Points North: Cupcakes and Saskatoon Berries
In Edmonton last night and today to cook with watermelons on BT this morning. We made a day of it, poking around Edmonton a bit before heading back.
We found a cute little shop called the Whimsical Cake Studio, right beside Transcend Coffee, the High Level Diner and a poutinery.
I splurged and bought a dozen, thinking we could bring some back for the sweet teeth in Calgary.
They met a tragic end in the Winners parking lot.
Most of our drive looked like this – all big Alberta sky with Simpsons clouds. And plenty of very gutsy dragonflies on the front windshield. On the way home we took a detour over to Pearson’s Berry Farm.
They have a little take-out counter from which they sell pies, sauces, baking (Saskatoon butter tarts!) and ice cream – we got Saskatoon berry ice cream, of course, a (as yet uneaten) sour cherry pie and some berry picking. We set out into the fields with our ice cream buckets and picked Saskatoons. It’s been a bad year out there – big surprise – so the berries aren’t great. On the upside, because it’s not easy picking, they let you take the berries for free. Can’t beat that.
Or a $10 pie.
The boys are eager to make jam and a pie and muffins tomorrow. Not sure our haul will accommodate all of the above. We’ll give it a shot.
nice photog’s! summer. what did you ‘cook’ w/ watermelons?
I drove from Calgary to near Edmonton for meetings earlier in the week and it all reminded me the the old skool CPR homesteader posters – picture perfect farms everywhere. My office collegue and I stopped at the Jungle farms – only raspberrie tho’ – lots of those in the garden right now. Hoping to track down some later strawberries.
Too bad about the cupcakes and the berry crop. The Saskatoons near Okotoks (my secret wild patch) have been as good as any year – big and sweet. So far several pies, a batch of jelly-jam (3 quarts thru the food mill) – straight Sask jam is too seedy, biscuits, muffins, cobbler, and lots fresh with cream – never too many Saskatoon berries. Cornflakes/saskatoons/ice cold milk – best go to breakfast right now – the only time i have cornflakes in the cupboard.
Do you think beets (grated/pureed?) and a carrot-cake-sort of recipe would make a decent less scary red velvet cupcake? with cream cheese frosting…lots of beets in the garden right now. Borscht this weekend.
cheers
jake
Wow, Jake, you have been busy! I have read of using beets in a kind of Red Velvet cake, but they come out more dark red than the lighter, warmer colour when that “nasty” food colouring chemical is used. I think I remember Julie having a recipe. If you find it and try it, let us know.
I like the first pic with the ice cream. Kids make good props!
Mmmm, that picture includes The Sugarbowl, which is one of my favourite places to eat in Edmonton.
Hi, love the photos especially the first one with the ice-cream makes me want to lick my screen 🙂
Btw, just to inform you that I’ve baked the chocolate s’mores pie using your recipe, it was yummylicious!!
those poor pretty cupcakes 🙁
i bought saskatoons at the hillhurst farmers market on wednesday, have been trying to decide what to do with 2.5 pounds. mabye muffins? or a saskatoon smoothie. yuhm. was in Edmonton last week and had Dinner at the High Level Diner, – yuhm.
Jake – beets are great in chocolate cupcakes, FYI – puree them. I think earlier this year Chatelaine had a recipe for them, with raspberry cream cheese icing. Really good. Google “beet cupcakes chatelaine” and you’ll find it.
Speaking of High Level Diner – has anyone ever tried the lemon sour cream pie there, and if so – any idea how one would make it? I no longer live in Edmonton and so I can’t go eat it at will, but it was DELICIOUS.
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Velvet-Chocolate-Squares-364749
I found this at Epicurious, I think you could adapt it using fresh beets.
Oh, such fond memories I have of High Level Diner! I lived on that street all through my time at U of A and the High Level was frequently where I’d be taken out for a proper meal when my parents visited. Sure wish the cupcake and poutine places had been there at the time!
I live right in that area in Edmonton, and I’m sad to say that you’re probably lucky someone dropped the cupcakes. The icing is alright, but all the cakes I’ve had from there are dry and lack flavour (except for vegan ones, for which they likely use oil).
I know it’s so very wrong, but I did laugh at the cupcake photo. Not because I think your misfortune is funny, but because they look so damn forlorn smashed into the pavement like that.
The cupcakes I’ve had from Whimsical have always been yummy. They have a booth at the Southwest Edmonton Farmer’s Market every Wednesday evening. Their Salted Caramel Chocolate cupcake is so good! I’ve never had a dry cupcake from them.