I was doing my grocery shopping yesterday, all ready to try out one of the yogurt chicken recipes and maybe attempt a seafood risotto. At the till, I looked in my basket and saw completely different food items, most non-related to any risotto or chicken recipe.
Now, if this was actually a post about my accidentally taking someone else's basket, that would be a bit funny. But, no, I did start shopping with chicken and risotto in mind, it's just the mart I was in was in dire need of restocking. There was no plain yogurt and no arborio rice, two of the things I needed to make a semblance of the recipes I had.
So, instead of wasting the trip, I ended up getting some baking mixes. I've used both Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines mixes before but I definitely prefer Betty Crocker cos it's mess-free and the taste is still great. I don't exactly have any baking equipment save for an oven so fuss free mixes are the only way to go if I want to go the DIY route. I got myself the fudge brownie and the banana walnut mix. I usually use the banana walnut to make pancakes which always turn out delicious. This is actually my first time trying out the brownie mix. So instead of baking it in a cake pan, I used muffin cups instead. Just to see if I'm successful. My first batch is in the oven right now. While waiting, I was reminiscing on the most delicious cupcakes and red velvet cake that I've had the good fortune to try out.
It was late summer. The location was New York. My sisters and I were vacationing there and we met up with one of my eldest sis's friend, D. Since he's a native New Yorker, we were asking him to take us to Magnolia Bakery, so we could see what all the fuss was about. Anyone who watches Sex & The City knows that this is supposed to be THE premier cupcake palace. But D dismissed us as the uncouth and instead took us on a really long walk to what can only be described as the most gorgeous lil cupcake boutique I've ever seen, Billy's Bakery.
The first image of the shop that has stuck with me was the clothesline with baby rompers printed with "Billy's Bakery" hanging in the window display. I was thinking why would D bring us to a children's clothing store. Then he opened the door. The moment you step through the entrance, my goodness, you're just inundated by so many heavenly sinful smells and the colours are simply eye-popping. I can't remember much else of the decor nor any of the prices in fact, it was more a point and pay experience. We got four deliciously gorgeous cuppies and a slice of red velvet cake with buttercream frosting.
Back at our hotel, we were staying at the Hilton Millenium which is right in front of Ground Zero, we divvied up the cuppies and well, I thought that if this was the last thing I could ever taste again in this world, I would not regret it. Then we cut into the slice of red velvet. OMG! Just thinking about it now is making me drool. I don't have any better adjectives than heavenly to describe the exquisite tastes so I'll just let the pics we took speak for them.
After the trip ended, we made many attempts to recreate the "Billy's Bakery" Red Velvet experience but there was always something missing. They were good tries but when you've had the best, how can you ever go back? Even Katie Holmes agrees :) I was rearranging my shelves and decided to have another look through the January '08 issue of InStyle when I saw this bit on the cupcakes from "Billy's Bakery".
Apparently she's a big fan as well. We did manage to get a taste of "Magnolia Bakery" cuppies which are a treat you get to enjoy on the SATC tour. Although tasty, D was right, in a fight, "Billy's Bakery" cuppies would certainly come out the winner!
