Cake Loves Room Temperature

Anyone who lives and loves food in this city has probably either heard the gripe or griped themselves about how Cake Love's cupcakes aren't all their hyped up to be. I've had several friends ask me recently what I think and my reply is always, "Don't eat them straight from the fridge." Allow that rich buttercream to warm up a bit and it's as smooth as, well, butter. Straight from the fridge, you can remove the entire frosting top in one, what some might call lard-like, piece.

Owner and newly minted Food Network star Warren Brown seems to have heard his fair share of griping too. In a letter on Tom Sietsema's dining chat today, he explains that his cakes need to be eaten at room temperature. He's even gone so far as to make cards instructing people to give their cake some time. "Under this renewed initiative to serve no cake before its time, we made palm cards in the spirit of a cautionary road sign. It features a person with a cake, a thermometer at 72 degrees, and the phrase 'serve cake @ room temp'. I hope people find it cute as well as informative. I'd be happy to send you the palm card so you can see it," Brown writes in his letter.

Metrocurean is glad to know Brown is still tuned into his customers at home, and I applaud his playful approach to helping educate the cupcake-eating masses about how best to enjoy his creations. Check out this link for comprehensive instructions on caring for your cake. The kitchenette also addressed this issue in October after speaking with Cake Love's head baker.

Who knew it could get so complicated?

(Photo from cakelove.com.)

Comments

Anonymous said…
those cupcakes are gross. Way too buttery, and the cakes are nothing to write home about. the icing literally tastes like pure butter. I much prefer store bought sugary icing. Warren sure is a media darling, but maybe he needs to refine his signature cupcakes a bit.
11/09/2005 3:53 PM
Anonymous said…
http://www.cakelove.com/pastries/cakecare.html
Here is the link to read about the new room temp cards
11/09/2005 3:55 PM
Amanda said…
Thanks, I'm adding that to the post...
11/09/2005 4:09 PM
Amanda said…
Thanks kitchenette! I bumped you into the post...
11/10/2005 11:40 AM
Anonymous said…
I think serving them at room temperature is fine for the items you buy from the main store. But who has time to wait for a cupcake or a slice of cake to come to room temperature in the cafe? I ordered a piece of cake from the cafe and it still hadn't come to room temp after 20 mins; by that time my coffee was cold.
11/10/2005 12:53 PM
Philofaxer said…
I'm really confused about how Cakelove runs into this intractable problem that requires refrigeration up until the moment of service, while other bakeries seem not to have the problem.

Even assuming there's something about Cakelove's cupcakes that requires more refrigeration than other bakeries, surely Cakelove does enough business that they can keep rotating some out of the fridge (so that the ones that are served have already done their time in the open air).

I agree that in a quick-service shop of the Cafe's nature, asking the purchaser to complete the food preparation process is a bad idea.
11/10/2005 1:08 PM
Amanda said…
Maybe they could be at room temperature at least over at the cafe...but I'm guessing they may have thought through this before, and we weren't there to hear the reasons.
11/10/2005 1:32 PM
Anonymous said…
I just think they're a dissapointment either way. Fun idea, well designed stores, and attractive cakes, but they're just not that tasty.
11/11/2005 10:55 AM
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