I've shied away from cupcakes for a long time. Well, maybe it's also fair to say that I perhaps was all snobby about them too. Probably because of how hackneyed, commonplace, 'done-to-death' they were, how many bad cupcakes there are, how pedestrian and easy they are to whip up blah blah. I could get on my high-macaroon-horse and make an absurd analogy, something like:
Cupcakes are like the Kate Hudson of the baking world - simplistic, crowd pleasing and in every other chick flick. Macaroons are like Catherine Deneuve - complex, talented, mysterious, aloof and full of understated elegance.
What a load of nonsense, that analogy. With the market awash now with cheap-as-chips macaroons they're as ubiquitous as cupcakes (they're now available everywhere from market stall stands to the frozen section at Lidl!). And just like cupcakes, it's incredibly easy to find really bad macaroons tasting of nothing other than non-descript saccharine sweet - what I call an absolute waste of calorie consumption. If you're going to be naughty, you may as well be doing naughty good! And my, have we got just the thing - The all-new singing and dancing Cupcake Heroes at Anges de Sucre!
Why are they Cupcake Heroes? Because they literally save you from making a massive mistake on your cheat day by grabbing any-ol-treat. If you're going to cheat and treat yourself, you should darned well be sure you make each naughty calorie count and not put ANYTHING sub-SPECTACULAR past your lips! And if we're going to introduce cupcakes to the Anges de Sucre online bakery menu, then I will darned well be sure they are the most ridiculous cupcakes ever. Enter the Cupcake Hero - soft and fluffy sponge with the lightest and silkiest Swiss Meringue Buttercream made with pure butter, glazed with smooth Belgian chocolate, with toppings for added texture and a cheeky mini macaroon or meringue. Being bad never tasted SO GOOD.
What really makes these cupcakes stand out is the balance between the various textures and the delightfully light yet flavoursome frosting. The Swiss Meringue Buttercream frosting is unlike any other - it contains less sugar than ordinary frosting readily available, and is made with whipping meringue with butter and natural flavours such as real fruit purees and nut butters. It's silky, soft, fluffy, and really flavoursome without the tooth-aching generic sweet taste.
Of course, the flavour combinations are, in typical Anges style, fun, playful and current. And my, don't they look S-W-E-E-T! Marcel-at-the-Movies, named after a character in one of my all-time favourite TV shows - Friends (Marcel, Ross' monkey! Remember?!) is a moist (I hate that word, but there really is no alternative) banana sponge with sea-salted Swiss Meringue Buttercream, chocolate glaze, and topped with a sea-salted caramel swirl, Cornish fudge brunoise, toffee popcorn and a mini Cheeky Cazzamella macaroon. Then we have Ferrero's Ferrari - chocolate sponge and nutella Swiss Meringue Buttercream, topped with crushed and whole hazelnuts and a mini chocolate macaroon.
Well...I could jabber on and on about how amazing these unique cupcakes are, they are my babies, but you've got to try it to believe it. Trust, it's the best way to be bad. Ever.
See you Chez Anges on cheat day,
Reshmi aka Head Honcho
Michelle
September 18, 2017
Beautiful photography, you really know how to get a girl salivating.