In preparation for The Tasty Show Birthday Party, a small crew of us got together for two pairing sessions - one to figure out which beers should be paired with which cupcake flavors, and one to match particular beers with 4 different artisanal cheeses. A lot of people I talked to over the past few weeks found the concept of pairing beer with cupcakes & cheeses hard to imagine - until they tested out our pairing menu with their very own tastebuds.

That said, below you'll find the entire pairing menu from the Tasty Show Bday last week along with notes about how we came up with each one. Or if you'd like to see the actual menu that our guests were given when they arrived to the party, you can see it here.

Beer + Cupcakes:

Stone Cat Blueberry Ale + Kickass Blueberry Crumbly Cupcake: This medium bodied fruit beer has a slight blueberry essence and pairs perfectly with a light, fruity dessert. The blueberry crumbly cupcake, which was a topped with a bit of mascarpone, was a nice and simple pairing with the mascarpone adding a little twist. Flavored beers can be really simple to pair with awesome results.

Stone Cat Blonde Ale + Kickass Vanilla Cupcake with Herbed Topping: The blonde ale is light and crisp with inherent herbal notes. For the pairing, Kickass Cupcakes came up with the brilliant idea to top a light vanilla cupcake with a vanilla buttercream frosting and a piece of caramelized sugar with a tiny sprig of thyme in it. I think this one won as the favorite pairing of the evening. And the favorite cupcake too. The vanilla cake was pristine.

Ipswich IPA + Kickass Cinnamon Caramel Cupcake: The IPA has a strong, dry bitterness balanced with a slight malty sweetness. The malty notes made a smooth pairing with the caramel flavors in the cupcake, and the spice warmed things up a bit.

Ipswich Oatmeal Stout + Kickass Maple Chocolate Cupcake: The oatmeal stout is a great dessert on its own; this rich, smooth stout works best with chocolate and was paired with the most curious cupcake on the menu - a maple-based chocolate cupcake sprinkled with smoked salt. The maple balanced the rich sweetness of the beer, and both elements were then heightened by the smoked salt.

Beer + Cheese

Ipswich Summer Ale + Hannahbells Classic: This light-bodied, crisp unfiltered blonde ale matches the creaminess of the Hannahbells classic cow's milk cheese without overpowering the flavor. A nice, even pairing.

Stone Cat Hefeweizen + Hannahbells Lavender: The floral notes that this unfiltered German-style wheat beer possesses are a wonderful match for the lavender flavor of the cheese. This was one of the evening's favorite cheese pairings.

Ipswich Original Ale + Hannahbells Rosemary: We tasted the rosemary over and over again until we finally went for the Original Ale. The smooth, malty flavor of the unfiltered English-style pale ale compliments the rosemary accent in the cheese.

Stone Cat ESB + Hannahbells Chipotle: The spicy chipotle was definitely the favorite cheese flavor of the night. Our biggest challenge with this one was to pair a beer that enhances and not flattens its spicy, smoky elements. The ESB, which stands for "extra special bitter" has a smooth malty sweetness and is not bitter at all. It was an excellent complement to the spiciness of the chipotle flavor.

Photos by Eric Scott Photography.

In Part II of the pre-Tasty Show B-Day party beer pairing sessions (here's Part I) that have been taking place these past few weeks, five of us congregated at Kickass Cupcakes to determine which brews and which cheeses we're going to pair up at the April 16 event. I can wholeheartedly say that I have never seen anything quite like the tiny, thimble-shaped artisanal cheeses that we've lined up to be part of the pairing. These little cheeses, which are called Hannahbells and are made by Shy Brothers Farm in Westport, MA, are made according to a traditional recipe that the Shy Brothers (two sets of very shy twins) discovered in the Burgundy region of France.

Once again, I'm not going to be all giving away all our party secrets (at least not until after the Tasty Show beercupcakechocolatecheese evening of tasty deliciousness next week), but I will say that after an exhausting evening of rigorous tasting, we came up with some wonderful pairings! Here is a bit of pairing wisdom that I was lucky enough to pick up last week:

Barbara from Shy Brother Farms has a fabulous way of articulating what makes a good food pairing (of any kind) that she shared with me ~ it's when 1 + 1 = 3. Or, translated into the context of beer & cheese, it's when Beer + Cheese = Delicious Enhancement of Both Beer and Cheese That Becomes a Wholly New BeerCheese Entity.

Last week I enjoyed a delightful evening with a couple friends during which we 'tested out' various pairing beer & cupcakes pairings. We sipped several brews ranging from the lightest blonde ale to a deep, dark oatmeal stout, and experimented with various cupcakes and pairing ideas. Rough times here at the Tasty Show, I know.

That said, I don't have a grand lesson or extravagant pairing idea to share in this post - mostly because our tests results are secret. The evening, which was hosted by the illustrious and creative Kickass Cupcakes in Somerville and featured artisan brews from Stone Cat and Ipswich Ale made by Mercury Brewing Co. in Ipswich, MA, was held in preparation for a very special Tasty Show event that is happening on April 16. I'm thrilled to report that with Sara from Kickass Cupcakes and Caitlin from Mercury Brewing Co. as our guides, we came up with some fabulous ideas! And Kickass Cupcakes will be developing cupcake recipes especially for the beer pairing. Details on the event will be posted here shortly.

The only conclusion that I am willing to share is:

The right beer & the right cupcake can make an incredible pairing, and while I'm not going to tell you what our star pairings were, there is absolutely no harm in running some tests on your own. If you're not sure where to start, go for tastes that usually match (a citrusy or fruity brew with a citrusy or fruity cupcake, a honey brew with a spiced cupcake, and so on).

I ate a lot of cupcakes on Sunday. Thankfully, Dan was there to help. We stopped by Kickass Cupcakes in Davis Square and tried the following cupcakes:

Chocolate Stout: These little cuties are made with chocolate cake filled with a chocolate stout ganache that's made with Callebaut bittersweet chocolate and Rogue Chocolate Stout. The cupcakes are topped with chocolate stout butter cream frosting and crushed pretzels. And in honor of the Pats, each one sports a little Patriots ornament.

In light of my recent obsession with chocolate and beer, I was pretty excited by this cupcake option. I'm still utterly convinced that the many delicious brews available are vastly under-utilized as both accompaniments to dessert and ingredients therein. The only other beer-themed dessert I can think off of the top of my head is a really delicious Guinness ice cream that Toscanini's makes. (And anyone hear that Toscanini's may have to close its doors soon?!)

That said, the answer is yes, I'd certainly recommend trying the Kickass Cupcakes' chocolate stout cupcake.

Deep Fried Cupcake: I've never had much desire to attend Red Bones' fried food fest, but I am now considering being interested. Did you know that deep fried things are delicious? I feel like everyone but me already knew that. The Deep Fried Cupcake is a classic vanilla cupcake filled with a little bit of sweet cream, then dipped in a sweet batter, deep fried, placed in a paper cone, and drizzled with whipped cream and chocolate sauce. (See Dan marveling below.) It was kind of insane, and very messy. Quite the experience.

Those are the ones we ate in the store. We then ate two more cupcakes in the car while drinking milk from a thick glass bottle. It was totally sweet.

Here's a picture of how The Tasty Show looks on the new XO laptop. Dan participated in the One Laptop Per Child Give One Get One program, in which you donate one XO laptop to a child in a developing country and then get one sent to you as well. It just arrived today! I was kind of hoping for a hand crank, but then I learned that things have progressed since the hand crank design. These laptops cost around $200 each (which includes shipping to some of the most remote regions of the world) and were designed especially for children. The OLPC project aims to give kids in developing countries the opportunity to explore, to have access to ideas, and tap into their own potential. The Give One Get One program is going on until the end of this month.

I'm so vain. The first thing I wanted to do is see how my blog looks on this little cutie of a computer. More pics on Flickr:


You can see other screen shots here. And learn more about this awesome project here.

When I was in Toronto doing a chocolate tasting with Cote d'Or a couple months ago, I had the pleasure of meeting Konrad Ejbich, who is both a delightful person and one of Canada's foremost wine writers. After being a fabulously enthusiastic participant during the tasting itself, Mr. Ejbich stayed on for a bit afterwards to chat with me about other pairing ideas. In addition to teaching me how to properly hold a wine glass, he also took a bunch of notes about our chocolate tasting and then wrote this comprehensive article for Canada's Style at Home Magazine about chocolate and wine pairing.

The article also featured the most awesome description of The Tasty Show that has ever found its way to print. According to Konrad, The Tasty Show is "the absolute gastroporn of melt-in-your-mouth moments." Gastroporn? Me? Who knew??

It all came at a perfect time, because I just happened to be compiling this list:

Dana's Favorite Gastroporn [Top 5 This Week]

1. Wild Sweets: Exotic Desserts and Wine Pairings: This is the cookbook I picked up at Whole Foods yesterday. Gorgeous photographs, bizarre ingredients, curious wine pairings, and awesome recipes with really long names such as "Apple softcake with dark chocolate and cinnamon soup" and "Milk chocolate and orange parfait with steamed meringues and orange and black truffle brown butter". I'm really excited.
2. 101Cookbooks: My friend Toby alerted me to this gorgeous food blog written by photographer and food enthusiast Heidi Swanson.
3. Whole Foods: I love Whole Foods. I like to walk around with my little basket and ogle all the pretty fruits and vegetables and then dream about all the weird chocolate recipes I could make with them.
4. Aapplemint: Another delicious blog that I look at for inspiration and for the pretty pictures.
5. Plum Produce: This is a tiny produce boutique in Boston's South End that is about the size of a compact car. It's not a grocery store, and you'll never be able to find everything on your shopping list there, but you will find the most beautiful local salad turnips, wild asparagus, spring onions, and porcini mushrooms that you've ever seen. (Among several other vegetables, fruits, spices, and preserves.)

More from the Fluff Festival that I went to last week... As I mentioned in my previous Fluff post, a bunch of us met up and went to the Independent, a bar next door to where the Fluff Festival was. They had a bunch of especially Fluffy bar and menu choices. In case you were thinking of having your own Fluff party at home, here are a couple recipes that we tried at the Independent to get you started:

Fluff Royale: Pour a shot of Creme de Cassis into a wine glass, pour Champagne over it until it's about halfway full. It doesn't matter what kind of Champagne you use because it will be mostly overpowered by the cassis anyway. Then spoon a dollop of Fluff on top. The Fluff will react with the Champagne and get all fizzy and expand to the top of the glass (see pic above).

Apple Fluffernutter Sandwich: To make this gourmet Fluffwich, get two slices of fresh sourdough bread, spread a layer of peanut butter and a layer of cream cheese on one piece of bread, top with a layer of thinly sliced macintosh apples, and then spread a layer of fluff on the other piece of bread and put it all together. For added effect, you can toast the bread beforehand.

Two sweet events coming up in September:

Langham Hotel's Chocolate Bar: Starting up on September 8th and continuing every Saturday from noon to 3, the Langham Hotel Chocolate Bar features an all-you-can-eat display of more than 125 chocolate desserts. This year one chocolate enthusiast will win an unlimited 'season pass.' The prize will go to the winner of the Chocolate Idol recipe contest.

What the Fluff?: In 1917 in Somerville's Union Square, a man named Archibald Query created the original recipe for the marshmallow cream spread many of us know as Fluff. He sold his sweet invention door to door. On Saturday, September 29 (raindate September 30th) from 3 - 7 pm, you can join Boston's biggest Fluff nuts for the second annual What the Fluff? festival celebrating Mr. Query's invention. The 'Flufferettes' will be performing alongside musical acts, and attendees are also invited to participate in the Science Fair display and Fluff Cooking Contest. Prizes included a year's supply of you-know-what...

My office is in Davis Square in Somerville, MA. And to my great delight, so is Kickass Cupcakes. Or at least it will be soon. I've been walking by their coming soon sign on Highland Street for some time now, and was thrilled to hear from Kickass Cupcakes owner Sara Ross, who gave me the lowdown on this delicious Davis Square development.

Kickass Cupcakes will be open by September 2007. The cupcakes will be baked fresh each day, including classics like chocolate and vanilla and curious flavors like one of Sara's personal favorites, the Mojito cupcake. This cupcake rendition of my preferred drink of late features a rum-soaked cupcake topped with sugar cane lime frosting and a hint of mint. Then there's crispy cupcakes, cupcake parfaits, Pupcakes, and Kittycakes (so our pets can rejoice...) They will also be serving coffee, tea and other kickass beverages to complement their kickass cupcakes, which, according to Sara, will kick ass.

Kickass Cupcakes is at 378 Highland Ave in Davis Square in Somerville, MA. Impatient cupcake lovers who don't want to wait a day longer than they have to can sign up for the mailing list to find out exactly when they'll be officially open.

Beantown Cupcakes is in Winthrop, MA. But they deliver cupcakes daily to La Luna Caffe in Central Square in Cambridge, MA, and that's where I went to pick them up. One thing I've noticed this past week is that going to a different place for a different cupcake with a different person every day for 5 days is kinda tough to manage when you have a full time job that has nothing to do with cupcakes. In order to fit the South End Buttery into my day yesterday I made my poor friend Andrew meet me there at 8 am - which is not all that early, but is a little early in the morning to be eating cupcakes. Not that I'm complaining. Here are the results of Day 5, the final day of Cupcake Week at the Tasty Show:

Bakery: Beantown Cupcakes

Cupcake 1: Razzle Dazzle
Cupcake 2: Madison (Vanilla) Cupcake
Cupcake 3: Apple Pie Cupcake

Price: $2.50

Accompanying Friend: Dan

Presentation: Cute all around. I was instantly attracted to the way each cupcake had its own style and personality. The showy Madison promised a whole different experience than the earthier, homemade style of the Apple Pie.

Cake: The cake is pretty fluffy. A tiny bit crumbly as well - except for the Apple Pie, which was sticky with apples and super super moist. Lots of flavor and sweetness all around. (Sometimes a little too much for me.)

Frosting: The theme here is light. All three frostings were very light and soft. Razzle Dazzle is topped with a raspberry mousse and the Madison with a vanilla butter cream. The Apple Pie cupcake is topped with a cinnamon sugar crust and whipped cream.

Overall experience: Beantown's cupcakes are lovable and quite easy to eat. One of the first things I noticed was that they really put a whole lot of each recipe's starring ingredient in each cupcake. The Razzle Dazzle, which has dark chocolate cake, is very very chocolaty. The Appie Pie, which is a cinnamon cupcake with granny smith apples, is chock full of cinnamon. And then the Madison, as well, is all about the vanilla. The flavors are pretty strong and these little cupcakes are quite sweet. A guaranteed sugar fix. The chocolate and vanilla cakes were slightly on the crumbly side for my taste and less moist than I would like, though their frostings were soft and smooth and went nicely with their respective cakes. The Apple Pie cupcake was totally different. It was squishy, sticky, and ultra moist. Lots of apples, lots of cinnamon - I liked it, but it reminded me more of an apple pastry (like apple pie) than a cupcake. And knowing that it's called an Apple Pie cupcake, I'd imagine that that was the point. But I'd probably go for a more cupcakey cupcake if I have the choice. And apparently I do, since they have more than 25 different flavors to choose from.

Click here to see the 5-day plan and read the original Cupcake Week post.