After having lunch on the Lower East Side on Sunday, I noticed a macaron shop called “bisousciao macarons”. The shop listed many flavors were available, so I decided that I needed to check it out. I love a good french macaron and I was not disappointed. The flavors that were available was vast and the staff was very friendly. I tried one for the road, the blackberry filled with seeded blackberry jam. It was wonderful. Macarons have a unique shell that cracks when you bite it. Then the jam filled your mouth. I took a few other flavors home to try over the next couple of days. Another unique flavor was Blood Orange which is sweet orange flavored macaron with a dark chocolate ganache. I also enjoyed the Lavender and Honey Buttercream macaron. Macarons are just the right sized so you will not feel guilty if you indulgence in several instead of just one. I can not each just one macaron or just one flavor. Also a great treat to eat while walking around, it won’t spill or make a mess. I will most likely be stopping by this location again for a macaron fix.
SallySweetSpots
bisousciao macarons in new york city
Sugar Bliss in Chicago
Recently stopped by Sugar Bliss in Chicago for some mini cupcakes on a rainy afternoon. The cupcakes come in 2 sizes, the regular size and the mini cupcakes. I love the mini cupcakes because they are just 1 0r 2 bites plus I can try more than one flavor and not feel guilty. The cupcakes are beautifully decorated with flowers as seen in the image. I tried 3 different flavors and they all were pretty good but not great. The cake was moist but not filled with flavor. Also, I must admit I love frosting and I was not happy with the amount of frosting on each cake. I also found the frosting did not have much flavor or taste. I thought maybe it was just me but the friend that was with me felt the same way. Too bad the looks don’t match the taste. Maybe I should have tried the regular size cupcake. If you are not really into frosting, you may enjoy these cupcakes.
Koryodong in New York City
After a wonderful dinner of Korea BBQ celebrating my friend’s Martin, we decided to go to a Korea bakery and coffee shop called Koryodong. We ordered Green Tea ice cream which is pictured above. The ice cream was so smooth and was served in a bowl of fruit. What a treat after the BBQ dinner. It was smooth and refreshing. The portion was so large and enough to share with several people. I could not get over the selection of baked goods that were being offered. We also bought a selection of cookies to take home. The coffee shop has plenty of seating but gets very busy after dinner. I have never walked down this street in all of the years that I have been in New York. This is a hidden gem for dessert in the midtown area. I will be going back and introducing this place to friends.
Tart Bakery in Dallas
I recently discovered Tart Bakery in Dallas, TX. The goods are baked fresh every day. I had to try the cake balls . Cake balls are bits of cake mixed with frosting and then dipped in chocolate. Cake balls are also called cupcake pops or cake pops. I am seeing them being offered in bakeries more in the South then any other part of the country. I had the red velvet cake ball that was covered with white chocolate. A lot of favor in small package. Also since the cake balls are no larger than a golf ball, most are one or two bites at the most, I was able to try several different flavors without feeling guilty. I also tried the cupcakes but felt that the frosting was not the best. It was a little too sweet for me, which is surprising. The cupcake was moist and good-sized but the frosting was overwhelming. I did not get a chance to try the whoopie pies or the petit fours, so I will have to go back on my next trip. The staff was very friendly and the shop had an area of retro candies in big glass jars.
Cupcake Royale in Seattle
Stopped by Cupcake Royale in Seattle during my recent trip to Seattle. What is like about the bakery is that the cupcakes come in 2 sizes, regular size and the babycakes. I like trying babycakes because you don’t feel so guilty about eating a couple of them. The babycakes at Cupcake Royale come in either vanilla or chocolate cake with different toppings. I bought 2 dozen of the babycakes to take to a meeting. The babycakes are packed in a great box for traveling and they arrived safely to the meeting. I also bought a Red Velvet and a Dance Party cupcake and shared them with a friend. The cupcakes were moist and fresh and the frosting was not too sweet on either cupcake. The only problem that I have with Cupcake Royale is that I don’t find the staff very friendly and welcoming. No one else was in the shop but they seemed to hurry me up to choose and move on.The shop is not warm and cosy and friendly. Everyone at the meeting who tried the babycakes enjoyed them.
Society Bakery in Dallas
Wandered into Society Bakery in Dallas during a recent business trip. I had read about the bakery online. I was quite impressed with the bakery and with the owner. The shop is warm and welcoming. The product selection is quite large and interesting. The selection of whoopie pies was amazing. They have a bread pudding whoopie pie that I have never seen anywhere. The owner even suggested warming it up when I ate it later at the hotel. I also tried a vanilla cupcake and had a friend try the peanut butter cupcake. You can actually taste the love and care that was used to make the products. This bakery has been featured on the Ellen Show. It was fabulous to find this gem of a bakery. If you are ever in Dallas, this is the place to go.
Are Whoopie Pies The Next Big Dessert?
I have noticed in my travels over the last couple months that Whoopie Pies are showing up in more bakeries. Many cupcake shoppes are now carrying Whoopie Pies. No one knows who invented the Whoopie Pie. There are 3 theories, one from Maine, one from Boston and one from the Amish in Pennsylvania. I grew up with the Main theory. Traditionally, Whoopie Pies were 2 pieces of chocolate cake with a marshmallow or whipped cream layer. But now I am finding Red Velvet pies along with seasonal flavors like Spice or Pumpkin. And this week, I discovered Bread Pudding pies at Society Bakery in Dallas, TX. I have a feeling that Whoopie Pies in different flavors are not a passing fad but are here to stay. Easy to eat with one hand and perfect for all ages.
Sweet Revenge
I have gone to Sweet Revenge twice with friends. Sweet Revenge is the only cupcake. beer and wine bar in New York City. Both times that I have gone, I have been disappointed with my cupcakes but yet both times my friends’ cupcakes have very good. I tried the Crimson & Cream cupcake which is a raspberry red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting. The cupcakes are very large and have quite a bit of frosting. My tasted very dry and very heavy but my friend had the Fleur de Sel which is made from Valrhona chocolate cake with a salted caramel center and a salted caramel buttercream with pecans & salted caramel drizzle. It was delicious and moist. We shared both cupcakes so we could each try 2 different treats. So I figure that I just had bad luck with my choice. The bar has a great atmosphere and what can be better than liquor and sweets!! So I decided to go back about a month later. This time I tried a cupcake called Pure which is a Mexican vanilla cake with Mexican vanilla buttercream and again I did not enjoy the sweet. In fact I left more than half the cupcake on the plate. My friend tried the cupcake and did not like it either. It was did not taste fresh. I even told the server that I was not pleased with the cupcake. My friend ordered the Bird of Paradise which is a lime chiffon cake with mango buttercream & fresh lime zest and we both loved this flavor. I don’t know what to say. I have gone twice and tried a total of 4 different cupcakes. Two of the cupcakes were rich, moist and full of flavor. Two cupcakes were dry and heavy and did not taste very good. So, I am not sure that I could recommend this place but I just don’t know.
Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills
Finally made it to the world famous Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills!!! This is the shop that really started the cupcake craze. Walked into the shop and saw rows and rows of cupcakes. The smell was incredible. I ordered a peanut butter chocolate cupcake. Which is made of chocolate chip-studded peanut butter cake with a fudgy milk chocolate cream cheese frosting. OMG!!!! This was literally the best cupcake that I have ever had. WOW!!! Then when I saw down to eat the cupcake with my friend, we discovered that Sprinkles has wooden sporks available to eat your cupcake. The sporks are so adorable and have the Sprinkles name on the handle. I was thrilled. I can hardly wait to go back. The cupcake was so moist and delicious. It was incredible. The taste of the chocolate and the peanut butter was a perfect combination. The chocolate chips added the perfect addition. Sprinkles will be opening a store in New York . I highly recommend this shop and I am planning on going back.
Vanilla Bean Bakery in Santa Monica
Wandered into a cute bakery in the Santa Monica area called Vanilla Bean Bakery. One of the first things that I notice was a great t-shirt on the wall that said “Real Men Eat Cupcakes“. I would have to agree. The cupcakes come in 2 sizes, the standard size and then a baby size. I ordered 3 babies cupcakes for a total cost of $5.00. I tried red velvet, the vanilla bean and the special for the day, blackberry passion fruit. Each baby cupcake is about 2 bites. I really liked the vanilla bean frosting. The cupcakes were not as moist as I would have like. I prefer a very moist cupcake. There were a couple of tables and chairs in the shop so I could sit down and enjoy the cupcakes. There were cakes on display that were decorated so beautifully. The colors were amazing. I would like to go back and try something else.