Since I’ve been back in Calgary, I’ve been watching a lot of Food Network as I’d been on withdrawal for the last 8 months.  One new (to me anyways) host caught my eye.  Two of my favourite things are fashion and food – combine together and I instantly swoon.  When I discovered that one of the Food Network hosts whips up meals while wearing Betsey Johnson AND stilettos, well, be still my heart!   Starting as an online show, Bitchin’ Kitchen is now a late night favourite on the Food Network.

Nadia G, the master chef on Bitchin’ Kitchen makes me want to cook in style, so don’t be surprised if you see my cooking up a storm in heels and a gorgeous dress in the fall!  All I need is the perfect apron to protect my beloved dresses.  While I think I might try and make my own, there are many different styles on Etsy for those who cannot sew (or do not have mother’s that they hope will help them!) My favourites are the cupcake and hedgehog aprons from Annie’s Attic, or the cupcake one by Baked With Love Aprons.

Image from Bitchin’ Kitchen.

Last Thursday after work I ventured over to Dessert Lady (12 Cumberland St.), which is just off of Yonge St. This location really can’t be beat, as it’s in Yorkville, and really close to both the Bay and Yonge-Bloor subway stations. The Dessert Lady specializes in wedding cakes, truffles, cookies and homemade ice cream. Four flavours of cupcakes on their site – Red Velvet, Amaretto, Chocolate and Vanilla. When I went into the store they only had Red Velvet cupcakes, which they have sitting out without icing; upon order they pipe cream cheese icing onto the cake.

Red Velvet Cupcake - Dessert Lady (Leah Wong)

Presentation: 3/5
Icing: 4/5
Cake: 3/5
Selection: 1/5
Location: 5/5
Total: 16/25

Despite the high cost of the Dessert Lady’s cupcake, it was exactly the type of cupcake you could make at home. While I know cupcakes in generally range from $2.50-$3, this cupcake fell on the high end of the price spectrum, though the quality of the cupcake did not justify the price. The Dessert Lady has a prime location, and with the higher overall price range of things in Yorkville, it’s understandable that they would have a higher price tag on their cupcake, but honestly, in the future I would buy a cupcake from Starbucks over this one.

For starters, the cake was really dry. I’m a huge fan of red velvet cake, but I was disappointed with the cake portion. The icing was fine, though I felt they should have topped it up much higher to compensate for the dryness of the cake. The icing was a light, cream cheese icing that wasn’t anything special, but was the best part of the cupcake. I also wasn’t impressed with the presentation of the cupcake, even though they pipe on the icing only after a cupcake is ordered, it didn’t cover the entire top of the cupcake, one of my pet peeves. It also wasn’t very visually pleasing, definitely not the type of cupcake I would as a gift. As I mentioned before, there was only one cupcake to choose from when I was there – I would have preferred to try the Amaretto cupcake as it is at least a unique flavour.

All in all, the only thing the Dessert Lady has going for it is the individual semi reusable container the cupcake came in, and the  location, though with three-four Starbucks in close proximity I’d rather go there for a cupcake than return to the Dessert Lady.

The third stop on my cupcake quest, was Miss Cora’s Kitchen, “home to Toronto’s best cupcake?” according to their website. Below this quizzical disclaimer is an invitation to come and be the judge. I had high hopes for this place as not only do they have rave reviews online, but they are in Kensington market, one of my favourite areas in Toronto.

Flavour: Double Chocolate
Cake:3/5
Icing:3/5
Flavour:Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing
Cake:3/5
Icing:4/5
Presentation:3/5
Flavour Selection:1/5
Location:5/5
Total Points:15/25 and 16/25

Despite my high hopes for Miss Cora’s Kitchen I was disappointed from the moment I arrived at the shop.  I’ve never been a fan of mini cupcakes, as I figure you might as well go for the full thing, but I wasn’t excited enough about the cupcakes here to pick up a full size.  Instead I sampled two mini cupcakes, a chocolate one and a carrot cake with cream cheese icing with them.  There was really limited selection when I went, with three types of mini cupcakes but only one type of full size cupcake.

The chocolate cupcake was dry, despite being towered with a thick chocolate icing.  The large amount of icing felt like a compensation for the small amount of cake, but there was just too much on it – I REALLY like icing and all, but it was a thick glob that I did not enjoy.  The icing was also poorly distributed; I would have preferred it reached the sides and wasn’t piled as high.

I’m a huge fan of cupcakes with cream cheese icing; it’s usually a safe choice as cream cheese icing is pretty difficult to mess up.  In my experience I find cupcake places with poor buttercream icing often make up for it with their cream cheese icing.  The icing on this cupcake was fine, but it wasn’t phenomenal.  I was not a fan of the carrot cake at all.  I’ve been spoiled as my mom makes an amazing carrot cake, but I felt Miss Cora’s Kitchen just needs a better recipe.  The cake had an unpleasant texture – there was also coconut and raisins in the cake, two things I don’t believe belong in carrot cake, but that’s just my opinion.  As it was a small cupcake I found the extra ingredients took away from the cake, as there was too much texture in a small amount of cake.

Both cupcakes are okay in terms of presentation, but they do look quite amateur.  What Miss Cora’s Kitchen makes up for in lack of a good cupcake is in location.  I love Kensington Market – it’s walking distance from my apartment and there’s lots to do.  However, next time I’m in Kensington I’m passing by Miss Cora’s Kitchen for cupcakes, though someone ordered pizza while I was there and it smelled delicious.  All in all I would not recommend the cupcakes there and question who called them Toronto’s Best Cupcake – I don’t believe they’ve ever tasted a really good cupcake.

The 100 Games Cupcake Game is 100 different cupcakes decorated to represent various childhood games. They were part of a New Year’s Eve party, where guests had to guess which games they represented.  My favourite, pictured to the left, is Sonic.  What’s your favourite?

The first stop on my quest for the best cupcake Toronto can serve up was the Sweet Escape Patisserie in the Distillery District.  Though the their sign displays a pretty pink cupcake, the Sweet Escape Patisserie is not just for cupcakes, it is a cafe with a large selection of baked goods and sandwiches.  I ventured down there last Sunday, and enjoyed a cup of coffee with my cupcake.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcake from Sweet Escape Patisserie(Leah Wong)

Flavour: Chocolate Raspberry

Cake: 4/5
Icing: 3/5
Presentation: 5/5
Flavour Variety: 3/5
Location: 4/5
Total Points: 19/25

While I enjoyed the chocolate cake, I found it to be very moist. Though the icing had a slight raspberry taste, it was too heavy and I would have preferred a stronger flavour. Visually, the cupcakes were very appealing.  Sweet Escape Patisserie offers a large variety of cupcakes on their website, but as they offer a variety of baked goods, the selection varies depending on when you are there.  However, if you are frequenting this cafe with a non-cupcake eater, there are many other options of baked goods for them to enjoy, including several gluten-free vegan treats which are hard to come by.  When I visited the store, they had five flavours available: vanilla, chocolate raspberry, red velvet, black forest and lemon.  There are many flavours on their website I would like to sample in the future, creating a need to return.  The cafe is located in the Distillery District, so while it is a bit out of the way to go for a cupcake, it is in a nice area with lots of things to see.  The cafe itself has many sit down tables, which a nice way to take a break and regroup if you’ve been exploring the Distillery District for a while.  If you’re in the area I would highly recommend trying a cupcake from Sweet Escape Patisserie, but it wasn’t good enough to warrant a special trip.

The Princess (Crave Cupcakes)

My favourite place to go in Calgary when I am home, is Crave Cupcakes.  These are not only the most amazing cupcakes, but they also hold sentimental value for me.  Many a special occasion in my life has been enjoyed over a Crave cupcake – no event is too minor for a cupcake.

When I moved away from Calgary, I knew one of the things I’d miss most was Crave.  Sad, but true, one of the things I love most about my hometown is our cupcakes.  Most times I am home, I am greeted with a pack of Crave cupcakes purchased before my arrival by my mom.

I am constantly on the search for a cupcake better than or even comparable to Crave.  So far, despite the many cupcake places I’ve tried, there has yet to be one that comes close to being as good.  Despite living in Toronto for over a year, I have yet to really venture to the cupcake shops.  Most of them are out of my way, but I have decided that a quest for a comparable cupcake to Crave is necessary, especially since I plan to stay here in the summer.  My plan is, using Crave as my standard, to rate cupcake shops based on five categories: Cake, icing, presentation, flavour selection and store location.

While the first four categories are relatively straight forward, the last requires a small explanation.  One of the best things about Crave is that the first two locations were opened in my favourite areas of Calgary, Kensington and 17th Avenue.  As much as I love cupcakes, if the only thing I can do near the cupcake shop is eat cupcakes, I am unlikely to go out of my way.

So, the quest for the best cupcake in Toronto is now underway.