Because I bake all the time, I can easily spot or taste a bad quality baked good. I also worked at a high-end bakery for years, and know exactly what top notch cupcakes are all about. My town just got a new bakery, and I was too curious not to try out their stuff (plus they have espresso, so there was no way to lose). But when I walked in there, I knew off the bat that the cupcakes were not going to meet my high standards. For those of you who want to determine the quality of a bakery, here are the signs.
The first, refrigerated cases. If there are cupcakes and pastries in a display case that doesn’t have precipitation on it or isn’t making a whirring noise, then you’ve found yourself some Crisco frosting. There are multiple ways of making frosting or pastry creme, but if it doesn’t have to be refrigerated then there’s a high chance that there’s something that’s preserving it, something you don’t necessarily want to eat. That being said, most things should be allowed to sit out for a while to come to room temperature, which is fine. You want to watch out for things that never need to be refrigerated.
The cupcakes that I tried this weekend had a kind of frosting that I am familiar with; it’s made from powdered sugar, butter, milk, and vegetable shortening aka, Crisco. You can tell that you’re eating Crisco frosting if you can hear a light crunching sound when you’re eating it. This frosting is what Wilton recommends to go with their decorated cake pans. It has its purposes, but don’t be wasting $4.00 on a cupcake with this low quality frosting. This is the same for pastries, pastries should always be refrigerated to preserve the cream. You know that there’s something artificial and low-quality going on when it doesn’t need refrigeration.
To tell a good frosting, look for the shine. Buttercream is made from butter, so it should be a little shiny! If it’s made from a lot of sugar and other artificial ingredients, it won’t be reflective at all. It will also be very squishy, and won’t harden even if you refrigerate it. If you refrigerate it and it’s hard and you have to let it sit out to soften, then it’s made from enough butter. Just think how you have to let butter soften for basic baking, it’s the same thing.
Next, the price. This might seem pretty obvious, but if you want top quality unfortunately you’re going to have to pay for it. If you’re getting a sheet cake to serve 40 people for $20, then get ready for your Crisco frosting. On the other end, if you think that you might be paying too much, break it up into servings. Divide the price by the number of people you’re serving. If it seems like something you would spend for a cupcake for each person, then you’re in the clear. Just remember that this won’t count for decorated cakes, that’s a whole other can of worms.
Also, size. This may not be a foolproof method, but I have honestly never had an over-sized cupcake that was good quality. If there’s a bakery that’s selling giant cupcakes, my experiences tell you to expect very dry cake and overly sugary frosting. This is also true if the bakery only carries one size of cake, I just find that practice to be overall strange and I have yet to find such a place that has high quality goods.
Level of richness, and I’m not talking about money. Higher quality goods are going to be richer. The way to tell is by the largest sized slice of cake you can eat. If you cut yourself a huge piece of cake and only manage to eat a portion of it because you’re too full, then it’s very rich and probably good quality. If you’re able to eat a huge slice, then that means it has watered-down ingredients. You get full quickly if you’re eating buttercream made from butter and chocolate ganache made mostly from chocolate; low quality products will use filler like oil and Crisco, which won’t fill you up as fast.
Save the Baker 