Just Say No (To The Refrigerator)

The other day, I found myself with some extra time before work to go explore the indoor winter market in Buffalo. It runs from January to May and is still in its beginning stages but definitely has some charm. It's housed in a 19th century renovated "green" building.

located at: 346 Connecticut Street, Buffalo, New York

While there weren't many stands, I went only for one reason: a cupcake. Blackbird Sweets has recently made a permanent home inside the market. They had about six flavors available at the market on Saturday and each are $2.50. They also offer cookies, cake cups and brownies.

I decided to surprise friends at work with some cupcakes and ordered coconut chocolate, lemon blackberry, and red velvet. Since I let them choose their flavor, I ended up with the red velvet. At first, I could tell the petite treats had been housed in a refrigerator, my biggest NO-NO when it comes to cupcakes. Please don't refrigerate your cupcakes! (People are just asking for a dry, dense mess).

Aside from the refrigeration, I was pleasantly surprised by the cocoa flavor coming through in the cake and the deliciously balanced cream cheese frosting on top my red velvet. I just had to let the cupcake sit out for awhile at room temperature and then it was perfect to eat (and the texture got better).

On a side note: For a friend's birthday,  I resurrected an old favorite cupcake recipe, one that I had once blogged about at the beginning of the blog. These were my NWS bake-off win in 2009 and I can still say is one of the best cupcakes I've ever had. I'm not tooting my own horn here, it's a great recipe. Thanks, King Arthur Flour for these super delicious Carrot Cupcakes.