By DEBORAH DUNSMORE ’11
Staff Writer
In February I embarked on a journey to find the best cupcake in the Wellesley area. I tried numerous cupcakes from four different bakeries near campus. I judged the cupcakes within three categories: cake, icing and decoration. I was looking for a cake that was moist and light. When you indulge yourself with a cupcake the last thing you want is dry cake. There are two kinds of buttercream with distinct flavors. American buttercream has a sugar base, while a traditional buttercream has a creamy base. The key is pairing the right icing with the right cupcake. Both icings are delicious when they are made correctly.
When you buy a cupcake for a special occasion, you want it to not only taste great but to look great, too. Decoration, while secondary to taste, helps make a cupcake terrific. I looked for all of these things in the cupcakes I tried and found one that stood out from the rest.
The first bakery I tried was Rosie’s Bakery on Central Street. I have been going there for lunch and the occasional sweet treat since my first weekend at Wellesley. The charming atmosphere gives the bakery a playful feel. I crave sugar every time I enter. Rosie’s Bakery has mastered the cute cupcake. Each one was decorated with an adorable animal design in many bright colors.
But unfortunately none of the cupcakes lived up to their impressive appearances. Both the chocolate and the vanilla flavored cakes were dry. The frosting fell somewhere between a traditional and an American buttercream, but it seemed to miss the balancing point. The chocolate icing was slightly better than the vanilla icing, but it still did not have that “wow” factor I sought. Overall, while the decorations were top notch, the cupcakes themselves were no better than those at any grocery store chain.
The next bakery on my list was Susu Bakery on Washington Street. Susu was my favorite bakery to visit. You feel as if you just walked into someone’s parlor. The room is furnished with beautiful antique armchairs and tables. I could think of no better place to go have a hot chocolate on a cold day. While their cupcakes were not as intricately decorated as the ones at Rosie’s, they featured large flowers in an array of colors.
The icing, which falls more toward the traditional buttercream, was excellent. It contained just the right amount of sugar as not to overwhelm you, but still leave you with that sweet feeling. The cake itself is hit or miss. Over the course of my visits, the cake ranged from moist and delicious to dry and stale. When the cake is good, the cupcakes are amazing. But there is no way to know what kind of cupcake you will get.
The third bakery I visited was in the opposite direction from campus. Located in Natick at 9 South Main Street, Bakery on the Common is a more developed version of Rosie’s. They offer a wide variety of breakfast and lunch options, as well as many desserts baked daily. There is seating inside the bakery, but often in good weather patrons take their food across the street onto the Common. With cake decorators on staff, Bakery on the Common has decoration in the bag.
While their daily cupcakes are not as decorated as those at Rosie’s or Susu, you can easily order custom-designed cupcakes for any occasion. They also feature special styles for holidays and special events, which replace the daily sprinkle design. The icing itself is sweet American buttercream. One of their cupcakes will leave you in a happy sugar coma. Both the chocolate and vanilla cakes are light and airy and match perfectly with the intense icing.
The final bakery I visited was the Quebrada Baking Co. next to the Whole Foods on Washington Street. Not much thought was put into the atmosphere of this bakery, but judging by the number of patrons, that does not seem to hurt business. There are tables to eat a snack there, but it seems more like a traditional bakery in the sense that you purchase your goods to go.
Their everyday cupcakes are similar in appearance to those at Bakery on the Common except they feature a flower in the center. The frosting is a traditional buttercream and does not have that sugar kick. The cake is denser than any of the other cakes I have tried. In the vanilla cake the density translated into slight dryness. I recommend the chocolate cake because it not only remains moist, but it is sweeter. The sweetness of the cake balances with the creamy icing forming an excellent cupcake.
Though all the cupcakes had their strong aspects, there could only be one winner in this cupcake challenge. The cupcake that combined the best of all three categories was the Bakery on the Common chocolate cupcake with white icing, which was consistently enjoyable. Even though it was very sugary, the cake perfectly balanced out the icing. Bakery on the Common’s cupcakes are also the largest cupcakes of all the ones I tried, which for me is always a plus. After many cupcakes and even more calories, I feel confident in saying that Bakery on the Common has the best cupcakes around.