness or PMS! What's not to love about this potent vanilla mixture? 

Wow! I'm feeling healthier already, aren't you? Although I'm starting to feel the weirdest energy low after spending the last hour eating cupcakes (you know, for excersise). But Although I feel healthier already, I'm also beginning to feel a slight blood sugar downtick. I know exactly how to cure that...another cupcake! 

Here's to your cupcake-eating, absolutely delicious health! 

Sweet Surprise: Key Lime Pie from Zia Diner, Santa Fe

Sometimes, you find sweet dessert finds where you least expect them. For instance, I would not have thought that Santa Fe, New Mexico, would be a great place to get an authentic slice of Key Lime Pie. Turns out, I was wrong, because they're selling the good stuff right at the Zia Diner, not far from the central downtown area. How delightful to be surprised like this!

As I entered the building to meet a friend, I was greeted by a case full of baked goods. I was informed by the hostess that their sweets are all made on site, and that they're all very, very good. I had a long and loving look at this cream puff: 

Before sitting down for some savory food. After dinner, though, you can bet your bottom dollar we were ready to see the dessert menu! When asked what was good, the waitress said that if there was any part of us that held love for key lime pie, we simply had to get theirs. "Is it made with real Key Limes?" I asked. Apparently, yes. She also told us that Floridians have a way of testing a pie to see if it's authentic from the get-go: they look at the color. Artificially tinted or regular-lime only impostors will not have the correct color, which is kind of a custardy yellow (not green!). She also told us that Floridians approved of this pie. But would a Spy?

Yes! Oh my! This pie was very, very good. Shockingly tart on first bite, but subsiding as it warms in your mouth to an even, tart-sweet richness. Zingy citrus--this pie tastes like sunshine. A very nice texture, sort of like that of panna cotta--it didn't collapse when cut into, but wasn't stiff or too firm, either. Soft...yielding. 

I was very impressed by this Key Lime Pie, not only because it was delicious but that it was proof that sometimes, even a professional dessert detective can be pleasantly surprised by a sweet in the most unexpected place! 

If you're not in or near Santa Fe, however, you can enjoy the dessert gallery on their website (why doesn't every restaurant do that?).

Zia Diner, 326 South Guadalupe Street, Santa Fe NM; online here.

Pastry Profiles: Santa Fe Cupcake, Dream Cakes Cupcakes

Santa Fe is a city famous for its cuisine--namely bold southwest flavors. It's a city where chile (that's with an e, not an i) is king. And it's also a city where these famous flavors have found their way into cupcakes. I'm talking, of course, about one of the most interesting sweets I've tried recently--the "Santa Fe" cupcake at Dream Cakes Cupcakes.

I'll tell you the truth: everything I've stuffed in my mouth from this small cupcake shop has made me hungry for more. And the cupcake variety called the "Santa Fe" had intrigued me for quite some time, but I'd never been in the store on a day when it was on offer (they only offer a handful of flavors every day; vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet will pretty much be available every day, but with the others, it's kind of luck of the draw). 

But finally, my day came. The Santa Fe was in the house. 

The Santa Fe is composed of green chile flecked cornbread cake topped with honey buttercream. And goodness me, is is good. The "cornbread" is perhaps not quite accurate, as it is far more delicate and finer-crumbed than a typical cornbread--not to mention sweeter. It really is more corncake than cornbread. And I say that in a good way. The chile flecked throughout was not overdone--it added a little heat, but not to the point of distraction. I don't know about you, but when I look at the photo, it looks like there was red chile in there, too. Although I will confess, with it all mixed up, I couldn't discern the separate tastes of both types. 

And the honey buttercream. Please, can I just buy a vat of this stuff and put it on a direct IV into myself? It is seriously that good. I scoured the takeaway container I got the cupcake in, to see if there might be an extra little smear left. It was smooth and buttery and with a beautiful honey-infused flavor that hit you almost as an aftertaste. Highly pleasant. 

So, I am here to tell you that I've tried the Santa Fe, and I want more. This was a very, very good cupcake.

66 E. San Francisco Street, Santa Fe NM; find out more info here.

Glazed and Infused, Chicago

The best way to become dazed and confused? By sugar and carb-o-loading on all things Glazed & Infused. This is a new-ish boutique doughnut chain in Chicago, and it has a sweet story for me, personally. 

Way back, when I started CakeSpy.com, I started to connect myself to the bakery pulse of the USA. And one of my favorite bakery discoveries was Dozen Bake Shop, an adorable bakery chainlet in Pittsburgh. I even did an interview with then-owner, James Gray.

Well, this adorable fellow made quite an impression on me, and we kept in contact through the years, though we'd never met in person. Then, fast forward several years. James has sold his bakery in Pittsburgh and moved to Chicago, where he is the manager and a partner in a doughnut shop chainlet called Glazed and Infused. I happen to be visiting Chicago for my book tour. Finally, we get to meet!! We are adorable!!

Naturally, we had a chat over some doughnuts. So, since I believe that everything tastes better with a backstory, I'll tell you a bit about the shop's history first.

It's owned by a restaurant company called Francesca's, which owns several restaurants in Chicago and beyond. But this was the company's first foray into morning sweets. This made James a great fit for the company, as he has experience with pastry and sweets retail, which is, as he puts it mildly, "very different" than restaurants.

They've quickly grown to five locations, and on the date of our meeting, James was headed out to scout location #6. Spreading beyond Chicago is a definite possibility, with an idea of bringing high quality doughnuts to the masses in a friendly and accessible way. 

In Chicago, the doughnuts have a healthy and loving following. In chatting with a customer who works nearby, he said that Glazed and Infused is his little "treat for myself" for walking to work, you know, to balance out all that exercise. On Yelp, one customer says, "If you want to feel like you're licking the floor in heaven, go to Glazed and Infused!", giving it a very high star rating. I must admit, I don't know exactly what that means, but I like the sound of it.

Looking at the variety of doughnuts available, your head might start to spin. They're prettily arranged, and the flavors are mostly standard fare but with a little twist--think, a bismarck doughnut stuffed with locally made blueberry jam, or instead of bavarian cream doughnut, a Creme Brulee Doughnut.

I, of course, got hooked up with a whole box of them. YEAH!  

What you've got in this picture is (from top left, going clockwise) an old-fashioned glazed, coffee glazed, creme brulee, "Bar Snack", Bismark featuring blueberries, and chocolate toffee (featuring Terry's Toffee, made in Chicago!). 

Curious about that "bar snack" doughnut? Well, it includes basically all of the little junk foodie snacks you might find in little bowls at a bar--pretzels, peanuts, chips, and then some M&M's (why not?). It makes for a salty-sweet guilty pleasure of a treat. 

To start my doughnut eating quest immediately, though, I went for the Banana Cream Cheese, which is composed of banana cake with cream cheese frosting, salted caramel drizzle & candied walnuts. It sounded a lot like Hummingbird Cake, so I was totally in!

Yum, dudes! The nicely banana-scented cake was soft and gooey owing to that caramelly glaze, definitely easier to eat with a fork. The cream cheese frosting was decadent and smooth and lightly tangy, and those crunchy walnuts added the perfect texture contrast. 

This doughnut made me a very happy spy. See?

Overall, I was very impressed with the doughnuts. What is a fairly large operation already has managed to maintain great quality in their doughnuts, and I love that they've tweaked the classics just enough to make them special, but not so much that they are too weird or inaccessible to please a crowd.

So, there you have it. If you're in Chicago, I highly suggest you give Glazed & Infused a try!

Glazed & Infused, multiple locations; find them, and more info, at goglazed.com.