Carina's Cupcakery in Chicago

(Editor's note from 2025: Carina's Cupcakery shut down business on February 1, 2025. Just six months previous, Carina made the cakes for my wife and me's wedding celebration in Chicago. Gone, but not forgotten.)

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A little over a year ago, a theatre artist friend posted that one of his theatre artist friends had started a cupcake business out of her home kitchen. I investigated, saw that she delivered (which has been so necessary in pandemic-land), and dove in, sweet tooth first. Her business, Carina's Cupcakery, may primarily be cupcakes and cakes, but she does many other things, too; over time she has delivered cake pops, caramel corn, and macarons along with my cupcake orders. (These additional items haven't made it to her website's menu yet, but I can attest to their quality for when they do!) 

Carina's specialty is flavors of the Philippines, some flavors I'd first been introduced to by another Jennivee's Bakery and others I first had from Carina. Another menu often features monthly specialty flavors, which means there's often something new I haven't tried on the menu. I've tried the ones I am most excited about and decided it was time to blog about it.

Without further ado, here is my personal ranking from favorite to not-my-favorite-but-still-tasty:

• 

  From Carina's Cupcakery's
  Facebook page.

  Date Night (chocolate covered strawberry, seasonal)
• Ube Jammin' (ube)
• Philippine Sun (mango pineapple)
• Ginger Spice (cinnamon and spices, seasonal)
• Chocolate Cravings (quadruple chocolate)
• Lemonade Stand (raspberry lemonade, seasonal)
• Spill the Tea (chai spices, seasonal)
• Cupcake de Coco (brown sugar and coconut)
• CocoJoy (coconut almond chocolate)
• Cupcakes 'n Cream (Oreo)
• Big Buko (pandan and coconut)
• So Corny (corn and coconut)

If you're like me, you'll try them and soon want to make your way through the menu. It's dangerous, but worth it. So if you're in Chicago, give Carina's Cupcakery a try!

Milk Bar grocery store pints

Milk Bar is a New York City legend. Whether their Cereal Milk soft serve, their pie (formerly known as "crack pie"), or their cake truffles, dessert there is a sweet-toothsome experience. But I have a confession: I've always *liked* Milk Bar, but haven't *loved* Milk Bar. Their sugar-forward approach may give the chic place an adult candy store feel, but to me it was always at the expense of depth of flavor. Until now.

I happened to be walking through the Whole Foods freezer aisle, just taking stock, when I saw that Milk Bar now has grocery store pints! I jumped on the opportunity to buy one of each flavor, praying that this NYC export wasn't the bitter disappointment of Serendipity's grocery store pints. The results of my scientific inquiry? Well, I liked them enough to blog about it, which is saying a lot these days.

From favorite to still-good-but-not-as-good, here are my thoughts:

Cereal Milk: Admittedly, when I eat cereal, I do not drink the milk remnants afterward. To me, it is concentrated sugar, like drinking soda from the machine is too many parts syrup. That said, when I had the Cereal Milk soft serve in New York, I was underwhelmed. It ends up all it needed was more milkfat. Simple and an instant classic, this pint has a subtler sweetness than its namesake, all with crunchy cornflakes mixed in to add some textural diversity. A wonderful flavor.

Cornflake Chocolate Chip Marshmallow: Are you even making ice cream in post-Ben & Jerry's America if you don't have a flavor boasting to have the most crazy chunks mixed in? This long flavor name doesn't even mention that the flavor base aims to taste like cookie dough, something I'm not sure it achieves. What is does taste like is toasted bliss, vaguely s'mores-like. The mix-ins--chocolate chips, more crunchy cornflakes, and the occasional patch of a marshmallow-like substance--only add to the flavor experience, making each bite a little different from the next.

Birthday Cake: In general, I find this flavor trend cloying and something colorful intended for kids, but Milk Bar made it right. Rich and flavorful, my only complaint is that the delicious frosting mix-in (usually the downfall of Birthday Cake ice creams) was in hunks rather than a ripple. This made some bites a bit much.

Pie: A somewhat bland name for an interesting flavor. The "deep vanilla" base has a hint of burnt sugar. With the "gooey butter filling" giving the ice cream a St. Louis "Gooey Butter Cake" effect, this flavor is almost too rich for me...he says still licking the spoon. Lastly, they have some oats mixed in to approximate pie crust, but for me oats just don't work as a mix-in. Sure, they maintain their texture, but they linger too long and end up dominating. Still, a good flavor.

Lost Larson in Chicago

If there's one reason to retcon my Best of Chicago Sweets List, it is Lost Larson. The bakery has become my favorite in Chicago. It's located in Andersonville between two of the neighborhood's longest Swedish holdouts--the Swedish Bakery and the delicatessen--before both tragically disappeared in the past five years. But while Lost Larson is definitely modern, it still keeps things Swedish, offering a lingonberry almond cake, limpa bread and semla, among others delicacies. In addition to their chai latte (the best I've ever had) and their cheddar and kale scone, these are my favorite items from Lost Larson:

(1) Afternoon Tea Bun - To the naked eye, it is a cinnamon roll shape that's merely covered in granulated sugar. Incorrect. There is sugar, lemon zest and earl grey. It is simple, yet mind-blowing. My favorite by far.

(2) Cinnamon Roll Bread Pudding - Like everything at Lost Larson, the cinnamon rolls are good. The cinnamon roll bread pudding, however, is great. Dense and sweet. It may not have a cream cheese frosting, but it doesn't need it.

Afternoon Tea Bun.

(3) any seasonal fruit dough-y pastry - Croissant, danish, whatever they're calling it that day, get it. My favorite is when they have rhubarb, but that is more personal preference than studious recommendation.

(4) Chocolate Passionfruit Caramel Tart - Did I mention they do pastry of the non-dough variety? Lost Larson excels at this, too! What would you say to a dark chocolate tart topped with a caramel that has been flavored with passion fruit? You would say, "Yes. I would like to eat that now, please."

(5) Almond Croissant - Almond croissants were perfected in my mind by West Seattle's Bakery Nouveau. Here at Lost Larson, we have a worthy local option. The almond paste in the middle of this powdered sugar topped delight doesn't taste like marzipan and it doesn't taste like amaretto; it tastes like--who'da thunk?--almonds.

Freezer Faves: Tillamook's Monster Cookie

While this blog is primarily a fan of local scoop shops, it acknowledges that sometimes a person just wants to stay in for the night. That being said, this is one of my Freezer Favorites.

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I was delighted when mid-pandemic, the local Chicago-area grocery stores started carrying the Oregon brand Tillamook. Having lived in the Pacific Northwest, Tillamook's extra creamy ice cream is well-known to me. But enough boasting about my extensive dairy dessert knowledge, on to the blog!

M&M's, oats, chocolate chips, and peanut butter. What makes these cookie ingredients a "monster" you ask? Elementary, my dear blog reader. It is not the cookies that are the monster, but, in fact, you...once you have your first taste of a monster cookie. Om nom nom nom.

Tillamook's Monster Cookie ice cream is my first time hearing of this classic cookie being made into an ice cream. And they knock it out of the park. This isn't bursting with mix-ins, but instead strikes a delicate balance one might not associate with the eponymous baked good: not too much oats, which would result in the still being chewy after the ice cream part has melted away; not too much peanut butter, which could easily overpower the other flavors; and kissed with just enough chocolate chips and wannabe M&M's to elevate the sweetness in every bite.

But the crowning achievement is the ice cream base. Boasting itself to be cookie-dough flavored ice cream, the base is definitely more than your average sweet cream. Were it a blond-folded taste test, would I name the flavor cookie dough (as I would with Thomas Sweet's Chocolate Chip Cookie flavor)? Probably not. But that doesn't stop the base from being exceptionally tasty!

Tillamook's Cookie Monster, I salute you!

Freezer Faves: Signature Select's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup

 While this blog is primarily a fan of local scoop shops, it acknowledges that sometimes a person just wants to stay in for the night. That being said, this is one of my Freezer Favorites.

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Gasp! Is he really recommending a--double gasp!--grocery store brand ice cream?!? (Clutches pearls.)

I am often confused with being an ice cream snob. But the truth is I appreciate high-brow and low-brow ice creams. Who among us doesn't crave a Dairy Queen blizzard or McDonald's caramel sundae from time to time?

In proclaiming the virtues of this particular flavor, I would argue that that its chocolate base has more of an actual chocolate flavor than most so-called chocolate ice creams. (It still isn't like taking a bite out of a 72% cacao single origin chocolate bar, but one should turn to fresh gelato or even fresh chocolate sorbetto for that.) And, unlike most products offered by the grocery store staple brands Edy's/Dreyer's and Breyer's, this flavor is actually ice cream and not "light ice cream" or "frozen dairy dessert."

Moving beyond the singing the praises of its chocolate base, I must also declare its peanut butter cups to be hunks of joy. Mixed in along with an exceptionally good (but not overpowering) peanut butter swirl, the cups are not in every bite, but are such that I often bargain with myself that I'll stop eating "one more peanut butter cup...no, one more...no, one more..." 

Signature Select's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup, I salute you!

Freezer Faves: Kemp's White Chocolate Raspberry

While this blog is primarily a fan of local scoop shops, it acknowledges that sometimes a person just wants to stay in for the night. That being said, this is one of my Freezer Favorites.

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"Decadent mascarpone cheesecake ice cream with a luscious raspberry swirl and white chocolaty chips."

Need I go on?

Sure, the base may not scream of mascarpone and there aren't as many raspberry swirls as I'd like, but damned if this flavor ain't the truth. With the white chocolaty flakes packing every bite, this flavor is similar to Häagen-Dazs' Double Belgian Chocolate Chip, in that it utilizes a sweet and creamy base with a differently textured mix-in to produce a chocolate truffle effect, albeit a white chocolate truffle.

When I turned a half gallon of this flavor into a mere two portions, I knew I had my hands on an instant classic.

Kemps' White Chocolate Raspberry, I salute you!

Freezer Faves: Häagen-Dazs' Double Belgian Chocolate Chip

While this blog is primarily a fan of local scoop shops, it acknowledges that sometimes a person just wants to stay in for the night. That being said, this is one of my Freezer Favorites.

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I have blogged about this flavor before. Indeed, it was this flavor that inspired me to share my extensive ice cream knowledge on the blogging platform when a co-worker I had a decade-and-a-half ago falsely claimed there were no good American chocolate ice creams. And this flavor was once considered my all-time favorite ice cream flavor. But while my palate has become more refined over the years, there is no denying that Häagen-Dazs' Double Belgian Chocolate Chip still kicks serious butt.

While it has gone through a number of name changes over the years--Belgian Chocolate Chocolate to the simplified Belgian Chocolate to its new, most accurate name--the flavor has remained the same. A pint of creamy chocolate ice cream that is nearly fifty-percent dark chocolate shavings. Every single bite is equal parts ice cream and shavings so delicate and small that they are nearly indistinguishable from the base were it not for their full-bodied punch of flavor. The effect is that of a chocolate truffle ice cream with two types and textures of chocolate blending into a wholly original experience.

Häagen-Dazs' Double Belgian Chocolate Chip, I salute you!

Freezer Faves: Talenti's Roman Raspberry

While this blog is primarily a fan of local scoop shops, it acknowledges that sometimes a person just wants to stay in for the night. That being said, this is one of my Freezer Favorites.

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When my lactose-intolerant lady friend told me her favorite dairy-free grocery store option was made by Talenti, I balked. I've never been impressed with their gelato. Quite frankly, I thought their gelato stunk and tasted of the plastic container it came in.

Enter Roman Raspberry dairy-free sorbetto.

Soft, scoop-able sorbet. None of that icy block that you have to scrape and scrape and scrape away at until you eventually get a satisfying amount onto your spoon. And the flavor envelops your taste buds with tart berry flavor that forces you to pause a moment to savor before dipping your spoon in for more.

 

Now, authetic, fresh sorbetto is comprised of merely sugar, water and the fruity flavoring agent, be it fruit or juice. Talenti's Roman Raspberry contains more than that; it is a mass-produced grocery store product so of course there are preservatives...but the final product has only six ingredients! Ultimately, though, one should trust the taste buds. It is so close to being the real thing, one might question if, in fact, it is the real thing. I dare say it is.

Talenti's Roman Raspberry, I salute you!

Pandemic Land Special: What's Good in the Grocery Store?

There hasn't been a ton to report on dessert-wise during pandemic times. I am limited to the spots that are walking distance from my apartment. But while I prefer to review local spots, the pandemic has allowed me to settle in with a few new grocery store favorites AKA my Freezer Faves. This week I will be reporting on my best new discoveries as well as a few old stand-bys. Scroll on for more...

Downstate Donuts in Chicago, IL

Many of us Chicagoans have been craving the foods we cannot access easily during quarantine due to them being outside walking distance. Imagine my delight when a friend spread the gospel of a new doughnut place that delivers! The purveyor in question is Downstate Donuts, where the doughnuts are made with potatoes. Indeed when the half dozens have arrived at my door, they smelled like potato chips. They didn't taste like potato chips, but there's no denying that smell.

As the weeks continue to pass in quarantine, I've allowed myself to make more than one order to this wonderful establishment and create a list of their donuts, from my favorite to my least favorite. Don't get me wrong, though: all of them are good!

L-to-R: Wild Blueberry, Strawberry Rosé,
Lemon Mascarpone, Vanilla Sour Cream

Strawberry Rosé - My favorite of their offerings, they actually boast that this is their first savory doughnut...but it tastes sweet to me! The strawberry glaze is the best I've encountered.

L.R.P. (Lemon Ricotta Pistachio) - Hot on the tail of the previous doughnut, the layered combination gets better with each bite.

Vanilla Sour Cream - Don't bypass this one just because it sounds simple. This classic is classic for a reason.

Sweet Potato Maple - A delightful balance of sweet potato and maple, I actually prefer this version to their other option Maple Pecan, which has too much going on flavor-wise in my humble opinion.

Lemon Mascarpone - As you have probably deduced by now, in addition to having a variety of glazes, Downstate Donuts also uses different doughs. This particular doughnut is decadent and rich.

Italian Cream Cake - I ate the whole thing, but I'm still not totally clear on what was going on with it. All I know is that it was good. The website says the cake doughnut has coconut milk in it!

L-to-R: Vanilla Sour Cream, L.R.P.,
Chocolate Sea Salt, Brown Butter Chai

Wild Blueberry - The glaze has more than a hint of lemon in it, which sadly overpowers the blueberry, even though there are hunks of blueberries in the doughnut.

Brown Butter Chai - I expected more of a punch of flavor than I got in this doughnut, but when has cinnamon on a glazed doughnut ever been bad?

Chocolate Sea Salt - More salt than I prefer on this tasty chocolate glaze. I feel it necessary to reiterate that while this is near the bottom of the list, it still was good!

Salted Peanut Butter - This was the only doughnut of theirs that didn't taste unique to me. I feel I can grab something similar at other doughnut spots.

Delivery from Downstate Donuts is available on Saturday mornings only, so get your orders in before 5pm on Friday this week.

Pierre Hermé in Paris, France

I was three days into my Paris trip still waiting for my "Wow" moment with Parisian food. Things had been good--and a select few great--but nothing had completely blown me away yet. As luck would have it, Day Three was also the day I would be trying the number one spot on my dessert list: Pierre Hermé.

Most famous for his macarons, Hermé has fashioned his fair share of original flavor combinations. To name a few: Jardin Oriental (rose, orange blossom and candied ginger), Jardin de l'Atlas (lemon, orange blossom and Maquis honey) and Montebello (pistachio & raspberry). What I was lining up for is his most famous flavor creation, Ispahan, in both macaron and croissant form.

What is Ispahan, you ask? Raspberry and lychee with a hint of rose. Going in, I wasn't entirely sure that this would be as great as advertised--my experiences with floral flavors has usually been negative--but my doubts were put to rest when the duo ahead of me in line ordered five of the seven remaining Ispahan croissants!

From my first bite of the croissant, I knew I had walked through a doorway into a new world, forever changed. With a thin, sweet glaze on top of the pastry, the tart raspberry intertwined with the sweet lychee on a floor of soft rose petals. The words from my mouth were expletives with modifiers of the divine persuasion.

When my trekking brought me near a different location of Pierre Hermé on Day Four, I made sure to stop in. This location did not have pastries of the croissant variety. It didn't appear that they had sold out; I could be wrong, but it appeared croissants simply weren't one of the items offered. Luckily, the macarons I had eaten on Day 3 were the best macarons I've had in my life--and you thought I'd forgotten to discuss those. Highlights of the ten flavors I tried from their Autumn Collection were Ispahan, Mogador (passion fruit with milk chocolate), Infiniment Chocolat Paineiras (pure origin Brazilian chocolate from the Paineiras plantation) and Infiniment Cassis (black currant).

TL;DR: If you go to Paris, make sure to stop in at Pierre Hermé, but while you can't go wrong with the macarons, check that the location offers Ispahan croissants. Or just go to the location I went to: 72 Rue Bonaparte in Saint-Germain.

Craft Soda Week: The Worst Sodas

This week the ol' blog is celebrating Craft Soda Week. Glug, glug, glug.

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Let us also honor the bottom three worst soda I've ever consumed. Counting down...

Spruce Beer.

3.) Beverly by Coca-Cola. Out of Italy.
Discontinued in 2009, I sampled it at the Atlanta tourist trap World of Coca-Cola. This allegedly "bitter citrus" soda tastes like carbonated quinine and ear wax.

2.) Sweat by Jones Soda. Out of Seattle, WA.
Jones Soda likes to have fun. For years they had an annual Thanksgiving pack that included feast-flavored sodas, ranging from the appetizing (Cranberry Sauce soda) to the bizarre (Mashed Potatoes soda). But one even stranger soda pack they created was themed after the Seattle Seahawks, a series of sodas that represented what the team had to go through (Dirt, Turf, Sports Cream, Sweat) to achieve Victory (the final soda). Sweat had me gagging.

1.) Spruce Beer by Empire Bottling Works. Out of Bristol, RI.
Root Beer is popular, Ginger Beer recognizable and Birch Beer more of a niche product. Some jokers decided to try out the flavor of spruce in a beverage, resulting in a creamy flavor at the start and the most god-awful Windex aftertaste imaginable.