The Carrot Cake Hunt

We've had this tradition since we've been together of getting my boyfriend, Dan, carrot cake for his birthday. We could, of course, get it anytime of the year. We could even bake our own. Who knows? We might do that next year. But getting it almost exclusively just on his birthday just makes it that special kind of special.

And while we've had decent cakes each year, we've not yet found THE cake of all carrot cakes that makes us want to go back for more. (Actually we have, but it is no longer available so not worth mentioning.)  So this year we went out hunting for the best carrot cake in town. With a list of nine Chicago bakeries in hand we cruised around the city, ended up visiting seven and came home with five tempting and delicious little treats.

(clockwise from left) Molly's Cupcake, Sweet Mandy B's,
Bleeding Heart Bakery, Bulldog Bakery, (center) Alliance Bakery

We first tried the one from Bulldog Bakery.  Yes, it did get a little smooshed during travel.  That didn't hurt the yum though!  It was simple, but in a good way.  You could taste the orange in it and the spices were not overwhelming.  It was a moist cake with decent crumb.  The frosting was sugary with the cheese flavor just hinting.  It actually made me think this is what I would get if someone's mom made it at home.  It felt homemade, and I liked that.  And at $1.75 was the cheapest of them all and a decent value.

We were given a choice of frostings at Molly's Cupcakes.  They have five to choose from, but we did go with the traditional cream cheese frosting.  The little carrot shaped sprinkles were a cute, decorative touch.  Their cake was the least crumbly of all the cakes we tried, denser and a little drier.  But it was all around a good cake.  Ginger was the flavor that stood out.  Both the cake and the frosting were not too sweet.  It was the least sweet of all the cakes we tried.  The frosting itself had the most cheese flavor of all we tasted.  That's actually what made Molly's cupcake stand out for us.  Though I actually think if we'd chosen another of the frostings, a sweeter one, it would have been a better balance.  We will have to go back and find out.

Speaking of frostings, Sweet Mandy B's was the best of them all.  It was sweet, it was cheesy.  That frosting hit my tongue and my brain just went "Yuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmm".  And the cake was nothing to ignore either.  It was dark and soft and moist and crumby and fell apart when I bit into it.  Sweet and nicely spiced.  Just what I love.  The one downside. . .it was too nutty.  I don't mind nuts in my carrot cake.  I like them, in fact.  Yay, texture!  And lots of different things get thrown into a carrot cake from nuts to raisins to coconut to orange peel, depending on the recipe.  But the flavor of the walnuts were so much a part of this little cake I was almost wary of calling it a carrot cake and wanted to call it a nut spice cake instead.  But if you like nuts, it's not a problem, because aside from that, it was a damn fine frosted cake.

I had hoped none of the cakes would disappoint me.  But, alas, there was the little cupcake from Alliance Bakery.  It was just bland.  And I'm pretty sure there was shortening in the frosting.  Left that sticky feeling on my tongue.  Sigh.  I won't say anymore.  Well aside from the fact that because it was the second most expensive cake we tried, it made it even more of a disappointment.

And then there was The Bleeding Heart Bakery.  No frosting, but then it wasn't a cupcake.  It was a teacake.  When we opened up the bag you could just smell the richness of molasses and brown sugar.  It was moist, it was rich, it was dense and crumbly.  It was sweet, it was potent and it was the best of all that we tried.  It was just a powerful piece of cake.  The flavor and texture were bold.  Full of spice and coconut and whatever else was in there.  But none of it dominated.  It's definately denser then I like my cakes, but it was just this mixed up bomb of rich, delicious flavor.  It didn't need the frosting.  Who knows, it might have been a ringer since it wasn't a cupcake like all the others.  But it was well worth the price, which at $3.25 was the most expensive, paying the premium for a 'green' product.

So the teacake was the best of them all this year.  Who knows what will happen next year, we might try this again if we don't make one on our own.  It was fun and I admit I was a little surprised at the variety of a simple cake.  I'm compelled to hunt for more because of it.

On a final note, I also purchased a lemon bar from Bleeding Heart.  I couldn't resist.  Lemon curd is my weakness and their lemon bar was huge!  And I'm telling you now, it is the best lemon bar I have ever had.  Pure and clean and thick and delicious.  Yes, we will indeed be going back to Bleeding Heart when we can afford to go.