Molly’s Cupcakes

Posted by Edmund in Bakeries & Sweets, Chicago, Featured Articles | 0 comments

Dec 10, 10

Specialty: Cupcakes.
Location: 2536 N Clark St, Chicago 60614.
Price: $2 for a normal cupcake, $3.50 for a center-filled variety, $0.25-$0.50 for toppings.

When I left DC for vacation, I was relieved. I had finally escaped from the cupcake, that plague that has been consuming the DC baking scene little by little. That’s not to say I don’t like a good cupcake, but when every other bakery is a cupcakery, it can get old very, very quickly.

And then I came to Chicago and found out I was too late—Chicago had already caught the bug, too. To my surprise, the “best” bakeries I discovered in my research yet again pointed to that trend of trends, the cupcakery.

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I was, of course, disappointed…that is, until I tasted just how good the cupcakes actually were. The stop that convinced me: Molly’s Cupcakes.

Walking into Molly’s, I was a bit surprised, though, because this is anything but a typical cupcakery. While serving up a decent lineup of cupcakes, it actually gets some great coffees and teas provided by one of the most famous producers in Chicago, and it is large enough to support about 10 groups of people. It thus doubles as a café.

And as a café, I have to say it succeeds, combining both a very childish and a more mature vibe. The walls are simply adorned, mostly with austere white tiles decorated with simple, repetitive geometric designs. The walls, moreover, boast large bubble capsules with memories from childhood displayed in each one, like ice skates or building blocks. Best of all, the café even comes with its own pair of swings for the little kids (or adults, as I soon found out!). But at the same time, there’s enough color and modern music for older teens or adults to feel welcome here, too, and it’s actually quite the popular hangout for college students from what I saw. Overall, it’s the type of place where people of any age are welcome.

That type of playful, something-for-everybody attitude is found also in the cupcakes. While most cupcake shops focus on rather traditional flavors, Molly’s kicks it up a notch. Though it features a line of normal cupcakes, which are basically any combination of its four most basic cakes and five frostings, it also produces probably the largest line of center-filled specialty cupcakes I’ve yet to see at a cupcake store. The flavors, moreover, are very interesting compared to most stores. Tiramisu, Boston Cream, Cookie Monster (cookie dough center), and Blueberry Cheesecake are just a few of the more intriguing varieties.

If Molly’s had just stopped there, I’d have considered it to be more than a worthy cupcakery. Molly’s, however, goes even further. This is, in fact, the first cupcakery where I have seen toppings. Everything from chocolate chips to gummy bears to ice cream and marshmallow fluff is available for you to toss onto any one of the varieties. If that’s not enough, Molly’s even has a whole sprinkle bar right in the center of the store. Now that’s customizability. I personally didn’t find any need to take advantage of either of these options (after all, who wants gummy bears on a cupcake?), but it’s a welcome addition nonetheless, as well as a further testament to Molly’s dedication to innovation.

Most importantly, though, the taste is all there. This isn’t just innovation for the sake of innovation, and it shows, as Molly’s does both the classics and the more unique flavors extremely well. I will say that the center-filled cupcakes do tend to be better than the normal ones, but I was generally quite impressed with everything, as the cake was always extremely moist, the flavors very bold, and the frosting airy and flavorful. I did have a problem with the vanilla frosting, which was way too sweet and artificial-tasting, but nearly everything else worked.

I give special kudos for the center-filled varieties, moreover, for the synergy and boldness of the ingredients. In the blueberry cheesecake, for example, real blueberries were integrated into the cake, giving it a marked blueberry muffin flavor, while the cream cheese frosting and graham cracker blended in rather nicely and subtly to moderate the fruitiness.

It’s really that type of complexity that I find to be Molly’s best asset. Many cupcake stores can come up with good cake and good frosting. For Molly’s, though, good enough is not enough. Instead, it has to take the traditional flavors to the limit, with extra ingredients, new concepts (center-filled vs. normal), unique flavors, and more customizability than I’ve seen anywhere else.

I wasn’t too thrilled about seeing so many cupcake shops in Chicago, but Molly’s more than changed my mind. It’s an easy recommendation.

What I Tasted

1. Vanilla with Vanilla Frosting: The frosting is way too sweet, with that gritty artificial taste that store-bought icing has, where you can feel the crunch of the sugar. More positively, it’s very light and has a slightly whipped quality to it, which means you won’t get bogged down by a really thick, heavy icing. The cake, however, fares much better. It’s extremely moist, to the point that when I grabbed it lightly, my finger actually sunk into the cake and made an impression. It also has a strong vanilla flavor. Unfortunately, the frosting is just too strong. I can see this being excellent with another frosting. 2.5/5.0
2. Blueberry Cheesecake: Not only is this an incredibly interesting/unique cupcake, it is delicious. Like before, the actual cake is scrumptious, with a moistness that is so intense that you can feel the buttery softness as you touch the cake. But this cupcake has a kicker—a crunchy hard, muffin-like top that is so hard and sturdy that you can actually grab the whole cupcake by just that top and it won’t fall apart. Adding to the great texture are some really solid flavors, too. Blueberries are actually integrated into the cake, like in a real blueberry muffin, giving it a very pronounced fruitiness. And while the cheesecake portion is mostly relegated to a slight drizzle of cream cheese frosting and graham cracker on top, those ingredients do add a bit more variety, the graham crackers with an intense cookie crunch and the frosting with some sweetness. I do think that cheesecake frosting makes it a bit too sweet, but overall it’s a great cupcake. 4.4+/5.0
3. Red Velvet with Cream Cheese Frosting: This one’s a bit different than most red velvets, mostly because of the frosting, which is actually very strongly cream cheese-flavored. The focus isn’t on the sweetness at all, but rather on a cheesy tang (kind of like a slight citrus taste, oddly enough), so it definitely gets points for that fresh, “real” taste. The frosting is also whipped and very light. As for the cake, it has a very cornbread-like taste and texture. The focus is mostly on the butter more than anything else, and almost all other flavors are downplayed, though the cupcake does have what tastes like a slight cocoa flavor at the end. Overall, though, I just feel the cheesiness can be a bit too intense, covering up some of the cake’s flavors rather than complementing them, and the cupcake really under-uses sugar. Finally, the cake is on the heavy side, and I was left with a slight oiliness on my palate afterwards. 4.1+/5.0
4. Ron Bennington (Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Ganache, Chocolate Frosting, PB crumbs and fillings): This is one monstrously heavy cupcake. It’s dense as a brick, and for good reason: Just read how much chocolate is loaded here. However, while the flavor is very intense, it’s very well done. As with the others, the cake is very moist and buttery, this time with a very soft, light cocoa powder-like taste to it. The ganache is the exact opposite: gooey, thick, heavy, and intensely dark. And the PB might seem like an afterthought, but it works well to counterbalance that heavy chocolate taste. My only problem with the flavor is that the PB is very unevenly distributed, so that you only get it in a few bites, specifically those in the very center. This is thus definitely not a consistent flavor. But to its merit, no matter the degree of chocolate vs. PB in this cupcake, the flavors are so great that you can always enjoy it. Just a warning, though: it’s heavy and will be cloying for some because of its richness. 4.5/5.0

Scores

Ambience (not factored into overall score): 4.1/5.0. Surprisingly, I wouldn’t mind relaxing and eating here, a first in my book for a cupcakery.
Taste: 4.0/5.0. More of a 4.3+ without the vanilla on vanilla.
Value: 4.3+/5.0. Cupcakes don’t come much cheaper, especially for this quality.
Verdict (excludes ambience): 4.1+/5.0