Cupcakery Review - Isabelle's Curly Cakes

Last week I finally had the chance to visit Isabelle's Curly Cakes on Charles Street in Boston.  I have been eager to try Curly Cakes since I saw the signs going up about a year ago.  Isabelle is the daughter of famed chef Todd English, and Curly Cakes is supposedly named after her curly hair.  Weird association, in my opinion, but besides that, everything about Curly Cakes was great!

The shop was clean and tidy, and there was room for a few bistro tables so customers could enjoy their cupcakes on-site.  My friends and I only stayed a minute as I brought my cuppies home with me, so apologies for the lack of shop images.  The take-along box was super cute, though!

Arriving at Curly Cakes around 8:00PM on a Tuesday night resulted in a light selection, but the menu board suggested that early-day cupcake shopping would provide a greater array of flavors.  I chose one basic (Vanilla Bean) and one fun (Red Velvet) to take home and try. 

J & I couldn't choose a favorite.  On the vanilla, the frosting was the best part.  It is smooth, creamy, buttery buttercream that tasted great with the vanilla cake.

The red velvet was impressive because the cocoa flavor was SO prominent; it balanced perfectly with the cream cheese frosting and was one of the better red velvet cakes I've had.

I have to say that Curly Cakes didn't beat out Lulu's as my favorite cupcake in Boston, but it was pretty good and I would definitely stop in again.  If you've tried Curly Cakes, let me know what you think in the comments below!

J & I always share our cupcakes, half to each!

Happy Birthday, Mum!

February marks the month of "birthday" season in my family.  From now through August, we have at least one birthday every month!  Birthday season = peak baking season, and I kicked it off with this cute little cake for one of my favorite ladies - my Mum!

Mom had asked for just pizza, no cake for her birthday party last night because she wanted to get dessert from Bova's after a few drinks downtown.  No cake? Yeah right!  Instead of doing no cake, I just did a little one.  And yes, we still got late night dessert from Bova's too...best cannoli and lobster tails in the city!

So for mom's mini cake, I decided to go with a yellow theme and tried to have the layers reflect a gradient in color.  The yellow food coloring didn't work out as well as I had hoped...the darker layers look very similar in color, but I think it still came out very pretty.

To match the simple whimsical decorating, I kept the flavors fairly basic- vanilla cake, Bailey's irish cream filling, and vanilla frosting.  Sweet treat for a sweet lady.  Happy Birthday, Mum! Love you!

PS - Yes, you read right...Bailey's Irish Cream filling....this is a little hint to a signature-Stacey treat that I'll detail in an upcoming post.  Get excited!!