Posts Tagged ‘sweets’
Colorado Confectioner Moves on Woodbridge
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, May 27th, 2010
(Image: Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory)
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory launches their third Virginia property today at Potomac Mills–the 30+-year-old candy chain has preexisting posts in Roanoke and Williamsburg–with a couple of sweet deals: one free gourmet candy bar with any purchase over $10 and/or buy-three-get-one-free specialty apples.
The Colorado-based company prides themselves on hand-preparing a wide variety of tempting sweets, including: over 300 kinds of gourmet chocolates, myriad fudge recipes, assorted specialty barks and dozens of dipped apple creations.
Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory: 2700 Potomac Mills Circle, Neighborhood 2, Woodbridge; 703-490-5086. Open 10-9 p.m Monday through Saturday, 11-6 p.m. Sundays.
–Warren
Giving Up the Goods: DamGoodSweet
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, November 13th, 2009
(Image: Taunton Press)
Introduce some Cajun to this year’s holiday table by preparing just about any of the Bayou-inspired confections N’awlins native turned local pastry chef David Guas shares in his new cookbook, DamGoodSweet.
The pseudo-autobiographical tome features 50 tantalizing recipes culled from Guas’ youth and professional experience, including: fried rice fritters, lemon doberge cake and banana pudding with crumbled vanilla wafers.
Need more proof?
Watch Guas test Al Roker’s commitment to gastric bypass by parading deep-fried apple pies, sweet potato tart tatin and red velvet cake in front of the one-time Today show weatherman:
(Video: Hulu)
Guas will also wax philosophic about all things honey and the plight of the bees on the “Disappearing Act” episode of Chefs A’Field (airing locally November 21 at 4 p.m. on WHUT).
To claim your copy of DamGoodSweet, just tell us about any local bakeries that regularly leave you swooning–be it from the homey smell of just baked breads, colorful arrays of gourmet cupcakes, rows and rows of old guard pastries or any other oven-fresh temptation–in the comments below.
We’ll select one winner at random from all the comments submitted before 5 p.m. on Thursday, Nov 19.
–Warren
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Thursday, March 19th, 2009
Sisters Jennifer Neiman and Susan Woodhouse are hoping to capitalize on the current snack craze by opening their own gourmet bakery, Cupcakes Actually. Susan will tackle all the baking—“She started perfecting cupcake recipes over the past few years,” Neiman said of her legal assistant sibling-turned-professional baker—while Neiman plans to handle day-to-day operations.
Neiman said they expect to launch with just a handful of signature flavors, but will roll out seasonal/specialty selections as the business grows. Tentative offerings include: basic chocolate/vanilla cakes dipped in chocolate fudge or caramel, basic cakes smothered in rich butter cream or peanut butter frosting, strawberry puree-infused cupcakes topped with strawberry butter cream and an Italian cassata cake swabbed with Swiss butter cream.—WR
Open for lunch and dinner daily. 11944 Grand Commons Ave., Fairfax; 571-522-6315; www.cupcakesactually.com
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Friday, December 5th, 2008
Mary’s Has Confections Galore for Your Adored
By Warren Rojas
Photography by Hana Jung
“I love to buy unique presents—something that nobody else can get,” said Mary Deatherage, the owner of an eponymous candy shop where virtually anything that can be dipped in chocolate usually is.
Deatherage has more than 2,000 molds in her confectionary arsenal and turns out dozens of specialty fudges—including staples like Butterfinger or rocky road and seasonals like caramel apple pie, peppermint and creamsicle—at any given time.
Meanwhile, those who prefer their sweets with a touch of savory can revel in her signature chocolate-covered potato chips. (Betcha can’t eat just one …)
Mary’s Cakery & Candy Kitchen is located at 10305 Indiantown Road in King George. Out-of-town orders are accepted by phone (540-775-9350), email (maryscakery1@yahoo.com) or via their newly redesigned homepage (www.maryscakeryandcandy.com); standard shipping charges apply.
(February 2008)
Posted by The Editorial Desk / Wednesday, December 3rd, 2008
Easy Stops for Spot-on Sweets
By Warren Rojas / Photography by Jonathan Timmes and Hana Jung
Let’s be honest: Nobody starts dieting in December.
Between the holiday parties, family gatherings and pre-/post-/intra-shopping-blitz snacking, counting calories goes on hiatus until a pseudo-sense of normalcy resumes sometime in early/mid-January.
So, why not send 2008 off with a bang by enjoying one last round of heavenly sweets and devilishly rich treats worth their weight in gold (which, I hear, is much safer than stocks right now)?
Best of all, you can still enjoy these “King”-ly indulgences even if you’re 401(k) has shriveled to a 4.01(k) (can’t wait for that food writers’ bailout to take shape).
Crunchy
The Swiss Bakery
Multiple NoVa Locations; www.theswissbakery.com
Average entree: Under 12 ($). Check locations for times.
Though my empirical evidence may be lacking, I’d be willing to bet The Swiss Bakery’s greatest expenditure is Windex.
Lord knows I had to fight to urge to press my face up against the glass to get an even better look at the fresh-baked buffet of meticulously decorated cookies and homespun pastries that seem to stretch into infinity behind their handsome display case.
Owner Laurie Weber (pastry chef) and her Swiss-born husband, Reto (head baker), bought the Burke location from the original owner in August 2001. They opened the companion Springfield store last August.
Almost all the daily baking is now handled exclusively at the Springfield shop—although Laurie Weber said some cookies and pastries are finished at the Burke store.
She estimated that on any given day they crank out approximately 50 cookies, two dozen French pastries, 15 to 20 breakfast items, a dozen (or so) rotating cakes, 15 to 20 homemade rolls/artisan breads and a handful of tarts. Come holiday time, Weber said they roll out seasonal gems like homemade panettone, stollen, bouche de noel and pre-fab/build-your-own gingerbread houses.
But why wait? After returning to the office with a mixed bag of the Webers’ cookie catalog, one giddy coworker gushed, “This makes me feel like it’s Christmas already.”
Sensible butter biscuits are gussied up with chopped nuts and a zesty cinnamon coating (nice combo). Greek shortbread bathes almond-laced dough in confectioners’ sugar (reminiscent of Mexican wedding cookies). Jewel-like Linzer cookies surround multicolored marmalades with hazelnut- and cinnamon-spiked dough (spicy-sweet synergy).
Pastry lovers need not feel neglected.
Cherry strudel weds sweet and sour (ripe, jellied cherries) with crispy dough (terrific). Walnut-covered sticky buns stain fingers with their molasses-like brown-sugar payload (a knockout). Napoleon marshals together smooth, vanilla custard, crackling phyllo leaves and marbled fondant icing for a regal treat. Meanwhile, chocoholics can sneak a nip of something even stronger via humdinger rum balls featuring alcohol-drenched fudge dredged in chocolate sprinkles (hard to tell which has more of an effect, the built-in booze or the natural chocolate euphoria).
Icy
Sweet Life Café
3950 Chain Bridge Road, Fairfax; 703-385-5433
Average entree: Under 12 ($). Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner daily.
Photography by Hana Jung
I’m sad to say that my own ice-cream maker collects more dust than it does crystalline milk and sloshing spices.
Good thing the Lederer clan doesn’t follow my example, opting instead to churn out over a dozen daily flavors at their charming Sweet Life Café.
The family-run enterprise screams neighborhood retreat, offering classic distractions like at-the-ready checkerboards, rocking chairs and a whimsical motorized train set that chugs along into perpetuity above the heads of the restaurant’s army of teenage servers.
Though they recently expanded their menu to include more home-style meals (including burgers, sandwiches and full-on entrees), the lines often form right in front of an ice-cream counter stocked with festive flavors (including the likes of caramel, pumpkin, gingerbread, coffee, Irish cream, mocha brownie, black raspberry chocolate, cinnamon-pecan, dreamsicle and bubble gum).
Standard sundaes emerge fully ensconced in hot fudge, sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries (additional toppings available by request), while the playful “dirt sundae”—interlaced with crushed Oreos and gummy worms—elicits gleeful squeals from adoring youngsters (and young-at-heart adults).
Their lick-your-spoon-good cake-batter ice cream is thick but not doughy—staff shared that they use a whole box of Duncan Hines yellow-cake mix per batch; you can taste the moist-cake-that-will-never-be in every creamy bite—delivering plenty of butter and all-around richness. Hot-chocolate mix and ground-up Nestle Crunch add bite to the coyote crunch (malted mouth feel is exacerbated by hidden pockets of puffed rice and milk chocolate).
Caramel is evenly rich, rolling across the tongue like so much liquid sugar. Root-beer float delivers all the fun of yesteryear without the straw. Cherry-chocolate chunk swirls together real cherries, mini chocolate chips and more tongue-clicking caramel.
Sassy
Overwood
220 N. Lee St., Alexandria; 703-535-3340; www.theoverwood.com
Average entree: $13 to $20 ($$). Open for lunch, dinner and late-night dining daily, Sunday brunch.
Photography by Jonathan Timmes
Seasonal comforts and rock ‘n’ roll appear to be the driving force behind Overwood’s head-turning sweets catalog—a list that owes a tremendous debt of gratitude to the curious tastes of Memphis’s favorite son.
The core desserts include the likes of a reputable key lime pie, Godiva bread pudding and the now-obligatory fudge-brownie sundae. But the real stars draw their strength from the synergy of Southern roots and North-African ingenuity.
Executive chef/partner Boubker Errami (a Morrocan native) pointed to the wildly successful slice of Elvis pie—a spotlight hog built upon crushed Oreos, faux peanut-butter filling (more dense than traditional mousse and littered with fresh peanuts), thinly sliced bananas, whipped cream, drizzled chocolate, caramel and crème anglaise and shaved, Belgian dark chocolate—as their top seller, estimating that they probably move over two dozen whole pies per week.
“It’s the king,” he said of their peanut-butter sensation, adding that even way-out-of-towners—including one Seattle woman who recently placed a special order for a family birthday—have become wise to the show-stopping sweet. “It’s amazing.”
Just one bite left me—don’t hurl the magazine; you knew it was coming—all shook up.
The strata upon strata of chilled banana and mouth-filling peanut butter lit up the pleasure centers of my youth (so chewy, so gooey, so grand), while the competing streams of liquid decadence reassured my adult mind of the fun grown-ups can still have in the kitchen.
As I chipped away at the towering slice, one onlooker smiled, leaned over and commented, “death by chocolate, indeed.”
Not quite, buddy. But what a way to go.
The sweet-potato cheesecake is another homemade charmer, delivering North Carolina spuds (spiced center, ricotta-like creaminess) rolled into a ground-gingersnap crust, dusted with cinnamon and baptized in a Jack Daniel’s bourbon-honey blend (delicious). Though less glitzy than the Elvis creation, the moist filling and natural sweetness (loved the cinnamon and honey notes) made for good holiday eating without all the mall traffic and maxed-out credit cards.
Groovy
CakeLove
Multiple NoVa Locations; www.cakelove.com
Average entree: Under 12 ($). Check locations for times.
Though other local media outlets have taken to pitting the burgeoning crop of would-be cupcake kings against one another in a tastetacular battle royal, we prefer a kindlier, gentler approach to baked goods appreciation.
Perhaps that’s why we’re suckers for D.C. attorney-turned-self-styled baker Warren Brown’s brand of from-scratch feasting, CakeLove.
Brown opened his first CakeLove on the now-booming U Street corridor in early 2002, and has since broadened his reach with incursions into Virginia (including a pedestrian-friendly refuge in the recent Shirlington expansion and a grab-and-go stand within Tysons Corner Center) and Maryland (including his latest shop in National Harbor).
Though he’s drawn some fire from critics of the exactitude of his serving requirements—CakeLove vociferously urges all its customers to bring all their homemade creations to room temperature (approximately 72 F) before enjoying—Brown seems totally unfazed by all the haters, working instead to keep his devoted fans in the custom flavors they’ve come to know and love.
One loyalty-builder includes the standing free-cupcake-on-your-birthday offer (just show your ID and stroll out with a freebie). Another is Shirlington’s fabulous “chocolate happy hour” promotion, a weekly deal whereupon customers can take 20 percent off any chocolate purchase each Tuesday.
Of course, there’s more to this local legend than discount chocolate.
Raspberry-on-vanilla cupcakes are a tangy-fresh treat, revealing pinkish frosting that walks the line between velvety butter and whipped yogurt (fantastic fruit flavor). Peanut-butter cupcakes taste of ground nuts and scrumptious butter cream (the perfect little pick-me-up). Ganache-covered, yellow sponge cake comes off like a milk-chocolate mushroom (an insta-classic).
Elsewhere, a slice of toffee-crunch cake summons moist chocolate cake layered with butter-cream frosting, caramel sauce and toffee crunchies (groovy). And a dreamy peanut-butter cheesecake gets a boost from a its chocolate ganache shell (some female companions almost lost consciousness from this one).
Fruity
Majestic Bakery
9255 Center St., Manassas; 703-330-4447
Average entree: Under 12 ($). Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday.
Natas / Photography by Hana Jung
My heart went out to her.
The timid, teenage girl just stood there, staring longingly at the frozen tundra of homemade gelatos encased behind the frost-covered glass at Manassas’ Majestic Bakery.
“I don’t know how to say it,” she sheepishly confessed to the attendant, electing to the tap the glass above her frozen wish rather than garble the proper name of the Italian chiller. (“Stra-cha-TELLA,” the helpful server sounded out for her.)
Exotic sweets and an education? That’s my kind of place.
Majestic takes its cues from the increasingly visible Portuguese population that calls Manassas home (a congregation currently serviced by a dining/shopping circuit comprised of several restaurants, the new Food Lovers market, Majestic and a clandestine supper club).
That means serving a slew of gourmet coffees and espresso drinks, preparing hot sandwiches and tapas-style platters for light snacking and keeping local expats cool with a rainbow of gelato flavors (apple, mango, coconut, the chocolate chip-like stracciatella, rum, hazelnut, green tea).
Then there’s the pastries.
Traditional natas reveal custard-filled pastry cups that smack of fresh eggs and preternatural sweetness—due in no small part to the creme brulee-like crust and heavenly, almond-tinged custard below.
Meringue-covered apple tart is another double-duty delight, erecting a burnt-sugar shield guarding a core of caramelized apples and powdered sugar pressed between thin layers of dough (fresh and filling without being overly sweet).
Chocolate-frosted jelly rolls (dense cake, syrupy strawberry) and custard-filled pinwheels (egg cream and sponge cake rolled in sprinkled sugar) are less ornate, but cede no ground on the sugar shock-satisfaction scale.
Likewise, the cleverly conceived “gelato lemonade”— much more potent than shaved ice but less viscous than a commercial Slurpee—puts an Old World twist on a New World thirst-quencher.
Naughty
Cowboy Cafe
4792 Lee Highway, Arlington; 703-243-8010
Average entree: $13 to $20 ($$). Open for lunch and dinner daily, weekend brunch.
Most bar owners would wince at the mere thought of having bands of underage clients march through their doors in search of a good time.
Cowboy Cafe co-owner Zac Culbertson, on the other hand, welcomes said kiddies with open arms—and a slew of funky new desserts.
Since taking over the longstanding watering hole last November, Zac and brother/fellow co-owner Matt Culbertson have seen their kids’ birthday-party business blossom—thanks in no small part to the creative jiggering of their dessert carte by chef Chris Kenworthy (last seen at Ballston’s Grand Cru).
Case in point: Culbertson said the brothers always knew they wanted to serve some sort of bread pudding on their revamped menu.
“That’s just something Matt and I grew up with,” he said of the familiar post-dinner treat.
But it took one of Kenworthy’s buddies to suggest tossing candy bars into the dining equation. After some initial experimentation, Culbertson now hails the Butterfinger bars for providing “a little stiffer bread pudding” than most people are probably used to.
The puffy sweet actually tastes more like French toast than traditional bread pudding (less syrupy/watery, anyway), showcasing giant triangles of baked brioche bread (another proprietary update) drizzled with caramel sauce and sprinkled with the crispety, crunchety candy bits (toffee-like nuggets rock).
“It’s definitely unique,” Culbertson said.
Meanwhile, their s’mores pie—an homage to campfire dining, sans all the errant pine needles and hard-to-reach bug bites—envelops mushy gobs of baked marshmallow and deep, rich fudge between crumbly graham-cracker layers, all zigzagged with caramel and marshmallow sauces and dusted with powdered sugar.
“It’s kind of warm and gooey in the middle,” Culbertson said of their best-selling dessert, adding, “We get people who come in and order whole pans of the stuff.”
Somewhere nearby, gangs of pediatric dentists are laughing all the way to the bank.
Spicy
ACKC Cocoa Bar
2003A Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria; 703-635-7917; www.thecocoagallery.com
Average entree: Under 12 ($). Open for breakfast, Saturday, lunch and dinner daily.
Photography by Jonathan Timmes
“Hello again. Here for your chocolate fix?” the kindly attendant asks the wide-eyed young lady who has obviously darkened the ACKC doorway once or twice before.
“I am,” the unrepentant chocoholic replies.
This snazzy cocoa bar represents the consolidation of Artfully Chocolate and Kingsbury Confections, simpatico sweets merchants who joined forces and unveiled their first combination drink palace/confection depot in the District late last year.
Although the anyway-you-like-it chocolate concept has carried over well to Del Ray, co-owner Eric Nelson said they recently surmised that many of their pre-existing dessert offerings, while good, were perhaps not entirely trek-worthy. So they’re stacking the odds in their favor by rolling out additional after-dinner enticements.
“What we’ve decided is that maybe a better niche for us is in being a dessert destination,” he said of their plan to introduce more gasp-inducing treats like the new molten-lava torte, chocolate-hazelnut cakes, hot-cocoa flights and expanded ice-cream offerings (currently composed using Gifford’s chocolate and vanilla).
Meanwhile, Nelson said they’ve gone to great lengths to build their brand by cross-pollinating nearly every item they offer—be it a made-to-order beverage, homemade truffle, hand-crafted chocolate bars or frozen fare—with signature flavor combinations (cinnamon-chipotle peppers, lavender-pistachio, etc.).
You can almost taste the love.
The full-bodied Marilyn floods the senses with candied orange and cream (intoxicating). The fire-spitting Lucy delivers chipotle flashes that light up the back of your throat (building heat with every drawn breath), while the frothy, warmed chocolate coddles your inner child. Chill-seekers can succumb with a white-chocolate frappe that spins chocolate, milk and ice into a foamy stress-reliever crowned with whipped cream (sublime).
Solid indulgences include a petite but infinitely pleasurable gourmet chocolate and cheese plate, a dairy duet of milk, dark and white chocolates partnered with organoleptic curds (often acquired from neighboring Cheesetique) ranging from ripened blues to fiery jalapeno cheddars. Meanwhile, nostalgic eaters can retreat to a less hectic time by sinking their teeth—no braces, please—into bulbous candy apples shellacked in gooey caramel, milk chocolate, mini M&M’s, toffee chips, crushed nuts, sprinkles and just about any other crunchy topping you can imagine.
Homey
Silver Diner
Multiple NoVa Locations; www.silverdiner.com
Average entree: $13 to $20 ($$). Open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night dining daily.
Distilling down the nation’s preferred dessert lineup was no easy task. But Silver Diner cofounder Ype Von Hengst said that’s exactly what he and his partners attempted to divine during their exploratory tour of pre-existing diners so many years ago.
They discovered that homemade apple pie, carrot cake and chocolate cake were near-universal favorites, so they brought them all together under one roof for the launch of the original Rockville, Md., Silver Diner in 1989 and haven’t looked back since.
“These are the standards that are always popular,” Von Hengst stated of his core dessert line, listing the chocolate cake as the perennial leader, then quickly adding “but it’s a close race between all of them.”
He credited original baker Martha Sanchez with producing the first pies and cakes for the local chainlet and commended her for keeping at it nearly 20 years later. “She has always been my best baker,” he said of the veteran sweets queen.
Von Hengst estimated that they sell around 400 to 500 whole apple pies and maybe 200 to 300 whole carrot cakes per month at their combined 16 locations. And while shakes and ice-cream fare tend to rule the summer months, Von Hengst noted that pie and cake sales always spike leading into the holidays.
What cause for celebration.
Their signature apple creation is easily two apples high. The thick, cinnamon-sprinkled skin battles to contain giant chunks of tart, crunchy green apples that have stopped just short of caramelizing, releasing their natural sweetness without slapping you in the face with sugar. Von Hengst described the breakdown of their monolithic pie as approximately four pounds Granny Smith apples to roughly one pound of sugar and dough (crust).
“With a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream, it’s to die for,” he said of the fruit-filled favorite.
The carrot cake yields moist spice cake loaded with chunks of real pineapple, golden raisins, chopped nuts, shredded carrot and lush cream-cheese frosting (boasting a dreamy blend of cream cheese, butter, lemon and vanilla), all drizzled with caramel sauce. No word on where exactly the fluffy carrot cake fits on the government’s updated food pyramid, but it’s an easy way to boost your fruits and veggies intake for the day.
(December 2008)