IT SURE didn't take that long for the current rage of cupcakes in the US to reach Brazil.
I first read about the opening of Vintage Cupcakes in Brasilia a few weeks ago in an article in the Correio Braziliense. According to the paper, Gustavo and Ana Lacerda, a Brazilian couple who had lived in the US, decided to open a string of stands selling traditional American cupcakes in a variety of flavors. Their first stand is now open in the Patio Brasil shopping center on W3 Norte.
I'd been meaning to swing by and try them out, and yesterday after having lunch with my friend Alisson, I had the chance to. Their tiny stand is located on the top floor of the shopping center near the Leitura bookshop and in front of the Banco do Brasil.
Each cupcake is sold for R$6.00 (around $3), which is rather pricey for Brazil. But each cupcake is quite large, and each one comes piled high with a mound of icing, which you can see from my pictures. The problem is that the frosting is not velvety smooth and buttery, but rather tastes like it is made from vegetable shortening such as Crisco!
I bought four cupcakes to try: A chocolate and marshmallow one, a Nutella and banana one, a dark chocolate one and a Macadamia nut one.
Several Brazilian bloggers have raved about them on their blogs in Portuguese, click here and here, but then I've found that Brazilians tend to gush about many things and are extremely generous in their praise!
The saleswoman told me that they are baked fresh every day in a kitchen in Aguas Claras. The kitchen was set up at cost of R$200,000 ($100,000) according to the Correio, and the couple plan to open three more stands in Brasilia before allowing their concept to be franchised in other parts of the country.
The cupcakes I bought did not taste very fresh, tasting possibly at least a day old.
I miss the yummy cupcakes that I've tasted in New York and Washington, and wish they could be duplicated here. Is that too much to ask, or are Brazilian taste buds that different from ours?
Man, I tasted a few already. Can't complain. Actually, I really enjoy them. I have a few favorites: banana & nutella, triple chocolate, blueberry and strawberry marshmallow to say only a few...
The last time I went to the States I had a "cupcake trip" in California and was so disappointed. Sprinkles proved to be a scam: way too expensive and the frosting tasted like an enormous chunk of tasteless fat and huge amounts of sugar, all together, making the experience at least unpleasant. I guess you are right, brazilian taste that different from you guys.
I tasted one today. The macadamian nut one. It's quite good, didn't seem old as you said, but yet not buttery like american's cupcakes. I guess brazilians tend to add less sugar and butter in their recipes. :P
I live in Brazil and just had a couple cupcakes from there. They are not that bad, and definitely made with shortening. But I find american buttercream too sweet. Those cupcakes from Magnolia are pretty but one bite could kill a diabetic in a sec.
Not to mention everything about their brand is a blatant and complete ripoff of an american brand called Johnny Cupcakes, by John Earl from Hull, MA.
I wish someone would write an article about this...
http://www.priskaraujo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/loja-vintage-cupcakes.jpg
http://vintagecupcakes.com.br/imagens/05.jpg
http://media.photobucket.com/image/johnny cupcakes LA/xjoemoex/July 29/IMG_1212.jpg
http://media.photobucket.com/image/johnny cupcakes wall/jrodeffect/FormulaDriftIrwindale2008Dyrdek049.jpg
http://www.priskaraujo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/05/camiseta-da-vintage-cupcakes.jpg
http://nicoleshepard.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/63283695_300.jpg
Too bad Brazil's copyright laws are laughable.