Filed under: Cook, Eat | Tags: baked, cupcakes, football, party, Project Cupcake, strawberries, Superbowl
In the spirit of the upcoming college football season, I thought I’d share my friend Sera’s football cupcakes from her last Superbowl party. Chocolate-dipped strawberries with icing laces! How festive and football-y is that?
You should see the hamburger cake she made for her bf’s birthday. Uh. Maze. Ing.
If you want her to whip up some custom cupcakes/cakes for your next fete (bdays, bridal showers, baby showers, weddings), leave a comment or tweet me and I’ll send her a note for you. She is one half of the sometimes-on Project Cupcake.
Filed under: Cook, Eat, Love | Tags: 7th St, Butter Lane, cupcakes, East Village, French buttercream, vanilla
Martha Stewart Show
I was walking down 7th St. in the East Village yesterday and I heard a gentle whisper in the breeze: “Eat me… eat me… I am a delicious cupcake… eat me…” When I looked up, I saw Butter Lane looming overhead, like a beneficent, sugary angel sent from heaven to ease my shopping-induced hunger.
I think vanilla gets a bad rap. I hate it when people say, “That’s so… vanilla,” like vanilla is a bad thing. I’ve got news for you vanilla-haters: vanilla can be awesome, and I’ve got Butter Lane to prove it.
I’ve tried almost every cupcake combo at Butter Lane, and still I can’t resist the seemingly simple combination of the vanilla cupcake with the French Vanilla frosting. (The French Vanilla is different from the regular Vanilla because it’s made with egg whites instead of whole eggs.) The cake is so soft and moist and subtle, and the frosting is rich and light and so vanilla-y. I dare you to try it and tell me vanilla is boring.
After I devoured my first cupcake, I bought another one of the same. French vanilla on vanilla. I’m so gangsta.
I asked if Butter Lane was teaching people how to make the French Vanilla frosting during their cupcake classes, but
it turns out they are just teaching cupcake lovers how to make the American buttercream frostings. However, they did tell me to check their website under “Press” because the owner was on the Martha Stewart show demonstrating how to make the chocolate cupcake with French Vanilla frosting. So I went and got the recipe for you from the Martha Stewart website.
Butter Lane French Vanilla Frosting
Ingredients
Makes about 1 quart
- 7 extra-large egg whites
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 2 teaspoons cream of tartar
- 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cut into small pieces and chilled
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 vanilla beans, halved lengthwise
Cupcakes & cocktails & summery silk dresses @YumiKim soiree tonight 6-9pm – 25% off everything in the store.
Shop: Yumi Kim (LES) 105 Stanton at Ludlow.
Mini-everything is always cuter than regular-sized anything. Take stuffed cupcakes by Baked By Melissa, for example. Each bite-size cupcake has a diameter of a silver dollar, and stands only an inch high. There are ten playful flavors: mint chocolate chip, tie-dye (rainbow), cookies and cream, cookie dough, red velvet, peanut butter cup, cinnamon, peanut butter & jelly, and s’mores. My personal favorite is the PB&J, which as a cupcake, improves upon the PB&J sandwich; as a mini cupcake, is massively cuter than a regular cupcake; and as a PB&J, transports me to fond memories of my childhood.
Of course, there are drawbacks to minis. They are tiny. If you take dainty little bites, you might be able to get two bites per cupcake. Still, they are the cutest cupcakes that you ever did see. Plus, you can sample several flavors without feeling super guilty afterwards about having eaten several full-size cupcakes.
The original Baked by Melissa shop is a tiny little hole in the wall (literally) on the north side of Spring St. near Broadway in SoHo. Don’t walk by too quickly as it’s really easy to miss. According to their website, they’ve also just opened up a Union Square location at 7 Union Square. For 100 mini cupcakes, it’ll set you back $70. Smaller orders have a slightly higher cost per cupcake. It is definitely worth stopping by, if only to say, “Awwww!” about a cupcake.
Filed under: Cook, Do, Eat | Tags: baked, Butter Lane, cooking classes, cupcakes, East Village
This, friends, is the vanilla French buttercream icing from Butter Lane, aka the best cupcake icing in the world (although I’m also a huge fan of the “Moose” at Sugar Sweet Sunshine – maybe they’re actually tied for best cupcake icing in the world).
Apparently, Butter Lane gives cupcake baking and decorating classes on Monday evenings in their cute little East 7th St. shop from 8-10 pm. They provide all the ingredients and equipment, you just bring your pretty little self. I would love to be able to recreate this oozy, sugary goodness at home. How great a date would this be?! $50 per person, unless you organize a big group of your own, in which case you should call ahead about the price. This would be so much fun on a bachelorette weekend! I wonder if they do any boozy cupcakes…
Classes are available on the following dates, current as of this week:
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Monday, April 5 (8-10pm) *Sold Out*
- Monday, April 19 (8-10pm) -Just Added-
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Monday, May 3 (8-10pm) *Sold Out*
- Monday, May 17 (8-10pm) -Just Added-
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Monday, June 7 (8-10pm)
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Monday, July 5 (8-10pm)
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Monday, August 2 (8-10pm)
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Monday, September 6 (8-10pm)
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Monday, October 4 (8-10pm)
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Monday, November 1 (8-10pm)
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Monday, December 6 (8-10pm)
Fill out the form at the bottom of this page to sign up for open spots the classes listed above or e-mail hello@butterlane.com to inquire about group rates and special dates.
Happy cupcaking!
Filed under: Drink, Eat | Tags: 7th St, arepas, Burp Castle, Butter Lane, Caracas Arepa Bar, cupcakes, EVill, French buttercream, Jimmy's No. 43, lobster roll, Luke's Lobster, Porchetta, sandwich, Scoop St., smoothies
I finally got the chance to try some of places on 7th St. that have been on my to-eat list for quite some time: Caracas Arepa Bar, Luke’s Lobster, and Porchetta. I was already familiar with Butter Lane’s delicious little cupcakes and Xoom smoothies were new to me. For just $18 each, I bought tickets to the Taste of 7th St. food festival and it was worth every single penny.
We started off on a slushy Saturday afternoon at Porchetta, where they seemed to have the mass service thing down to a science. The line moved quickly and we got our snack size porchetta sandwiches almost immediately. We ate them outside while we waited in line for Luke’s Lobster, and Michele, an Italian native, told us that porchetta (pronounced porKETta), a savory, slow cooked, moist and fatty pork roast, is typical street fare in Italy. According to Wikipedia, the body of the pig is gutted, deboned, arranged carefully with layers of stuffing, meat, fat, and skin, then rolled, spitted, and roasted, traditionally over wood. Porchetta is usually heavily seasoned with garlic, rosemary, oregano, fennel, and or other herbs. The porchetta sandwich at Porchetta NYC was pretty oregano heavy and stuffed between crusty Italian bread. I’d take this street food over hot dogs and halal carts any day.
We finished our porchetta sandwiches and made it to the counter of Luke’s Lobster, where we were handed snack size lobster roll of cool, lightly seasoned knuckle and claw lobster meat (no fillers!) stuffed inside a warm, buttered slice of toasted bread. Phenomenal. The lobster was perfectly succulent, and while two of our crew prefer warm lobster, we all thoroughly enjoyed the rolls. It was definitely the highlight of the food crawl! Easily the best lobster roll I’ve ever had: succulent, lobster-y, and unadulterated, just the way I like it.
Whenever I have guests in town, I take them to my favorite neighborhood cupcake shop, Sugar Sweet Sunshine Bakery on Rivington between Essex and Rivington. I love the tattered, well-loved couches and the faded green and orange floral wallpaper; this is what I imagine my grandmother’s living room might look like if my grandmother were were actually American, lived in New York City, and knew how to bake. Oh, and not diabetic.
Whenever I have guests in town, I take them to my favorite neighborhood cupcake shop, Most of all, I love their cupcakes with the “Moose” frosting, a buttery, mildly sweet frosting with a consistency just a hair creamier than that of Cool Whip that’s just been taken out of the freezer and whipped with a spoon (minus the coolness). Cupcakes are still very much in vogue despite some cupcake backlash we’ve seen over the last year or so, but unlike Carrie Bradshaw’s beloved Magnolia cupcakes (and those found at many other Manhattan shops), these sweet treats are a mere $1.50 a pop!
Photo Sharing – Video Sharing – Photo Printing
Say hello to my leetle friend: Pistachio (pistachio cake with the Moose), sprinkled with a healthy helping of crushed pistachio nuts. I’m also a huge fan of the Sexy Red Velvet (red velvet cake with the Moose), and when I’m feeling crazy, the Black & White (chocolate cake with vanilla frosting). The vanilla and cream cheese frostings are sweeter than the Moose, so they’re a good choice for those with a sweeter tooth. I would advise you to stay away from the chocolate almond buttercream frosting. It sounds more awesome than it actually is. The almond extract has a strange, artificial taste to it. Better spend your calories on something tastier.
If you’re not in the mood for a cupcake, there’s always the famous SSS Banana Pudding: vanilla pudding, banana slices, and vanilla wafers. Get a cupcake (or three) for yourself and a banana pudding (12 oz. for $4) to share–you don’t want to miss it!
