I am not a dessert girl. In a restaurant, if I am going to have 2 courses, it is going to be an app and main, never a main and a dessert. If my dining companions are leaning towards dessert, I am more likely to opt for the cheese selection, or simply a glass of port to finish the meal. When I have people over for dinner, I will usually make (or buy) a dessert, but just for myself? I am simply not interested in the sweet ending.
In general, I find restaurant desserts too sweet and rather uninspired. Often, the dessert menu is very, very predictable. Cheesecake. Some sort of chocolate-based assault on the senses - usually more than one. Some sort of berry pie or crumble. In the nicer restaurants, there is often a creme brulee - one dessert I do tend to like as long as they keep it fairly simple (i.e. no bananas or weird flavours mucking up what should be a celebration of fine heavy cream, eggs, and sugar).
Where cake is concerned, I am particularly disinterested. I find cake dry and boring, and very rarely do I come across an icing that is as good as the one my grandmother made. Once I was old enough to express a strong preference, when my birthday rolled around, we had pie - pumpkin or cherry - and when I was a little older, rum cake. I know, I know, rum cake is still cake. But it is not dry. It is funny how the addition of a streusel topping and a generous dose of rum can make dessert so much more appealing - and not just cake. Rum and streusel topping go well with almost everything, much like bacon. Actually, bacon would be an intriguing addition to a streusel topping.....
But I digress. All of this to say, the cupcake craze of the last couple of years has not really interested me. Sure, they're cute, and not as dry as full sized cakes. People are experimenting with flavours. Ottawa now has several cupcake shops, only one of which I have tried - The Cupcake Lounge.
Across from the Sausage Kitchen (my kind of store), The Cupcake Lounge has a few flavours they always make, and several flavours they rotate throughout the week. It is a decent cupcake, a lot of icing, and a good selection. They also serve the sort of beverages that go well with cupcakes - coffees, teas, lattes. There is limited seating, both inside and on s sidewalk patio. I have been there several times after dining with friends when the restaurant dessert selection disappoints and my various companions want something sweet. I have even picked up cupcakes there when my nephews were coming to town, because, obviously, kids and cupcakes go together. Most recently, they ave branched out a little bit - other dessert-type things in cupcake format. Brownies, and what you see in the upper left corner of the picture above, cinnamon rolls.
I do not consider cinnamon rolls a dessert. A breakfast item, maybe. Although they are well sugared, the basic building block of the roll is an unsweetened, but rich, leavened bread. Think brioche. To this, the cinnamon and sugar mixture is added when rolling. And sometimes people put gobs of cream cheese icing on top. I am not against the cream cheese icing, but to me, it is not the main event. As long as the baker doesn't go off the rails and foul the roll with raisins, I am fine.
In this picture, the cinnamon roll is at the top. On the bottom left is the brownie, and the third is a red velvet cupcake. The cinnamon roll is awesome. It is just the right size. Ropes of brioche, rich, buttery, crisp on the outside, coiled around cinnamonny goodness. The Cupcake Lounge's also has apples and nuts. I quite like the addition of apples, little hints of a more natural sweetness. Good cinnamon flavour, and there is something about this that almost reminds me a bit of a bread pudding. Perhaps it is the eggy taste of the brioche, and the softness of the roll at the centre.
The Cupcake Lounge now has a product that will get me in the door when I am by myself, and have no cupcake loving guests coming to town. If this is the product of the cupcake craze, I am now a firm supporter, because this is, quite honestly, the best cinnamon roll I have ever had.
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