Classy Girl Cupcakes

   Greetings to all my Sweet Tooths out there! This week I come to you from Milwaukee, WI, home to the Milwaukee Brewers, Bucks, and some pretty good cupcakes!
   This week's adventure had me looking for the miniature cake delicacies otherwise known as cupcakes. After asking one of the locals where I could go I was directed to the Milwaukee Cupcake Company- BIG FAIL! But enough about them. I did a little research and came across Class Girl Cupcakes. What a find indeed. Owner Erica Elia serves up quite a bevy of delicious, moist cupcakes and a few twists to boot. When asked why her cupcakes are the ones to get in Milwaukee she explained that she makes them from scratch everyday with only natural ingredients and no trans fat.
   I judge cupcakes on three major factors; moistness of the cake, quality of ingredients, and, of course, the frosting. Additionally I start with the three main flavors: vanilla, chocolate and red velvet. Erica does one(or three?) better by offering a Vanilla Bean cupcake, a Ghirardelli Chocolate cupcake(shout of for my chocoholics) and a traditional red velvet with cream cheese icing(and the presence of cocoa in the cake, which is what a red velvet should have). So, with the help of my colleagues in the production of Porgy and Bess I'm currently doing, we indulged ourselves. All three hit the mark and were quite enjoyable, even if the frosting was just a bit on the sweet side. Other hits were the Vanilla salted caramel, which offers a nice balance of salty/sweetness, Black and White; a chocolate cake with white cream cheese icing and vanilla pearls on top (yum!), Peanut butter delight which was indeed delightful,and one of my favorite combinations, Cherry Vanilla, which was reminiscent of a more famous cupcake chain's version.
   Classy Girl stands out even more due to their cheesecake cupcakes. If you're a a fan of cheesecake you'll love these miniature morsels of goodness. These cheesecake based cakes with frosting are served cold and come in flavors like White Chocolate Raspberry, one their most popular, Cherry Amaretto (my favorite), Dulce de Leche- sweet and creamy, yet light. And for the chocoholics of the world(myself included) the Chocolate Overload (man was it good) was clearly one of the best. These, like their cupcake versions, tended to be a bit on the sweet side, but the flavors are balanced for the most part and are perfectly sized( they come in miniature paper cups with plastic spoons). Additional offerings are cake pops: a cake-frosting push-up pop that's sure to be a hit with the kids, miniature cupcakes and a select few large cakes. Classy Girl Cupcakes is available for weddings and catering as well. For more information go to www.classygirlcupcakes.com. That's all for now folks. In the meantime here's some sugar for you!

Bill

Glazed and Infused

   Greetings all you sugar addicts, bakery lovers, chocoholics and anyone with a sweet tooth! This blog is dedicated to you. After many months, ok years, of venturing to bakery shops around the country, and some prompting from friends I've decided to share those experiences with you in hopes of educating, entertaining and outright tempting you to try these tasty delights! Why do I do this you ask? (I know you were going to). I'm not a pastry chef or even a critic. I do love to bake, though. I'm just a simple opera singer(yep that I am) with a love of all things sugary sweet, baked, and covered in chocolate. Now, there are many places one can get great desserts, cookies, and sweets, but my blog is dedicated specifically to bakeries, and specialty shops that make it their business to delight us. That said, let's get started.
   As this is my very first blog I'm dedicating this to my favorite doughnut(donut) shop in Chicago, IL, Glazed and Infused. Executive Chef Tom Culleeney turns out new and exciting flavors on a daily basis at this West Loop establishment. Along with owners Scott Harris and Megan Brown this trio has ignited a rebirth of the donut, both as a morning starter and a dessert treat. With four locations (so far) in the city Chicagoans have plenty of opportunities to experience some of these donuts.
   It basically comes down to two types of donuts: yeast-raised and cake. While it's pretty difficult to reinvent the wheel with a yeast donut, Glazed does it's best with it's toppings and flavors. Even the basic glazed donut has a vanilla bean icing. The maple bacon long john is definitely one of their hits, though. A maple glaze is complimented with an entire piece of peppered bacon  to give you that sweet-smokey-salty combination-YUM. They also feature bismarks( those are the creme filled donuts) with a new flavor each day ranging from lemon to chocolate, raspberry and creme brulee. Where they excel, though, are the cake donuts. A moist red velvet with a cream cheese icing will make you fall in love. The blueberry lemon is a delightful surprise that could just be your favorite of all. Definitely go for the Old Fashioned: a buttermilk spice cake with vanilla bean icing. And if you like fritters, the apple fritter will surely be a highlight of your visit. Chocoholics rejoice. The have a chocolate3, a chocolate cake donut with chocolate ganache and chocolate sprinkles. I must say it was a bit underwhelming, though, and just OK. But they made up for it with their newest creation, a chocolate old fashioned: chocolate buttermilk cake donut with a chocolate ganache that hits the spot! This is part of their summer menu so get it while it's there. That's the other great thing about this shop. They offer seasonal donut flavors which keeps the menu current and refreshing. They also partner with local establishments to create new donuts, like Terry's Toffee, a yeast raised donut with the local toffee maker's crumbled toffee on top and a chocolate glaze. And for you coffee drinkers there's Intelligentsia coffee along with a barista to wet your whistle.
   Glazed and Infused is located at 813 Fulton Market off of Halsted St with locations downtown, in Wicker Park and it's newest location, Lincoln Park, easily found off the Armitage Brown line stop. For more information got to www.goglazed.com.

I'm always on the lookout for new places to check out so if you have any suggestions feel free to send me an email with a location and what you think I should try. Look for weekly reviews of bakeries from me as well my top ten lists. Till then, here's some sugar for you.