Labriola sounds like a body part

I just had the worst cupcake. Ok, more like a piece of the worst cupcake, because I didn't actually finish it. There was a focus group at work today, and the lure was that there would be cupcakes. Me like a kid in a cupcake store, was so excited from the time that I got the email invitation. WE ALL SCREAM for cupcakes? Oh I screamed alright...inside that is, because screaming is frowned upon in a corporate environment. After I tasted the dry, cool whip topped, vanilla cakey substance, I wanted to spit it right out, but again, I was amongst professional people, and professional, I must pretend to be so I politely dumped it in the trash. Since, I'm at work, I must cut this short. So, on the eve of Halloween, I will say BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO to the cupcakes at Labriola Bakery Cafe in Lombard, Il.

Cupcakes Are Still Relevant in 2012

These blogs have been coming few and far between. I will put more effort towards updating this year. I promise. We all know (all meaning the 2 people that are reading this) that I love cupcakes more than most things in life right now. They are cute and tasty depending on where you get them. Also anyone that knows me in Chicago knows that I do most of my shopping and browsing in the suburbs. It's just more convenient than circling around looking for a parking space, and paying outrageous fees to park. The suburbs has everything you can imagine in a 2 mile radius. However, the thing that is always lacking in some suburbs is the ever so trendy cupcake shop. You would think that the home of family, soccer moms, and birthday parties would be full of cupcake shops. Well that hasn't been the case til now.

Oakbrook now has a fancy little cupcake bakery called Fiore Cupcakes. It's a small shop with only a few bar seats looking out to the strip center parking lot where it is located. The walls have big bold pinstripes like that of a Parisian cafe. They have a wide variety of cupcakes from their most popular Cannoli to the regulars (i.e. vanilla, chocolate, and red velvet). I actually had a Tres Leches cupcake (3 milks for those who don't know). It was the perfect texture for tres leches. The frosting was a cream cheese frosting that was not too sweet which balanced of the sweetness of the cake. Although, I would have made a cinnamon (with cinnamon extract or emulsion)cream cheese frosting to add a little bit more authenticity to the Mexican favorite. It was good though, that's just what I would've done since I'm a baker myself. The owner was so nice and inviting that she gave me a vanilla cupcake, because my tres leches was a little cold. Her decision not mine. I would've eaten it cold. So she gave me a vanilla cupcake while I waited for my tres leches to be the perfect temperature. Which was great, because if you've read any of the other blogs you would know that I think a good vanilla cupcake is sometimes hard to come by. This vanilla on my meter of cupcake shops falls right in the middle. It was moist, and it had good flavor, but I'm almost certain that the frosting was an industrial frosting and not homemade. We all know that I love Molly's vanilla the best, because of the uniqueness in flavor and the overly moist texture. The worst would just be a grocery store cupcake or maybe Crumbs downtown. Nevertheless, when in Oakbrook and I have a sugar craving, I will definitely stop in again. By the way, my friend who doesn't like chocolate really loved their chocolate cupcake, and primarily she loved the frosting. So my reco is that you check it out for flavor and the friendly nature of the owner.

Cupcake Counter

I've been called a hater in my lifetime. Simply because of my discriminating taste, and desire for greatness in things that people say are great. I give props where props are do. I take words seriously. So if someone says something is "good", then it better not just be "ok." Which brings me to Cupcake Counter at 229 W. Madison Ave, downtown Chicago. About a year or so ago, my friend said that I should visit it, because the cupcakes were great. I will say, that I will make an hour trip to settle my sweet tooth. Today, my neighbor and I were running some errands, and decided that we needed a sweet fix that wasn't too far from home. I mentioned to her about Cupcake Counter, and that I wasn't able to find it in the past. So I gave the shop a call to get clear directions, because obviously I was having difficulty finding it. The lady who answered the phone told me that they were located on Madison between Wells and Franklin. She also mentioned that if you blink that you would miss them. Well obviously so, because, I have passed it at least a million times before. It's right next to the LaQuinta Inn.

We get there and it is a cute petite shop, that couldn't have been more than eight feet wide. Sitting there in the case was a variety of flavors from S'mores, Cookies & Cream to plain vanilla with sprinkles on top. There was no pretense to the frosting, which to me isn't a big deal. As long as it taste good is all that matters to me. So I got a vanilla and a red velvet. My neighbor/friend got a s'mores and cookies and cream. Can you say moist and still warm. The frosting was rich but still remained a light tight. You can tell that they actually use butter, unlike so many of the cupcakes on the market. Aside from the cupcakes being $3.50. It was a delish experience.

Even though I'm repping Sugar Rush Cupcakery, I recommend you check it out www.cupcakecounter.com 229 W. Madison.

Besides there's enough for everyone.

Sugar Rush is Mine

For years now, I've been trying to master the vanilla cupcake. I've somewhat mastered the Red Velvet. (Thanks to Paula Deen). For every party that I've had and attended, I've made well received cupcakes. So to make it official, I've decided to take my cupcake show to the road. Out comes Sugar Rush Cupcakery. It's a modern mobile cupcake concept. Our focus is flavor, with a minimalist design. No pretense just good old fashion flour, sugar, eggs, and a few secret ingredients. The most important ingredient is LOVE. I was born with a sweet tooth, and all the low carb diets in the world, have yet to crack my craving for cake.

Red Velvet SMELVET

In reviewing my older post, I now realize how one can grow in such a short amount of time. Red velvet is no longer an enigma to me. And some of the places on my list would never make the cut now. I question if a few of the shops even still exist. Speaking of Red Velvet, I've mastered the subject. In fact, out of all the shops, I've frequented in the past, I think, NO I know, that my red velvet cupcakes are waaaaaaaay better, than all. Now I'm not partial because I made them, because I'm usually my worst critic. PLUS, people have told me that mine are the best. To be honest folks, red velvet is all about the icing. Yes, the cake is important, because the texture of a cake can make or break it. However, the hoopla surrounding this otherwise gross looking cake is clearly how cheesy or sweet the icing is, and I've mastered that part.

People think that I found this special recipe left by "Big Mama" in a drawer in her old dusty house. In fact it is Big Mama's recipe, but not my Big Mama's. It's the Big Mama of cable tv's recipe, Paula Deen. However, when I tell people that, they try it, and theirs never taste the same. Well because, it's not totally true. I do use Paula Deen's recipe as a base, but I also throw in a few special extras to make it mine. One of them being....

Is that Velvet?

I will admit that the subject of "Red Velvet" is fairly new to me. I remember, the first time I saw a red velvet cake, I was watching "Steel Magnolias." Julia Roberts character Shelby had a red velvet armadillo cake at her wedding. I believe it was the groom's cake. Anyway, the thought of a red cake used to gross me out. Somehow, somewhere down the road I tried it, and loved it. Never have I made anything red velvet, I do like it. Is it just chocolate with red dye? Or is it more complex than that. Without going into the scientific details, I'll just leave at it's more complex. I mentioned that in a previous blog that Molly Cupcakes has a red velvet cupcake. Also I did mention that the frosting was not to my liking. Frosting makes or breaks any kind of cake for me.
There is a bakery in Chicago that I frequent called the Alliance Bakery on Division about a block and a half west of Ashland in Wicker Park. They have a decent red velvet cupcake that's served wrapped in paper, unlike the traditional cupcake cup. Beware that it is not consistent. sometimes it's perfect, sometimes it's alright, and sometimes it's just plain dry. The frosting is better than Molly's, and that's all I can say about it. The consistency is kind of weird, as if there's shortening in it. I'm not an official baker, I just play one on t.v.. I merely, go on intuition, on most things.
Now the next place, that I'm going to mention, may not help any of you readers who don't travel outside the city limits. Long BUTTTTTTTTTTTTT!!! There's a restaurant in Lombard called "Claim Jumper" and it has the most wonderfully most and great frosting served on a plate with swirly chocolate and white chocolate shavings on top. It's right off of I-88 in the newly revamped Yorktown Shopping Center. Claim Jumper is also a good restaurant for hefty portions, and good drinks. They have Cheesecake Factory helpings. It's a good date or family restaurant. That concludes my red velvet discussion, for I'm not educated enough to talk further about it.

Sweet Unsensational

So I finally made it to Sweet Sensations on Southport here in Chicago. I must say I was not that impressed. Now I must preface that I'll try almost any cupcake within reason. Now Sweet Sensations is a quaint shop in the Lakeview area of town, not too far from The Southport Grocery and Cafe. As my sugar cravings come and go, I don't ever hear Sweet Sensations calling me since I visited. However, I will say that Molly Cupcakes call me often. That's not good, because I live on the Southside and with gas prices the way they currently are, that habit gets quite expensive. Not to mention, I'm a freelance Art Director in between gigs.

Speaking of cupcakes that don't call me, I visited another shop that seemed promising. Sweet Mandy B's. When I entered I heard a woman speak of a conversation that she had with someone, where she said it was the best cupcake that she'd ever had. That excited me, not that I knew what this lady's taste palette was like, but to hear someone have that much confidence in something is somewhat reassuring that I was in for a treat. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I like vanilla but, I'm not a vanilla person. I tried their vanilla, and I won't say I hated it or didn't like, but it just didn't move me. It was pedestrian to say the least. It maybe tasted one step up from a supermarket cupcake. I did however, try the carrot cake one, that looked like heaven. It again was just o.k.. That's as much as I can say for those treats, but I look forward to discussing my current favorite subject of cupcakes in the near future.