Sprinkles

Once I decided to do this project, I wasn't quite sure where to start.  New York is a city with so many corners and crevices and places to explore.  I decided that I could either get stuck on feeling overwhelmed by the monstrosity of the city or I could do the 21st century version of close my eyes and put my finger on a map to choose my first stop.  So while taking the ferry back from Staten Island one beautiful June day, I opened up google maps and typed in "cupcakes" to see where my finger landed.  It found a bakery named "Sprinkles" that was a few stops up on the 1 train, which was what I needed to take home that day anyway.  So I put it into my new favorite city app (citymapper...it's a lifesaver!) and took off for an adventure.

Citymapper had me get off the 1 right into the World Trade mall (which is just beautiful and an experience in itself) and then walk a few blocks to a high rise building with some swanky stores in it. If I wasn't on a mission, I may have stopped into one of them "Pretty Woman" style and pretended I had a lot of money.  Next time...or maybe I'll just go see the musical on Broadway.

Sprinkles is a chain and there are several locations across the city.  This one in particular is located at 225 Liberty near the World Trade Center.  It's a smaller store and this particular one is more like a mall kiosk than a bakery.  So I got in line and checked out my flavor options.  So many to choose from!  And, some gluten free options too.  I've decided that while on my journey I will also sample as many gluten free delights as possible to help out my gluten free friends.  I ended up choosing the Lemon-Blueberry gluten free cupcake and the Sparkling Rose cupcake.  Because I really can't just get one while I'm trying these out.  I must sample flavors to have a full understanding of the cupcakerie.

The lemon-blueberry was delicious! I didn't even know it was gluten free.  They did an excellent job with the substitute flour.  The cake was the consistency of a blueberry muffin and had whole blueberries gathered in the middle for an extra fresh blueberry flavor burst.  The frosting had a cream cheese flavor to it, but was a light and very faint touch to already deliciously sugary frosting.  (side note: frosting is everything for me.  Sugary buttercreams always win with me and my favorite cupcake will need to have amazing frosting). This cupcake reminded me of breakfast on a summer day.  Plus, paired well with a light French Pinot Grigio.  Yum!

Sparkling Rose was also delicious, but the rose flavor was so subtle that it really just tasted like a vanilla cupcake.  Not a bad thing, just missing the special "sparkling rose" that was infused in the cake and the frosting.  Of course, the thing about rose is that it is supposed to be a light flavor, which is why it's so delicious.  I also paired this with the French Pinot Grigio and it was good, but just not quite as good a mix as with the lemon-blueberry.  I should really start to do some cupcake/wine pairing research.  Now there's a project!

One of my favorite things about this new project is that I am also exploring different neighborhoods.  Being near WTC, I spent some time by the memorial pools and took some time to people watch and be reflective.  Around me were so many different languages and different types of people.  I watched as an elderly couple walked slowly by the pools.  I listened as some medical students spoke in another language.  There was even a film crew setting up to film a scene for something or another.  I sat and observed all that was going on around me and took it in.  

I am so excited to be in New York City!