HOSTESS WITH THE MOSTEST?

I have a confession. I love me some Hostess snack cakes. Maybe it’s because I used to love the commercial with the referee calling plays with various Hostess goodies. “There’s a fruit pie on the field.” Anyone…anyone?

Maybe it’s my love affair with the delicious creamy center, some cross between whipped cream, frosting, and marshmallow fluff. I’ve tried to recreate it, met with abysmal failure, much to my dismay.

Maybe it’s the comforting thought that if I were to survive a nuclear holocaust, I know my Twinkies will be right there with me.

So when Hostess announced their 100 Calorie offering, the angels sang from above and visions of fat free crème filling danced in my head. Now, I’ll be the first to admit 100 calorie packs should not be confused with diet food. They are significantly marked up, portion control packs of things you should consume sparingly. Plain and simple, these are snacks. And most of the time, the portion sizes are a joke (I’m talking to you Entenmann’s and Little Debbie…you break my heart) But when I saw that Hostess had come out with 100 Calorie pack mini-cupcakes, well, all bets were off. Three cute cupcakes per package complete with creamy center. 100 calories. 5 grams of fiber. BTW, that’s a value of 1 if you happen to be following a nationally recognized weight loss plan that doesn’t support this site or the consumption of cupcakes in general. I seriously thought my prayers had been answered.

Until….

Go to your purse or wallet or change jar and dig out 9 quarters. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Ok, now stack three quarters each into 3 piles. People, each cupcake is the size of each quarter stack! I am not lying. And for a serious eater like me, it took me all of 10 seconds to wolf those down. Oh sure, I could savor the cakes, enjoying the cute 1/8 teaspoon of creamy goodness inside. But then I would have time to contemplate the lack of white curly swirl indicative of Hostess Cupcakes. And then I would just be mad and eat more.

And I have to admit, these cakes were a bit dry. Maybe since they bumped up the fiber, it made the cake a different consistency and not so chocolaty. I had to get a second glass of skim milk to wash them down. Good for my bones, but not worth it for 3 measly dessert cakes.

I’m told that the best ones are actually the carrot cake with cream cheese frosting. And that may be true. But for $3.77 for a box of 6, I can’t say it was worth my money to even try again. Personally, I’d rather just enjoy the real thing and tack an extra 30 minutes onto my workout….if I worked out.

5 sprinkles out of 10, but only because they are 1 point per 3.

Reviewed by Madame Buttercream

SWEET HONEY BEE BAKERY

SWEET HONEY BEE BAKERY
1918 West Montrose Ave.
Chicago, IL 60613
Phone: 773-275-0697
Fax: 773-275-0036
Hours
Tue – Fri: 7am – 6:30pm
Sat: 8am – 7pm
Sun: 9am-3pm
Closed Mondays

We are coming up on my favorite season in Chicago. And though I still need my stinking coat to walk outside, I thought I would take advantage of the end of weekly snow storms (knock on wood) by walking 20 minutes to my salon appointment yesterday. And thank God I did. Because had I been in my car, jockeying for a parking space along Montrose Avenue at rush hour, I may have missed the most wonderful sign that led me to a delicious new find.

TRY OUR NEW CUPCAKE FLAVORS-LEMON, STRAWBERRY, and TIRIMISU

I was rushing to make my 5:30 appointment but made the split second decision to stop into the Sweet Honey Bee Bakery on my way back home and see what they had to offer. And whenever I do something I’d rather not do, root canal, trying on swimsuits, or in this case, having my eyebrows ripped out, I try to do something nice for myself afterwards. Plus, they used two of my favorite words in the English language on the same sign…CUPCAKE and TIRIMISU.

Sweet Honey Bee Bakery is a no frills bakery. If you’re looking for ambiance to people watch while enjoying your baked goods, then go elsewhere. But if you want a great treat, perhaps to enjoy at home or at the park and in some cases, walking around the neighborhood, then this is your place. The woman in front of me was raving to the owner about the dessert she brought home the week before to share with her husband. And he was quick to offer a suggestion of what she may like to try this week.

But the stars of the show are indeed the desserts. The display case was filled with slices of cake bursting with fresh fruit and fluffy buttercream frosting, nice size cookies, smaller entertaining cakes, gorgeous éclairs, a delightful chocolate dipped brownie pop and of course, cupcakes. Beautiful cupcakes in a variety of flavors, some standard (chocolate and yellow cake with buttercream frosting, chocolate with chocolate ganache, red velvet with cream cheese frosting) And some you don’t find every day (Champagne, Green Tea, Strawberry Chocolate Chip and Tirimisu). Each cupcake was just as beautiful as the next, each possessing its own personality. Having already made the decision to skip dinner and get two cupcakes instead, I found myself wishing for some sort of sampler platter. Of course, my whole reasoning for going in was the Tirimisu cupcake, so that was a no-brainer. And I finally decided to go back to basics for the second choice, a chocolate cupcake with buttercream frosting.

TIRIMISU CUPCAKE
A coffee infused golden cupcake topped with a marscapone cheese frosting and a dusting of cocoa powder.
Price: $1.83 plus tax

Tirimisu means “pick me up” in Italian. And this cupcake definitely lifted my spirits. First off, the cake was light and moist without being crumbly. You could take a bite without the entire thing falling apart. Having bought my cupcake 30 minutes before closing time, I was worried about it being stale or worse, having that freezer burn taste of a cake that has been baked, frozen then thawed again. Not so. My one negative comment would be that I could have used more coffee flavor, as it was almost non-existent. The frosting was light, an almost mousse like consistency and when eaten together with the cake, created several layers of flavor that was almost perfect. A definite 8 out of 10 sprinkles in my book.

CHOCOLATE CAKE WITH BUTTERCREAM FROSTING
A velvety chocolate cupcake topped with a light buttercream frosting.
Price: $1.83 plus tax

If I had to choose my favorite classic cupcake, it would be chocolate cake with fluffy white frosting. This cupcake did not disappoint. Something that was brought to my attention in this cupcake that I didn’t see in the Tirimisu cupcake would be the fact that these are clearly homemade. The cake was a little bit lopsided on top, which to me, just added to its charm. The cake portion had a light velvety chocolate taste without being too rich. But the thing that made this cupcake sing was the frosting. Unlike most fluffy white frostings that are shortening based, this buttercream was light and airy, almost taking on a whipped cream consistency There was a thin layer of frosting without being skimpy and when added to the decorative buttercream flower, you got the perfect cake to frosting ratio. It tastes just as good as homemade, especially enjoyed with a glass of cold milk. 9 out of 10 sprinkles in my opinion.

It may not be much to look at, but the taste of the Sweet Honey Bee Bakery cupcakes win in the end. Plus, having paid far more for far worse, the price is well worth it. Now if they would just offer a sampler platter so I could enjoy all of the flavors.

Reviewed by Madame Buttercream