Thursday, May 13, 2010

Iced Gems Baking

I had the chance to go for a bison burger at the Kooper's Chowhound Burger Wagon yesterday at 222 Schilling Circle in Hunt Valley. As I found out on Twitter (it's showing itself to be such a useful tool), the Iced Gems Baking company was also going to have their cupcake truck nearby. I'm guessing the two got together to coordinate this, but if not it was a good bit of luck. After ordering my bison burger with spicy Cuban sauce and blue cheese ($8 today), I walked over to the cupcake truck and saw a small but nice variety of cupcakes ($2.50 each): peanut butter, red velvet, vanilla, chocolate and - get this - Vanilla2 and Chocolate2 (vanilla frosting on vanilla cupcake and chocolate frosting on chocolate cupcake, respectively). I thought I'd keep my first exposure to the self-described "boutique bakery" and its goodies to those Vanilla2 and Chocolate2 creations.

I am usually a bigger fan of vanilla than of chocolate, but you have to try their Chocolate2 cupcake. The moist and tender cake part was so intensely chocolaty, much more than any chocolate cake I have ever eaten. The frosting on top was thick and rich, and had a relatively large, soft chocolate candy on top. It was a simple and perfect cupcake. The Vanilla2 was also delicious, and I especially loved the white frosting crowning the delicate vanilla cake, though I was more impressed with the chocolate. I would still buy either.

One thing I've noticed with most cupcakes these days applies to Iced Gems' gems: you probably need a fork to eat them. It's too big for me to bite into unless I nibble here and there. It's not one of those cupcakes with a big ol' pile of frosting reaching higher than a hon with a beehive, but it's still tall. This is not a complaint so much as a practical observation for you to keep in mind when you are eating it.

0 comments: