Cakespy Undercover: Major Mojo at Two Tartes in Seattle

Unless you live in Georgetown, chances are you've never come across Two Tartes, a small bakery / cafe near the old Rainier Brewing factory. In their ads and on their site, they dub themselves as "aggressively uncool"; our first impression was that this must be some type of hipster-speak for "we're so much awesomer than you". On our recent visit though, we learned that the title is apt--all of the employees we encountered were friendly and seemed really into their products.

Walking in on a Tuesday morning, scones and cookies were well-stocked; the rest of the assortment consisted of the odd cupcake or tart, and weren't as appealingly displayed. Asking for advice on a cookie choice, the girl behind the counter listed the varieties. We couldn't help but notice that her voice hushed slightly (in reverence perhaps?) at the mention of the "Mojo", their store specialty--a hefty coconut/chocolate chip/oatmeal cookie which is roughly as big as a salad plate.

Oh, the Mojo. Still slightly warm, the crisp edge of the cookie gave way to chocolatey bits mingled with the chewy oatiness to make some sort of a mouthfeel nirvana; the coconut didn't hit right away but was more of a complementary middle and aftertaste, adding a dimension of richness and depth to the flavor. Oh yeah--this is one good cookie. And at $1.75 for a cookie that could easily be split four ways (really), it's a bargain too.

All in all, a good trip. While we think that maybe they could let go of that aggressive uncool-ness enough to make their displays a little bit more appealing, there's no denying that they know how to make a good cookie.

Two Tartes Bakery, 5629 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA 98108; 206-767-8012; online at www.twotartes.com.

Cakespy Undercover: A Cake Gumshoe Review of Frosting Bake Shop, Mill Valley, CA

Cakespy Undercover: From time to time, our Cake Gumshoes venture out into the wild to try out new bakeries in various parts of the country. Of course, they always report back to Cakespy headquarters on what they've eaten! Most recently, Cake Gumshoe Barbara and a friend spent time in Mill Valley, CA, where they sampled the cupcakes at Frosting Bakeshop. Here's what they had to say:

[It's a] very interesting store because they can't bake on the premises so they have a kitchen several miles away. The shop was very stark but the cupcakes were displayed on glass domed, tall, miniature cake plates by flavor and then the boxed cupcakes were lined up behind which made them the total focal point of the shop. Each cupcake is presented in its own hot pink box about the same as the Chinese take-out boxes (not exactly eco-friendly and I am surprised that the residents of Mill Valley who are very eco aware that they don't say something.) All of that aside we had two very tasty cupcakes.

One was a lemon twist. The other was a black and white.

We shared so that we could give our own opinions; here is what we decided (being a good gumshoe I had my notebook and pen!):

Lemon Twist - The cake was just OK, a little crumbly but then it just served as the "plate" for the incredible frosting. The frosting was more tart than sweet, very zesty and very creaming, we wouldn't have been surprised if marshmallows were an ingredient. The cupcake was topped with a very cute little sugar flower.

Then there was the Black and White....fabulous dark chocolate cake, very moist with super texture and must have had very tiny dark chocolate chips in the batter. The white icing was excellent, very fluffy and creamy but very light. I was happy that it was not a buttery flavor, just light vanilla. The cupcake was topped with dark semi-sweet chocolate crystals. Divine!!!

Intrigued by Barbara's sleuthing? Check 'em out: Frosting Bake Shop, 7 E. Blithedale Ave. Mill Valley, CA; 415-888-8027; online at frostingbakeshop.com.

*as a note, Frosting Bake Shop is a mecca for seeing green: They just introduced two vegan cupcakes and are working on a gluten free recipe. Also, all of the construction extras--including fixtures--are reclaimed; their pink boxes can be recycled; and, they donate their day old cakes to food shelters, and all local deliveries will soon be done by bicycle!