Monday, July 31, 2006

my kitchen: cupcakes

Cupcakes are a trendy thing in the US right now.. but pretty much non-existent in Taipei. Even though there are tons of bakeries that have mini-cakes, tarts, breads and even Hello Kitty pastries, you just don't see cupcakes. So if you are craving one, it's much easier to make your own, although I'll admit that I brought the mix and frosting back from LA. Today I made chocolate cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. Not everyone likes frosting, so I only frosted some of them.



I know there is one bakery that does sell cupcakes- Ginjer- but I haven't been there yet. I've heard their selection is slim, but good. I guess demonstrating the lack of popularity for cupcakes from the Taiwanese palate. Or maybe they just haven't discovered them yet.

Happy Chinese Valentine's day!

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

hmm...this is gonna be a tough one, I only have a few more days left in Taipei, now I have to choose between ginjer and the hello kitty bakery! your photos and the thought of cupcakes makes me wanna get some now, i never knew that cupcakes existed here! also, was the hello kitty bakery a place where you can sit down? or just a store in a food court?

joanh said...

hey chicken! i haven't been to ginjer so i can't say for sure. The Hello Kitty Patistory is in the bakery area of the Eslite mall food court, so you can buy your goods and then sit down in the food court area.

Urban Epicurean said...

this is such a cute post! I LOVE CUPCAKES. If you're ever in L.A., one of my favorite restaurants is Auntie Em's and their bakery case is absolutely mouthwatering. this summer, they had an Arnold Palmer cupcake, just like the drink, lemonade flavored cupcake with tea flavored icing.

and thanks for your blog! i'm from taipei, taiwan and haven't been back in 11 years, so this will be a great reference for me in the future! :)

joanh said...

hey catherine! i love cupcakes too, though i have only made them from a mix so far... Auntie Em's cupcakes ARE delicious! and huge! I really enjoy their red velvet cupcakes, as well as Doughboy's... much tastier than the overrated Sprinkles!

Arnold Palmer cupcakes sound so good!!! I will have to try it when I'm back later in Aug.

If you are ever in Taipei, definitely drop a line!

Urban Epicurean said...

Oh yes, absolutely! I hope to be back someday soon...it's been *gasp* 11 years!

And you should do the same when you're back in LaLaLand!

Unknown said...

Ginjer...Good place if you like American style comfort food. The cupcakes are decadent. They use butter cream so they are extremely rich. They also make amazing dutch apple pie.

Ginjer has a small shop at SOGO ChungXiao and Mitzukoshi HsinYi.

It reminds me of the cakes at Mama Leone's back in NYC. (Yeah, I know i'm dating myself)

Anonymous said...

NIIIICE! Would you direct me to your favorite cupcake recipes? I'm itching to bake some :>

joanh said...

cat: i still have to meet up with you!!!!! hopefully later this summer!

jason: finally made it to ginjer!

mei: sorry! i'm can never get it together to make cupcakes from scratch-- so my recipe is betty crocker or duncan hines box and frosting!

:)