P1010189

P1010189
Originally uploaded by anne m bray

vanilla/coconut from
Thyme Cafe
1630 Ocean Park Blvd
Santa Monica, CA 90405

thymecafeandmarket.com/

chicago cupcakes!

chicago cupcakes!
Originally uploaded by anne m bray
cupcake Rx delivered from chicago: the bleeding heart bakery

Lemon Cherry (v)
Ice cream Sundae (an ode to Margie's Candies) Blueberry Pie (v) YUM!
Chocolate Turtle featuring Metropolitan Brewery "Flywheel" Caprese

I'm wearing my BH tee too

IMG_2058

IMG_2058
Originally uploaded by anne m bray

monkey cupcakes that Jerry got at Whole Foods
(cookies/chocolate/vanilla)
but wait -- look carefully -- the monkey nose + mouth section is also a smiley face
:-)

frosted lemon

frosted vanilla

magnolia vanilla vanilla

my favorite

frosted cupcakery

we weren't even finished with the magnolia vanilla vanillas and the Enabler brought more cupcakes home

oh, what is the sweet torture this time?

lemon/cream cheese][royal white/vanilla buttercream

royal white/coconut vanilla buttercream][royal white/vanilla buttercream

magnolia vs frosted

can't decide! may I have 2 more?

verdicts

vanilla: the magnolia specimen was six days old at this point, too hard to judge which was better. the cake on the frosted was more eggy, the icing more something, not sure what (besides fresher)

coconut: even better (as a vanilla) than vanilla. I don't really like sprinkles -- distracting. as a coconut, not enough coconutness to it.

lemon: nice and lemony. still like quack's (austin) the best

butter lane: The Gary

salted caramel buttercream on vanilla, garnished with popcorn

a wonderful description of Butter Lane by Cupcakes Take the Cake lives here

dots: lemon drop

 

4.26: I finally ate this, not waiting to share with the Enabler. (He didn't like the lime so why "waste" this on him?). I liked it -- nice and lemony and tart. MUCH better than the lime one. I would get this and the vanilla again.

I'm liking how the colored pencils are working for my cupcake portraits. Can't use them on shiny box lids, for that pens seem the best. 

dots, pasadena

While walking to the Apple Store in Pasadena, I spied a cupcakerie with a line out the door (auspicious omen). I decided to visit Dots on my way back to the car.

They have an interesting assortment of full-size and mini cakes. I opted for a selection of minis (descriptions from website):
 •coconut lime -- vanilla coconut cake with lime zest and cream cheese frosting loaded with lime and coconut combination (no photo or sketch)

•lemon drop -- tart lemon cake with cream cheese frosting

•vanilla2 -- madascar vanilla cake and vanilla bean buttercream 

as you can see, the box design
does not lend itself to my
"sketching on the lid" concept

Opinions

•coconut lime -- description so enticing, alas, a disappointment. Not limy enough. The Enabler said the frosting "tasted chemical" (cream cheese vs buttercream, methinks).

•lemon -- TBD

•vanilla -- YUM! this one gives sprinkles and yummy a run for the money (imho)

tres leches cupcake from Hotcakes

damaged in transport,

unable to sketch on box (frosting problem)

Chowhound clued me in on this one.
The review made it sound really delicious... the enabler and I even drove over that night after dinner but they were already closed (argh! close @ 7pm). Last night, home from work, I spotted a Hotcakes box and I KNEW what it contained: two tres leches with horchata frosting and mango dusted with chile garnish. Oh, the anticipation!

Well...

I must preface by saying I'm VERY PICKY about tres leches. The one at Cuidad (et al) is my favorite and the one against which all others are judged. Verdict: the cake, tasty and moist - yes, tres lechesy - no. Horchata frosting, however, AMAZING! Spiced mangos worked well too.

I idealized the model in the sketch,

removing the dings in the frosting

(the enabler dropped the box)

Hotcakes Bakes, 4119 South Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles  310-397-2324

tip: get the Cannelé  instead

sprinkles box of goodness

clockwise from upper left:

brown sugar praline | vanilla/vanilla | strawberry | chocolate/chocolate

brown sugar: YUM
vanilla/vanilla: BIG YUM
strawberry: reminded me of... not sure... Sara Lee frozen Orange cake?? (fond memories, would probably hate now)
choc/choc: OK, but I like more bitterness/fudginess (VERY picky on my chocolate)

note: only the brown sugar survived intact long enough for sketching (see previous post)

sprinkles -- brown sugar praline

"caramel cake with brown sugar frosting, topped with crunchy nut praline"
sprinkles.com

yummy chocolate/coconut

yummy chocolate/coconut
Originally uploaded by anne m bray
ink, prisma

yummy vanilla/vanilla

yummy vanilla/vanilla
Originally uploaded by anne m bray
on box lid

prismacolor pencil

eleni's - don't be fooled by the pretty pictures

WARNING - these cupcakes taste like they came from Safeway.

store link

magnolia vanilla vanilla

magnolia vanilla vanilla
Originally uploaded by anne m bray
ink on pastry box