The first Macaron I ever had! Not only that we tried cupcake too, all this while sitting on a bench in the very nice Brooklyn Bridge Park.

The (mini) Macaron was very good, but I can’t see myself having full sized one, it was very sweet, but not in an unpleasant way. Even though it was my first time tasting the French delicacy, I feel it was legitimately good.

Now for the cupcake, sadly the  white chocolate curl atop the Ganache broke on the walk over, you can see an intact one here. OK, I hate to do this… However, the cake was not good, the taste was OK, the texture was solid way too dense, dry and too big. Alas, the Ganache, was heaven and a little redeeming.

Almondine is known for French Pastries and they have rave reviews on Yelp, honestly, I feel that this cupcake miss is a case of going to to a Steak House and ordering the Risotto. Definitely check them out, their location is killer (like Anna said in the comments between the park and Jacques Torres!) feel free let me know how it went.

(Oh and they’re cash only which kinda bums me out too, what if you have a pastry emergency?)

]]> http://www.cherryspoon.com/2009/06/12/almondine/feed/ 2 http://www.cherryspoon.com/2009/05/22/kerekes-baking-supplies-deep-in-brooklyn/ http://www.cherryspoon.com/2009/05/22/kerekes-baking-supplies-deep-in-brooklyn/#comments Fri, 22 May 2009 19:04:44 +0000 Ms. Cherryspoon http://www.cherryspoon.com/?p=968

This pic from the Kerekes website.

Deep in Brooklyn is Kerekes Bakery & Restaurant Equipment, now mind you, getting there can be a journey, but it’s a well worth one. Kerekes has EVERYTHING (everything!) and the prices are cheaper than in Manhattan. One could easily be overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of products available, but do not fret, dear reader, the staff is very helpful.

I walked in for fondant and left with a 2 oz ice cream scoop (a cupcake!), my food sharpies, fondant flower presses, pastry tips, candy dipper, powedered food coloring AND fondant! So you’ve been warned, lol.

Oh and if you plan to visit, and you should, keep in mind they close early on Friday, are close on Saturday and open late on Sunday.

Our instructor was Katie Robinson (she’s awesome!) and after going over a few basic recipes, she taught us how to make Swiss Meringue Buttercream (so yummy!) and many other cool tips on decorating and filling cupcakes.

Oh, btw, Passion Fruit curd = Heaven!

First my favorite, Raspberry and Passion Fruit curd!

More greatest hits!

And now Dessertolicious cupcakes:

Aaaaaaaah Baked… I have mentioned a few times I’ve had an e-crush on Baked. So, being that Baked is very close to Ikea, where I had to go this past weekend anyways, this week’s “Go Here” was obvious (not to mention exciting!). Sounds like a plan doesn’t it? Except I was still sore (very sore and did I mention cranky?) from unloading boxes off of trucks and carrying stuff up and down stairs ergo (ergo!)  perusing Pax wardrobes and Malm headboards had quickly turned into a tragic affair.

In comes my knight in shiny armor (otherwise known as my husband), and suggests , I should sit still by the water that he would get some cupcakes for us to enjoy. He might have just wanted to get the hell away from me, but it still was a very nice gesture.

I think he was also hungry because he came back with four cupcakes and a lemon marshmallow! Some of Baked’s cupcakes are versions of their signature cakes. Above from left to right we have is a hostess like cupcake, Aunt Sassy’s Pistachio Surprise, a chocolate with chocolate frosting cupcake and Sweet and Salty.

The “hostess” cupcake’s cake was very good, moist with a rich chocolate flavor, the Ganache was yummy but the white filling didn’t taste like much, but honestly it didn’t ruin it. The Pistachio’s cake was tasty with Pistachio’s in the dough, the white frosting on top was unfortunately overly sweet (for my taste). The chocolate/chocolate one was an all around hit with us, the frosting was delicious and so was the cake! Which brings us to the Sweet and Salty cupcake, the Fleur de Sel on the Caramel Chocolate Ganache was delicious and I will have to go back for this one, since my bite didn’t reach the caramel filling!

Oh the Marshmallow was heavenly! I will most definitely go back to Baked, or rather actually make it there, so I can share with all of you what it smells and feels like inside.

Their book “Baked: New Frontiers in Baking” has a lot of good reviews and my good friend Dessert-o-licious just baked their Peanut Butter Crispy Bars. They look so good!

PS: I’m back party people!

This pic from PJ C on Yelp.

This last Sunday after a whole day of chores, I was lucky to find myself sitting in a very nice outdoor area, sipping fresh brewed coffee and munching on some very good desserts. Yea, you read it right more than one dessert, my better half was there to help me with the daunting task of trying out baked goods.

The first things that caught my eye were cute little Petit Fours, called Queens Cakes, which we ordered along with Banana Bread Pudding and a Peanut Butter Chocolate cupcake.

The Petit Four was very good, the cake was moist and not very sweet, something that contrasted nicely with the fondant that encased it, and it’s the raspberry filling was delicious.

The banana bread pudding was good and it came with a great caramel sauce and it looked really good. Don’t you think?

Last but not least the cupcake, it was Chocolate with Peanut Butter frosting. The frosting was spot on, but the cake wasn’t very “chocolatey”, in fact it was nearly neutral, however the cake was fresh and had a great texture, not so bad in my book. My date,  however, wasn’t impressed with the cupcake, he did enjoy everything else we had, though.

This was a great “Go here” excursion and Sweet Melissa is a thoroughly charming place with the added bonus of a nice outdoor space in the back. I will definitely go back many times, in fact I’m having lunch there tomorrow. Check them out if you’re ever in the area, hey check them out even if you’re not.