CakeSpy

Photo via street treatsFire up your twitter accounts, Seattle: you've got someone new to follow, both on Twitter and in real life: the newest member of the Seattle mobile food mafia, Street Treats--a mobile dessert truck!

Yup: coming this spring, Street Treats will be Seattle's mobile source for sweet stuff, occupying different locations on a daily basis, according to their site:

We’re looking at spots in lower Queen Anne, First Hill, South Lake Union, SODO, Beacon Hill, Belltown and Rainier Valley. Check back for exact locations in April 2010.

And what will they be serving, you ask? Well, owner Diane Skwiercz will be baking up a delectable array of cookies, brownies and bars (including an especially fascinating specimen called the "Butterscotch cloud", comprised ofchocolate, butterscotch and tiny marshmallows); but the truck will also stock pies from local legend (and beloved by CakeSpy) High 5 Pies and a rotating array of ice cream flavors from Half Pint. 

The official launch is still TBA, but hopefully in the next month or two.

For more information, check out streettreatswa.com or follow them on Twitter!

Pix Pâtisserie in Portland, Oregon is pretty much the cutest place ever, and I feel sorry for anyone who has never visited.

Happily, now you can get a taste of the action even if you don't live near Portland: they've just started to ship their macarons nationwide!

Per a recent press release, owner Cheryl Wakerhauser

gives a nod to the classic French macaron with some taste make-overs for many of the 30 rotating flavors. The macaron flavors at Pix are inspired by artisan ingredients and the highest quality products available such as locally distilled Trillium Absinthe, Woodford Reserve Bourbon, Fleur de Sel Caramel, and homemade peanut butter...and tempts the flavor palate with hints of sweet and savory from maple bacon to pumpkin spice, espresso, curry and Taylor Fladgate 10-year Tawny Port. And, there are always the French classics represented like cassis-violet, pistachio, and chocolate (only the Pix chocolate is triple chocolate dipped in 75% origin chocolate). For the real adventurer there is the Meka Leka Hi Meka Hiney Ho flavored with Trillium Absinthe and loaded with chocolate covered pop rocks.

Here's the full list of flavors:

• Raspberry
• Woodford Reserve Bourbon
• Hazelnut
• Passion Fruit
• Espresso
• Rose
• Cheesecake
• Taylor Fladgate 10-year Tawny Port
• Pistachio
• Chocolate Cinnamon
• Curry
• Spanish Almond and Sherry
• Coconut Rum
• Blueberry
• Cassis Violet
• Candy Cane (seasonal)
• Spring Bank 10 Scotch Whisky
• Fleur de Sel Caramel
• Salt, Pepper, Olive Oil
• Chocolate Chip
• Pumpkin Spice
• Chocolate Covered Cherry
• Meka Leka Hi Meka Hiney Ho (Trillium Absinthe and Chocolate Covered Pop Rocks)
• Peanut Butter and Jelly
• Chestnut Whisky
• Maple Bacon
• Apple Pie
• Sesame Matcha Tea
• Lemon Basil
• Triple Chocolate 

Like, whoa.

Want the 411? These macarons are available in a 14-piece Chartreuse Box or seven-piece gift tube online with USPS overnight delivery and a 4-day advanced order on their online store. For a catered selection of flavors available by the dozen, please contact info@pixpatisserie.com. Shipping costs are $30 for the first dozen and $5 for each additional dozen. 

A frequent question posed chez CakeSpy is "how can I ship cupcakes?". Well, there is the option of shipping them in mason jars, but other than that I'd probably be better at advising you on how not to ship cupcakes.

Happily, NJ's Sweet Avenue Bake Shop is now offering some sweet shipping options for their award-winning vegan cupcakes. They do small quantities so it won't break the bank, and you have the option of a DIY cupcake kit wherein it comes with all of the necessary bits and bobs and you decorate your own; or, they also have a fun customized option, so that you can upload a picture for custom cakes and send them to someone you love (how 'bout sending a big picture of your face to mom?). Here's the 411 from Sweet Avenue Bake Shop:

DIY Cupcake Kit: $25 (shipping included)

The Decorate It Yourself Cupcake kit includes your choice of three cupcakes, three frostings, and your choice of 3 sprinkles. Do you want all chocolate? Red velvet and cream cheese? Peanut butter frosting with rainbow sprinkles? It's all fair game. We'll even include some frosting wands to get you started. These kits are great for kids, as a gift for a friend, or just as a way to try out our cupcakes if you can't make it to our New Jersey bake shop.

Image Printed Cupcakes: $45 (shipping included)

Custom image printed cupcakes are now available! Send Sweet Avenue your favorite image and enjoy six personalize and delectable treats.
 
Don’t want your own image? Select from our assortment of pop culture edibles such as the popular Twilight Cupcakes featured on People.com! To inquire about image cupcakes, email info@sweetavenuebakeshop.com.
 
For more information or to order, visit sweetavenuebakeshop.com.

April may be the cruelest month--so does that mean March is the kindest? That certainly seems to be true if you're going by the offerings by Seattle's Essential Baking Company. Per their newsletter:

March has a reputation for madness, but this year it has come to Seattle like a lamb. Keep the sweetness going with the irresistible aromas of citrus, chocolate and buttery shortbread in spring treats from The Essential Baking Company 

Mom’s Hat
The Essential Baking Company says hats off to all our wonderful mothers. Delight Mom on her special day with orange Bavarian cream and chocolate mousse enrobed in dark chocolate ganache on a buttery pecan shortbread cookie. Mom’s Hat gets its finishing flourish from a white chocolate flower and ribbon of marzipan.

Raspberry Rhubarb Tart
A twist on the classic summer combination of strawberry and rhubarb, the Raspberry Rhubarb Tart beckons warmer days with a buttery sweet shortbread crust filled with raspberries and rhubarb. We bake it golden brown and top it with a mountain of perfectly peaked and lightly browned Italian meringue. 

Coconut Surprise
Soft caramel flavored with orange zest and a touch of sea salt is a surprise to the palate tucked inside a creamy coconut mousse atop a rich, dense chocolate cake. Topped with coconut flakes and wrapped in a ribbon of dark chocolate, the Coconut Surprise is a treat everyone at your dessert table will be happy to discover.

Mom’s Hat, Raspberry Rhubarb Tart and Coconut Surprise will be available at select grocery stores in the greater Seattle area and The Essential Bakery Cafés in Wallingford (1604 North 34th Street - 206-545-0444) and Madison (2719 East Madison -206-328-0078) from March 17 through June 15. 

Guess what? I was surprised and delighted this morning to learn that CakeSpy is a nominee in Saveur's First Annual Food Blog Awards, in not one, but two categories!

First, it is nominated for Best Baking and Desserts Blog (with, I might mention, an intimidatingly talented crew of sweets bloggers!).

And second, my post on the legendary Salted Peanut Butter Crisps of 1950-55 has been nominated for Best Individual Post. Like, OMG!

It's super sweet to be nominated--and it would be super mega sweet to get your vote, buddies. Click here to vote for me for Best Baking and Desserts Blog, and click here to vote for my Salted Peanut Butter Crisps post! 

And thank you!

Everybody's Irish when there's a cupcake like this around!

That's right: it's March, and that means it's time for some serious sweetness at Trophy Cupcakes, where they've brought back their beloved St. Patrick's Day flavor for the entire month: Chocolate Guiness Stout Cupcakes with Bailey's Irish Cream Buttercream frosting on top!

If you suspect that these cupcakes are comprised completely of awesome, you are right. The stout adds a wonderful density to the cake, leaning more toward chocolatey than toward a beer-y flavor; the Irish Cream in the buttercream gives it a little zing--just enough so that you know it's there, but not so much that it drives you to distraction.

Available at all three Trophy Cupcakes locations; for directions and hours, visit their website.

March is in like a Lion at Cupcake Royale, where their flavor of the month is bound to make the masses roar with good cheer: Irish Whiskey Maple Cupcakes!

Here's the 411, direct from Cupcake Royale: 

It’s March 1...and you know what that means: Jameson Irish Whiskey Maple cupcakes are back at Cupcake Royale! In keeping with our mission to make Seattle’s most local cupcake, the March cupcake of the month is made from local ingredients like milk, eggs, and butter from Medowsweet Dairy and specially milled Shepherd’s Grain cake flour from Shepard’s Grain farmers in Eastern Washington.

But don't hesitate--in this spy's experience, the flavor of the month is usually first to disappear from the bakery case on most days! To ensure availability, call ahead.

Available all March long at the four Cupcake Royale locations; for directions and contact info, visit www.cupcakeroyale.com. Of course, you can keep up to date with their goings-on at legalizefrostitution.blogspot.com and via Twitter.