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.
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 :)
No comments:
Post a Comment