Cupcake Quest: Danish Pastry House

This post is part of the Cupcake Quest series on Fork it over, Boston!

At 4:30 this afternoon, the Copley Farmers' Market was winding down. On-and-off downpours and thunderstorms were scaring off many would-be customers. I stopped by quickly, looking for some veggies to serve with some shrimps that were sitting in the freezer.

Something at the first booth I passed caught my eye, though: cupcakes. I stopped in front of The Danish Pastry House and started rummaging through my pockets for cash. "Don't go away," called the woman. "It's 2-for-1 now." I wasn't going anywhere; it was cupcake quest time!

I snagged two cupcakes - one vanilla and one German chocolate - for $3, 50% off the usual price. $3/each seemed a bit steep at the time due to the relatively petite cupcake size, so I was happy for the discount. The woman working at the booth packaged them carefully, and I carried them gingerly through the rain, on the crowded Green Line, on the sweaty Red Line, and through another mile of rain on the way to Joel's.

Hours passed. We had a band rehearsal (shameless plug: come to our first gig this Thursday!) and cooked dinner, which included a bizarre vegetable I found at the market. More on that here.

Finally, it was time to unwrap the cupcakes. They survived!

German chocolate cupcake with mysterious delicious goop on top

Vanilla cupcake with sprinkles

And then, Joel created...Frankencake.

The frosting was one of the best so far: creamy but airy and full of flavor. The vanilla frosting was nice, and the chocolate frosting was just decadent. I don't know what was on top aside from nuts, but it definitely worked. The frosting-to-cake ratio was just how I like it (somewhere between 75:25 and 80:20) and the frosting adhesion was good.

The cake was ever so slightly on the dry side, but then again, it had been sitting out all day, and I ate it hours after bringing it home. It tasted like it had been springy and moist earlier in the day, so I'll give it the benefit of the doubt.

Update: On June 4th, I returned with a couple co-workers to celebrate the end of a project and two of our summer birthdays that would occur after our temp terms end. The woman at the booth gave us a generous birthday discount: 3 cupcakes for $5. Sarah and I got the red velvet, and Andy got the Oreo.

My cell phone didn't understand that the cupcake, not the fork, is the important part of this photo.

The red velvet cupcake matched the vanilla and German chocolate in quality. Creamy frosting, almost-moist cake that was probably 10 times better first thing in the morning, and rich flavors.

The Verdict: These are among my favorites so far...especially when they're discounted! They're so good, though, that I guess they're worth the $3. I'll revisit the Danish Pastry House stand earlier in the day at a future farmers' market to see if they taste even better when fresh, but even these end-of-the-day cupcakes were awesome.