All That Hype for Cake Pops? Starbucks Cake Pops Review

I realized I haven't gone to Starbucks for a long time as part of my calorie and money saving goals. I used to eat breakfast or dessert there whenever I was at 6750. Having read so many tweets about Starbucks' new Cake Pops, I Googled about it yesterday and saw a lot of comments about it. It's part of Starbucks' Petites Selection introduced for their 20th Anniversary (together with that logo overhaul). Most of the posts and all of the reviews (most of them negative) I saw were from the US and that got me even more curious if they served the same stuff here.


So this morning, after my nap, I decided to break  my diet and headed to Starbucks 6750 to try it. Starbucks Cake Pops here comes in 3 flavors, flavors that don't give a clue to what their flavors are at all. These are Pinky Pop - a pink cake pop; Nutty Pop - a chocolate pop with nuts and marshmallows that's most likely rocky road; and Rocky Red Pop - a white icing covered one with red sugar "rocks". The names themselves are not so appealing nor creative. I would've appreciated if they gave better, descriptive names. In the US they have Birthday Cake Pop, Tiramisu Cake Pop and Rocky Road Cake Pop. At least you knew what you were getting. So right from that point, I could see they had variations. We have the Birthday Cake ( the pink one but without candy confetti), and the Rocky Road. We don't have the Tiramisu Cake Pop here, which I would have liked to taste.

The US Cake Pops 

source: www.starbucks.com

Back at Starbucks 6750, I was internally debating on spending a hundred bucks on all three flavors or just trying one and come back for the others if I liked it. This was easily decided when I saw another new item, a whoopie pie, which looked so yummy. (More on that whoopie pie on another post) So there I was, staring at the display thinking which color would be enticing to eat.


Just a side story, being on a food and money diet, I don't really have cravings lately and I don't get enticed by food. Today, I just bought food using my eyes and as much as I want to devour the food, I don't really feel like doing so. 


The barista might have noticed my dilemma and told me the brown one tasted good. So I said I'll take it. I was kind of veering away from it because the whoopie pie was already chocolate, but a quick Google search just now tells me that all of them are chocolate cakes inside anyway.

Back at the office, I began my experiment. Just to let you in, I wanted to know if they serve the same stuff here and in the US. Reviews from the US, especially from bakers, say that it wasn't a cake pop at all. I haven't ever tried a cake pop, but based from its name, I would expect a cake that looks like a lollipop. I'll probably try making one, if I find the time, but for now I satisfy my curiosity with this. With the variation in name, I was already hoping that we had a different version and perhaps a better cake pop.

Step 1, I took some photos, and then dissected the cake pop hoping to see cake inside. There was chocolate dough, bits of nuts and marshmallows.


Does that look like cake? I don't think so. It looked like a flourless brownie. (which I really liked from Starbucks)


Step 2, I took a sniff of it and started eating it. It smelled like chocolate, it tasted like chocolate, but it didn't taste like cake. It tasted like flourless brownie, especially with the nuts. I was expecting cake, like the chocolate cake they sold or whatever cake. Cake has a different flavor from dough because it's baked and it went through chemical reactions. Cake can be moist, but cake has a texture that's soft, spongy, cakey.. even if it's in crumbs.

 I didn't even finish the half of the cake I've detached from the stick and it wasn't from my lack of appetite. I just put it back and will give it to my mom or siblings later. The conclusion to my experiment, we have the same stuff as they do back in the US. They probably make it here but they use the same recipe. Speaking of the recipe, I found this interview with the Starbucks guy who thought about making those cake pops. He was asked how he made the cake stick. If you ask me, I would say they just rolled a flourless brownie or some similar dough into balls and stuck them to sticks. Here's what he said.


Question: I confess, I tried to make a Cake Pop and it slid off the stick. Any secrets to get the pop to stay put?
Answer: Oh boy! This was a significant problem early on. We spent months trying to stabilize the cake. At one point we thought of using a two-pronged stick to pierce the pop in place or adding a basket holder for stabilization. Ultimately, reducing the size just slightly and double-dipping the stick in chocolate solved the problem. I must admit, the night before launch I could hardly sleep with visions of Cake Pops falling into coffee cups as people tried our new treat. I’m now sleeping much better.    
You can check the whole article here.


My verdict? The Cake Pop at Php 45 a piece and Php 35 for 2 or more is quite expensive. It's small and though they claim in the US that it's just  200 calories, it's 200 calories wasted. I would suggest you just buy a flourless chocolate brownie and share it. They just taste the same and the flourless brownie is creamier and richer, if you want that kind of experience.If you had a different Starbucks cake pop experience, let me know. Do the other flavors taste better?


 But for now, I am on the quest for the real cake pop here in the Philippines, or at least a recipe I can try and ace.


Any suggestions?






Update: I found Bakerella! Thinking of baking some this weekend :)

A Fleur de Lys C-cret

After our very fulfilling (full - filling, get it?) dinner at Bagoong Club (read about it here), we still wanted to have some dessert. I drove over to the other side of Morato near ABS-CBN where I knew some dessert places were. I remembered Fleur de Lys which my mom once told me about. It was located in the Belo Building so we headed there. For a very small shop, Fleur de Lys had a lot of cakes, cookies and pastries on display. We asked for their best seller and they said it was “Best Kept C-cret” which was a chiffon cake with 3 creams: chocolate, caramel and yema custard. I wanted to get another cake by Nerisse said we won’t be able to finish 2 cakes anymore so we decided to share.

nerisse has a c-cret!

We went up to find seats and discovered that they served other food besides cakes! Finally, our dessert came. Of course we had to take photos first! With the slice, you could already see the different layers of cake and cream it had. The yellow on top we assumed, was the yema, the bottom brown part was obviously chocolate, and we assumed the middle white part was caramel cream. There were also slivers of almonds on the iced side. At first we were amused by the cake and the sweet yema on top. It was quite a balanced cake, with a very sweet topper, the other elements of the cake, including the cake itself, were very mild and complemented the taste. Since it was creamy, it was actually like eating vanilla or butterscotch ice cream cake (not frozen though). But given the sweetness of the yema custard, we began to rethink our assumptions. With the thought of yema custard, I would assume it to be like the filling of Brazo de Mercedes (another favorite of mine) which tastes creamier than sweet. This was more gooey sweet, like butterscotch. I proposed the yellow was probably caramel and the white, the yema. So we again tried to taste each part of the cake separately. 

Honestly, I did not fall in love with this cake. Or become infatuated with it. I fell in love with the cakes from Calea in Bacolod, but the spark wasn’t present in this case. Don’t get me wrong. I wasn’t so disappointed because it was a unique cake, a first for me, and it didn’t taste bad. But this won’t be in my list. I probably would order a different cake next time and being the chocolate lover that I am, try their chocolate-based cakes. They have a chocolate mousse cake with Tequila Rose mousse or Bailey’s mousse called Joaquin and Fleur de Lys. I’ll most likely have that since I enjoy yummy mousse cakes.

Nerisse and I were so full we kind of forgot our worries for a moment. It was a good food night last night.

Join the (Bagoong) Club!

Last night, Nerisse and I had dinner together. The funny thing was, we already had a planned here to eat. We were supposed to dine at Pen-Pen in Scout Area in Tomas Morato. We both haven’t tried it but I knew where it was located. So right after work, we met at Centris, got my car at home and off we went to find Pen-Pen. What happened next was certainly unexpected. I turned left on the parallel street before Morato in hopes of finding a better parking slot if we passed through the side streets. I made the wrong turn though and ended up a street ahead. We finally reached the street where Pen-Pen was located and didn’t see it! We drove through the entire street but it wasn’t there! We asked a guard and he said it was right at the corner. I couldn’t believe we missed it. We couldn’t have possibly missed it! We began to suspect that it was closed. We made another round of the street and true enough, it was gone. The guards of neighbor resto, Bellisimo said it was already gone. I’ve wanted to try that resto forever and now it was gone. (or maybe it’s moved, I just have to Google it.)

We were both hungry and looking for a place to eat. I told Nerisse about Bagoong Club, which Jan and I have tried before, and because we couldn’t see any other interesting resto, we decided to go there. It took me a few missed turns before we finally reached the resto. (I had wrong landmarks in mind)

As soon as we had the menus in our hands, Nerisse quickly said she wanted kare kare. Kare kare is a stew with ground peanut sauce (which we buy as “peanut butter” in the market), lots of veggies and meat and/or tripe. Kare kare is incomplete without bagoong or fermented shrimp paste, after which Bagoong Club is named after. Believe me, Filipinos have a penchant for this dish/condiment. To actually have a best-selling resto with this as main fare is enough proof. Anyway, in all honesty, I am not a fan of kare kare, and more than that, I am not a fan of bagoong. I don’t like salty foods (my preference goes to sweets) and the tripe in kare kare is so hard and weird to eat in its form that I don’t eat it. 

Bagoong Club has about 5 kare kare dishes and I pointed the Krispy and Kare dish to Nerisse. I told her it probably had crispy meat with it and we asked our server. True enough, it was kare kare sauce and veggies served with boneless crispy pata (deep fried pork leg). Now that was something I could eat. We ordered a cup of garlic rice each, with Nerisse thoughtful of how I can barely finish a cup of rice so we won’t be able to finish a serving of Bagoong Rice which was good for 3 persons. -Side story: The time Jan and I ate there, we ordered the Bagoong Rice. And he was able to finish it.-

here it is!

It was actually a great idea to incorporate two famous Filipino dishes, kare kare and crispy pata, in one. I enjoyed the dish a lot. The sauce was neither bland nor overpowering. It was a plus that it had lots of fried garlic bits sprinkled over it. The veggies were blanched and placed at the side, so they weren’t soggy and crushed. Most of all, the meat was tender, the skin was crisp, and tasty. The crispy pata’s skin was also a good addition to the usual kare kare dish. The texture was different and it made eating a lot more enjoyable. What I don’t like about the usual kare-kare is the meat is cooked with the sauce and it has very little taste on its own. It’s usually quite bland and as a result, the bagoong is used to make the whole dish tasty.

Surprisingly, I did the unusual last night. I put bagoong in my kare kare. First of all, Bagoong Club’s bagoong tasted good (they have several variants by the way, which you can ask your server for a taste of) and I just felt that it was probably designed to come with bagoong anyway. Just to clarify, I eat dishes with bagoong in it, I just don’t usually eat it alone or add it to my normal food. Krispy and kare actually made me like kare kare and bagoong together! I would definitely order this again the next time I visit the Club. It's a two-in-one dish! I can say Bagoong club has not failed me so far. I also love their Crispy Binagoongan which similar to this is crispy pata in binagoongan sauce. As far as I'm concerned, you better join the (Bagoong) Club.

P.S. Nerisse and I were already full after this meal but of course we couldn’t go home without dessert. We ended up having our cake in Fleur de Lys. Read that part of the night here.

Brownie Overload! featuring Starbucks Flourless Chocolate Brownie

January 27 -I've recently updated this post with new photos of the Starbucks brownie in a "more dignified" aka not flattened appearance. Yes, I bought another one! My family liked it a lot, too! Oh, did I mention I got a free drink for buying the brownie? 

I have to say that this is my most favorite Starbucks pastry as of today. Their flourless chocolate brownie is just so good! I’ve been meaning to try it since I saw it earlier this week but I was so hungry I opted for a sausage roll instead. Today, having had breakfast at home, I was ready to have a bite of the “small but terrible” piece of brownie. I had it to go as I was already set to meet with Dean and Gelain so the little rosettes of chocolate butter icing was already flattened by the time I took it out to have a bite. Nonetheless, I was so surprised at how it tasted! I had previously asked the barista if it was on the sweet or bitter side and she said it was sweet so I was expecting a sugary chocolate flavor. Boy, was I wrong! This was so rich and densely packed, it was like fudge! Inside the brownie was gooey chocolate, only the outer edges and the crust were hard.

my original photos of my first brownie

Since I took my first bite as I was walking to work (I was that excited), I wasn’t able to see what was in the brownie but as I was chewing, I recognized some crunchy bits. True enough, the brownie is filled with bits of cashew nuts that are just right to compliment the chocolate. It takes away the umay factor from the brownie. And how could I forget that chocolate butter icing that seems to make the brownie even more decadent. The butter and chocolate flavors together just seems so right. More butter in pastries just makes them yummier, don’t you agree?

This brownie just went up the list of my favorite store-bought brownies. And at Php 55 (a dollar and so), this is a real steal! Just don’t attempt to try counting the calories since this is a flourless brownies, it’s probably packed with chocolate, butter, sugar and eggs. (But maybe I’ll ask the barista next time I buy one so we can have an idea.) I hope they make this a permanent fixture in their pastry stand. And with Starbucks everywhere, I can always have a really nice piece of brownie!

Since I’ve gotten myself into this brownie topic, might as well share my other favorites.

My cheap brownie fix will always be Brownies Unlimited. At less than Php 15 (30 cents!) a pop, this is an instant pick-me-up. Another plus is it's located almost everywhere, especially in SM malls so I can always have an instant brownie fix even if i don't have money! I could finish a whole 6-pak box of these by myself! I used to put dibs on the pebble beach variety which had caramel, nuts, and marshmallows; but over the years, I’ve started to prefer the plain chocolate or chocolate chip variants where I can taste the chocolate and nothing else. The bittersweet chocolate icing of the plain one is so yummy with the sweet brownie.

My other favorite (more expensive) brownie is Café Xocolat’s Citrus Gourmet Brownie. At Php 85 ($2) it’s quite a splurge for a brownie but it’s around twice the size of the Starbucks brownie. The citrus flavor is just an awesome contrast with the bittersweet chocolate. I used to have my mom buy me lots of these and ate them while doing my plates.

During the past 2 years, I’ve searched for the perfect brownie recipe since we had an oven and baking spress in Batangas (sadly, I don’t have an oven here in QC anymore) and I would pore over internet articles and recipes trying to find one. I wanted to try brownies from chocolate since those from chocoloate powder turned out a bit too sweet and cakey. Finally, my mom got a back issue of Saveur magazine which featured the best brownie recipes. And there they were, tried and tested brownie recipes! My favorite of all is Nick’s Supernatural Brownies which are so gooey and chewy at the same time! The recipe results to a small batch only so when we baked this, we had to stop ourselves or the brownies will be finished in a few seconds! I love how the crust turns out so shiny and crackly, which they say, is most likely a result of the heating of chocolate and butter beforehand. The recipe also calls for so little flour that its consistency is almost flourless! We use Van Heuten chocolate for this and I still want to try it using other chocolate brands. Don't ask me how much this brownie costs to make. I never dared to compute because it's probably more expensive than any other brownie I've eaten. And my dad might have a heart attack when he finds out how much we spend when we bake. Hah! Here’s the article from saveur.com. 

Fudgy and moist, these brownies (shown on the bottom) are made from a recipe that appears in Chocolate: From Simple Cookies to Extravagant Showstoppers by Nick Malgieri (HarperCollins, 1998). Source: Saveur 

Photo: André Baranowski

16 tbsp. unsalted butter, 

   plus more for greasing

8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, 

   cut into 1⁄4" pieces

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown 

   sugar

2 tsp. vanilla extract

1⁄2 tsp. fine salt

1 cup flour

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease a 9" x 13" baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper; grease paper. Set pan aside.

2. Pour enough water into a 4-quart saucepan that it reaches a depth of 1". Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low. Combine butter and chocolate in a medium bowl; set bowl over saucepan. Cook, stirring, until melted and smooth, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.

3. Whisk together eggs in a large bowl. Add sugar, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt; whisk to combine. Stir in chocolate mixture; fold in flour. Pour batter into prepared pan; spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean, 30–35 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Cut and serve.

MAKES 24 BROWNIES

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #113

I guess this is the perfect brownie for me because it’s chewy and gooey and has crunchy edges at the same time. Speaking of edges, have you seen the Baker’s Edge Baking Pan? I first saw this online then I saw a similar concept on a muffin pan in one of the sales in Pasong Tamo. I didn’t buy it though, ‘cause we still don’t have an oven here.

                                                                                     photo from fadtab.com

Anyway, these pans made it to Oprah's Ultimate Favorite Things of 2010, and why wouldn’t they? Who doesn’t want a brownie without an edge? The edge is packed with toasted flavor and crunch! Ingenious, right? I’m not sure if I’ve seen it here in the Philippines but I won’t mind getting one.

For more info on this check out their site. 

Well, that was a long story. And it all started with that amazing brownie. Which I’m about to finish as I’m writing this by the way. I’d love to tell you about the history of the brownie, or my baking escapades in Batangas, but that’s another story. I’ll be back with more MissAdventures.

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