Vanilla Buttercream cupcake |
Somewhere in between Buzz Bakery & Lounge and Tastykake exists a gray area for cupcakes... not daily fresh, but not necessarily boxed either. Sweet Sam's Baking Company delivers enormous 6 oz. cupcakes from its 80,000 square foot bakery in the Bronx, New York up and down the East coast. I happened upon them while shopping for pita bread at the Brookville Super Market in Cleveland Park.
Affordably priced at $2.99, Sweet Sam's offers at least three different flavors (Chocolate Peanut Butter, Red Velvet and Vanilla Buttercream) to choose from. I chose the latter, an impressive looking vanilla cake with thick, lavish frosting. The cake is surprisingly moist and fluffy... almost like a pound cake, warm from the oven. The frosting is suitably sweet but with a touch of artificiality. It's mountainous size makes eating it almost difficult... I suggest breaking it in half, and going from there. Miles above what you'd expect to see in the Hostess aisle, but not quite on scale with the DC's boutique alternatives.
Appearance: B (Smartly packaged, I've seen worse for double the price.)
Atmosphere: N/A
Cake: B (Impressive... not sure when they made it.)
Icing: C (Not bad, considering it came all the way from New York)
Value: B+ (You get a lot of cupcake for $3.)
Overall: B- (You could probably fool some people, by telling them this was fresh from a bakery.)