Napoleon of the Stumptown: Portland Coffee Takes Seattle

Stumptown Coffee has opened in Seattle, and it's caused quite a stir in the
city. To some, it's seen as an invasion in an already saturated boutique coffee market: are Caffé Vita, Espresso Vivace, Caffe Ladro and Uptown Espresso really not sufficient? And yet at the same time, there are the coffee enthusiasts who are flocking to the newly-opened Capitol Hill location.

But Cakespy is here to report on something much more important than coffee alone: what's going on in their pastry case?

Well. We're happy to say that Stumptown has embraced their new hometown by stocking their pastry case with lovely carbohydratey treats from Seattle favorites Mighty-O Donuts and Macrina Bakery. Beautiful cake doughnuts, biscuits, dill scones with cream cheese--we have to say, they have a major leg up on nearby Caffé Vita's pastry case, which always looks a little sad.

Oh, and the coffee is pretty good too; their espresso was strong and smoky yet still remarkably smooth; in fact, our only complaint is that they serve their French press coffee from a pump-top dispenser (which, granted, might just be a personal thing).

Stumptown Coffee Roasters, 1115 12th Ave (near Madison St.); second Capitol Hill location opening soon at 1605 Boylston Ave. (at Pine St.); online stumptowncoffee.com.

Who Takes the Cake?: A Cupcake Tasting for the Ages

There's a lot of emphasis put on labels these days. Organic, pre-owned, skinny, punk-rock: you'd be surprised how frequently people will judge something before considering the whole package. People will often choose (or reject) things because of preconceived notions...and even seemingly innocent things like cake can fall prey to this! There are people who shun cake mixes because they're too fake, people who won't try vegan cakes because they're too hippie; at the same time, there are those believe that homemade by nature must always be the best. So who's right? Hard to say, but in a recent cupcake tasting hosted by Cakespy, we tried to challenge some of these notions! Here's the lowdown:

WHAT: A "blind" (though not blindfolded) cupcake tasting including three batches of cupcakes: homemade "regular" cupcakes, vegan cupcakes and from-a-mix cupcakes (below, from left to right in order of description). To try to keep things fair, we made each batch the same flavor combination: vanilla cake with chocolate frosting.
Cakespy Note: There were some inherent variations between the cakes, but we tried to keep them as similar as possible. The homemade dairy cupcake recipe came from Cupcakes! by Elinor Klivans; the vegan cupcakes recipe came from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World! by Isa Chandra Moskowitz, Terry Hope Romero, and Sara Quin; the Mix was courtesy of Betty Crocker.

HOW: Each participant was given three cake samples labeled A (homemade "regular"), B (vegan) and C (from-a-mix), as well as a scorecard. Upon tasting each sample, filled in their cards with guesses on which cake was which, and voted on which one they liked best.

WHO: Cupcake testing is serious business, so we assembled an equally serious and eclectic group of tasters:
WHY: To see if people could tell the difference between the three batches; also, to see which ones tasted best.

RESULTS: Well, nobody had any trouble picking out the vegan cakes from the others; of course, their frosting texture was noticeably different and the cake much more dense. Nonetheless, we didn't see anyone who left the vegan portion uneaten, which in itself is very telling! A few people did mix up the homemade and mix-made cupcakes though.

But most importantly, which one tasted best?

The tally came in as follows: Homemade "regular" cupcakes came in first with 4 votes; Mix cupcakes and vegan cupcakes tied for second place with three votes each.

CONCLUSION: When it comes down to it, cake is an innately good thing, fulfilling both mentally and physically. Our testers' comments reflected this very much; while the denser cake was "spongy and satisfying" to one tester, the mix cupcakes brought on memories of "childhood sugar highs", and yet another noted that the dairy homemade cupcakes reminded him of those his mother used to make. Cake is about comfort, and no matter what the label, if it's made with love and enjoyed in good company, it's bound to be a rewarding experience. Awww.

This is Your Brain on Chocolate: Recipe Notecards by Greg Clark

Is he a wannabe boyfriend, or a stalker? Is she a cat enthusiast, or a creepy cat lady? Hey, sometimes cute vs. creepy can be a hard call indeed.

In the case of recipe notecards by Greg Clarke, while the struggle is there (strangely surreal pastry and beverage-headed characters wearing their party best), ultimately cute wins. Strange heads or not they're charming, and the sentiment wins us over: each notecard is imprinted with a chocolate-themed recipe like Triple Chocolate Brownies or Overly Indulgent Cupcakes; they'll make your letters or thank you notes that much sweeter.

While still being just a little bit creepy.

Arriba!: Mini Mexican Wedding Cakes

Pop Quiz! Would you rather eat:

A. a Snowball
B. a Russian Tea Cake
C. a Mini Mexican Wedding Cake

Well, in truth you’d be eating the same thing: all of the above are slight variations on a small, gorgeously crumbly, nut-buttery round cookie finished off with a dusting of sweet powdered sugar. But what a difference a name makes. While there’s nothing wrong per se with a Snowball or Russian Tea Cake, you’ve got to admit that eating a Mini Mexican Wedding Cake sounds like the most fun. Traditionally made only for weddings or special occasions, they’re now an everyday treat thanks to Montlake Mousse, whose 16-ounce containers of the ambrosial treats (freshly made, preservative free) are now available in various Metropolitan Market locations.

But watch out: they have a fiesta-in-your-mouth inducing reaction which naturally makes it impossible to eat just one.

Available at Metropolitan Market; for locations, visit metropolitan-market.com.

Cakespy note: Not in the Seattle area? We also found a great recipe for Mexican Wedding Cakes, thanks to Cooks.com!

Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
2 sticks butter
1/2 c. confectioners' sugar
1 c. chopped nuts
Soften butter, cream with flour. Blend in sugar. Add nuts. Form balls the size of walnuts. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12 to 15 minutes. Cool. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar. Yield 4 to 5 dozen.

Batter Chatter: Interview with Robin Koelling of Bittersweet Originals

There are cakes--and then there are the cakes you remember forever: perfect pink-frosted birthday cakes from childhood; Grandma's secret-recipe chocolate cake; dream-inducing holiday bûche de Noël. Cakes are very much connected with memory, and nobody understands this more than Robin Koelling of Bittersweet Originals. Her cakes have an instantly-nostalgic feel that you can't help but fall in love with; while she only works by special order in McPherson, Kansas, Cakespy predicts that her beautiful cakes are bound for a bigger audience! In an email interview, here's what we learned about life, cake, and what flavors rule in Kansas:

Cakespy: First off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started in cake design? Are you formally trained in cake decorating?
Bittersweet Originals: I would say "formally trained by trial and error"! My grandmother bought me a Wilton starter kit (with plastic decorating bag, a few tips, and little tubes of food coloring) for my birthday when I was eight. I was hooked! I've always made my kids' birthday cakes, treats for school events and holidays, but didn't really start thinking about it as a business until about a year ago.

CS: Do you work primarily by special order, or is there a retail location where individuals could sample your work?
BSO: I work primarily by special order and word of mouth. Sometimes I go out and about with samples of my marshmallow fondant decorated vanilla sugar cookies along with a business card and gift certificate and just introduce myself to people. Cakespy note: Although it is not a good idea to eat candy from strangers, we would probably eat a marshmallow fondant vanilla sugar cookie from Robin if she approached us on the street.

CS: What are some fun occasions you've done cakes for (other than weddings)?
BSO: Mainly birthdays I would say. I've also done decorated teacup and pocketbook shaped sugar cookies for a Mary Kay Cosmetics event, which was cool.

CS: What is the most important aspect in making a great cake?
BSO: Having a plan! That and not trying something on a cake before you've actually practiced it!

CS: Are you totally OD'd on cake, or do you still enjoy eating it?
BSO: I love cake. Actually I think it should be a food group. I have a habit of eating the cake first and saving the icing for last.

CS: Are you noticing an upward trend in cupcakes for weddings? It's all the rage here in Seattle.
BSO: Definitely! I think they're a nice departure from the traditional tiered wedding cake. With so many different, unique ways of decorating these days the possibilities are endless!

CS: What is the ideal beverage to accompany cake, in your opinion?
BSO: Tea, good coffee, or a light, not too sweet type of punch.

CS: What is your most popular cake flavor?
BSO: White almond sour cream or citrus.

CS: Do you have any cookbooks or bakers in particular who inspire you?
BSO: I like the Cake Doctor's cook book. I'm inspired by decorators like Kylie Lambert, and baker's such as Paula Deen and Martha Stewart.

CS: What are your most memorable baking experiences?
BSO: I like decorating cakes and cookies for my family's birthdays and events. It's just really satisfying for me to make something special for them that they'll enjoy.

CS: Have you ever had a cake get ruined en route to a delivery? What did you do?
BSO: I haven't had a cake ruined en route yet...knock on wood! I have however come back into the room to find my to youngest kiddos eating handfuls of cake!

CS: Do you have any guilty pleasure store-bought desserts? Be honest.
BSO: I love cheesecake, any kind. And I've been known to wait in a long drive through line of cars at Starbucks for more than one of their Cranberry Bliss Bars!

CS: What is next for Bittersweet Originals? Any goals or plans for the future?
BSO: I'd like to expand my business to make it full time and open a studio. Right now my primary job is in Health care, but decorating is a way for me to be creative and I love doing it!

To find out more, see her designs or to contact Robin about a custom cake order, visit bittersweetoriginals.blogspot.com.

Sweet Support: Sprinkles Unveils Pink Ribbon Cupcakes

Here’s a sweet way to fight breast cancer: if you’re in the Los Angeles or Dallas areas, buy (and eat!) a pink ribbon cupcake by Sprinkles Cupcakes. Featuring pure strawberry cake with strawberry flavored white frosting and topped with an adorable pink sugar ribbon motif, the cupcakes will be available daily from October 1 through October 14; proceeds will be donated to the Entertainment Industry Foundation's Women's Cancer Research Fund. Much cuter than the ubiquitous pink-ribbon cookie, it’s probably safe to surmise that they taste better too!

To find out more or for locations, visit sprinklescupcakes.com.

Photo credit: © Victoria Pearson for Sprinkles Cupcakes.

Bakery Run: Pastry Athletic Sneakers

Have you ever noticed how runners always have that vaguely pained look as they sprint around? Well, there’s certainly not much reason to smile as a runner. Just think about the dangers: pulled muscles, too-tight lycra, shin splints, the possibility of getting run over by a car--without a doubt, running is hazardous to your health, not to mention severely un-fun.

However, all things athletic are looking up with the brand new sneaker collection by Pastry Shoes. While the shoes themselves are constructed for athletic and / or sporty use, with padded insoles and running tread, their inspiration comes from dessert: many of them feature cake-trim detailing like sprinkle or chocolate chip prints and color schemes taken from favorite desserts like strawberry shortcake, peanut butter cookies and lemon meringue; it’s all delightfully tongue in cheek. And while they may not necessarily inspire you to actually go jogging, you'll certainly know what to wear the next time you need to run to the bakery—stat!

Harvest Moon: What's your Moon Cake Sign?

The Chinese Moon Harvest: the day when the moon shines at its brightest for the entire year; and this year, it's today, September 25th. Naturally, we're more than happy to bring this tradition stateside, since its centerpiece is the moon cake, which is a pastry shell of a cake which can be filled with any number of rich fillings ranging from lotus to coconut or nut pastes. But before blindly reaching for that first slice, stop and consider your favorite flavor: what is your moon cake choice really saying about you?

Lotus Paste: Exotic and sexy; you exude a confidence that makes people turn and stare. Celebrity Soul Twins: Angelina Jolie; Daniel Craig.

Red Bean Paste: The girl/boy next door. Sweet, cute, and crush-worthy, but comfortably familiar at the same time. Celebrity Soul Twins: Shia LaBoeuf; Pre-scientology Katie Holmes.

Winter Melon Paste: High maintenance and confident, you enjoy only the finest life has to offer. Celebrity Soul Twins: J.Lo; P-Diddy.

Coconut Paste: Naïve and sweet, sometimes to a fault because you can be very gullible, you'll listen to anyone's problems and make the best cupcakes. Celebrity Soul Twins: Amy Sedaris; Steve Carell.

Mixed Nut Paste: You've been around the block a few times and might be a little jaded, but still love to party all night long as long as the event's cool enough. Celebrity Soul Twins: Madonna; Bruce Willis.

Pineapple Paste: Sugary sweet, sometimes fake, you really like pop punk music. Celebrity Soul Twins: Ashlee Simpson; Ryan Seacrest.

"Snow Skin": Awkward and pasty, you greet people with a dead-fish handshake and have frequent awkward silences in conversation. Celebrity Soul Twins: Crispin Glover; the girl from the TV in "The Ring".

Curious? You can buy moon cakes online (in a variety of flavors, with no judgment) at chinasprout.com; in the Seattle area, you can find moon cakes at Uwajimaya (600 5th Ave. South at South Weller St.) or at A Piece of Cake (514 South King St., near 5th Ave. South).

Cakespy Note: Much of the credit for this wonderful post goes to Cake Gumshoe Allison.

Batter Chatter: Interview with Jennifer Shea of Trophy Cupcakes

Trophy Cupcakes is truly the full package. Not only are their cupcakes amazing--moist, crumbly and with the perfect frosting-to-cake ratio--but their entire store area in the Wallingford Center embodies the spirit of celebration and happiness that cupcakes bring us, with bright colors, happy typestyles on the signage and adorable party supplies for sale. We recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Jennifer Shea, the mastermind behind Trophy Cupcakes; over a Cardamom Chai cupcake (!), this is what we learned:

Cakespy: So I read that you are a registered dietician…
Jennifer Shea: (somewhat sheepishly) Yes…

CS: So how does a registered dietician come to open a cupcake shop?
JS: It was a long, crazy road--but I think that I've always just loved food and that drew me to become a nutritionist and dietician. The biggest thing that I learned in school was to be mindful of the quality of the ingredients you’re using when you’re baking or cooking; knowing where your food comes from. The other thing that interested me...was the psychology of food. I think that when we allow ourselves to have something very nourishing or comforting in a way that reminds us of home...like a cupcake, and don’t feel guilty about it, and if it’s coming from good ingredients...it's very good for us. When you are filling yourself up on nonfat or fat-free everything, I don’t think that you ever feel really satisfied, and so you keep on eating it, and that’s more of the problem with people being overweight in this country than people eating sugar or carbohydrates. So I think it fits, even though some people think it’s weird that I’m now selling sugar!

CS: Did any bakeries in particular inspire you?
JS: I would say a lot did…I got the idea first in Manhattan when I went to the Cupcake Café with some girlfriends and just had no idea that there was any such thing as a cupcake bakery! I was already the girl in my group who was making the birthday cakes and cupcakes, and planning the parties...when we went there I was instantly like “wow, this would be something that would be so awesome in Seattle, and I could see myself doing this"; my brain started formulating this little plan. It took eight years to really make it happen.

CS: Where do you get your recipes?
JS: I would say that a lot of my recipes are tweaked from Martha Stewart’s stuff; I think that for the most part all of her recipes are well done; I started using a lot of hers a long time ago and just made little changes here and there. Some of our items like the peanut butter and jelly (cupcakes) were just a regular kind of Swedish butter cake recipe that a pastry chef who used to work with us developed by adding a new filling and making a peanut butter buttercream. But...they’re not recipes that are made from nothing like a pastry chef who’s like “OK, I’m going to see what happens if I put two cups of flour with this many of this"...so they’re pretty much just classic recipes that have been tweaked so that they will work in a commercial setting.

CS: One of the things we’ve noticed is your beautiful decorations. How would you describe your cupcake aesthetic?
JS: I just think that cupcakes being beautiful is part of the package; my whole thing for the store is that we inspire celebration, and so I think that everything has to have this fun look that goes along with parties. It doesn’t make sense to me to haphazardly frost the cupcakes if they’re going to be for a special occasion. They have to look really amazing.

CS: What is your most popular flavor?
JS: I would say chocolate-vanilla, the valhrona cake with the Madagascar vanilla bourbon buttercream, I just think that's a crowd pleaser type of flavor. I would say that Chai Cardamom and Green Tea sell a little less, but the people who do love those flavors are kind of mad about them, and there is a little bit of a cult following with flavors like that, because I don’t think that people can get them anywhere else. Red velvet is also very popular. That type of cake is very trendy right now, I’m not sure why, but it is!

CS: That leads to our next question. Red Velvet: Classy or Trashy?
JS: (Laughs) I think it’s classy, but I hate the word classy. I think that it’s definitely an old-school, southern traditional, loved recipe, so if you’re not from the south it might seem trashy and you might not understand it. But the recipe was borne out of the need to have a lighter cake, and it would make sense to have a beloved light cake that everyone really enjoys.

CS: What is the most cupcakes you’ve ever made in a single day?
JS: The most we’ve ever made in a day here is about 2500.

CS: Whoa!
JS: Yeah.

CS: What happens to the leftover cupcakes at the end of the day?
JS: We have a food bank that comes and picks up, and we try to figure out our pars; we know how many big orders we have per day, and we generally sell straight from the case...so usually we only have a few dozen left over, so somebody’s always going out somewhere and can take the frosted ones, and anything unfrosted gets packaged up and goes to the food bank.

CS: Do you sell any other pastries other than cupcakes?
JS: Other than European drinking chocolate and drink-type things, no.

CS: Do you think you ever will?
JS: I don’t think so, I mean, if it slowed down to the point where it seemed like we should add some cakes or some other baked goods, maybe, but in looking at the popularity going on ten year for cupcakes in New York…they’ve just hit the west coast, so...I think that we have at least good ten years if we follow the same model as Manhattan. Obviously Seattle’s not Manhattan, but we have a lot of years left in the cupcake craze.

CS: How often do you eat your own cupcakes?
JS: Like Sit down and eat a whole one?
CS: Yes.
JS: Probably once a week, but I’m tasting cupcakes every single day.

CS: How does a baker's schedule affect your personal life?
JS: I don’t have a personal life! I mean, I have a fiancé, but we put wedding planning on hold because it’s just so nuts in here all the time. And that’s more being a business owner than a baker. If I were just working a baker's schedule like my other bakers I think maybe I could have a little bit of a life in the afternoon, because then I would just go to bed early, but right now I’m just sort of here all the time, so not a ton of social activity happening.

CS: Do you think you’ll have your own cupcakes at your wedding?
JS: No. I love cupcakes but I think that when I get married I want to have something totally non-cake, because I eat cake every day. I will have a croquembouche or something.

CS: What are your thoughts on cake mixes?
JS: I guess if you're in a super big hurry, there are some cake mixes out there that yield a good result; but to me, because cake is something that I make every day, it seems like something very easy and fast, and it doesn’t seem like it would take much longer to just measure out your dry ingredients and do it all from scratch. But I also know that people are super busy, and I think that making a cake from a mix is better than buying it from a store. I mean, at least you’re halfway making it from scratch!

CS: You've received some pretty high accolades since opening earlier this year--including "Best Cupcakes" by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine! So do you feel like you've made it?
JS: I think everything’s going really well and I’m super excited, but I’m still in those stages of being ridiculously busy all the time, and so I think when I have a little bit more free time and I can enjoy the benefits of having a successful business, then maybe I’ll feel like I’ve made it. Right now I still feel like I’m working 14 hours a day 7 days a week. And I feel like that’s part of why we’re doing so well, because I really care and I want to be part of everything, everyday, which is sometimes not a good thing, because I need to give myself a break!

CS: So what’s next for Trophy Cupcakes?
JS: We really want to launch a kind of delivery system. I mean, we deliver now, but it’s more if people call and ask; we haven’t really advertised for it. My dream is to have the vintage milk truck delivery type of thing, but I don’t know how practical that’s going to be. We’d ideally like ...to use biodiesel in it, but it’s hard to find one of those vintage ones that are diesel, so we might just end up opting for a newer van but just paint it kind of retro. I really want to do full-service delivery, like you could send someone a birthday in a box, a dozen cupcakes with a party hat and a candle, and deliver it anywhere in the city. So that’s kind of the next thing. We’re also kind of already outgrowing this kitchen, so we’re thinking that we might need more of a commercial kitchen which all of our big orders and deliveries could come out of, and this (location) could kind of focus more on the walk-in customers.

CS: Do you think you'll open another location?
JS: We’d love to do another location. We’re trying to take it one step at a time and not grow too fast because I think that the quality is so important to me, and I think that sometimes when people grow too fast, or too big, you have to make decisions that are ultimately going to lessen the quality of your product. So, I just want to be really careful to not go too big too fast and not be able to control what we’re doing.

Unexpected Sweetness: Secret Seattle Pastries

Not to alarm you, but Seattle is a city simply teeming with baked goods you might not know about. Frequently, wonderful pastry experiences await you at establishments not “known” for their desserts: places masquerading as coffee shops, sandwich joints or even gourmet pasta markets! Since they usually don't have neon signs advertising their homemade goods, Cakespy is spreading the sweet word:

Caffe Ladro: Many Seattleites don’t realize that all of the baked goods at Caffe Ladro are made in their own bakery! Ranging from cakey scones drenched in buttery glaze to cardamom crumb cake and substantial cupcakes with smooth, thick frosting, we’d say it's worth a visit. In fact, Mr. Cakespy has been known to go in solely for their vegan oat bars and not even buy a coffee. Various locations; online at caffeladro.com.
Dish D’lish: You probably think of this place more for catering and savory items, but their sugar cookies are serious business: snow white and dense, with meltingly tender crumbs; they also make a beautiful strawberry shortcake (click here for the recipe!). 5136 Ballard Ave. NW (b/t NW Ione Pl. & NW Dock St.); online at kathycasey.com.
Monorail Espresso: Their “chubby” cookies rock our world—kind of a chocolate chip cookie dough cookie which is perfectly soft but still fully baked. And they’re homemade by Monorail’s quirky owner, Chuck Beek, who was one of the first coffee-cart dudes in Seattle in the 80’s; talk about street cred. 510 Pike St. (right by the Banana Republic store on 5th Ave.).
The Other Coast Cafe: Much ado about muffin! Their muffins and cookies are made from scratch, and are buttery, sweet little masterpieces that go above and beyond the bakery items you’d expect from a sandwich shop. Go before 8am and your muffin will still be warm; take one bite and wonder why you haven’t gone in before lunch before. 601 Union Square (at Union & 6th Aves.); online at othercoastcafe.com. ** Baked goods at the downtown location only; a special thanks to Cake Gumshoes Renee and Krista for introducing us to these baked goods!
Pasta + Co.: True, many of their desserts are supplied by Dessertworks--but not the lemon tarts, which are made in-house, and are just the right degree of custardy-sweet and tart. Various locations (though we favor the Queen Anne one); online at pastaco.com.
Specialty’s: Mostly known for their sandwiches, their desserts are all from scratch: cookies like the rich peanut butter or wheatgerm chocolate chip, as well as mini bundt cakes and brownies including the “Lovers’ Lane” which is a double fudge brownie topped with coconut, semi sweet & white chocolate chunks, and crunchy walnuts. Is it too much...or is it just enough? Various locations; online at specialtys.com.

 

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