I have this problem with instant gratification and food. That is to say, when I get a craving for something, I have to have it immediately. This often poses a problem because I always seem to be engaged in conversations about food. Friends are always asking me for recipes or restaurant recommendations, and I do tend to go on about my favorite places to eat in the city. Sometimes I get a little fixated on one particular thing, and before I know it, I'm already in my car and en route to whichever eatery I'd just rhapsodizing about. The margherita pizza at Punch, the Spanker Soup at Azia, the Cava
Cocktail at Solera, and the triple chocolate layer cake at Trattoria da
Vinci are all very recent examples.
I have a particular weakness for sweets, specifically chocolate. More specifically, chocolate cake. My recent entry about Italian desserts, combined with a bit of a broken heart -- a collective "aww" now, please and thank you -- has left me yearning for my favorite treat. So today I decided to venture out and pick up a decadent dessert for myself. And what better choice than my favorite of favorites, a chocolate cupcake. "But from where?" I wondered. Eureka! One from everywhere.
Girl Friday Presents: The Chocolate Cupcake Taste-off
I purchased one regular chocolate cupcake with chocolate frosting from 5 neighboring bakeries (plus 1 bonus gourmet chocolate ganache cupcake that looked too good to leave in the bakery case) and tasted them all in my kitchen today. By eating 1/3 of each cupcake, and cleansing my palate in between with a swig of V8 and then water, I think I was able to effectively judge all of my selections. Here they are, in the order they were purchased and tasted:
Wuollet Bakery, 2447 Hennepin Ave S
I love the thick, rich frosting; it's like eating a piece of fudge. Definitely the centerpoint of the cupcake. The cake itself is semi-moist and has a true chocolate flavor, though it could be stronger. ($1.15)
Franklin Street Bakery, 1020 Franklin Ave E (Regular Chocolate Cupcake)
The frosting is smooth and glossy, definitely the wettest of them all. It doesn't have a pure chocolate taste, though. The cake is moist and dense with a good flavor, but is too salty. ($1.95)
Franklin Street Bakery (Chocolate Ganache Cupcake)
A "ganache" is a smooth chocolate glaze created by pouring warm heavy cream over chopped chocolate. FSB has separated the two ingredients and topped this cupcake with a fluffy whipped cream frosting and milk chocolate curls. Magnificent! Though the cake is the same recipe used for the regular cupcake above, the saltiness is tempered quite a bit by the creaminess of this frosting. ($2.25) [EDIT: I finished this cupcake today and discovered a dollop of milk chocolate ganache in the center!]
Cupcake, 3338 University Ave SE
A dark, flavorful frosting with a pure chocolate taste. The cake is very moist and chocolatey. This one tastes as every good cupcake should: like a smaller version of a great chocolate layer cake. I wanted to try their buttermilk chocolate cupcake, too, but the bastard in line ahead of me snatched up the last one. Either Cupcake has substantially improved the quality of their goods since my last visit, or they have one specialty cupcake and this is it.
Roseville Bakery, 1147 Larpenteur Ave W
Bland frosting and very dry cake. I question the presence of real chocolate anywhere in this concoction. I'd rank this cupcake at or below chain grocery store standards. Sometimes, you get what you pay for. ($0.65)
Sarah Jane's Bakery, 2853 Johnson St NE
A light and glossy frosting, but not very chocolatey. The cake itself is semi-moist with an always-present hint of coconut that adds another layer of flavor. Quite complimentary. Because Sarah Jane's is so close to my house, I probably eat these cupcakes more often than any others. Though I mostly just stop in for the awesome bars, I can't help but grab a cupcake or two while I'm there. (not sure of exact price, but cost of 1 cupcake + 1 brownie = $1.38)
It's a tough choice, but I'd say Cupcake's chocolate cupcake comes out ahead of the rest. I've given mad props to Wuollet in the past for having an outstanding cupcake, but the one I tasted today was a little drier than usual and the flavor of the cake was too mild. I plan to return to Franklin Street Bakery to try their other varieties of gourmet cupcakes, as the chocolate ganache one I tasted today was a true gem. I will likely never return to the Roseville Bakery, however. And Sarah Jane's Bakery will see me soon enough. I can already feel a craving coming on for those little spice cakes with maple frosting and the cinnamon-cardamom sweet rolls.
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