More Fun Gourmet Sweets - YEG Cupcakes
Ashley from More Fun Gourmet Sweets is an aspiring baker in the Edmonton area, and I was very lucky to have met her in person to try some of her delicious creations. Currently her focus is on custom cupcakes, and she is constantly coming up with new flavours and designs. She uses organic sprouted spelt flour and unbleached flour, as well as organic eggs, butter, and produce. The quality of her ingredients is evident in the taste and presentation of these beautiful cupcakes. What strikes me most is the amount of detail in each of her cupcakes. Every cupcake is a complex combination of flavours, and some even include exotic ingredients like lemongrass or lingonberry. And somehow Ashley is able to take all of these flavours and blend them together perfectly. It really is an art to create something that tastes as beautiful as it looks.
Before I go into the details of each flavour, I'd like to comment on the topping Ashley uses for all of her cupcakes. Instead of traditional American buttercream composed of mainly butter and sugar, she uses a much lighter Swiss buttercream which is mostly made up of egg white. Swiss buttercream is basically an airy meringue with just enough butter added to make it creamy. I usually scrape off half the icing from cupcakes because I find it too heavy and sweet, but I ate all of the toppings on these ones. In fact, what I like most about Ashley's cupcakes is that they are not overly sweet and I can focus on the delicate flavours of the ingredients and how they come together.
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Let's have a look at some of her innovative flavours below:
Very Blueberry
Base: blueberry vanilla cake
Filling: blueberry hibiscus
Topping: blueberry Swiss buttercream and maple syrup
I'm going to start with one of my favourites. The presentation alone is enough to draw anyone's attention with its beautiful purple topping dotted with luscious drops of maple syrup. The cake base is a bit more moist than the plain vanilla cake because of the addition of blueberries in the cake batter, which perfectly complements the sweet blueberry hibiscus jam filling.
Very Strawberry
Base: strawberry vanilla cake
Filling: strawberry lingonberry
Topping: strawberry Swiss buttercream and maple syrup
Another one of my favourites. This is very similar to Very Blueberry as the cake base is also more moist due to the addition of strawberries, and the strawberry infused topping is also beautifully decorated with drops of maple syrup. The lingonberry in the filling adds a tart profile which I find very refreshing with the sweetness of the strawberry.
Lemon Lemongrass
Base: vanilla cake
Filling: lemon and lemongrass curd
Topping: white chocolate Limoncello Swiss buttercream
The plain vanilla cake base was slightly firmer, and I could just detect a hint of the spelt flour used. I couldn't taste the lemongrass in the filling; I just thought it was a very light and smooth lemon curd.
Lime and Coconut
Base: vanilla cake
Filling: lime and lime leaf curd
Topping: white chocolate coconut Swiss buttercream and shredded coconut
I'm not a fan of coconut, so this cupcake didn't particularly appeal to me. Luckily the coconut flavour was not overwhelming as it was only in the topping. I did find the lime and lime leaf curd filling very exotic and unique. It was also very tart, and the sweet white chocolate buttercream balanced it out well.
Quad Cocoa
Base: chocolate cake
Filling: chocolate fudge
Topping: milk chocolate Swiss buttercream and cocoa nibs
Out of the five cupcakes, this one was the sweetest with a runny chocolate fudge filling that was almost like a caramel. The cake base was a very light and fluffy chocolate cake that was a lot softer than the vanilla cake. I would've preferred a slightly firmer and denser texture, but appreciated the fact that the cake was not too sweet as the topping and filling were both quite sweet.
Overall Thoughts
I would say these cupcakes are made for foodies who appreciate the quality of ingredients and have a taste for complex flavour profiles. If you are the kind of person who just wants something sweet and well-portioned for the price, then this is probably not for you.
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So where can you find More Fun Gourmet Sweets? Right now Ashley is mainly taking custom orders, but she is also trying to take part in farmer's markets around town. Keep an eye out on her Facebook page and Instagram to see what she's up to!
Disclaimer: Ashley has kindly provided these cupcakes for sampling free of charge. However, I aim to be as objective as possible in my review and my opinion is 100% honest. I would highly recommend these cupcakes. In fact, I plan on visiting Ashley tonight at the Beaumont Farmer's Market to purchase more of her tasty treats!
Before I go into the details of each flavour, I'd like to comment on the topping Ashley uses for all of her cupcakes. Instead of traditional American buttercream composed of mainly butter and sugar, she uses a much lighter Swiss buttercream which is mostly made up of egg white. Swiss buttercream is basically an airy meringue with just enough butter added to make it creamy. I usually scrape off half the icing from cupcakes because I find it too heavy and sweet, but I ate all of the toppings on these ones. In fact, what I like most about Ashley's cupcakes is that they are not overly sweet and I can focus on the delicate flavours of the ingredients and how they come together.
----------
Let's have a look at some of her innovative flavours below:
Base: blueberry vanilla cake
Filling: blueberry hibiscus
Topping: blueberry Swiss buttercream and maple syrup
I'm going to start with one of my favourites. The presentation alone is enough to draw anyone's attention with its beautiful purple topping dotted with luscious drops of maple syrup. The cake base is a bit more moist than the plain vanilla cake because of the addition of blueberries in the cake batter, which perfectly complements the sweet blueberry hibiscus jam filling.
Base: strawberry vanilla cake
Filling: strawberry lingonberry
Topping: strawberry Swiss buttercream and maple syrup
Another one of my favourites. This is very similar to Very Blueberry as the cake base is also more moist due to the addition of strawberries, and the strawberry infused topping is also beautifully decorated with drops of maple syrup. The lingonberry in the filling adds a tart profile which I find very refreshing with the sweetness of the strawberry.
Base: vanilla cake
Filling: lemon and lemongrass curd
Topping: white chocolate Limoncello Swiss buttercream
The plain vanilla cake base was slightly firmer, and I could just detect a hint of the spelt flour used. I couldn't taste the lemongrass in the filling; I just thought it was a very light and smooth lemon curd.
Base: vanilla cake
Filling: lime and lime leaf curd
Topping: white chocolate coconut Swiss buttercream and shredded coconut
I'm not a fan of coconut, so this cupcake didn't particularly appeal to me. Luckily the coconut flavour was not overwhelming as it was only in the topping. I did find the lime and lime leaf curd filling very exotic and unique. It was also very tart, and the sweet white chocolate buttercream balanced it out well.
Base: chocolate cake
Filling: chocolate fudge
Topping: milk chocolate Swiss buttercream and cocoa nibs
Out of the five cupcakes, this one was the sweetest with a runny chocolate fudge filling that was almost like a caramel. The cake base was a very light and fluffy chocolate cake that was a lot softer than the vanilla cake. I would've preferred a slightly firmer and denser texture, but appreciated the fact that the cake was not too sweet as the topping and filling were both quite sweet.
Overall Thoughts
I would say these cupcakes are made for foodies who appreciate the quality of ingredients and have a taste for complex flavour profiles. If you are the kind of person who just wants something sweet and well-portioned for the price, then this is probably not for you.
----------
So where can you find More Fun Gourmet Sweets? Right now Ashley is mainly taking custom orders, but she is also trying to take part in farmer's markets around town. Keep an eye out on her Facebook page and Instagram to see what she's up to!
Disclaimer: Ashley has kindly provided these cupcakes for sampling free of charge. However, I aim to be as objective as possible in my review and my opinion is 100% honest. I would highly recommend these cupcakes. In fact, I plan on visiting Ashley tonight at the Beaumont Farmer's Market to purchase more of her tasty treats!
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