I was so charmed by iEatTreats' owner's tentative email to Cupcakes Take the Cake. Kay Excell, 28-year-old owner of new(ish) NYC nighttime treats delivery service iEatTreats was worried about submitting her sweet treats for review to the blog. Aww... We're not ogres, really! (Well, okay, I can be a beast when there's a bad cupcake, but I'm generally a nice person.)
Kay and I made plans for her to deliver her minis to my East Village apartment after work a week or two ago. She must be very, very busy because she was quite late but I didn't care once I got to taste the delicious cupcakes she had baked.
Here's Kay with her box of happiness:
Is she not lovely?
And yum, yum, check out these scrumptious-looking minis:
They looked even better on the plate:
Right off the bat, I couldn't wait to try the passion fruit custard-topped lime cupcakes.
Oh goodness they were delicious. Kay makes a European meringue frosting, made with egg yolks, and eschews cream cheese frostings, which I know would thrill Rachel, who doesn't like cream cheese-based frostings. The passion fruit puree that made this frosting was out of this world and added a piquancy that otherwise might have been lost in this cupcake. And, I found tiny bits of real lime zest in my cake, which made me happy.
Kay bakes dependent upon what's fresh, so no guarantees the passion fruit will be available but f it is, I highly encourage you to try it. The cake was a bit chewy and dough-y, a trait shared by all her minis but they're still a solid and tasty treat.
Here it is bisected:
Also tasty was the lemon cupcake with strawberry Swiss buttercream.
Again, the frosting outshone the cake, but a lot of people believe cupcakes are just a vehicle for frosting consumption.
The devil's food with caramel frosting was best served cold, and I definitely enjoyed it, even though I usually do not like chocolate cake. Kay mentioned she prefers a darker, more burnt-sugar caramel, as I do, but found that people had complained about the taste so these were made to better suite the general public. If you do decide to order from her, I'd request the darker, more original caramel. Island-style.
A bold choice, Kay also tops her (all butter-based) red velvet minis with the meringue frosting. No cream cheese frosting here at all. It wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't awful, either. It tended to be a bit drier than the buttermilk/oil + vinegar red velvets I am used to, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, just different.
With the light caramel frosting. This is, surprisingly, Kay's best seller. I would have assumed it would be that winner of a cupcake the passion fruit custard-topped lime cupcake. SO good!
Here's the control cupcake, vanilla-vanilla, made with homemade (!) vanilla extract.
I wouldn't want to judge Kay's work solely by this cupcake, which I found a bit too chewy and rubbery, and the frosting tended to be a bit of a tongue-coater, but it was still a decent treat.
Kay's branching out! Not only does she deliver to Columbia University area, but is thinking about expanding to Fordham University, an under-served area. She's also bringing her minis to the Hester Street Fair, beginning, I believe, next weekend on Sunday, June 27. Do check with her regarding her schedule as things were up in the air at the time of this posting.
Minis go for five for $5, or $1.25 apiece, which prices them slightly higher than the standard. I do think iEatTreats is a work in progress and expect things to better as Kay gets her sea legs, but in the meantime, make sure to try the summer flavors, which are a specialty of Kay's and her family. Mom grows the strawberries in her garden, boyfriend helps deliver, and Kay bakes herself silly.
A funny for you: When I asked Kay if she thought cupcakes were a fad, she said, "No, I think bad cupcakes are a fad." Hee!
iEatTreats
Decadent Nibbles Delivered Nightly 6pm-4am in the Columbia University area
646.775.2755
Minimum Order:$5. Cash only at this time.
See all images here.
Kay and I made plans for her to deliver her minis to my East Village apartment after work a week or two ago. She must be very, very busy because she was quite late but I didn't care once I got to taste the delicious cupcakes she had baked.
Here's Kay with her box of happiness:
Is she not lovely?
And yum, yum, check out these scrumptious-looking minis:
They looked even better on the plate:
Right off the bat, I couldn't wait to try the passion fruit custard-topped lime cupcakes.
Oh goodness they were delicious. Kay makes a European meringue frosting, made with egg yolks, and eschews cream cheese frostings, which I know would thrill Rachel, who doesn't like cream cheese-based frostings. The passion fruit puree that made this frosting was out of this world and added a piquancy that otherwise might have been lost in this cupcake. And, I found tiny bits of real lime zest in my cake, which made me happy.
Kay bakes dependent upon what's fresh, so no guarantees the passion fruit will be available but f it is, I highly encourage you to try it. The cake was a bit chewy and dough-y, a trait shared by all her minis but they're still a solid and tasty treat.
Here it is bisected:
Also tasty was the lemon cupcake with strawberry Swiss buttercream.
Again, the frosting outshone the cake, but a lot of people believe cupcakes are just a vehicle for frosting consumption.
The devil's food with caramel frosting was best served cold, and I definitely enjoyed it, even though I usually do not like chocolate cake. Kay mentioned she prefers a darker, more burnt-sugar caramel, as I do, but found that people had complained about the taste so these were made to better suite the general public. If you do decide to order from her, I'd request the darker, more original caramel. Island-style.
A bold choice, Kay also tops her (all butter-based) red velvet minis with the meringue frosting. No cream cheese frosting here at all. It wasn't my favorite, but it wasn't awful, either. It tended to be a bit drier than the buttermilk/oil + vinegar red velvets I am used to, but that's not necessarily a bad thing, just different.
With the light caramel frosting. This is, surprisingly, Kay's best seller. I would have assumed it would be that winner of a cupcake the passion fruit custard-topped lime cupcake. SO good!
Here's the control cupcake, vanilla-vanilla, made with homemade (!) vanilla extract.
I wouldn't want to judge Kay's work solely by this cupcake, which I found a bit too chewy and rubbery, and the frosting tended to be a bit of a tongue-coater, but it was still a decent treat.
Kay's branching out! Not only does she deliver to Columbia University area, but is thinking about expanding to Fordham University, an under-served area. She's also bringing her minis to the Hester Street Fair, beginning, I believe, next weekend on Sunday, June 27. Do check with her regarding her schedule as things were up in the air at the time of this posting.
Minis go for five for $5, or $1.25 apiece, which prices them slightly higher than the standard. I do think iEatTreats is a work in progress and expect things to better as Kay gets her sea legs, but in the meantime, make sure to try the summer flavors, which are a specialty of Kay's and her family. Mom grows the strawberries in her garden, boyfriend helps deliver, and Kay bakes herself silly.
A funny for you: When I asked Kay if she thought cupcakes were a fad, she said, "No, I think bad cupcakes are a fad." Hee!
iEatTreats
Decadent Nibbles Delivered Nightly 6pm-4am in the Columbia University area
646.775.2755
Minimum Order:$5. Cash only at this time.
See all images here.
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