Sweets Crawl: Week 1

I have a confession to make, sometimes I have an insane sweet tooth that I cannot get rid of. It's an issue both Meg and I deal with on a daily basis. So after spending only two days at our internships in New York City, it became apparent that we needed to utilize these three months going to every bakery and sweet shop east of the Hudson River.

After days of researching, our list has become extensive. We even plan on spending a day walking through Brooklyn, because unbeknownst to us, Brooklyn is where all the amazing foodie shops are. I thought the best way to showcase the desserts we try is to let everyone in on our Sweets Crawl and hopefully it inspires you to take a trip to the city!

Week 1 brought us to the doorstep of two delicious bakeries specializing in two of the dessert-world's newest fads: macarons and cupcakes.

The first stop for me was the Macaron Cafe conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan at 161 West 36th Street, only a few blocks away from my internship! This was the first time I had ever experienced a macaron and let me tell you, I am a be-lieber. If you've never had one either, it's hard to explain the flavor. The cookies are very soft and have a sweet cream filling or fresh fruit puree. Personally, I preferred the cream filling, of course, but the puree was just as tasty.

The Macaron Cafe sells gift boxes of 6, 12, and 24 macarons that you can choose yourself. They have over 30 flavors that you can choose from, making it impossible for you not to find a macaron you love. I do have to warn anyone who has never had one before. They are made with almond flour, so if you're allergic to tree nuts, please do not eat these!

Although these gift boxes are not cheap (a box of six will set you back $14), they were absolutely worth it! I tried dark chocolate, espresso, nutella, raspberry, vanilla, and caramel. Each and every one was absolutely delicious. I am thoroughly excited to try more macaron shops.

The second stop on the Sweets Crawl was Crumbs Bakery at 655 6th Avenue in the Flatiron District. This one was a bit more of a trek from my work in Midtown, but it was a wonderful treat! Let me just tell you that these cupcakes are GINORMOUS: the largest cupcakes I have ever seen. You can even order cupcakes that serve 6-8 people. They can't even be considered cupcakes at that point. But if you'd rather a 6 oz cupcake that is twice the size of any normal cupcake, you need to take a trip to Crumbs.

They also have an extensive selection of decadent cupcake flavors. Meg and I decided to split four cupcakes between us to try as many as we could. These are also much cheaper. They were about half the price of what I paid for the macarons. I tried the cookie dough and peanut butter cup, while meg had the black out and red velvet.

These were probably the four best decisions we have ever made in our entire lives. To choose a favorite wouldn't be fair because they were all tasty in their own way.

So take this journey with us as we eat our way through the fantastic bakeries that line New York City. Hopefully, it will spark your own Sweets Crawl!

Carrot Cake

There is nothing like a slice of Carrot Cake to announce the beginning of spring. Even though the weather here has been anything except "spring-like", it still made a perfect breakfast, I mean dessert. My mom always makes a Carrot Cake for Easter Sunday. It's one of her specialties and everyone in my family expects it. This is the reason that I was not allowed to use her recipe for today's blog post. So this Carrot Cake comes from the wonderful blogger Smitten Kitchen.

I made a few adjustments to her recipe, but the basic Carrot Cake was left intact. There is something about the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger that just smells and tastes absolutely intoxicating. The batter is so tasty that I could eat it straight out of the bowl. Actually, I could do that with all cake batters, but this one especially makes my mouth water.

For the carrot cake, you're going to need: sugar, flour, oil, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, ground ginger, eggs, and carrots.

To start, wash and peel the carrots. Then shred them in a large bowl.

In another bowl combine the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger in and whisk together.

In a mixer, beat the sugar and oil together until smooth.

Then, slowly add in each egg one at a time, mixing each egg until the mixture is combined.

Add the dry ingredients into the egg, oil, and sugar mixture in small batches. Make sure not to over-mix.

Once the batter comes together, remove from the mixer and add in the shredded carrots. Mix them in, until they are evenly dispersed through the batter.

Now here is where you can get a little creative with the recipe. Smitten Kitchen made her batter into cupcakes, which sounded really tasty, but I am all for simple, easy, and quick. So instead, I made mine into a 9x11 pan, but a third option is using two 9 inch rounds and making it into a layered cake. 

Spray the pan of your choosing, or line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers and pour the batter evenly into the pans. For cupcakes, fill each wrapper 3/4 full. 

Bake them in a 350 degree oven. Cupcakes should cook for roughly 14 to 18 minutes and the 9x11 or 9 inch rounds should cook for 30 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and test for doneness. A knife or toothpick, when inserted in the middle should come out clean. 

While the cake is baking, make the cream cheese frosting. Mix together cream cheese and butter until smooth.

Then add in powdered sugar and milk and combine. I ended up having to add more powdered sugar than the recipe recommends, so taste as you go and add more of anything if necessary.

Make sure that the cake is completely cooled before you ice it, if not the cream cheese icing will melt. Spread evenly over the cake or cupcakes, serve, and enjoy! Recipe below!

Carrot Cake

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen

Makes 24 cupcakes, one 9x11 pan, or two 9 inch rounds

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 teaspoon ground ginger

2 cups sugar

1 1/4 cups vegetable oil

4 large eggs

3 cups grated peeled carrots

For the icing:

2 packages cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

Instructions:

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger. Whisk together until combined. In a mixer, mix together the sugar and oil. Beat eggs into the sugar and oil mixture one at a time until mixed through. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Using a spatula, mix in the grated carrots. Spray the baking dish with cooking spray or line a muffin tin with cupcake wrappers. Pour the batter into the pan or the cupcake wrappers. If making cupcakes, fill the wrappers 3/4 full. Bake cupcakes for 14-18 minutes or 30-40 minutes for the 9x11 pan or 9 inch rounds. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick or knife until they come out clean.

For the icing:

If you are making a 9x11 cake, I cut the icing recipe in half, but for cupcakes I would use the full recipe. Start by combining the butter and cream cheese in a mixer until smooth. Then add the powdered sugar and milk and mix together. Keep it in the fridge until the cake is cooled. Ice the cake, serve and enjoy!

Blueberry Lemon Tea Cake

I love when I'm searching through the vast inter-web and I stumble upon a delicious looking recipe. My first instinct is to immediately run and check my fridge to see if I have all the ingredients I need. Being that all my my roommates and I enjoy cooking, we usually do. This recipe was no different. I had been looking for a weekend breakfast cake to try and this Blueberry Lemon Tea Cake immediately caught my eye.

It is simple, delicious, and just looks absolutely stunning. The blueberries melt into the cake and create this vibrant blueish purple. It's not a dense cake either, it's light and fluffy and just all around perfection. If you're looking for a breakfast option that is the child of a muffin and a slice of cake, you need to try this recipe from Bake List.