Bring on the Heat: Cupcake Royale Brings Back the Chocolate Scorcher Cupcake for May

Mother May I...have another cupcake?

Yup, it's just about time to turn the calendar page, and you know what that means: a new flavor of the month from Cupcake Royale. This May they're bringing back last year's popular May flavor: the Chocolate Scorcher. Direct from the source, here's the lowdown:

Moist chocolate cake topped with a rich, bold chocolate cream cheese frosting. Made with Theo Spicy Chile Dark Chocolate, this masterful chocolate concoction of sweet meets heat will have your taste buds all fired up with the heat of guajillo chiles, hints of cinnamon, and orange oil.

But you know what? That's not all that's exciting at Cupcake Royale. They're also debuting a new series of classes / workshops about canning and preserving with Amy Pennington, author of the great new book Urban Pantry. Here's the lowdown on that:

Our good pal Amy Pennington just launched her sweet new book, Urban Pantry. You can see the real deal by signing up for one of our Pantry Royale local preserves workshops at our Capitol Hill store. You'll learn how easy it is to can and preserve your fruit and enjoy the local fruit of the season...all year! Skagit Valley Strawberry in February, or perhaps a Caramel Apple in April? We're preserving our own fruits and stocking the pantry in the Cupcake Royale bakery. And with Amy's help, we'll teach you how to do it, too. Sign up here.

The Chocolate Scorcher will be available for the entire month of May at all four locations; for more information, visit cupcakeroyale.com.

Cake Byte: Molly Moon's to Debut Ice Cream Truck This Summer (Via Capitol Hill Seattle Blog)

Photo as seen on Capitol Hill SeattleThe other night, I had a dream that an ice cream truck crashed into a cupcake truck and that a scene of delicious destruction unfolded.

Now, I'm not saying that I wish harm upon anyone, but if my dream were to be a reality, I think it would be super delicious if the ice cream in question were from Seattle ice cream icon Molly Moon's.

And guess what? As I learned from my friends at Capitol Hill Seattle, they're debuting an ice cream truck this summer. As they report it, 

 While we're lucky to have the brick and mortar MM already in the 'hood, the idea of having the truck cruise over to serve the crowds of kiddies in the Volunteer Park wading pool on a hot August afternoon is almost as tasty as a scoop of salted caramel with hot fudge.

Yup--looks like Seattle's about to get even sweeter. For more information on Molly Moon's Ice Cream, visit their website.

Cake Byte: Mother's Day Treats at Essential Baking Company, Seattle

Seeking something sweet for mom in Seattle? Here's the newest batch of sweet treats available at Essential Baking. Per an email from their PR company:

The Essential Baking Company says hats off to all our wonderful mothers this Mothers Day with delicious desserts and breads!

Delight Mom on her special day with orange Bavarian cream and chocolate mousse enrobed in dark chocolate ganache on a buttery pecan shortbread cookie. Mom’s Hat gets its finishing flourish from a white chocolate flower and ribbon of marzipan. Available now through June 15.

Also available, Pane Fiore, Italian for bread flower, is two gifts in one just in time for Mother’s Day. It’s edible, as well as decorative, so you can skip the flowers and give Mom a tastier bouquet. This mildly sweet bread has a soft, moist crumb with a hint of vanilla. The dough is hand-formed in a braided design that blossoms into a flower shape, with a sprinkling of rock sugar on top to mimic the flower’s seeds. Available April 21 – May 11

Mom’s Hat and Pane Fiore will be available at select grocery stores in the greater Seattle area and The Essential Bakery Cafés in Wallingford, Madison and the new Georgetown bakery. The Mom’s Hat retails at The Essential Bakery cafes for $5.95 and Pane Fiore at $6.00

For more information, visit essentialbaking.com.

Lucky Charms: Lollipops by This Charming Candy

Photos c/o This Charming CandyLollipops are an inherently happy food. They're the reward at the end of childhood doctor visits or trips to the bank--a small and innocent nugget of sweetness on a stick. 

But even happier is when they actually taste good. So it was very delightful to receive a tip about This Charming Candy by Melanie of Starry Nights Catering (featured on CakeSpy a while back), who has this to say about them: "They do amazing handmade lollipops featuring crazy-good flavor combinations like coconut-caramel and coffee-hazelnut. They have flavors to appeal to both kids and adults, and man do I love them!"

Certainly above and beyond the average lollipop, these handcrafted hard candies are made in small batches in the Seattle area. Not only are they visually stunning, almost like little confectionery stained glass objets d'art, but they come in a dazzling array of creative flavors such as Vanilla cardamom, Salted caramel, Pistachio-marshmallow, Nutmeg creme, and Honey Jasmine.

Special flavor collections--paired by seasonal flavors or themes, like the "Twilight"-inspired collection of "bloodsuckers" (above) are also available, as are Lollipop of the month subscriptions.

And--just saying--they have Birthday Cake flavored lollipops. Birthday! Cake! Flavored! Lollipops!

But really, I've said enough. At this point, I'm surprised you're still even reading this--don't be a sucker, go order some!

Find out more about This Charming Candy on their website; buy enough lollipops to make your mouth happy for a long time at their online store!

Flash in the Pain: Pain au Chocolat from Bakery Nouveau, West Seattle

You just try and tell me that isn't the loveliest and most hypnotic thing you've ever seen.

Oh, ok, we can look at it from another angle. If you insist.

OK. One more.

This buttery stunner is the pain au chocolat from Bakery Nouveau (you know, the one owned by the guy who won the thing), and it tastes every bit as good as it looks.

Now, usually I'm not a fan of croissants that have a crispy, shardlike texture on the outside--my greedy nature is saddened by the thought that I might lose a crumb of the outer croissant while eating. But happily, this one wasn't so much shardlike as it was lightly crispy yet yielding to a soft center--it felt almost like you could taste every ethereal layer of light pastry at once, and they were all very buttery. And then there was the chocolate, lightly bitter and a dark, rich complement to the lightness of the pastry.

Nothing pain-ful about this sweet treat. Well, except for the name, which I suggest they change to pleasure au chocolat, toute suite. 

Oh, and speaking of chocolate, according to Lorna Yee, next on the list to try at Nouveau is the chocolate cake.

Pain au chocolat from Bakery Nouveau, 4737 California Ave. SW, West Seattle; online at bakerynouveau.com.

Simple Pleasures: Simply Desserts in Fremont, Seattle

Something I always love is hearing what other people's favorite bakeries are--it gives me a unique perspective on a place, including sometimes steering me toward trying particular flavors or pastries I might not have tried otherwise. According to CakeSpy reader Anne, who you can follow on twitter, Fremont's Simply Desserts is her go-to source:

Tucked in Fremont by the Fremont Bridge and Adobe, this tiny shop cooks up an amazing variety of delicious cakes with high quality ingredients. What sets them apart in my opinion is that they don’t ruin their cakes with refrigeration and it makes a big difference. Rich frosting stays soft. Cake stays moist. My personal favorites are Bittersweet Hazelnut and White Chocolate Strawberry. I usually buy it to go because the place seats around 14 and it is always jam-packed, even at 10 PM on a Friday night. The bakers/cutters are sweet girls and it must be a pretty good job because a couple of them have worked there as long as I’ve been patronizing the shop, around 5 years. 

Simply Desserts, 3421 Fremont Ave North Seattle, WA 98103 206.633.2671; online at simplydessertsseattle.com.

Cake Byte: CupcakeCamp Seattle is Tomorrow!

CakeSpy Note: Just a reminder: CupcakeCamp Seattle is tomorrow! In case you missed the news post about it a while back, here it is again:

Summer camp? Not so much. Bad crafts and bad food = big bummer.

CupcakeCamp, however, is a different story. Because at this camp, everyone's a winner, because they all get cupcakes. It's a franchise which has enjoyed great success in New York and San Francisco, and now, thanks to coordinator Carrie of Bella Cupcake Couture (a CakeSpy sponsor and awesome company in general), it's coming to Seattle! 

So what exactly is CupcakeCamp? Per the website, it is

An event for cupcake lovers: Bake or buy cupcakes to bring -or- just come to eat and help a good cause. Activities include cupcake eating contests, cupcake wrapper decorating, bakers competitions, Hope Heart Institute fundraiser and more.  Best of all … it’s FREE.

Once again, just in case you didn't catch that last part: it's free!

And, there will be a cupcake eating contest.

Here are the details:

When: Saturday April 10, 2010 11am-2pm
Where: 415 Westlake, Seattle WA
Why: Because who doesn’t love cupcakes?

Oh, and of course, you've got to love the CakeSpy-designed promotional postcard! (pictured top)

For more details and to see how you can become involved, visit the “About” section on theCupcake Camp Seattle website!

Cake Byte: Essential Baking Opens a New Georgetown Cafe, with Freebies!

Photo c/o K. Morales for CakeSpy's Carrot Cake Roundup in SeattleA new bakery is always something to celebrate--but even more so when it's right here in Seattle and I can go visit right away!

So I was super excited to receive a note that the The Essential Baking Company (where I got the recipe for this cake!) has opened a new location in Georgetown (home to Calamity Jane's, one of my favorite breakfast places, btw). Here are the details:

The Georgetown Café is located at 5601 1st Avenue South, Seattle, WA 98108. To celebrate the opening, EBC will have two special offerings for customers:

Friday, April 9: Indulge in a free taste of EBC’s signature fudge brownie – a cult favorite that is rich, chewy, and brimming with chocolate.

Friday, April 16: Wake up with a complimentary cup of EBC’s own freshly roasted Baker’s Blend drip coffee.

Both offers are one per customer, while supplies last.

What are you waiting for? Get over to Essential's Georgetown location at 5601 1st Ave. South, Seattle WA 98108!

Cake Byte: Safeco Field Debuts Cupcakes at Baseball Game Concessions

You know what this photo means? 

It means that I now officially like baseball.

OK, let me back up. In case you haven't heard, Seattle's Safeco Field (home of the baseball team the Seattle Mariners) has just revamped their concessions menu and will be offering several food options beyond the expected nachos and cheez whiz and hot dogs (although, as they were quick to specify, "Not to worry, garlic fries, Ivar’s clam chowder and hot dogs are still available, but for the more adventuresome palate, Centerplate, the exclusive caterer for Safeco Field, offers fans a variety of new offerings."). It's an ambitious new menu, including crab cakes, pasta, and organic smoothies.

And cupcakes.

There will be house-made cupcakes and caramel apples, as well as chocolate dipped Rice Krispie treats, and cookies from Hope's Country Fresh Cookies.

Unfortunately I was unable to attend the preview event at which they let some of us newsy types taste this array of awesome (alas I was held up in a meeting about floors for my new gallery!), but from what I hear, these cupcakes are "huge and good". Concise, but alluring, no?

Check out the cupcakes at Safeco Field when you go see the Seattle Mariners; for more information on upcoming games, visit the official Mariners site.

Stock Up on Delicious: Economic Crunch Cookies by Sugar Bakery and Cafe, Seattle

The phrase "economic crunch" is pretty common these days, and usually it does not have a positive connotation.

However, at Sugar Bakery + Cafe in Seattle, the economic crunch is delicious.

"Economic Crunch Cookies" as they call them, are of one of the tastiest cookies I've sampled in a while: a crunchy sugar cookie made with almonds, toffee, chocolate, coconut, all of which is coated in coarse, sparkly sugar.

They are crunchy, savory, sweet, lightly salty, and chewy, all at once: this is to say, basically, they hit all the bases of what makes a cookie awesome...simultaneously. 

Or, as owner Stephanie Crocker (no relation to Betty), so aptly puts it: "They are like crack cookies so watch out…".

To taste the crunch for yourself, visit Sugar Bakery + Cafe at 1014 Madison Street, Seattle (be sure to call ahead to ensure availability of the cookies); or check 'em out online at sugarbakerycafe.com.