Name: Donna George Storey
Age: 44
Location: Berkeley, CA
Occupation: Erotica Writer
URL: www.donnageorgestorey.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
We’re going through lean times in the family now, in more ways than one, so it’s usually once a month or so. But I think about them quite a bit more than that, so if lust in your heart counts I’m a frequent indulger.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
That first sweep of tongue across the frosting. It’s always the sweetest.
I’d add that if there’s a little lip of cake that’s escaped over the top of the cup, as there often is on the huge cupcakes at Toot Sweets bakery in Berkeley (I recommend the yellow over the chocolate), the best part is nibbling it away all the way around.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
While I am a model of fidelity in my marriage, in this area of life I refuse to be monogamous. And as other interviewees have mentioned here, one of the charms of cupcakes is you don’t have to make as much of a commitment to any single fashion or flavor.
No matter how creative you get, it’s hard to top a classic vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting at Citizen Cupcake, savored at a window table as you look down on the Market Street shoppers rushing by.
I also get pretty worked up over carrot cake cupcakes with pineapple and raisins and a lavish dollop of cream cheese frosting sprinkled with toasted pecans. German chocolate is fantastic, too. Far preferable to the three-layer slabs of a whole cake version. The picture of one with the pecan-coconut frosting from the 3/9 entry here haunts my dreams.
But I like to be surprised. The other day I tried a strawberry cupcake at Love at First Bite in Berkeley, which I wouldn’t have thought would make my favorites list, but it was very tasty indeed, like the essence of early summer. Every time I walk into a bakery, part of me is hoping to find a new love, so I keep the door open.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
I’m really drawn to self-contained, single serving desserts like cupcakes and fancy cookies. I like layers—different levels of experience in one small package, and cupcakes give you just this withthe cake, then frosting, and maybe even filling or sprinkles. At Christmas time I spend a whole week making six different kinds of layered or multi-toned cookies and give tins of them to the kids’ teachers and neighbors with a lovely homemaker’s smile. (Then I go back to my secret life of writing dirty stories.)
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
I think there should be an annual cupcake expo where all the famous cupcake bakeries set up booths to show off their wares. And there would also be appearances by renowned pastry chefs to take on the challenge of creating new cupcake experiences, sort of like David Hoffman did with celebrity chefs for his book, Easy Bake Oven Gourmet.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
I have two favorite types I make myself. One is a buttery, homemade 1-2-3-4 yellow cake with stovetop fudge frosting we’ve been making for thirty years in my family. You mix sugar with eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla, cook it into a custard then stir in chocolate. We got the recipe from a box of that weird premelted Chocobake in a packet that has since faded into processed food oblivion. But the frosting itself is excellent and gooey and gets all over your fingers. It also doubles as sundae sauce. The combination of fudgy frosting and sunny golden cake is fabulous.
I also make cupcakes out of my almond cake recipe, a flawlessly moist cake with lots of almond paste and eggs and vanilla and a bit of flour. I dust them with confectioner’s sugar, like a tea cake. It’s like a tiny trip to Europe. My sons love them.
The best bakeries I’ve tried in the Bay Area are Love at First Bite (for great variety) and Toot Sweets (for generous, old-fashioned portions) in Berkeley and Citizen Cupcake in San Francisco.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
When I was in third grade I wanted to make my favorite cake, coconut cake from scratch, to take to school for my birthday. My mother suggested I make them into cupcakes and for the first time ever she let me do all the measuring and mixing and spooning into the cupcake pan. I remember gazing down into the bowl as the beaters made these beautiful swirls through the batter and feeling so creative and competent and grown up. I was a little disappointed that the cupcakes didn’t rise quite as high as one made with a mix or store-bought, but they tasted very good and tender and my teacher raved about them. I still get a thrill turning people on with my homemade sweets—that’s a talent you can take with you through the grandma years.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
In eleventh grade, I decorated the tops of a big tray of cupcakes with the symbols for the elements in the periodic table for a holiday party in AP Chemistry. I’m sure it helped me get an "A" that semester.
Do you have anything else to add?
I love the photos on this site! You should make a Cupcake-A-Day calendar.
Age: 44
Location: Berkeley, CA
Occupation: Erotica Writer
URL: www.donnageorgestorey.com
How often do you eat cupcakes?
We’re going through lean times in the family now, in more ways than one, so it’s usually once a month or so. But I think about them quite a bit more than that, so if lust in your heart counts I’m a frequent indulger.
What's the best thing about eating cupcakes?
That first sweep of tongue across the frosting. It’s always the sweetest.
I’d add that if there’s a little lip of cake that’s escaped over the top of the cup, as there often is on the huge cupcakes at Toot Sweets bakery in Berkeley (I recommend the yellow over the chocolate), the best part is nibbling it away all the way around.
What's your favorite type of cupcake?
While I am a model of fidelity in my marriage, in this area of life I refuse to be monogamous. And as other interviewees have mentioned here, one of the charms of cupcakes is you don’t have to make as much of a commitment to any single fashion or flavor.
No matter how creative you get, it’s hard to top a classic vanilla cupcake with vanilla frosting at Citizen Cupcake, savored at a window table as you look down on the Market Street shoppers rushing by.
I also get pretty worked up over carrot cake cupcakes with pineapple and raisins and a lavish dollop of cream cheese frosting sprinkled with toasted pecans. German chocolate is fantastic, too. Far preferable to the three-layer slabs of a whole cake version. The picture of one with the pecan-coconut frosting from the 3/9 entry here haunts my dreams.
But I like to be surprised. The other day I tried a strawberry cupcake at Love at First Bite in Berkeley, which I wouldn’t have thought would make my favorites list, but it was very tasty indeed, like the essence of early summer. Every time I walk into a bakery, part of me is hoping to find a new love, so I keep the door open.
How do cupcakes compare/contrast to other baked goods for you?
I’m really drawn to self-contained, single serving desserts like cupcakes and fancy cookies. I like layers—different levels of experience in one small package, and cupcakes give you just this withthe cake, then frosting, and maybe even filling or sprinkles. At Christmas time I spend a whole week making six different kinds of layered or multi-toned cookies and give tins of them to the kids’ teachers and neighbors with a lovely homemaker’s smile. (Then I go back to my secret life of writing dirty stories.)
Is there any innovation you'd like to see made to the cupcake that would improve it for you?
I think there should be an annual cupcake expo where all the famous cupcake bakeries set up booths to show off their wares. And there would also be appearances by renowned pastry chefs to take on the challenge of creating new cupcake experiences, sort of like David Hoffman did with celebrity chefs for his book, Easy Bake Oven Gourmet.
Do you bake your own cupcakes? Or (even better) have someone who bakes them for you?
I have two favorite types I make myself. One is a buttery, homemade 1-2-3-4 yellow cake with stovetop fudge frosting we’ve been making for thirty years in my family. You mix sugar with eggs, evaporated milk and vanilla, cook it into a custard then stir in chocolate. We got the recipe from a box of that weird premelted Chocobake in a packet that has since faded into processed food oblivion. But the frosting itself is excellent and gooey and gets all over your fingers. It also doubles as sundae sauce. The combination of fudgy frosting and sunny golden cake is fabulous.
I also make cupcakes out of my almond cake recipe, a flawlessly moist cake with lots of almond paste and eggs and vanilla and a bit of flour. I dust them with confectioner’s sugar, like a tea cake. It’s like a tiny trip to Europe. My sons love them.
The best bakeries I’ve tried in the Bay Area are Love at First Bite (for great variety) and Toot Sweets (for generous, old-fashioned portions) in Berkeley and Citizen Cupcake in San Francisco.
What's your first cupcake-related memory?
When I was in third grade I wanted to make my favorite cake, coconut cake from scratch, to take to school for my birthday. My mother suggested I make them into cupcakes and for the first time ever she let me do all the measuring and mixing and spooning into the cupcake pan. I remember gazing down into the bowl as the beaters made these beautiful swirls through the batter and feeling so creative and competent and grown up. I was a little disappointed that the cupcakes didn’t rise quite as high as one made with a mix or store-bought, but they tasted very good and tender and my teacher raved about them. I still get a thrill turning people on with my homemade sweets—that’s a talent you can take with you through the grandma years.
What's the most fun you've ever had with a cupcake?
In eleventh grade, I decorated the tops of a big tray of cupcakes with the symbols for the elements in the periodic table for a holiday party in AP Chemistry. I’m sure it helped me get an "A" that semester.
Do you have anything else to add?
I love the photos on this site! You should make a Cupcake-A-Day calendar.
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