Birthday Time | Glutastic.com

Glutastic Post

Birthday Time
August 10th, 2010 | caitlin | Categories: The Basket, Uncategorized
Tagged: GF Patisserie, Gluten Free, Gluten Free Calgary, Gluten Free Cupcakes, Gluten Free Washington DC, Red Velvet Cupcakery, Sweet Sin Gluten Free, Whole Foods Market

It was my birthday this past weekend.

Hurray for me!

I knew going in to this birthday that things were going to be different. Not only am I living in a new apartment, I’m living in a new city, in a new country, with different people and new things. I was also completely aware that this would be a birthday without GF Patisserie. (insert quiet sobs here)

People, this scared me. GF Patisserie has been my birthday go to – I go to them for cupcakes, cake, lemon loaf, and Naniamo Bars. If you’re wondering how I get Naniamo Bars in the summer – I save one at Christmas and freeze it until my birthday! It’s a test of wills and determination to leave them in there that long.

Knowing that this year I would be without my beloved GF Patisserie, I went on a mission. I needed to find something suitable. I decided that the best thing to do would be to focus on cupcakes. Husband and I picked three and here is what we found:

1. Vanilla Cupcakes from WholeFoods.

We found these in the freezer aisle at Whole Pay Check Foods. I was skeptical about them. They looked good, but looks can be deceiving. Once thawed we decided to dive right in. They were good, like really good. They were moist and had a great icing to cake ratio. The icing reminded me of Crave icing – so very very good.

My major complaint is the price. NOT affordable for a grad student. These will be a treat maybe once a year. The verdict is that we really liked them but can’t afford them. Thus, GF Patisserie still wins for their taste and affordability.

2. Black Velvet cupcake from Red Velvet.

Red Velvet is a cupcake shop in DC. We found it by accident while walking around China Town. All they sell is cupcakes and there is only one GF flavour – back velvet. I figured that this cupcake had to be great because this is what the do – just cupcakes. After one bite all I could think was: um, maybe they do a better gluten cupcake then a gluten free cupcake. It was dry, very very dry. The icing was okay, it was fluffy and airy but it was just okay. I won’t be going back there, it wasn’t worth the $3.25 they charge for the cupcake. Or the line that you have to wait in. If I had to say what the most redeeming quality of it was – location, we were able to eat our cupcakes while sitting on the steps of the National Gallery. And trust me people there is nothing like the view from those steps – people can be so strange when they don’t know you’re watching them.

(if you’re keeping track, that means that GF Patisserie is still on top)

3. Vanilla Ginger Cupcakes by Sweet Sin Gluten Free

We found these at WholeFoods, again in the freezer isle. I was excited about the change in flavour. Vanilla Ginger is not a flavour you’d expect to come in GF, especially not in a frozen cupcake. To be honest, they were nothing special. The flavour was nice, but just nice. The icing was okay, but a little gritty with sugar. What I will say I really like about these cupcakes was the price. They were really affordable. And to be honest, that will affect my decision to buy them again. They were good enough and a good price, that means I would probably buy them again if I was looking for cupcakes.

I had a great birthday, I got to spend it in one of the coolest cities in the world and I got to spend it with some really interesting people. What I miss however, is GF Patisserie. I miss the great taste and the affordability of it. So, this Christmas, I’m going to save some Naniamo Bar and I’m going to find a way to get here and in the freezer. And if they try to take it away from me at customs – I may just have to call on my inner ninja.

More Glutastic!

« My Teeth Hurt Pizza Week Part 1 »

10 Comments to “Birthday Time”

Amy
August 12th, 2010 at 3:06 am

Happy Birthday! I hear Buzz Bakery has delicious GF cupcakes, although they tend to sell out so phone before you go. They have a location in Alexandria but are opening a Ballston location soon. http://www.buzzonslaters.com/

caitlin
August 12th, 2010 at 8:38 am

Thanks Amy. I’m going to look into it. Thanks for the link.

Tamara
August 17th, 2010 at 9:34 pm

Hey!! Ahhhh, Whole(paycheck)Foods. Soooooo goooood, but why so much??? WHY?? I am impressed that they got a Crave shout out from you And you’re absolutely correct about the icing to cake ratio on a cupcake – it is what makes the difference from great to OMG!! (or Crave, in our experience). There is a GF cupcakery here in Vic, but it’s not great. The cake is waaaay too dense, and the I to C ratio is, like, 2 to 1 – like they’re trying to hide the “cake” – ICK.

How was the rest of your BDay?

caitlin
August 18th, 2010 at 6:03 pm

It was such a great Birthday weekend. We went out with friends one night, I handed in a final paper, we went to see Avenue Q. I have nothing to complain about!

Kathleen
August 29th, 2010 at 7:51 am

When I went out west for a visit, on my 2nd last day I went to Cochrane. I brought back 2 loaves of bread, a flatbread, some white chocolate raspberry scones in a box, a bunch of pizza crusts and a dozen hamburger buns. That and my laptop was all that was in my carry-on backpack. 4 hour flight and they travelled just fine.
Sometime closer to Christmas I’ll be posting my nanaimo bar recipe. Last spring I made them with a brownie base instead and they were fantastic too. I used Josef’s GF graham type crackers.

caitlin
August 29th, 2010 at 8:03 am

If I was taking them as carry on, I don’t know if they would have lasted the flight! That’s great to hear that they traveled well. Where do you buy Josef’s GF graham type crackers? I love that you call them graham type – such GF way to describe things. The grainless baker makes great graham crackers as well.

Kathleen
September 2nd, 2010 at 9:33 am

They were safely stowed away. Too much effort to unpack a big backpack. You get a little nervous when it goes through the airport scanners! LOL.

I bought Josef’s at wegmans. I think I have the vanilla flavour. I used those in combo with some Schar Table Crackers in my Christmas batch.

The spring batch was on brownies and you could totally make it with a mix. Add nuts if you want. Then custard powder, icing sugar and butter I think. I make them mint. Then chocolate on top. You can totally handle that.

Last night I went to go and grab a pizza shell and was surprised at how many I had still left. I must have bought a ton. LOL

caitlin
September 2nd, 2010 at 11:52 am

Wegmans is my home away from home! They have such a great selection. We’ve been trying Trader Joes and they have a lot to choose from, but you have to read the fine print. It may say no gluten ingredients but was manufactured in a facility with wheat. I’m going to look for Josef’s next time I’m out in Fairfax. Schar is also a wonderful brand. Way to hold out on the pizza crusts! I have no GFP self control so I am very impressed.

Kathleen
September 3rd, 2010 at 11:11 am

Me too. I go over every couple of weeks to one in Buffalo. I have a good recipe for similar crusts but sometimes you just want stuff that someone else has prepared for you.

caitlin
September 3rd, 2010 at 12:35 pm

That’s my favourite kind of cooking and baking – the kind where someone else does all the heavy lifting I can take credit for the final product!