So Bad, So Sweet, So Good: An Exploration of Guilty Pleasures

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8554049149798699784.post-4631859543118081052008-05-01T10:04:00.000-07:002008-05-01T23:29:13.355-07:002008-05-01T23:29:13.355-07:00So Bad, So Sweet, So Good: An Exploration of Guilty Pleasures<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakespy/2458871136/" title="Ice Cream Cupcakes by cakespy, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3024/2458871136_4973eaea96.jpg" width="500" height="375" alt="Ice Cream Cupcakes" /></a><div>Occasionally, we're asked if we'd like to try new products. Generally these inquiries are mass emails from marketing or PR companies, and much of the time, we delete them--we generally like to sleuth the sweet stuff ourselves. But when we received an email last week from <a href="http://www.phillyswirl.com/" target="_blank">Philly Swirl</a> asking if we'd like to try their new product, <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Ice Cream Cupcakes</span>, we were...intrigued. Maybe it was the hint of warmth in the air, making us nostalgic for ice cream truck visits in the summer. Maybe it was just the sprinkles in the sample picture (cute!). But whatever the reason, we accepted the sample, which arrived in a container packed with dry ice<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"> (</span><span style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">très dramatique</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">)</span>. <div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakespy/2458870792/" title="Ice Cream Cupcakes by cakespy, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3223/2458870792_2093facac5_m.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" width="240" height="180" alt="Ice Cream Cupcakes" /></a></div><div>The cupcakes are comprised of several layers: a top whipped frosting layer, followed by a layer of ice cream, then anchored by a sponge cake layer, covered with a thin hard chocolate shell molded in the shape of a cupcake wrapper. The taste, while not fancy, is satisfying nonetheless--somehow eating them made us sort of giddy, in the same way that dixie cups for a class party or a visit from the ice cream man might. That is to say, insanely eatable, perhaps in the same way that US Weekly, while not fine literature, is insanely readable.<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"> A guilty pleasure. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">(<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Cakespy Note:</span> If you'd like to find out where you can buy Ice Cream Cupcakes, check out their store-finder </span><a href="http://www.phillyswirl.com/aboutus/dist.cfm" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">.)</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Of course, this got us thinking about the guilty pleasure. From grocery store birthday cakes to <a href="http://www.cakespy.com/2007/12/twinkie-twinkie-little-star-story-of.html" target="_blank">Twinkies</a> to chocolate covered pretzels, we all have them. And since the Cakespy crew has been "tagged" several times to reveal some facts about ourselves, we thought we'd satisfy it by revealing five of <span class="Apple-style-span" style="">our crew's various</span> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">deep, dark, secret guilty pleasures</span>:</div><div><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Guilty Pleasure 1: Hot Chocolate from 7-11</span></div><div><br /></div><div>Yes, it's made using water, and a powder. Yes, it's so sweet it actually makes your teeth hurt. But oh, that hurt is so, so good. And available 24 hours! <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Available at 7-11 stores everywhere. </span></div><div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakespy/2369751637/" title="Lemon Bar from Tully's by cakespy, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2313/2369751637_2e8b7823b3_m.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" width="240" height="180" alt="Lemon Bar from Tully's" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Guilty Pleasure 2: Lemon Bars from Finales Gourmet Desserts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div>In Seattle, there's a wholesaler, <a href="http://finalesgourmetdesserts.com/" target="_blank">Finales Gourmet Desserts</a>, which supplies baked goods for a variety of cafes and coffee shops in the area. Though we don't have a complete list of where this particular treat is available amongst their accounts (trust us, we called and asked), it's usually a pretty safe bet that you'll find their dangerously delectable lemon bars at most Tully's locations in the area. These weighty bars have a bottom oaty crust, smothered with a thick, creamy lemon curd (which is delightfully devoid of the eggy flavor that can plague some lemon bars) and then topped with a layer of hard, ever-so-slightly salted crumbs which add a light crunch and a nice contrast to the sweet lemon filling. As a Finales employee tells us, they're certainly "not low-fat", but they certainly aren't lacking in deliciousness. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Generally available at Seattle-area Tully's locations; <a href="http://www.tullys.com/" target="_blank">tullys.com</a>. </span></div><div><br /><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/cakespy/2310503183/" title="Pink Frosted Cookie by cakespy, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2020/2310503183_1df0197da3_m.jpg" style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" width="240" height="180" alt="Pink Frosted Cookie" /></a><br /></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Guilty Pleasure 3: Pink Frosted Cookies</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div>Whether it's from a plastic box like the Lofthouse Cookies, singly packaged like the mighty <a href="http://www.mostlymuffins.com/" target="_blank">Uncle Seth's</a>, or homemade (slice and bake acceptable), we love soft frosted sugar cookies--especially when the frosting is pink. This is a simple cookie, deeply un-gourmet and yet amazingly satisfying somehow. True, sometimes they're so sweet they make our head hurt. But they always make us smile, and isn't that worth something? <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">For more resources, check out our </span><a href="http://www.cakespy.com/2008/03/pretty-in-pink-sweet-history-of-pink.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">history of the Pink Frosted Cookie</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_IzJ3M_5t3JI/SBqip5CdpSI/AAAAAAAABgM/JBFtt-BfpVM/s1600-h/dunkin-choco-filled.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_IzJ3M_5t3JI/SBqip5CdpSI/AAAAAAAABgM/JBFtt-BfpVM/s320/dunkin-choco-filled.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195643960694777122" /></a></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Guilty Pleasure 4: Vanilla or Chocolate Kreme Donuts from Dunkin' Donuts</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div>Have you ever tried one of the Kreme filled donuts from Dunkin' Donuts? Well. If not, here's a hint of what you're missing. First, the puff of "Kreme" that comes out the top of the donut, a sweet, slick taste that envelops the entire mouth. Then, the bite of powdered sugar and carbohydratey goodness that is the donut. Then the combination of tastes, mingling in your mouth, which tastes something like a mother's love and slow death all at once. How sweet it is indeed. Of course, there's no pleasure if it's a "Bummer" Kreme Donut--one that only has the Kreme on the outside and a mere puff on the inside. Those are just cruel. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Available at Dunkin' Donuts locations; </span><a href="http://www.dunkindonuts.com/" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">dunkindonuts.com</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">. </span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_IzJ3M_5t3JI/SBqud5CdpTI/AAAAAAAABgU/ucLW6GaxibU/s1600-h/circusanimals-776101.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_IzJ3M_5t3JI/SBqud5CdpTI/AAAAAAAABgU/ucLW6GaxibU/s320/circusanimals-776101.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5195656948675880242" /></a></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">Guilty Pleasure 5: Frosting-Smothered Animal Crackers</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div>On the one hand, you may think this is too similar to the pink frosted cookie to have its own category. However, upon further thought, they really are different worlds. These crackers have a satisfying snap and no-way-can-you-stop-at-one quality which leaves them on their own turf. It's as if a cookie was shrunk down into elf form, and then smothered in a sweet coating that is half frosting, half nonpareil. Gorgeous. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Available in most grocery stores, and online </span><a href="http://www.theoriginalstore.com/motherscookies.html" target="_blank"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">here</span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">.</span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-style: italic;">Of course, all of this begs the question...what are <span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: bold;">your</span> guilty pleasures?</span></div><div><br /></div></div><div><script type="text/javascript">addthis_url='<data:post.url/>'; addthis_title='<data:post.title/>'; addthis_pub='cakespy';</script><script src="http://s7.addthis.com/js/addthis_widget.php?v=12" type="text/javascript"></script></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><br /></span>Cakespyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11540351035366591645noreply@blogger.com