Get it together, cupcake

Last month, reader “mzbansal” asked Spatula Diaries where to find the perfect cupcake in Baton Rouge. My advice? Keep looking.

The Capital City’s cupcakes fall short. This wouldn’t be such a big deal, but they’re celebrating a huge comeback nationwide. Cupcake bakeries like St. Cupcake in Portland, Oregon, Dozen Cupcakes in Pittsburgh, Chicago Cupcakes in the Windy City and others use the tiny treats as opportunities to showcase clever designs, quality baking and unexpected flavors, including toasted coconut, pomegranate, saffron and fleur de sel. Peanut butter and jelly varieties are big, as is the banana peanut butter “Elvis.” And the trend surpasses just gourmet bakeries with the recent surge in cupcake cookbooks, cupcakes on dessert menus and plastic cupcake carriers. And, why not? Everyone loves a good handheld delicacy.

Our reader’s question was a good one, so I bought chocolate and white cupcakes (the only varieties available) from 4 major bakeries in Baton Rouge and set about to taste-testing. Despite the fact that these bakeries do other items well, I found their cupcakes not only universally dry, but festooned in icing that ranged from slightly stale to nauseatingly sweet. To make sure I wasn’t being too critical, I asked a couple of teenagers to join me. They were less offended by the icing, but they agreed the cupcakes were arid and unimpressive.

Here’s the skinny:

Ambrosia: It had a dry texture. The icing was cloying and fatty and it was the smallest cupcake of the bunch.

Baum’s: The icing had distinct overtones of almond extract, but was too sweet. The pale pastel flowers on top were delicate and feminine, but the cake texture was dry and unremarkable.

Cake Palace: This one was the least dry of the bunch, but the icing was slick and fatty, the kind that hangs around the roof of your mouth. It did have attractive retro flowers on top.

Gambino’s: It was the largest of the four and only available in chocolate that day. It had a distinct cocoa flavor, which I found okay, but the teenagers didn’t. The cake had a medium dry cake texture and the icing’s outer layer was crunchy.

(Note: I tried to review Angie’s, but on two different occasions, it was closed.)

Further advice for mzbansal and anyone else interested in good cupcakes: try the respected local pastry chefs who make bakery items to order, including Nannette Mayhall, Mary Aycock and Melanie McRoberts, all listed in the phone book. The Silver Spoon restaurant used to make an interesting gourmet take on a Hostess cream-filled cupcake as well. If you’re serious about cupcakes, you can also press your favorite bakery to do a better job. Readers, post comments or additional suggestions here.