FAQ #136: Is Swizzles Running You Out of Business?

Posted on October 31, 2012 by Marissa

cupcakes andfrozen yogurt

“I feel bad for Treat,” the girls on my heals were discussing as I tread past the large fishbowl windows outside the cupcakery. Dressed in my bright pink Treat uniform I was suddenly hyper-conscious of the bulls-eye frosted to my back. The girls, however, had their eyes locked on a different target: the new frozen yogurt store just an arm’s reach away.

Expecting to find a deserted dessert place I slipped casually into Treat, but inside it was like any other week day. A handful of people were buying or biting into cupcakes. One kid was attacking her cupcake from the top down, trying to get her tiny mouth around an ocean of frosting as her even smaller nose kept getting in the way. We’re all fond of milk mustaches only she had a full-grown blue, buttercream beard.

The sympathetic teenagers behind me had dipped into Swizzles, Needham’s first self-serve froyo store. As kids and candy spilled onto the sidewalk it became apparent that the girls were thinking Swizzles is converting all our cupcake lovers into yogurt diehards. The nerve of them!

Just kidding. Treat Cupcake Bar welcomes Swizzles to Needham with open arms. Or should I say open mouths? We’ve actually worked out a deal where they give us free yogurt and in return we promise not to hate them. OK so maybe that was a joke, too. In all seriousness most of us like frozen yogurt as much as the next person.

If you’re stressed about Swizzles taking over, fear not. Cupcakes and frozen yogurt may both be sweets but the similarities pretty much end there. Plus, we’ve been a short distance away from an ice cream store ever since we first opened. If people want cupcakes, they will come to Treat; If people want frozen yogurt, they will go to Swizzles. The desire for something cold and creamy could lure potential customers away once in a while, but the reverse is also just as likely. We even see groups coming in with frozen yogurt in hand as they buy cupcakes. How is this not a win-win situation?

Our short stretch of Highland Ave. has something for everyone. You can sit down for a hibachi show at your favorite Japanese steak house before meandering over to make your own cupcakes and frozen yogurt concoctions for dessert. If you don’t know this already, cupcakes and ice cream are an extra tasty combination.

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The Mystery of the Red Velvet Cupcake

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Marissa

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Red velvet cake. If the name doesn’t seduce you then the rich, red cake in contrast to the luminescent white frosting will. Add to that one little heart sprinkle and suddenly you can’t stop your mouth from salivating or your mind from replaying a slow motion clip of yourself as you enjoy every last microscopic velvety crumb.

Now wait a minute. Wipe the drool from your face. You know the red velvet looks good but… Does it taste good? Heck, I like it however people have varying opinions and palates. A better question then might be, what is red velvet made out of? Never mind does it taste good, what does it even taste like? Many people ask, few people really know. Now I’m going to help welcome you to the inner circle of lucrative cupcake knowledge.

A few of the main ingredients commonly found in red velvet include buttermilk, cocoa powder, vanilla, and red food coloring. Some recipe variations call for vinegar, baking soda, and/or beet juice. Before you yuck someone’s yum, boiled or grated beets were supposedly used during WWII to enhance the red in red velvet. There is a chemical reaction that occurs between acidic vinegar or acidic buttermilk and anthocyanins, which is the natural pigment found in cocoa, that tints the cake red. Today you won’t find too many recipes that still incorporate beets into the mix. Instead the bright, unrealistically red hue that we’ve come to associate with red velvet is a product of red food coloring. Shocking, especially since people tend to have a negative reaction towards red velvet cupcakes that are naturally brown from the cocoa instead of “Clifford the Big Red Dog” red from food coloring.

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As you can now begin to see from the list of common ingredients, red velvet is so much more than just a vanilla or chocolate cake. It is its own special species with a variety of breeds, and no two breeds taste exactly the same. But if it isn’t chocolate and it isn’t vanilla, then what does red velvet taste like? At Treat Cupcake Bar you will find that our red velvet cake tastes more like vanilla than it does chocolate, but still not quite the same. It’s not as sweet as a vanilla cake which, I think, makes for a fantastic pairing with my favorite ultra sugary cream cheese frosting. On the other hand some recipes call for more cocoa than ours does and that will cause the cake to taste more like chocolate than vanilla, but still not as sweet. Overall, I think it’s fair to say that red velvet (the cake, not the frosting) has a mild, just-sweet-enough taste. Where the intense cake color will jump out at you, the subtle taste will not.

Red velvet cakes fall under the genus of velvet cakes. That’s right, there is also white, blue, green and, I’m sure, a whole rainbow of velvet cakes. What distinguishes velvet cakes from other cakes is not actually the color, but the texture. My sister tells me she loves pink deserts. Pink is eye-catching and apparently delicious. Therefore, she automatically went for the red velvet cupcake. Maybe if it was pink velvet she would have enjoyed it more. Regardless, she complained that the cake was over-baked and perhaps it was, but I also wonder if she may be confusing the palpable velvety texture for supposed dryness. Red velvet cake is kind of like a silky sponge that absorbs the moisture from your mouth while tantalizing your taste buds.

Now that you know there is more than just love that goes into making red velvet red you may resume drooling. While you sit there salivating it is important to remind yourself that people are unique individuals with varying preferences and tastes. Not everyone is going to enjoy devouring a red velvet cupcake, and that is perfectly fine. More for me. But you certainly won’t know until you try.

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Gluten-Free, Could It Be?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Marissa

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Trays upon trays of gold, chocolate, and red velvet cakes were stacked before my eyes. Hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of mouth-watering cupcakes patiently waiting for me to eat them. Just another day in the Land of Cupcakes, I thought to myself as I stepped closer to carefully inspect the chocolate ones. I was looking for that one perfect cupcake that bulges over the liner like the most flattering of muffin tops and has a shallow crack on the surface just deep enough to reveal a hint of the soft, gooey insides.

The sensory overload made it hard to focus and soon my eyes were wandering towards the red velvet cakes. They looked delicious, but… different.

“Are these gluten-free?” Could it be? The bakers confirmed my suspicions. They’ve found a gluten-free flour that, when combined with other top secret ingredients, creates scrumptious red velvet cupcakes. And why stop at red velvet?

We currently have chocolate and pumpkin gluten-free cupcakes, but customers are always asking us about vanilla gluten-free cupcakes. In fact, as I am writing this someone comes into the store to inquire about this very thing. It’s taken us a while to bake up a gluten-free vanilla cake that we’re happy with. Now that we have the new flour, new gluten-free flavors will be flying out of our kitchen. Vanilla and red velvet are just the beginning.

“What about gluten-free marble cakes?” My mind is spinning.

“Oh no you didn’t!” Says head baker, Adie. “We could make a gluten-free Half Moon!” The Half Moon is a delightful combination of marble cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate ganache. Yum.

We’re not stopping at the Half Moon, either. With our new line of gluten-free cupcakes the possibilities are endless. They won’t be dairy-free and egg-free, just gluten-free. But not to worry — we will continue to have daily cupcake options for people with gluten, dairy, egg  AND now soy intolerances.

We hope to have our new gluten-free flavors perfected and available by June this summer. Let the count down begin!

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How Do You Like Them Cupcakes?

Posted on March 12, 2012 by Marissa

How do you like to eat your cupcakes?

With a fork or without one? In as few bites as possible, or many to savour the taste? Frosting first or everything all together? Eyes closed or open? With a glass of milk or soda to wash it down? Two at a time, or half of one with half of another? The possibilities are endless.

If you don’t care what the cupcake looks like so long as it tastes good, try putting your favorite cupcake into the microwave for 30 seconds. The frosting might melt off, but it will taste delicious when you sponge it up with a warm, moist piece of cake. It’s almost as if the cupcake came straight out of the oven and landed directly into your mouth:

 

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 So good!

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Adie Loves the 80′s

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Marissa

I strolled into work the other day to find Adie, head baker and manager, hard at work frosting some chocolate cupcakes. Clouds were effortlessly forming out from the tip of her piping bag, as if she was the driving power behind the cloud machine from Winnie the Pooh.

Immediately I jumped to conclusions, “Are those the Pot O’ Gold cupcakes for Saint Patrick’s Day?”

It’s not even March yet… And I was way off. 

“They’re going to be Care Bears,” Adie corrects me as she trades the white piping bag for one with blue frosting. She pipes delicious globs of frosting on top of more delicious globs of frosting until, magically, the globs morph into cute little bears. “I came into work today and thought, ‘I want to make Care Bear cupcakes!’”

We must all be thinking the same thing: Oh to have her job. Am I right? Although- I don’t know about you but- it’s a good thing that I don’t since I can barely write “Happy Birthday” on a piece of fondant, let alone construct animals out of butter, sugar, and shortening.

I’ll just stick to eating them.

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Cats Like Cupcakes, Too

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Marissa

Cats

We got a call from Amy the other morning for last minute, emergency custom cupcakes. The emergency being that it was her cat’s first birthday and she desperately needed celebratory cupcakes. We get it; Any excuse to eat a cupcake is a good enough excuse for us.

Our policy for custom orders is that they must be placed at least a full three days in advance (although a week is always appreciated). However, being the genuinely nice people that we are, we take joy in making exceptions when we can. Plus, our head baker is a hardcore cat lover as is evident by the pictures and comics hanging at the back of Treat’s kitchen, in addition to the fact that she has two cats of her own. “If it was anything else I would have said no,” she says after I finish gushing over the Tom-like (from Hanna and Barbera’s Tom & Jerry) cupcakes. She laughs, but it is hard to tell if she is joking or not. 

As we had hoped, Amy was thrilled when she stopped by with her kids to pick up the cupcakes. While her cat may be a different color, it does have the same adorably chubby cheeks (I asked). But if cats are colorblind like they say, then he wouldn’t have cared…

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How To Stay Thin While Working At A Cupcake Bakery

Posted on January 11, 2012 by Marissa

10 Ways To Have Your Cake And Not Feel Bad About Eating It Too:

 

1. Stock Cupcakes: We call our pre-made cupcakes “Pick-A-Treats.” On average, cupcake fanatics have the option of choosing from 17 different Pick-A-Treat flavors. When the case is fully stocked it can hold a total of 216 cupcakes. That is a lot of cupcakes that we are constantly replacing. Since our case reaches the ground, re-stocking cupcakes becomes a routine of squats and lunges. It’s almost like getting paid to go to the gym.

2. Let’s just say it’s a good thing this is a cupcake bakery, and not a potato chip factory.

3. Mop the Café: Cupcakes are delicious and, believe it or not, messy. While working in a cupcake bakery can be tasty fun, it isn’t always as glamorous as it may seem. We spend a lot of time cleaning which, as I’ve recently discovered, can be quite the workout. I consistently wake up with sore forearms and shoulders after a good night’s mop. I’m hoping that soon I will have enough muscle to do a pull-up.

4. Color Fondant: Fondant is an edible sugar that has a consistency similar to play-dough, only firmer. We use it to add creative accents to our cupcakes, and also provide it in various colors at our in-store birthday parties. Unlike play-dough, it takes some arm muscle to color a ball of fondant. I can always expect to burn a few calories setting up for birthday parties.

5. Have Fun: One of the best things about working at Treat Cupcake Bar is that I enjoy spending time with my co-workers. We have a lot of fun laughing with (and at) each other, which is great because laughing burns calories. A study by Maciej Buchowski in 2005 found that 10 to 15 minutes of laughter each day could shake off about 4 pounds a year.

6. Resistance Training: Must. Resist. Cupcakes. I don’t feel bad about bringing one home on occasion. After all, I can only go so long without biting into a Half Moon. But if I brought one home every time I worked then I’d start to look like a cupcake: short and fat.

7. Eat: I’ve found that I snack on more candy and munch on more cupcakes if I come into work hungry. We’ve all been told that it’s important to eat 3 balanced meals a day, but it’s even more important if you’re constantly surrounded by tempting treats. Sure, it would be best to eat something healthy but hey — no one is perfect.

8. Organize the Stock Room: We bake hundreds of cupcakes each week from scratch. That means we’ve got a lot of ingredients laying around our small store, and at times we are pressed to find a place to keep everything. Making room for new supplies means moving around heavy bags of sugar, large cases of chocolate, and boxes upon boxes of boxes of ingredients and supplies. It’s a full body work out. 

9. Stay Hydrated: We’re all familiar with those moments when our eyes are hungry but our stomachs are full, only our brains have a hard time communicating this over the cupcakes screaming “Eat me, eat me!” Since you are not actually hungry, the best way to drown out the noise is to drink water. This produces the effect of feeling full in addition to moisturizing your skin, improving your immune system, and helping with digestion. Cupcakes may be small but they can yell pretty loud. I end up drinking a lot of water while at work to drown out their constant noise. 

10. Standing: No sitting on the job! Just kidding. However, researchers have found that standing burns about 50% more calories than sitting, so think twice before you pull up that comfy-looking chair (or in our case, that frosting-covered stool). We spend a lot of time on our feet here at Treat, believing that “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.” But knowing that we’re exercising makes cleaning more appealing.

 

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Here’s the bottom line: Too much of anything is a bad thing. Even too much exercise is detrimental to your well-being. The key to staying thin while working at a cupcake bakery is knowing when to have your cake and eat it too. Then you can not feel guilty about it.

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Where’s MY Cupcake?

Posted on November 30, 2011 by Marissa

We’d like to see this little guy try to eat two of our cupcakes!

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Cute Order of the Week

Posted on November 1, 2011 by Marissa

For custom orders placed at least three full days in advance our talented team here at Treat can design cupcakes specifically for you on your special occasion. About once every week we will brighten your day by picking our cutest custom designs and showcasing them here, in our blog, for your viewing pleasure.

This week we were super excited to be a part of Sage’s first birthday by creating a custom “big top” cupcake to serve as the center piece and smaller “jumbo” size cupcakes to be shared with family and friends. These are the tastiest apples they’ve ever had — worms and all.

If you would like more information on custom orders please send us an e-mail or reach us by phone. We’d love to talk with you.    

Don’t forget to smile!

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Trick or TREAT (Cupcake Bar)

Posted on October 31, 2011 by Marissa

Are you ready for Halloween? Treat Cupcake Bar is. Our managers have been busy decorating the store with witches, skulls, spider webs, oh my! Our bakers have also been hard at work creating special Halloween-themed cupcakes for your eating pleasure. The Plain Janes (vanilla or chocolate cake with vanilla or chocolate frosting) have never been so… not plain. We even have some spooky candy at the Make-Your-Own bar so you may scare your friends and family with your own haunted creations. I like my cupcakes with gummy brains, bloody bones to add some crunch, and raspberry sauce (the more blood the better). It’s terrifyingly tastey.

But even when we’re not at work we still have Halloween on our minds. Like, the ever so important decision, what to wear?? Check out these hilariously awesome cupcake costumes:

Whatever you decide to be, have a safe and happy Halloween!

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