Batch cupcake fabulousness


All photos by Aaron Landry; see his Batch Flickr set

“How do I get to Batch?” I asked my friend Aaron, who’s visiting New York from Minneapolis. It’s ridiculous that I didn’t know, but I just rarely go to the West Village.

“Hold on. I have to get the last cupcake.”

“There’s only one cupcake left?” I know Batch is popular, but that would have been a bummer as it was only around 7:00 on a Friday night.

“No, the last of this one cupcake.”

Then Aaron told me to take the 1 train and I got there about 15 minutes later. The chocolate dragon devil’s food cupcake he’d gotten was gone. “It was so good,” he kept telling me. We went up to the counter and ogled the cupcake options, and I picked out four: another chocolate dragon devil’s food, a vanilla/vanilla, and the coconut/strawberry. I went to pay for them and the guy behind the counter, Gary, said, “Wait a minute…are you from Cupcakes Take the Cake? Are you...Rachel?” I was so shocked that he knew who I was. “Your friends were here,” he said, referring to Blondie and Brownie.

He then proceeded to give us a free cupcake, a very unique red velvet made without dye. Yes, people, a red velvet cupcake that wasn’t super bright red from food coloring, but was reddened with beet and strawberry powder.



The dragon devil’s food cupcake was indeed as sinfully delicious as Aaron had made it out to be, so much so that I could only have a little piece. It was so rich, in a good way, but I could not see myself eating this whole cupcake. He proceeded to finish it for me. Here’s what he wrote about it:

I chose first to have the Chocolate Dragon Devil’s Food cupcake, which quite honestly is one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever had in my life. The cake was moist but not wet, the frosting was quite creamy and atop were crunchy chocolate bits. Inside was a caramel surprise that complimented everything quite well. It was rich and sweet and right up to my lines of “too rich” and “too sweet” without going over. They nailed it. If I threw a cupcake party in New York, I’d just get a bunch of these. Wow.

Click here to read more about Batch’s cupcakes on their site. This is their description of the Chocolate Dragon Devil’s Food cupcake:

Devil's Food Buttermilk Cake, Caramel Filling, Valhrona Chocolate Frosting, Valhrona Chocolate Pearls


inside the red velvet cupcake

I think my favorite was the red velvet. I am not usually a fan of cream cheese frosting, but this one was not overpoweringly cream cheesey, and was gooey and rich, and the red velvet cake was such a treat because it was sweet but not overly so, and just very cakey. The vanilla cupcake was also a treat, with a strong vanilla flavor and some lemon filling in the cake. The coconut strawberry I wasn’t as fond of; it was good, don’t get me wrong but I didn’t taste much coconut (though Aaron did) and I think I just tend to prefer flavors like chocolate and vanilla over strawberry.

What’s great about these, even the devil’s food, is that they are sweet, but not sickeningly so. I’d rather eat a small portion, like a quarter, of a perfect cupcake, than a whole cupcake that makes my mouth feel permanently full of sugar. You can just tell these are high-quality cupcakes

One warning: the cupcakes are chilled in the case, so let them warm up a little after you buy them (unless you like cold cupcakes). Okay, another warning: bring a friend or two because these cupcakes are amazingly delicious but if you ate a whole one, I don’t think you’d have room for another, and that would be a shame. Gary also gave us milk to go with the cupcakes, I forget what the brand is but it’s a special milk that’s delivered once a week. I haven’t had milk with my cupcakes in...a long time, and it was quite delicious.

And we’ll be back with another report from Batch, where we’re heading tonight with Blondie and Brownie! I didn’t get to try the lemon or green tea or salted caramel cupcakes, so I’ll be tasting those. And hopefully we will have an interview with Batch’s Pichet Ong here to fill us in on his cupcake secrets!



See also:

Batch's website

Blondie and Brownie review Batch

NY Metro on Batch

New York Post on Batch ("Cupcakes are the Devil" headline)

Comments

Aaron said…
This was a great choice, Rachel. Thanks for letting me know about it and meeting me there. Yuuummmmmmmmm.

My stay here in New York has been full of tasty treats.
Anonymous said…
I too went to batch this weekend. I walked into such an adorable shop. I swear Ong's mom was in the back making cupcakes!
I got the green tea and chocolate cupcake as well as the lemon cupcake. The chocolate cake was fudgy, moist and absolutely divine. The frosting was a silk buttercream, but not enough green tea flavor for my taste.
The lemon cupcake was truly a work of art. The frosting had a touch of powdered sugar for crunch but the cake and the frosting were the perfect blend of tart and sweet. Delicious!