The ultimate cupcake battle: Man vs. Fairy

I missed the Cupcake Throwdown that happened last month, so in honour of my favourite dessert, I created my own cupcake tournament. The contenders:

In the red corner, we have ManCakes Bakery. Created by Geoff and Jeremy, ManCakes has no storefront, but as soon as I got wind of their creations on Twitter, I was immediately intrigued. Buffalo Wing! Rum and Coke! Breakfast cupcake! Pink Peppercorn Grapefruit! Tequila Pineapple! Whiskey Lime! Bacon Chili Chocolate! I mean, have you heard of such things? ManCakes is the fighter who has trained in all styles. They’ve got some flavours that’ll satisfy the sweet-toothed girlies out there, and are completely nut-free, but make no mistake, these cupcakes are built to take on men. Orders are baked fresh on the day of delivery. Areas include Vancouver, Burnaby, New West, Coquitlam, PoCo, Port Moody, and Richmond.
Their weakness: You can’t choose the flavours you want – you gotta choose the Day 6-pack or Night 6-pack ($28 each incl. tax & delivery charges). And you have to order by 8pm one-day in advance on M/W/F. No delivery to the North Shore, yet.

In the blue corner, we have the underdog: Fairy Cakes Cupcakes. Though they just celebrated the grand opening of their storefront last weekend, they’ve been placing orders for a good month ($20.95 for 1/2 dozen), and have been training hard and long for the big fight. Owner Cera has been getting the word out about her bakery since last Fall when I saw her at Taste of Health and got to sample her chocolate chip pumpkin cookies. Talking the talk for a long time coming, Fairy Cakes has that unorthodox baking style that’ll throw you off. Vegan elf-loaves and gluten-free cupcakes are available.
Their weakness: With other long-established cupcakeries in the city, it’ll be interesting to see how adventurous Fairy Cakes will be able to get with their designs as the months and years go by. Also, there’s a disclaimer on their website that says that their ingredient providers may contain trace amounts of milk, eggs, peanuts, and nuts. So, though their process might be vegan in nature, I guess the finished product may not be 100% pure.

The interesting thing about this matchup is that both businesses are still far from becoming cupcake hall-of-famers. So, in the words of that guy on Iron Chef: America who doesn’t really sound Japanese… THE BATTLE BEGINS!
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Monday vacay into a French Chocolaterie

Ok, this is the real deal. Out of the four places I’ve trekked to for the Hot Chocolate Festival thus far, Chocolaterie De La Nouvelle France is the one to beat. Nestled in a little shop on 21st Avenue off Main Street, I had high hopes for this place. The name alone screams French chocolate (and translated, I believe means “New France Chocolatier”)! I was treated to the hot chocolate of the day by the Chocolate Realtor herself, Nina Pousette – a French-trained pastry chef – so when she says it’s the real deal, believe moi, it is.

Surprise Flower - 66% Mexican dark chocolate, infused with Jasmine

I know that the shop is most known for their chocolates, but I was super impressed by their festival selection. The Surprise Flower comes with the flower of the day, and although I usually don’t like smelling flowers – much less tasting them – the smooth, rich, dark drinking chocolate more than made up for the taste of Jasmine. It was a nice change, and definitely the most intriguing festival flavour I’ve tried so far. It also came with a little chocolate tart with gold dust on it – which is edible! Gold is good for you right?

The shop also gives you a choice between a cup of hot chocolate or just a shot – so you can sip that 66% like a glass of scotch if you’d like. For a sweet tooth, I found the cup rich enough, so the shot must just take you a bit overboard. There are only a few seats indoors, but there are tables outdoors too – which would be nice on a sunny day like today. The one server on Monday afternoon even spoke French and has only been in Vancouver for a year. Can’t get more authentic than that.

Be sure to check out the Surprise Flower this upcoming week if you haven’t already.

Chocolaterie de la Nouvelle France
198 E. 21st Avenue & Main Street
Vancouver, BC V5V 1P8
604-566-1065
info@chocolaterienouvellefrance.ca
chocolaterienouvellefrance.ca
Visit their Facebook Page here
Twitter @MainStChocolate

Hours: 7 days a week, 12-6pm

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Waterfront treat at Leonidas

For my third expedition during the Hot Chocolate Festival, I headed to Leonidas with a friend. With a beautiful waterfront location just outside of the Vancouver Convention Centre West, you can’t go wrong. What I didn’t know about Leonidas is that it’s an international brand. The selection of chocolates and other desserts alone is enough to make you drool.

My choice of decadence was the Tosca, a dark chocolate and pistachio flavoured treat. For about $7.50, the drink came with a choice of chocolate or belgian waffle. I figured it was tastebud sabotage to eat chocolate upon chocolate, so I went for the waffle instead.

I had to get an aerial shot of the “meal” because it shows how much attention they pay to presentation –  on top of the chocolate froth is an “L” as well as in chocolate sauce on the waffle plate. The server also told us that the whipped cream was white-chocolate flavoured. That, with some fruit on the side…well you just can’t ask for a better afternoon snack.

The waffle wasn’t heavily sweet, which was great because the sweetness of the whipped cream and fruit was a good pair… and then the taste of the hot chocolate – mmm. The drink wasn’t very rich and tasted a bit on the milkier side to me than dark, but that hint of pistachio was real nice.

As for the location, there are about 5 tables for two, so during peak times it could be full… also since it takes about 5 minutes just to make a purchase decision, the traffic by the door can pile up. But all for good reason, I suppose. With such an ideal location, there’s no excuse to visit again and try out their chocolates.

Leonidas
#29-1055 Canada Place, Vancouver, BC V6C 3T4
604-647-7559
chocolat@leonidaswaterfront.com
leonidaswaterfront.com
Twitter @leonidaschocola (They’re definitely Twitter friendly)

Hours:

Mon-Fri 10am-6:30pm
Sat-Sun 11am-6pm

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