Posts Tagged frosting

The Real DC Controversy: Buttercream Frosting

August 12, 2008 at 1:00 pm · Filed under baking, DC ·Tagged , , , , , , ,

I didn’t mention this in the buttercream entry, but my own mixed feelings about buttercreams reminded me that, for several years, buttercream has been quite the source of controversy in the nation’s capital.

The culprit is DC bakery CakeLove, which was created by the semi-famous lawyer-turned-baker Warren Brown. CakeLove started out as a single bakery and now has several bakery/cafes in the DC area. Its success launched Brown’s culinary career on a tide of cake layers, filling, and buttercream, eventually landing him a spot on HGTV’s lineup of celebrity chefs.

CakeLove founded its reputation on making cakes the old fashioned way—with butter, sugar, eggs, flour, and no preservatives or artificial flavors. Brown is a devotee of buttercream frosting, and the bakery has developed an array of flavors, from chocolate to toffee.

From conversations I’ve had with local DCites and from my online media perusals, I’ve found that CakeLove is a subject fraught with controversy that rivals that of the Barack-Hillary primary campaign. Some people love CakeLove with a passion, but others think their cakes are dry, the buttercream is oily and tasteless, and that the whole thing is a media sensation founded on slick marketing.

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The Problem with Buttercream

August 2, 2008 at 1:39 am · Filed under baking ·Tagged , ,

Buttercream. Just the name alone sounds delectable, summing up images of sweet, creamy melt-in-your mouth, rich wonderfulness.

But in reality buttercream frosting can often end up tasting like, well, a stick of butter.

Growing up, I remember when we’d get birthday cakes frosted with buttercream. It was always a case of disappointed expectations—the beautiful roses, smooth exterior, and fabulous decorations were thrilling, but the frosting itself was underwhelming. It looked so beautiful on the cake, but when you bit into it it had a waxy, oiling feeling in my mouth, and instead of melting on my tongue would crumble into hard little oily globs.

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The Secret Life of Bee(hive Cake)s

July 26, 2008 at 8:21 pm · Filed under baking ·Tagged , , , , ,

My birthday is coming up next week. For most people birthdays bring up lots of questions: what do you want to receive? Should you do a night out on the town, or a dinner at home? Did you really think this is what your life would be like by this age? My god, I’m how many years old now?

But for me, the great question is: how do I top The Beehive Cake?

Beehive Cakes

Yes, The Beehive Cake: my last great cake creation, as captured by the cellphone camera of CupcakeMonsterLee.

This cake, which I made a month ago for my boyfriend Dave’s birthday (shout out: he blogs about investing and business-y type things at wonktheplank), was my grandest creation yet. It was conceived in a fit of madness and daring, and was inspired by a Martha Stewart cover that Dave and I glimpsed in the grocery store, and that probably drove up sales of Williams Sonoma’s beehive-shaped cake pan by, oh, three hundred percent or so (really, who’s going to actually go out and purchase a specialty cake pan that she will use once every five years, if not to emulate The Martha?).

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