Sparkle Cupcakery and Luxe Espresso Kiosk, Martin Place (8 Feb 2012)

Outside 51 Martin Place, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.sparklecupcakery.com.au

Sparkle up your work day

For fans of cupcakes from Sparkle Cupcakery who work in the city they'll be pleased to know they're now available from the new Martin Place kiosk located outside Martin Place Bar on Elizabeth Street. To celebrate the new kiosk it looks like they're giving away free Mini-Me cupcakes this Thursday 9 February from 8 am but only for the first 50 people and you'll need to check-in to their Facebook page. Looks like they'll definitely be all gone by the time I bother getting into work. Luxe Espresso is in charge of coffees and hopefully it's as decent as what Espresso on York churns out near QVB or actually Good Co Café just near by. I'm not sure of the menu prices at this stage.

I think it's a great idea for Martin Place and there should be more of these kiosks being set up for food and beverage. I'd love to see a Vietnamese Pork Roll (Bánh mì) kiosk like Hong Ha or Marrickville Pork Roll. Perhaps a hot dog kiosk, taco kiosk and I'm sure Turkish Gozleme and Poffertjes Dutch Pancakes would happily get in on the act too if you gave them half a chance. And how about a fantastic freshly cooked Cinnamon Donut kiosk like the one in Berry known as Famous Berry Donut Van.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Handy location for city workers near Martin Place, Sugar hit assured, Coffees available from Luxe Espresso

CONS: Very limited range of cupcakes available, No seating, I didn't spot a pricing menu, Didn't see any cakes or breads from Luxe Espresso

MUST TRY: Remembering for a quick afternoon pickup

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Limited range of cupcakes on offer — I'm suspecting it's their most popular flavours

Coffee available by Luxe Espresso

Located outside Martin Place Bar on Elizabeth Street

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Woolworths Town Hall: Mini Iced Cup Cakes, CBD Sydney (7 Sept 2011)

Cnr Park & George Streets, Sydney NSW 2000
http://woolworths.com.au

Convenient yet high in sugar

I'm not quite sure if Margaret Fulton would approve of the 42.6% sugar content but then again perhaps that’s just normal for iced cupcakes? The Mini Iced Cup Cakes ($9.99, 24 pieces) from Woolworths Town Hall are the cheapest I’ve come across in Sydney. Less than half the price of the $1 mini cupcakes from The Cupcake Factory. They were well-packaged to protect the cupcakes from being squashed in transit and were moist in texture. They looked quite pretty although once I opened the packaging I thought the aroma of the cupcakes was pretty sugary and smelt a bit processed. They tasted OK washed down with a tea or coffee although it was quite evident they were high in sugar.

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Cheap, Bite-sized, Well-protected packaging, Convenient and nicely decorated, Good for entertaining parties

CONS: High in sugar (42.6%) and fat (15.9%), Has a slightly weird processed sugary scent when package first opened

MUST TRY: Finding a low sugar and low fat mini cupcake that's still tasty and moist

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Woolworths Mini Iced Cup Cakes ($9.99, 24 pieces)

Nutritional information

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Sparkle Cupcakery: Christmas Cupcakes, Surry Hills (18 Dec 2010)

132A Foveaux Street, Surry Hills NSW 2010

http://www.sparklecupcakery.com.au

A bit of sparkle for Christmas

Thanks to Natascha Moy from FoodinFocus for running a competition where I won a selection of nicely packaged seasonal Sparkle Cupcakes and a bottle of sweet Mr Riggs 2009 Sticky End Viognier — great timing for some Christmas cheer. I arranged with Kathryn Sutton (Founder & Director of Sparkle Cupcakery) to collect them from their Surry Hills shop. The decor is slick and highly reflective to I guess match its sparkle name although with only a few people eating inside the acoustics were quite loud and noisy so it's not the most quiet place to have a chat. I've never had their cupcakes before but have heard mixed reviews ranging from loving them to thinking the cakes are too dry so it was time to taste test for myself.

Out of the three cupcakes I enjoyed the Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane the best with an interesting topping of crushed peppermint candy cane giving it a delightful minty taste. The Belgian Milk Chocolate cupcake was moist enough and didn't crumble too much. I thought the Eggnog Cupcake was too rich and the eggnog custard filling made it a bit too messy in the end and didn't hold together particularly well. There was perhaps a bit too much brandy buttercream topping as well making it too heavy for me. The Black Velvet was a rich Belgian dark chocolate mud cake with dribbly chocolate topping. The cake was moist and held together well when cut. If you love chocolate then this one is for you. I thought it had just the right amount of thin topping to balance with the cake.

Other food blog reviews:

• Tasted By Two

• The Unbearable Lightness of Being Hungry

• Pigged-Out

• Chris Thinks Food

• Nom Nom Nibblies

• I Am Obsessed With Food

SNAPSHOT REVIEW:

PROS: Interesting flavours to choose from, Daily gluten free cupcake available, Special packaging makes for a nice gift

CONS: Not the cheapest cupcakes around, Possible hit and miss on flavour combinations and there's mixed reviews

MUST TRY: Other flavours to compare — I'd be keen to try the coconut cupcake

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Nice packaging

6 seasonal cupcakes

Pull out tray for easier access to cupcakes

Mr Riggs 2009 Sticky End Viognier McLaren Vale

Chocolate Peppermint Candy Cane-Belgian Milk Chocolate cupcake sprinkled with chunks of festive peppermint candy cane

Eggnog Cupcake: Hint of nutmeg and a eggnog custard filling with a cheeky brandy buttercream

Black Velvet: Belgian dark chocolate mud cake with dribbly chocolate topping

Cupcake menu — $4.50 each

Display and service counter

Seating inside

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