Baked by Melissa/By the Way Bakery

Whew...what a busy few weeks it has been!  Between birthday celebrations, 4th of July, vacation, and returning to work, I have been behind on posting about my cupcake adventures.  But they have been happening here and there so it's time to catch up.  Let's start with these two...

Baked by Melissa
This bakery is known for their mini bite sized cupcakes.  However, I would call them smaller than mini.  They are wee.  Best said with an Irish Brogue.  Wee little cupcakes.  Go ahead...try it and say it out loud.  You know you want to.

I had bought them for a wine tasting adventure with my CT girls.  Since they were so wee, I decided they would be the perfect dessert to our array of finger foods.  I made sure there was enough of each flavor so we could each taste all of the flavors I landed upon.

All around, delicious, but more like sweet treats than cupcakes.  There just wasn’t

enough substance for me to really love them since they were so very wee.  They were 

yummy, but not the kind of experience I would like when eating a cupcake.

The flavors certainly were fun!  PB & J, s’mores, cookies & cream, mint cookie, sugar

cookie…yum!  Of those, we all agreed that the mint cookie had the best flavor.  The rest

were good but just did not have that flavor “oomf!” I look for in my favorite cupcake.

Also, there definitely was not enough frosting on the wee treats.  I always add that into

my ratings because the frosting is the best part. The cake is just the holder.

These cupcakes also came with some cute cupcake stickers and fake tattoos.  So if you’re

into having bonus prizes with your wee portions, this place is for you!

Also, the wine and the company were excellent so that’s always a win!  If you haven’t

tried any Connecticut vineyards, you must. No, it’s not NYC but it is close enough to

travel via the metra and an uber.  This particular place is Chateau Le Gari in

Marlborough, CT and is a fairly new winery.  Highly recommend...delicious wines and

the owner was friendly and personable.

By the Way Bakery

After spending a glorious Sunday afternoon just lounging in Central Park, I decided to check and see if there were any bakeries close by to sample some cupcakes.  I located one called By the Way Bakery that was a 15 mins walk from where I was sitting in the park.  It was lovely taking a leisurely walk through the upper west side and admiring all the picturesque brownstones that I likely won’t ever be able to afford.  Sigh. I guess there’s still a chance I’ll marry a rich New York man…a lady can dream.

This cute little place on the upper west side boasts it makes all of the goodies sold there gluten and dairy free.  I love finding places that my friends and family with allergies and sensitivities can enjoy.  Flavor choices were minimal, but I selected two of the three combos available and went with it.

Red Velvet:

I'm not usually a red velvet lover, but this one was delightful.  The cake was spongy and full of flavor.  The icing was sugary and delicious.  Just a hint of cream cheese, not too much.  Plus, their red velvet concoction is gluten and diary free.  That makes it healthy, right?  Sold.

Chocolate with Vanilla Icing:

Usually, when I get two flavors from a place I choose one flavor to have immediately and then save the second one for a later time.  But this time, the first one was so good I just had to dig into the second one. Plus, if I ate it in that moment, then I wouldn't be tempted the next day.  Oh, but it’s gluten and dairy free!  Great, it’s healthy so I have nothing to worry about.

Oh. My. Goodness.  This chocolate cake with vanilla icing was light years ahead of the other gluten free chocolate cupcake treats I've had before.  The frosting truly makes a difference.  And dairy free frosting is very difficult to perfect!  (I should know…I’ve tried).  I was very impressed with this cupcake.  

So far, in the gluten free category, this bakery is doing well!  I should head back and sample some of their other non-cupcake goodies. However, the gluten free lemon blueberry cupcake from Sprinkles is leading the way given its original flavor, whole blueberries in the middle, and sugary lemon icing.  This is an extremely close second for all you gluten-avoidant/"healthy"-treat eaters.  

With my birthday being at the start of July and my friends knowing my love of cupcakes, I have two lovely birthday cupcake surprises to share in my next post.  Until then my fellow sugary treat loving and adventurous friends...