Sweet Bakery
This week, I also visited Sweet Bakery. Located on 239 West Read Street, Sweet recently moved from Ellicott City to Baltimore. Owner Tracy Buchanan was also on Cupcake Wars during its first season in summer 2010.
She said it was the experience of a lifetime, but she had to spend all her own money on supplies and ingredients, and unfortunately lost in the first round.
Still, Tracy said it was an honor to be chosen over a thousand applicants and to be able to represent her bakery and the state of Maryland.
Sweet is an adorable little shop in the heart of Baltimore and the cupcakes looked almost too good to eat! I sampled the chocolate raspberry one with vanilla butter cream icing. It was scrumptious!
In the news this week, cupcakes and other tasty treats are being offered to College of Charleston students to help them relax and cope with the stress of final exams. I agree with these procedures. Sweet treats really do make the rough times better!
Sweet Sin Bakery
This week I went to Sweet Sin Bakery on West 27th Street in Baltimore. Specializing in gluten-free and all-natural cupcakes and desserts, Sweet Sin also offers a complete gluten-free breakfast, lunch, and dinner menu and vegan options.
Co-owners Renee and Richard have owned the bakery since 2005 and actually auditioned for Cupcake Wars in 2010.
Among the cupcake menu were extravagant flavors like chocolaty banana, white chocolate orange truffle, chocolate peppermint, chocolate cheesecake, and chocolate cappuccino. I tried the German chocolate one. A moist mini chocolate cake topped with a rich coconut pecan frosting, this cupcake hit the spot. I enjoyed every bite! 
In the news this week, a drug dealer/baker in Miami, FL was arrested for baking cupcakes with marijuana and selling them at high schools.
Tisk tisk.
Tasty Creations
Today I visited Tasty Creations on Washington Boulevard in Baltimore. Specializing in more than just cupcakes, the bakers at Tasty Creations also make a variety of cakes, pies, éclairs, and all things tasty. If you ever find yourself on Washington Boulevard, don’t be afraid. Be sure to stop in Tasty for a chocolate frosted yellow cupcake. The huge chunk of homemade icing on top of a crisp yellow cake is certainly worth the time and money. At $1.25, this is certainly the cheapest cupcake I have purchased so far.
In the news this week, the avocado cupcake made the “recipe of the week” in Foxborough Patch. If you like guacamole and cupcakes, you are sure to love this combination of the two for more reasons than taste. Avocados contain over 20 essential nutrients and have been linked to cancer prevention. The recipe infuses lime juice, sour cream, and coconut flakes for added flavors. Sounds interesting, eh? I would try it.
MB Sweets Bakery
Last Wednesday I ordered a dozen cupcakes from MB Sweets Bakery located in Abingdon, MD. Thanks to classmate Tex Ascendio, I was able to get a dozen cupcakes for just $12 from livingsocial.com. They even delivered them to my door.
I got a random assortment of twelve decadent delicacies that I generously shared with my classmates. I tried the Cinnabon cupcake. A moist, buttermilk cupcake infused with cinnamon, vanilla streusel filling and topped with cream cheese frosting and caramel drizzle, it was a delight to my taste buds.
Since Easter is coming up, creative bakers are looking to celebrate with Easter themed cupcakes. According to one bunny cupcakes recipe from the starpress.com, bunny cupcakes are topped with food colored coconut, a donut hole for the head, two marshmallows for the ears, a jellybean for the nose, sprinkles for the whiskers, chocolate chips for the eyes, and a marshmallow piece for the belly. Sounds like a whole lot of yum!
Caroline’s Cupcakery
Today I visited Caroline’s Cupcakery on East Fort Avenue in Baltimore, MD. They opened in May 2010 and have already been selling very well.
Their best-selling cupcake is Red Velvet, but they have many other unique flavors like Butterfinger Candy Bar, Banana Split, and The Sunday Morning, a French toast cupcake with maple syrup butter cream and bacon drizzle on top.
All of the cupcakes are baked daily and are piled high with icing! In fact, each one is topped with three inches of Caroline’s signature butter cream swirl.
I tried the Coconut Craze and oh my goodness…it was divine. The butter cream icing was smooth and delectable and the cake was a tasty buttery goodness! Nothing about it was too sweet or too rich. It had a very light, subtle sweetness, which is what I value in a good cupcake.
In the news this week, a 5-year-old girl is baking cupcakes to raise money for the devastation in Japan.
Adriana and her mom baked 100 cupcakes and sold them at $2 apiece. They set up a Facebook page and so many people wanted to help, the Violetville Fire Department is letting them use their house to make all of the cupcakes.
Adriana’s Facebook page even got an endorsement by Raven’s star, Ray Rice. “Ray Rice wants to buy chocolate cupcakes,” she said.
Ravens players Derrick Mason and Willis McGahee also posted support on her page.
The Facebook page got more than 1,000 likes in less than a week.
Cupcakes to the rescue!
Oh, What A Cake!
Today I went to Oh, What A Cake! in Columbia, MD. Relatively new, the bakery just opened on Dobbin Road two years ago.
Their most popular cupcake is Red Velvet (Surprise!). I tried the Coconut with Pineapple Mousse Filling. Yummmo!
I had to wonder what the combination would be like, but it was so tasty! The coconut was subtle and crispy but not overly sweet, and the chunky pineapple filling complimented the tropical flavors and topped it off.
The cupcake was also substantially bigger than others I have had. More for your money, I say. I will definitely be returning.
In the news today, a bakery in New Jersey began selling Charlie Sheen-inspired cupcakes, based on something he said recently. The owner named them “Tiger-blood cupcakes” after Sheen was quoted saying, “When you have tiger blood running through your veins, it boils and it fuels you.”
The blood orange-flavored cupcakes were introduced at the Sweet Avenue Bake Shop on Tuesday and have since then been selling extremely well.
Touche Touchet Bakery
Today I visited Touche Touchet, “Columbia’s Premier Neighborhood Bakery,” on Shaker Drive in Columbia, MD.
Owners Michael Touchet and Terry Keyfauver opened the bakery four years ago with the vision of re-introducing the concept of an old fashioned neighborhood bakery.
Their most popular cupcake is peanut butter, followed by carrot cake, and then German chocolate.
I was surprised red velvet wasn’t the most popular. However, sales associate Maria Llanso said it was her favorite.
Going against the crowd, I tried the chocolate marble. It was pretty tasty. However, the icing was a bit much. I don’t like things overly sweet so I can be picky about this.
I would still have another one, though.
In addition to cupcakes, the bakery also features pies, brownies, cookies, fruit tarts, croissants, and Danishes. Yum!
In the news this week, it’s not just dessert cupcakes that are sweeping the nation, but food cupcakes!
From the Fayetteville Flyer, journalist Laura Hobbs writes about this trend being seen in lasagna cupcakes, curry cupcakes, even meatloaf cupcakes.
Check out the entire variety from Food & Wine.
A lover of all things baked, I say bring it on!
I will definitely be making some of these for my next party.
Charm City Cupakes
“For special days and everyday,” Charm City Cupcakes on North Charles Street in Baltimore is worth the everyday special treat.
Official cupcake of the Baltimore Ravens and with over 65 flavors to choose from, Charm City Cupcakes is a Baltimore favorite.
I tried the Baltimore Black Botttoms, a chocolate fudge brownie inspired recipe that has a cream cheese layer woven in too.
It was absolutely delicious, the best cupcake I’ve had so far.
“They’re so moist,” said Towson student Erika Shych, eating a Vanilla Vanilla with rainbow sprinkles.
To me, it tasted like a homemade cake.
“We’ve been here five years now,” the owner told me.
Their most popular cupcake is a tie between the Red Velvet, the Baltimore Black Bottoms, and the Pimlico, a rich chocolate cupcake topped with chocolate ganache and a Pimlico tassel.
View the menu for a complete list of their unique flavors, including sugar-free and vegan flavors.
I can’t wait to go back soon.
In the news this week, a woman in Britain threw a fit of rage when they ran out of her favorite cupcake at Sugarswirlz Cupcakes in Cardiff, South Wales.
According to Mail Online, “She lashed out at a display of cakes, sending them flying through the air, then flung her arm across a window display, scattering its contents around the shop. Then events turned from farcical to terrifying. She grabbed Mrs. Dodd by her hair, pulling it out by the roots in clumps, and launched a foul-mouthed tirade of abuse.”
She yelled, “You’ve stolen my cakes!” to the woman in front of her who bought the last “sweet tooth fairy cake,” her favorite flavor.
She rejected Owner Mrs. Dodd’s attempts to bake some more.
After lunging and knocking onto the floor all of the cupcakes in the display case and a dozen specialty cakes in the store window, she physically attacked the owner.
“She lashed at my back and neck and kicked the top of my leg, calling me unspeakable names as she did so,” said Dodd.
Eventually, two security guards pulled the woman off Dodd and escorted her out of the store with her two children behind her.
The woman knocked more cakes onto the floor as she left.
Must have been a really good cupcake.
Emily’s Desserts
Today I visited Emily’s Desserts at the Towson Town Center. Known for their vegan and gluten-free vegan cupcakes, Emily’s Desserts just opened a kiosk at the Town Center on October 1, 2010. The bakery is located on Springarden Drive in Baltimore.
Store Owner Emily Mainquist bakes the cupcakes every day and delivers them to the Town Center and to local natural markets.
“After becoming a vegetarian, then a short couple months later vegan, I realized that there were not many dessert options for vegans,” said Mainquist. “I wanted it to be easier for someone who is becoming a vegan or just wants to try cruelty free cookies any time they want.
Her company is run on 100% wind power so it is helpful to the environment.
“I’m vegan. That’s why I love them,” said Emily’s associate Laeticia Butler.
Once again, the Red Velvet cake prevailed as the most popular, but Laeticia’s favorite is the Cinnamon Swirl topped with cream cheese icing. I tried it myself and indeed, it was delicious. I couldn’t believe it was made without dairy or eggs.
In addition to baking cupcakes, Emily Mainquist also makes cake truffles, chocolate dipped pretzel rods, and sells party supplies and cupcake kits for vegans.
In the news this week, Kim Thurman and Kim Aeck of Valencia’s Bake You Happy won the top prize for “Cupcake Wars”on the Food Network TV show with their licorice cherry coke pretzel cupcake.
Bake You Happy offers more than a dozen unique flavors a day, including vegan and gluten-free choices.
Baking vegan and gluten-free cupcakes is a wonderful idea for those who cannot have dairy but who still want to indulge in these tasty treats.
Fresh Bakery Cupcakes
Today I visited the Fresh Bakery at the Towson Town Center. Known for their “deliciously square” shaped cupcakes, the Fresh Bakery just opened at the Town Center in May 2010, but has three other locations at the Owings Mills Mall, Arundel Mills Mall, and Columbia Mall.
Cupcake associate Christian McNeal told me the Appalachian Cookies and Cream was her favorite. Yum.
However, the most popular and best-selling cupcake is the Baton Rouge Red Velvet. In fact, they were all sold out when I went in. Almond Amaretto Raspberry takes a close second for popularity, and Apple Pie comes in third.
Going against the majority, I tried the Palm Beach Coconut. And let me tell you, I made the right choice! It even made the default image in the Facebook group. It was a taste of tropical paradise, to say the least. Fresh, crisp, and not overly sweet, I wish I hadn’t shared it with a friend.
In Iowa this week, a group of students performed a cupcake experiment in which they covered the tables in the commons area with 1,500 cupcakes and observed what students would do. Needless to say, many were confused. While some took a cupcake, many did not.
You bet I would have.
Baltimore Cupcakes 