Over the Rainbow Cupcakes and Desserts
VS. Grocery Store or the Big Box Stores –
PART ONE!
After many questions and conversations with customers, both in-person, email, or phone, I feel the need to let you how I feel and the honest facts about our desserts versus the grocery store or the big box stores.
I am always getting asked, in some way or another, questions like . . .
“Why do your cupcakes and cakes cost more than at the local grocery store?”
Or, “Why can I buy a dozen cupcakes for half the price at the big box stores?”
Or, “Why would I want to spend more at your bakery when I can get more for less somewhere else?”
As a trained, professional pastry chef, I pride myself on the fact that we make everything in our bakery 100 % from scratch. We use only what I consider, the finest ingredients. They are organic when possible and of the highest quality. We use several brands of chocolate, Valhrona, Cacoa Barry, Callebaut, all very high quality chocolates, very expensive, and well worth it.
We use Neilson Massey Pure Vanilla Bean extract and, if you know extracts, this is the best. and yes, expensive. We use organic whole vanilla beans in our pastry creams and cupcakes/cakes. Our produce is sourced locally and we use organic when possible.
We also, use only, 100% pure unsalted butter in our buttercream. If you want to do some research, just look up these brands and see how most pastry chefs around the world use them and how much they cost, as they are not cheap. We want to provide, you, our customer only the best.
We never use inexpensive, commercial cake mixes, or fake buttercream. Our desserts have no preservatives or fillers to extend their shelf life. We do not use chemicals and other unpronounceable ingredients in our cakes, cupcakes, or desserts.
We bake our cupcakes throughout the day and make all of our buttercream in small batches. This means, you are eating our cupcakes within hours if not minutes of them being baked and iced for you, our valued customer! Our cakes are made fresh, from scratch and iced by hand for you the customer!
THE HARD FACTS – You may not want to know!
Now, the hard facts about what you are getting in the grocery store and the big box stores. These are the products they use and this is WHY --- they are inexpensive and you can buy them for so cheap. I cannot use brand names, as I do not want to get sued! But, in these stores, no matter what they tell you, these are the products they are using: The “buttercream” icing -- is all artificial. There is no butter in the product, and if you look closely, it is not even called BUTTERcream. It is all shortening and butter flavor and comes in 30 pound buckets, pre-made and has a shelf life of up to one year!
I am putting the ingredient list below, so you can see what you are getting versus what you get from us.
Please pay attention, as I myself am not even sure how to pronounce most of these ingredients…….
Grocery Store or Big Box
Store “buttercream” icing –
•Shelf Life : Frozen: 365 days; Refrigerated: 210 days; can be stored at room temperature for 210 days
Over the Rainbow Cupcakes and Desserts – 100% pure buttercream
•Pure, unsalted butter •Powdered sugar •Pure cream cheese •Pure, 100%, vanilla bean extract •
Shelf life: Made fresh DAILY (often, several times each day!)
More to come......
