It’s the most wonderful time of the year – that time when bakeries and other eateries start rolling out the Christmas cupcakes, cookies, pastries, danishes and anything else that’s sweet and can somehow be vaguely associated with the biggest holiday of the year.
In one of the tougher assignments anyone has ever taken on, we went out last week to see who had what in terms of the holiday sweets, and how they tasted.
Our first stop was Baked Café & Bakery on Sheep Davis Road, a place we had never been to until this assignment. Upon walking in it smelled more savory than sweet, but the big glass case up front was unmistakably an epicenter of sweets.
There were a couple holiday items, but the main attraction was the eggnog cream cupcake, made with eggnog frosting and filling.
It smelled like real eggnog and cinnamon, with some gingerbread mixed in. It tasted like eggnog, too, but lighter. The frosting was surprisingly light and creamy, and the cake was very soft and moist. The spices in the cupcake are perfectly paired with the cream – like real eggnog.
The big takeaway is that this was amazingly lightweight, considering liquid eggnog is so heavy. This was easier to eat than we assumed it would be, and more rewarding, too.
The frosting, though light, was piled pretty high and became a little messy, but we didn’t mind. The cream filling was less dense than the frosting and added a very smooth, creamy texture.
Overall, this was a pleasure to eat, and we’d recommend you all try one before the season’s over.
At The Crust & Crumb Baking Co., the Christmas cookies are in. We stopped by last week and grabbed a snowflake-shaped, sprinkle-topped butter cookie and a traditional gingerbread man.
The butter cookie is a lightweight, crumbly delight that reminds you of something your grandma would’ve made you as a kid. Not too sweet and just the right amount of crunch, these babies really hit the spot on a chilly night.
The gingerbread man was of the classic variety but featured cinnamon candies for buttons. We’re not huge gingerbread fans, but we had no problem eating this crunchy guy up – the gingerbread wasn’t bitter like it sometimes can be.
We recommend both cookies.
Bread & Chocolate didn’t have their holiday lineup out yet as of last week, but those items should be available any day now, so check with them to find out.
