August 2006
Food Blogs
by Celia Cheng
CRAVINGS
Chocolate Baby Cake
Blue Plate (San Francisco)
Lemon Tarts
Tartine Bakery (San Francisco)
Bar of Milk Chocolate
Scharffen Berger
FAVORITE FOOD BLOGS
101 Cookbooks
Lovescool
Chubby Hubby
Cheryl Porro has a blog called Cupcake Bakeshop, and yes, it focuses specifically on cupcakes. As if baking weren’t specific enough, we’ve now entered extreme niche territory. Cupcake Bakeshop is structured as an online interactive cupcake cookbook, with step-by-step photos of Cheryl’s techniques and processes. It’s enticing, extremely helpful and engaging. I personally love to bake but have been in hiatus for quite a while. But when I stumbled upon Cupcake Bakeshop, I was totally inspired and couldn’t wait to try out Cheryl’s recipes. I just wondered if I could make my cupcakes look as beautiful as hers.
Cupcakes have been in vogue for the past decade, with little cupcake bakeries sprouting up in cities like New York and San Francisco in quick succession. Oddly enough, each new bakery that appears on the scene doesn’t eat into the profits of competitors but actually further fuels the cupcake frenzy and brings on more fans who are willing to queue in long lines to buy this simple American treat. The fascination with cupcakes is here to stay. After all, who doesn’t adore the idea of a cupcake? Even if you don’t like to eat them, they are just darling little objects that make the perfect gift to brighten someone’s day. And luckily, cupcakes are relatively easy and fun to make, so it’s a subject matter that is hard to tire of.
Sticking to the single topic of cupcakes has enabled Cheryl to branch out with new flavor combinations, ingredients and techniques. This is what I find fascinating about her blog. I’m tired of the staple cupcake flavors around town, but Cheryl has opened the door to making playful combinations. Some recent posts: Vietnamese coffee cupcake, chocolate cupcakes with chestnut-fromage blanc frosting and Madeira wine glaze, ube cupcake with bubble buttercream and lemongrass cupcake with coconut-lemongrass buttercream. As I’m writing, not only is my mouth watering, but my hands are also itching to stop typing and go play in the kitchen.
She takes photos of her cooking process and intersperses them into the recipes, which is invaluable to the reader — I hate cookbooks without photos because images always inspire me and give me a goal. The other great thing about the blog versus a regular cookbook is that you can write to solicit help, feedback, discussion, etc. Humans are social animals, so the interactive nature of blogs facilitates our need to communicate with one another. For a recipe blog, interactivity is crucial. As Cheryl explains, “So many blogs, food and otherwise, have such great quality posts — great recipes, writing, photos. They may not be as polished as the professional, paid sites, but I find that the perspective is more interesting and you can’t get past the interactive nature of blogs. You would never get the recipe developer responding directly to your question on epicurious.com or marthastewart.com.”
With a background in Chemical Engineering, Cheryl works as a quality assurance manager for an Internet company in San Francisco. Her work schedule is demanding, but in her spare time, the scientist in her likes to play with the experimental aspects of baking. She seeks inspirations for new recipes in cookbooks, online and by visiting farmer’s markets and The Ferry Building. Cheryl finds that working in the kitchen and trying out different techniques and combinations is relaxing and the end result is satisfying. Her blog has given her a means to reach out to the world, and readers’ positive feedback encourages and motivates her to keep exploring. I love the blog, but I also can’t wait for Cheryl to get a cookbook deal. It would be the perfect coffee table piece and cookbook – great to look at but even better to use!
