Visit to Seattle's Macrina Bakery

Macrina Bakery cupcakes

I asked Jessie Oleson of Cakespy fame where I could get cupcakes near Seattle's Pike Place Market, and she recommended Macrina Bakery. I was only in Seattle for a short time before heading off for three days in the woods in Silverton, Washington, so we headed to Macrina and I got a sampling of what they had that day, which were, I believe, devil's food, chocolate/peanut butter, lemon poppyseed, red velvet, and an almond cupcake.

Well, the first thing about their cupcakes is that they're HUGE. Giant. Bigger than Sprinkles, if memory serves me, and $4 each. That is not my ideal type of cupcake; I prefer a smaller size, like the ones at Magnolia or sugar Sweet sunshine. But since we were sharing the cupcakes with seven people, I figured it would be okay, and it was.

But the Macrina cupcakes, I'm sad to report, were not my favorites. Not only was there a bit too much cake and too little frosting for my taste, so that when we sliced them in quarters it felt more like eating a large piece of cake with some frosting on top, I just didn't love the flavors. Save for the devil's food - that was amazing, and I'd go back for that (also the buttermilk biscuit, another Cakespy recommendation, but that's off topic). The red velvet was moist and I liked the cake, but the frosting didn't do much for me. All the cupcakes got eaten, and quite quickly too, so that's not to say at all that they are bad cupcakes, just that I wasn't so smitten with them.



What about you? Any thoughts on Macrina? I was interested in the fact that they have a cookbook out from local Seattle publisher Sasquatch Books and were doing brisk business on Friday morning.

Macrina Bakery cupcakes

Macrina Bakery almond cupcake

Comments

Melanie said…
My husband and I go to Macrina as many times as possible whenever we're in Seattle -- we discovered it on our honeymoon a few years ago.

In all honesty, I am surprised to hear that they even do cupcakes. In my opinion, their strengths lie in their breads and scones, etc., not so much in their cakes/cookies/desserts. So I'm not surprised to hear that the cupcakes weren't the best. But man, I dream about their cherry almond scones.
Cakespy said…
I'm so glad you got a chance to visit! It's a strange thing with Macrina's cupcakes...they're not like any others that I have tasted, and I agree that in terms of size and flavor, they're like a different species than those of say, Magnolia or Sugar Sweet Sunshine. I actually didn't like them the first time I tried them, but have come to acquire a taste for them and crave them from time to time. Moreover though I think I'd echo Melanie in that what really keeps me going back is the bread-y items--especially those biscuits.

Hope you had a lot of fun in WA!!!
Anonymous said…
Oh man. I really hope you didn't go through Seattle without going to Trophy cupcakes. Given the Martha fame and whatnot, I doubt you did, but seriously. They're amazing.