Birthday Carrot Cake Taste Off Results!!!
(From the "Where to Find the BEST Carrot cake" post.)
Ok, Hipfunkyfun, as you requested, I'm reporting back!
After looking up the shops suggested for my ‘best carrot cake search’ which turned into my husbands "Birthday Cake Taste Off", I decided on the ones that were located on Bank. I ended up stopping at 6 places, but only purchased cakes from four. These were the shops:
First stop was while I was at the Ottawa Organic Farmers Market. I got one of Michelle’s little carrot cakes. Gluten free, organic, and loaded with maple syrup.
Next stop was Trillium Bakery, because I saw it on my way to Life of Pie. Looked like a nice, quaint place, and really spoke to my love of healthy baked goods. Didn’t purchase anything though, because there was nothing even remotely carrot cake like.
Third was Life of Pie. I purchased the ONLY cake type thing they had on display, because I thought my kids would like it and it would distract them whilst their father was trying all his cupcakes! It was a Candy Cane Cupcake.
Then on to Second Avenue Sweets. Now this place is a sugar lovers dream! The display case was loaded with giant, heavily frosted cupcakes of all kinds, and I tried not to pay attention to all the cheese cakes and chocolaty things, I was shopping for my husband after all. I purchased two carrot cake cupcakes (two in case they were really good), as well as a vanilla and a toffee cupcake. I got the last two because I know those were flavours he would appreciate if the carrot cake wasn’t good, and I figured the kids would dig the them too.
I saw Bridgehead before I got to Second Ave Sweets, and stopped in. I wasn’t brave enough to brave the line. I wanted to get home while it was light, because doing chores in the dark sucks.
Lastly, The Flour Shoppe. Very fancy-schmancy for cupcake shop, but I liked the simple display. They didn’t have carrot cake that day, so I went with a ginger cupcake, which I thought would be carrot-cake-like in it’s flavour. I also got a peanut butter and a vanilla because, well,,, because.
So how did they taste?
Hubby started with the Carrot Cupcake from Second Ave Sweets. There is a reason their name has ‘sweets’ in it! The sugar was pretty intense. The cake it self was moist and tasty, the frosting was missing that cream cheese flavour, and the texture of the frosting was different than what I would have expected.
Then on to the Ginger cupcake from The Flour Shop. Again, nice flavour, and very pretty look to this cake. It was a tad dry, but if you sliced it in half and spread out the icing so each bite had some, it was good.
My kids tried the vanilla from Second Ave Sweets, and to my shock and surprise, they had a few bites and said they didn’t like it. I tried it and then understood. The icing tasted like what I think shortening with sugar would taste like. Ick. Same for the Toffee cupcake. Every cupcake from Second Ave Sweets got full marks for looks and size, but I guess my family is more crunchy-granola than I realized. Taste was way too sweet and artificial for our liking. I have a feeling that their cheese cake would be more palatable to us. Or maybe some of their chocolate goodies. I am willing to try them again, the display was just so impressive!
By the time we tried the vanilla and peanut butter chocolate cupcakes from The Flour Shoppe, I think my pancreas was starting to cry. However, the peanut butteriness helped balance the sweet. One of my kids really liked the vanilla. The Flour Shoppe gets top marks for display as well, these were such little works of art. The flavours tasted more ‘real’ to us, and they didn’t seem as intensely sweet, or maybe by then we had become desensitized from all the refined sugar!
The one I had the least hope in overall when compared to the others, my kids LOVED! The Candy Cane Cupcake from Life of Pie. Should have got a bunch of those, my husband didn’t even get a taste of that one as the kids scarfed down their piece so fast.
It should also be said that all staff I dealt with were friendly and helpful, and I would return to all the shops I went to..
Lessoned learned from this birthday cake taste off?
1) Shopping without my kids is fabulous.
2) I must have a parking angel looking out for me, because I found a spot right in front of each shop for my farm truck.
3) Birthday cake taste offs are fun and may happen more often in our home.
4) The best carrot cake is the one you make yourself. I’ll try that recipe that was suggested by LWB!
Oh, and what happened to the uber-healthy, gluten free, maple syrup carrot cake from the Ottawa Organic Farmers Market? I made the mistake of putting it within my reach on the way home. All the other cupcakes were safely stowed in boxes in the back of the farm truck. But Michelle’s little carrot cake was right were I could reach it, and the smell of the spice and the syrup was taunting me after a long day of work and after being in all those shops! It didn’t make it past Hunt Club. Tasty and filling. Don’t tell my husband. ;-)
Photo:
Starting at the pink cake and going counter clock wise:
Candycane Cupcake – Life of Pie
Vanilla cupcake – The Flour Shoppe
Toffee cupcake – Second Ave Sweets
Carrot cupcake - Second Ave Sweets
Vanilla cupcake – Second Ave Sweets
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake – The Flour Shoppe
Ginger Cupcake – The Flour Shoppe
organicgirl
(From the "Where to Find the BEST Carrot cake" post.)
Ok, Hipfunkyfun, as you requested, I'm reporting back!
After looking up the shops suggested for my ‘best carrot cake search’ which turned into my husbands "Birthday Cake Taste Off", I decided on the ones that were located on Bank. I ended up stopping at 6 places, but only purchased cakes from four. These were the shops:
First stop was while I was at the Ottawa Organic Farmers Market. I got one of Michelle’s little carrot cakes. Gluten free, organic, and loaded with maple syrup.
Next stop was Trillium Bakery, because I saw it on my way to Life of Pie. Looked like a nice, quaint place, and really spoke to my love of healthy baked goods. Didn’t purchase anything though, because there was nothing even remotely carrot cake like.
Third was Life of Pie. I purchased the ONLY cake type thing they had on display, because I thought my kids would like it and it would distract them whilst their father was trying all his cupcakes! It was a Candy Cane Cupcake.
Then on to Second Avenue Sweets. Now this place is a sugar lovers dream! The display case was loaded with giant, heavily frosted cupcakes of all kinds, and I tried not to pay attention to all the cheese cakes and chocolaty things, I was shopping for my husband after all. I purchased two carrot cake cupcakes (two in case they were really good), as well as a vanilla and a toffee cupcake. I got the last two because I know those were flavours he would appreciate if the carrot cake wasn’t good, and I figured the kids would dig the them too.
I saw Bridgehead before I got to Second Ave Sweets, and stopped in. I wasn’t brave enough to brave the line. I wanted to get home while it was light, because doing chores in the dark sucks.
Lastly, The Flour Shoppe. Very fancy-schmancy for cupcake shop, but I liked the simple display. They didn’t have carrot cake that day, so I went with a ginger cupcake, which I thought would be carrot-cake-like in it’s flavour. I also got a peanut butter and a vanilla because, well,,, because.
So how did they taste?
Hubby started with the Carrot Cupcake from Second Ave Sweets. There is a reason their name has ‘sweets’ in it! The sugar was pretty intense. The cake it self was moist and tasty, the frosting was missing that cream cheese flavour, and the texture of the frosting was different than what I would have expected.
Then on to the Ginger cupcake from The Flour Shop. Again, nice flavour, and very pretty look to this cake. It was a tad dry, but if you sliced it in half and spread out the icing so each bite had some, it was good.
My kids tried the vanilla from Second Ave Sweets, and to my shock and surprise, they had a few bites and said they didn’t like it. I tried it and then understood. The icing tasted like what I think shortening with sugar would taste like. Ick. Same for the Toffee cupcake. Every cupcake from Second Ave Sweets got full marks for looks and size, but I guess my family is more crunchy-granola than I realized. Taste was way too sweet and artificial for our liking. I have a feeling that their cheese cake would be more palatable to us. Or maybe some of their chocolate goodies. I am willing to try them again, the display was just so impressive!
By the time we tried the vanilla and peanut butter chocolate cupcakes from The Flour Shoppe, I think my pancreas was starting to cry. However, the peanut butteriness helped balance the sweet. One of my kids really liked the vanilla. The Flour Shoppe gets top marks for display as well, these were such little works of art. The flavours tasted more ‘real’ to us, and they didn’t seem as intensely sweet, or maybe by then we had become desensitized from all the refined sugar!
The one I had the least hope in overall when compared to the others, my kids LOVED! The Candy Cane Cupcake from Life of Pie. Should have got a bunch of those, my husband didn’t even get a taste of that one as the kids scarfed down their piece so fast.
It should also be said that all staff I dealt with were friendly and helpful, and I would return to all the shops I went to..
Lessoned learned from this birthday cake taste off?
1) Shopping without my kids is fabulous.
2) I must have a parking angel looking out for me, because I found a spot right in front of each shop for my farm truck.
3) Birthday cake taste offs are fun and may happen more often in our home.
4) The best carrot cake is the one you make yourself. I’ll try that recipe that was suggested by LWB!
Oh, and what happened to the uber-healthy, gluten free, maple syrup carrot cake from the Ottawa Organic Farmers Market? I made the mistake of putting it within my reach on the way home. All the other cupcakes were safely stowed in boxes in the back of the farm truck. But Michelle’s little carrot cake was right were I could reach it, and the smell of the spice and the syrup was taunting me after a long day of work and after being in all those shops! It didn’t make it past Hunt Club. Tasty and filling. Don’t tell my husband. ;-)
Photo:
Starting at the pink cake and going counter clock wise:
Candycane Cupcake – Life of Pie
Vanilla cupcake – The Flour Shoppe
Toffee cupcake – Second Ave Sweets
Carrot cupcake - Second Ave Sweets
Vanilla cupcake – Second Ave Sweets
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cupcake – The Flour Shoppe
Ginger Cupcake – The Flour Shoppe