ONE GIRL, ZERO COOKIES, TWO CUPCAKES

One Girl Cookies
68 Dean St, Cobble Hill

I trekked all the way to Cobble Hill, Brooklyn to test out this place. As per the name, the basis of One Girl Cookies is, obviously, cookies. What a happy surprise that they have created such delicious cupcakes also. I had the vanilla with vanilla buttercream as well the chocolate with vanilla buttercream. The cake parts of both cupcakes were very moist and delicious.  The frosting designs on the cupcakes are really original. The cupcakes are decorated with spikes and several different colors of frosting, which is completely different from the basic designs of most other cupcake shops. The design also allows for less frosting to be used, which is a nice change from the bakeries that put 20 pounds of frosting on one cupcake. Cupcakes need to have the perfect icing to cake ratio. Too much or too little of either can wreck a cupcake. The cupcakes cost only $2-which made me very happy. Not too cheap, but not too expensive where I would have felt guilty if I didn’t enjoy it. One Girl Cookies was out of the way but so worth it. I’ll be sure to stop here anytime I’m in the area.

peace, love, cupcakes
Michy

BURGER HEAVEN, CUPCAKE HELL

Burgers and Cupcakes
458 9th Ave, Hell’s Kitchen

While I enjoy burgers and I (obviously) love cupcakes, the concept of eating them together or one after the other is completely unappealing. Despite this, I had to try this place. This restaurant actually has a decent amount of cupcake options but none of them really stood out either time. During my first visit I had a red velvet cupcake which was served with a glass of a water in a mason jar. Cute. Sadly, the cup of water was more mouthwater than the cupcake.  The cupcake was just OK. A bit dry, kind of tasteless, but the cream cheese icing was decent. The next time I had a hardcore chocolate chocolate cupcakes with heart sprinkles (it was Valentine’s Day). The cupcakes were $2.50…although I believe they have larger cupcakes that are more expensive. These cupcakes aren’t that great so I wouldn’t shell out anymore than $2.50 for them. The cupcakes are mediocre, but the décor of the restaurant is even worse. There are lots of tables and seating but you feel like you are sitting in an unfinished basement. Doesn’t make you want to stay in there for longer than it takes to purchase the cupcake. Next time, I will skip the cupcakes and have a burger instead.
 
peace, love, and cupcakes
mishila

THESE CUPCAKES HIT THE SWEET SPOT

Spot
13 St. Mark's Pl, East Village

This hidden café on St.Mark’s Place is very welcoming once you "spot" it. There are lots of yummy looking Japanese desserts on display. During my first visit, I chose the Vanilla Caramel Viatnamese Coffee cupcake. The coffee flavor was too domineering. For $2.75, I was not impressed. I commend their original flavors but I am a basic vanilla/vanilla kind of girl. The second time, I decided to give the cupcakes another try. I had the vanilla coconut almond cupcake. The cake part tasted like an irresistible sponge cake. Very different from the other vanilla cupcakes I’ve tried. I’m not really a fan of coconut but you could hardly taste it in the cupcake (is this good or bad? I’m not sure). I also had a bite of my friend’s cupcake…a Mocha Molden Salt Caramel cupcakes. I could taste the mocha part but not so much the salt/caramel-which, again, was fine with me. This cupcake, unlike the Viatnamese Coffee Cupcake, didn’t have such a potent coffee flavor which made the cupcake all the more edible. All of the cupcakes are very visually appealing-almost all of them have a pretty design make out of edible luxuries. Next time, I may cheat on my cupcake s and have an ice cream sundae-they looked absolutely sinful.

Peace, love, and cupcakes
Michy

BAKING IS A SCIENCE, NOT AN ART

Cupcake Café
18 W 18th St, Flatiron

Striking cupcakes. Striking bakery. Not so striking taste. The designers of the cupcakes at Cupcake Café are truly artists. The floral patterns on each cupcake are detailed, beautiful, and colorful. The cupcakes, however, are not as delicious as one would hope. What distracts you from the taste of the cupcakes is the layout of the bakery. Cupcake café on one side, children’s library on the other. There are tons of tables to sit at and chat with friends. There are dancing cupcakes hanging from the ceiling (see above). Anyway, back to the important stuff.  The first taste I took was of a vanilla/vanilla cupcake. The whole cupcake was just…tough. I didn’t feel the immediate sugary rush of moistness when I bite into a well-made cupcake. My second taste was of the chocolate cupcake with mocha buttercream. Just as bad. I had a few bites and threw the rest out. Oh the risks I take for my cupcake adventures. When you cut into a cupcake, it should crumble a bit-not stick together uniformly. This is possibly partly due to the cupcakes being refrigerated. I understand that these cupcakes in particular need to be refrigerated so the intricate designs don’t melt but taste should never be sacrificed for appearance, especially when it comes to cupcakes. The $2.50 price tag is way too high for a tiny cupcake. This bakery had such potential. What a shame that the bakers are more preoccupied with outer cupcake beauty rather than inner.


peace, love, and cupcakes
michy