Vacation post! Bellevue, WA and the cupcake that changed my life

The title to this post seems rather dramatic, doesn’t it? ‘The cupcake that changed my life?’ Well, even if I was exaggerating a bit, the cupcakes I tried at Trophy Cupcakes and Party in the Bravern shops in Bellevue, WA were pretty damn close to life changing.

I first heard about Trophy Cupcakes on the Cooking channel one night while watching Unique Sweets. This is a show where tv food personalities travel around the country sampling some of the best desserts and sweets America has to offer. Being a baker, I look to shows like these for inspiration and ideas on what to make next, and I never cease to be amazed at the amount of creativity that bakers and pastry chefs continually show in coming up with their creations. I have to admit that I haven’t always liked cupcakes. I used to think that cupcakes were boring and the artist in me always wanted a big canvas to decorate and felt that there was only so much you could do with a cupcake. Boy was I wrong!!! This new cupcake trend has proven to me that any sweet can be a “food canvas,” and that your only limit is your mind.

When I saw the Neapolitan cupcake featured on the show and heard Kelsey Nixon talk about the strawberry buttercream, I knew right then and there that I had to go try one of these cupcakes for myself. I made it a huge priority on my list of places to go while on vacation, and though some of my family members couldn’t understand why I was willing to go out of my way for a cupcake, once they tried them for themselves they were sold.

There are 3 locations for Trophy Cupcakes, two of which are in Seattle and the third is located in Bellewue, WA. My mother in law and I drove to Bellevue (which is where my husband was born) and spent the afternoon at the Shops at the Bravern, stopping first at Sur la Table- a store that sells high end kitchen supplies. I was almost overwhelmed by their selection of bakeware, glassware, cutlery….you name it, they had it.

Afterward, we had lunch at Vovito Caffe and Gelato, where I had a delicious spinach and egg panini, and bought a peach croissant to take home (vacation calories don’t count, haven’t you heard?)

Our final stop (and the moment I had been waiting for), was Trophy Cupcakes. The shop was adorable! It was decorated in a retro-style blue and brown decor, and the cupcake display was perfect with its neat rows of perfectly decorated cupcakes. They also had little cupcake rings and party favors for sale, as well as books, stationery, and other fun cupcake themed gifts.  We went on a Wednesday, so I knew that they would have the Neapolitan cupcake, but when we got up to the counter I honestly had trouble deciding what to get. So what do you do when you can’t decide? You buy three! Obviously I didn’t sit there and eat three cupcakes in one sitting, but my mother in law ordered the blueberry pie and let me try some, and I let her try some of the Neapolitan. The third flavor we got was the mint chocolate chip, and that one I took home for my kids to try and they were nice enough to give me a bite.

The first thing that stood out to me with these cupcakes was the frosting. Their buttercream is the softest, lightest, fluffiest buttercream I have ever tasted. The strawberry icing on the Neapolitan cupcake tasted like fresh strawberry ice cream, and the vanilla didn’t have that “fake” flavor a lot of buttercreams have.  The chocolate cake was perfect too. Light and airy, not at all dry, and very chocolaty. This was DEFINITELY the best cupcake I have ever had.

Neapolitan cupcake

The blueberry pie cupcake was the seasonal flavor for the month of August. I loved the vanilla cupcake with the blueberry pie filling, and the fluffy vanilla bean buttercream. I also loved that they add a little bit of crust to the top and bottom to make it more like pie. Definitely a winner.

Blueberry pie cupcake

Last, but not least, the chocolate chip mint cupcake. My kids LOVED this cupcake. It’s Valrhona chocolate cake, with a minty buttercream, tiny chocolate chips, and a little green leaf wafer cookie as a garnish. I loved that the buttercream was definitely minty without being overwhelming or making you think of toothpaste. I think my kids are spoiled now because of this cupcake!

I honestly cannot stop raving about these cupcakes! When I got back home to North Carolina, I talked my coworkers’ ears off about how amazing these cupcakes were. I could go on and on about the icing, and I think some of them might think I’m a little nuts now, but I don’t care. All of the delicious foods I tried in the Pacific Northwest, both sweet and savory, have inspired me so much. I’m sad vacation has ended, but I’m excited to get back to cooking and baking and trying to recreate some of the deliciousness I experienced in Washington. Who knows, maybe one day I’ll become inspired enough to write a cookbook!

Vacation Post! Seattle, Washington

We had such a blast in Seattle!!! There’s so much to see and do there, it’s hard to fit all of it into just a few short days- though we really crammed a lot into the few days we were there! It was exhausting, but well worth it. Here’s a recap of our day trips into the “Emerald City.”

Pike Place Market: With over 200 businesses, 190 craftspeople, approximately 100 farmers, and 240 street musicians, Pike Place Market is a great place to experience Seattle culture at its best. There’s something for everyone there, and you could probably wander around all day and not see and try everything.  There are also tons of restaurants and food stands to choose from that make Pike Place (to me) almost like foodie heaven.

Our first food stop was at a small Russian bakery on Pike Place called Piroshky Piroshky. My husband and I tried a piroshky on our last trip to Seattle almost 5 years ago and we loved it so much it was at the top of our list of places to visit at the market. A piroshky is a small baked or fried pastry or bun filled with sweet or savory filling, and almost looks like a hand pie.

When we walked up, the line was out the door, and though we normally wouldn’t wait that long for a quick bite (especially with two small children in tow), we knew it was well worth it and happily waited the four or five minutes just to get in the door. When you walk in and smell the yummy baking smells and see the huge display window full of the most perfect, delicious- looking pastries you’ve ever seen, it makes it really difficult to just pick one! We each ended up getting a different type of piroshky; I got smoked salmon pate, my husband got spinach egg and cheese, and my kids shared a mushroom onion and cheese piroshky. The smoked salmon pate was amazing! Perfect amount of salty and smoky, with a creamy texture that I couldn’t get enough of. The soft, buttery pastry, which had been artfully shaped like a fish, was even better than I remembered it. The onion, mushroom, and cheese was also delicious- not too oniony, and the shredded potatoes inside made it almost like a breakfast pastry. My kids loved it! For dessert, we took home an apple cinnamon roll to share. Really, really good! I’m already looking for piroshky dough recipes. I know it won’t be as good as piroshky piroshky’s, but it’s the closest I can get on this side of the country.

Smoked salmon goodness !!

Right next to Piroshky Piroshky is the Totem Smokehouse. There, you can find many different varieties of smoked salmon, salmon jerky, and even smoked salmon candy!

After the yummy piroshky and tasty smoked salmon, we walked by another famous landmark at Pike Place market: The “original” Starbucks. We didn’t go in because of the enormous line that went out the door and down the sidewalk a bit, but I made sure to take a picture. This location isn’t actually the first Starbucks, but is in fact the second ever Starbucks store. The true original, which opened in 1971 closed in 1975 and moved to this location on Pike Place.

 

Another fun place to visit at the market is the Pike Place Fish Market. This is the place where they throw the fish. It’s a lot of fun to watch people gather around and wait for someone to buy a fish so you can watch them yell and throw it around. The prices are really good, and they have the freshest fish I’ve ever seen! I only wish I could have bought some to try. Maybe next time…

 

The Columbia Tower: This is the tallest building in the Seattle skyline. The tall, black building is 76 stories tall- taller than the Space Needle! There’s an observation deck on the 73rd floor, where for $5 you can get an almost 360 degree view of Seattle- which is a lot cheaper than the Space Needle, and there’s no long line to get in.

View from the top

 

Bill Speidel’s Underground Tour: Before going on this tour I had no idea that underneath the sidewalks people walk on every day in Seattle, there’s a whole network of underground sidewalks and passages which were the city’s original sidewalks. After a fire destroyed 25 square blocks of Seattle, the city was rebuilt using brick and stone and the whole city was raised up a level, turning the ground floor of all the shops and buildings downtown into basements. The regrade improved issues with flooding due to the city being built on filled in tidelands. In fact, the tour guide spoke of ten foot geysers of raw sewage backflow erupting out of toilets every day when the tide came in… Gross, isn’t it?! He also discussed Seattle’s founding fathers, the lumber industry that made Seattle boom back in the late 1800′s, and the gold rush. There was also some talk of Seattle’s  seedier history with prostitution and crime, and what became of the underground once it closed in 1907 after an outbreak of bubonic plague. Though there were stories of crime, speakeasies, and opium dens, it wasn’t a huge part of the tour like some would think. This tour was actually very mild in comparison to the adults only Underworld tour that the same company offers at night. This tour was a lot of fun and a definite must for history buffs (like myself.) The gift shop was pretty awesome too, and offered kitschy and unique collectibles, and even see a replica of an original “crapper” (not being crude here, in case you didn’t know, the toilet was invented by Thomas Crapper; and as funny as it sounds, the toilet played a big part in the “issues” Seattle had with flooding before the regrade. )

Up top these look like little glass squares in the sidewalk. I had no idea they were skylights!

 

 

Thomas Crapper's valveless water waste preventer

Ivar’s Acres of Clams and Fish Bar: Right on the waterfront, on Pier 54, is Seattle’s most historic full service seafood restaurant. Operating since 1938, Ivar’s Acres of Clams isn’t the fanciest place to eat, but is definitely the place to go for great, fresh seafood. Right next to the restaurant is the fish bar, where you can (literally) yell out your order for fried clams, fish and chips, and other fried seafood specialties, then take your food to the nearby outdoor seating area where you can feed the seagulls. Definitely a unique and fun dining experience!

Best fish and chips ever!

Seattle Ferry: If you’re visiting the waterfront, you should definitely take a ride on the ferry. We just took it across Elliott bay to Bainbridge Island, then back to Seattle, but it was a lot of fun. The day was cloudy and windy, but we still stood out on the deck in our hoodies (in August!) and took lots of pictures of the city and, of course, our windblown hair. The kids loved watching the motorcycles and cars drive off of the ferry.

This is me, freezing in August.

Olympic Sculpture Park: On the waterfront near the Seattle Aquarium is the Olympic Sculpture Park. The sculptures are on display outdoors, and it’s a free exhibit. When we went, there was also a live band playing and a few food trucks selling food and dessert. Funny how in Seattle you’re never too far from good food, no matter where you are!

My husband, brothers in law, and me creating silly art in front of art at the sculpture park. Photo by: Margaret Haskell

 

Though this post includes a lot, there’s still so much we didn’t get to do in the short time we spent in Seattle. My family and I had such a great time, though, and really loved every minute. Seattle really is a great place to visit and has something to offer everyone, no matter what your tastes are. From the sights and sounds, to the amazing food, Seattle really has become my favorite travel destination and I can’t wait to go back.

My next post will be my last vacation post, and I’ll be writing all about the best cupcake I ever had. Seriously. It was life changing!!! Stay tuned

Vacation post! Point Defiance Park and Zoo in Tacoma, WA

Ok, so this post doesn’t have much to do with baking (or even food in general) but I did learn a few valuable things about seafood at the aquarium so it counts, right?

Point Defiance Park is a 702 acre park in Tacoma, Washington and is a great place for family day trips. There’s so much to do there, and it’s so beautiful I didn’t want to leave! Our first stop that day was Owen Beach for a family picnic with a beautiful view of Puget Sound and Mt. Rainier. It was pretty windy and chilly that day; enough for us to wear jackets (though I think we were the only ones)!! Definitely a nice change from the 90+ degree weather we’ve been having here in Winston Salem. Check out the view!

From there, we took a trip out to the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium. There were tons of really cool animals. We saw tigers, elephants, wolves, foxes, owls, seals, penguins, a walrus, and even cute little clouded leopard cubs! The aquarium was really great as well with all its fish, anemone, and tiny jellyfish that reminded me of little contact lenses (trust me, they were as cute as jellyfish can be.) They even had a tank full of shrimp! I couldn’t get pictures of them all, but here are the best ones:

This last picture of a shrimp brings me to the educational stuff…

While visiting the aquarium I got a little pamphlet about seafood and how what kind we choose to eat impacts the world’s oceans. As world economies change and populations grow, demand for certain resources change. Overharvesting of these resources is taking its toll on ecosystems everywhere, and it’s important to learn about these issues so we can try to come up with solutions to keep them from getting any worse. According to the Seafood Watch website, we have removed as much as ninety percent of the oceans’ large predatory fish, like shark, swordfish, and cod. That’s scary! So what does this mean for us as consumers (and food lovers)? It means we need to be more responsible. We need to know where our food comes from, and make an effort to do our best to choose the foods that will have the least impact on our already strained ecosystems. It isn’t always easy to know how to choose the right products, though. That’s why Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch website has pocket guides you can download. This site has so much great information! If you eat seafood, you should definitely check it out.

After seeing the beautiful beach and the amazing wildlife that lives in the Pacific Northwest, it feels good to know that there’s something we can all do to preserve it, no matter where you are in the world.

Stay tuned for my next post about my venture into Seattle, Pike Place Market, and our tour of the city’s famous Undergound.

Vacation begins!

Today is the second day of my Pacific Northwest vacation and I’m loving it out here! We’re staying in Puyallup, a small city near Seattle, and yesterday we visited the farmers’ market. There were so many interesting things to see and try! Here are some highlights:

I’ve had boysenberry syrup thousands of times, but I’ve never had fresh boysenberries. At the market, one of the vendors had pallets full of them- along with some of the biggest, sweetest blackberries and raspberries I’ve ever tasted. Berries are a huge deal up here and I can see why! The cooler Summers make for a longer growing season and sweeter berries.

Another amazing food find was this cheese by Black Sheep Creamery. They had multiple flavors of the freshest,creamiest sheep cheese to choose from, and I honestly had a really hard time picking just one. I ended up going with the plain, or fresh, flavor so that I could use it for sweet and savory meals. I was glad I did, too because the cheese was just as delicious on my burger last night as it was on my toast with homemade strawberry jam this morning.

Our trip downtown ended with a delicious lunch at a small Greek restaurant, It’s Greek to Me. I ordered the lamb souvlaki sandwich, which was insanely delicious. The sandwich consisted of two rosemary-seasoned lamb skewers served with lettuce and sliced green peppers with tzatziki sauce on a pita. I think I might go back for more in the very near future…like maybe later today

‘Till next time!