Kara's Cupcakes, Strawberry Cream

I never really got caught up in the whole "cupcake craze." Magnolia? Sprinkles? Meh. I've always been more of a cookie gal myself. Or cheesecake. Yeah, cut me a fatty slice of cheesecake any day.

But that's just me. I knew my guests visiting from out of town would go ga-ga over Kara's Cupcakes, and it would be the perfect pick-me-up as our sightseeing brought us to Ghirardelli Square.

Because who can choose just one?

Jennifer proceeded to purchase a dozen cupcakes…because who could choose just one? I was pretty blasé about it all…until the Strawberry Cream filled cupcake rocked my world.

Strawberry Cream Dream

The Strawberry Cream is one of Kara's seasonal flavors, and is only available until August (So go get one now! Seriously, go. Now.). It is a vanilla cupcake filled with organic local strawberries and cream, and topped with a cream cheese frosting. Yom!

So what about this particular cupcake converted this disbeliever?

1. The cake was surprisingly moist, and incredibly light. Like sweet, delicious fluffy clouds. Maybe that's the key. This cupcake is baked by angels.
2. The filling. Real strawberries and cream. It was like biting into a bit of unexpected sunshine.
3. Cream cheese frosting. Always a win in my book, and in this case, even more so. Not too dense, but still appropriately decadent, and a great play on the classic strawberry jam/cream cheese combo.
4. Apparently, if you slice it in half, the revealed filling and fondant decoration looks like a strawberry! How precious is that?

This cupcake was unreal. Like grandma's strawberry shortcake, but better, and in adorable cupcake form.

Other cupcakes of note: Sweet S'mores, a chocolate cupcake with graham cracker crust and toasted marshmallow frosting; Fleur De Sel, a chocolate cupcake with caramel filling, dark ganache frosting and fleur de sel; and Chocolate Velvet, a chocolate cupcake with a mound of velvety bittersweet chocolate buttercream.

Kara's proudly states that they continue baking throughout the day so they can offer cupcakes that have been baked within hours, if not minutes, for your enjoyment. I believe it. They are amazingly fresh and absurdly delicious. I see why they have such a following in all five of their Bay Area locations.

So, am I about to go on a cupcake bender? Probably not. (Besides, from what my pilates instructor tells me, Kara's reigns supreme. She holds a horizontal cupcake tasting of all the cupcake shops in the area, and she says Kara's wins hands down every year. It's not even a contest anymore.) I do, however, have a whole new respect for the Cupcake, and Kara's will be seeing me again, at least once, before the Strawberry Cream goes out of season.

Kara's Cupcakes, Ghirardelli Square

Kara's Cupcakes

Ghirardelli Square -- San Francisco, CA
Plaza Level
900 North Point
San Francisco, California 94109
415-351-CAKE (2253)

Marina -- San Francisco, CA
3249 Scott Street (at Chestnut)
San Francisco, California 94123
415-563-CAKE (2253)

Town & Country Village -- Palo Alto, CA
855 El Camino Real, Suite 50
Palo Alto, California 94301
650-326-CAKE (2253)

Santana Row -- San Jose, CA
3055 Olin Avenue, Suite 1010
San Jose, California 95128
408-260-2222

Oxbow Market -- Napa, CA
610 First Street, Suite 19
Napa, California 94559
707-258-CAKE (2253)

The first weekend in September I will be flying off to Portugal to learn about cork, but if I was in town I'd be sauntering down to Ghirardelli Square to check out the annual Chocolate Festival. It's free to attend, but tickets are sold for "tastings" and all proceeds benefit Project Open Hand. There are close to 30 vendors including Ghirardelli chocolate, Ciao Bella Gelato, Kara's Cupcakes, Presidio Cafe and Young's Double Chocolate Stout.

Some highlights include a chance to meet Kara Lind, owner of Kara's Cupcakes and learn about cupcake making and decorating, a wine and chocolate pairing seminar and demonstrations by Master Chocolatier Ann Czaja who will share chocolate recipes and entertaining ideas. Yes, there will be samples!

What: Chocolate Festival Indulge in chocolate treats, sip at the Wine & Chocolate Bar, and enjoy Chef Demonstrations and other family activities.

Where: Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point St, San Francisco

When:9:00am-5:00pm, September 6-7, 2008

How: Admission is free, but tickets are available for tastings, 15 tastings for $20 or 6 tastings for $10

Why: This is a fundraiser for Project Open Hand, for over 20 years, Project Open Hand has provided meals and bags of groceries to men, women and children living with symptomatic HIV and AIDS. They also provide daily congregate lunches to seniors and provide meals to people who are homebound and critically ill.

Here is the winning recipe from Ghirardelli's America's Most Intense Chocolate Recipe:

Triple Chocolate Truffle Cake

Ingredients:
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened, plus additional for pan
3 cups Ghirardelli Semi Sweet Chocolate Baking Chips
8 large eggs, cold
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 cup Ghirardelli Milk Chocolate Baking Chips
2 ounces Ghirardelli White Chocolate Baking Bar, chilled

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 325° F. Arrange rack in center of oven. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 2-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.

2. Melt butter and semi-sweet chocolate chips over double boiler until smooth; cool slightly. Meanwhile, with a hand mixer or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, whip eggs and salt on medium speed until doubled in volume, about 5 minutes.

3. Gently fold, in thirds, whipped eggs into melted chocolate. Pour batter into prepared cake pan and place pan in water bath. Bake until the cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and is set in the center, about 40 minutes. Remove pan from water bath to a cooling rack and cool cake completely in pan. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. To remove cake, dip the bottom and halfway up the sides of the pan in warm water and run a thin metal spatula around the inside of the pan. Invert onto a plate to unmold, remove parchment paper.

4. To prepare ganache, bring heavy cream to a simmer and pour over milk chocolate chips. Stir gently until smooth; cool slightly. Pour ganache over top of cake and spread with an offset spatula to evenly cover. (There will be some ganache leftover.) Chill cake until ganache sets, about 30 minutes. To garnish, grate white chocolate bar on top of cake.

As the weather warms up it's prime time for outdoor festivals. Head to Ghirardelli Square for sipping wine at the third annual Uncorked Wine Festival or to Golden Gate Park for shucking oysters at the ninth annual San Francisco Oyster Fest. Better yet, enjoy both!

Ghirardelli Square hosts Uncorked! in partnership with COPIA, the American Center for Wine, Food & Arts located in Napa. Uncorked provides an opportunity to taste, learn and experience wine and gourmet food from throughout Northern California. Highlights include a food and wine pairing seminar, sensory wine class and chef demonstration ($10 fee). Check out the schedule online.

What: Uncorked! Wine Festival
Cost: Tickets are $40 and include unlimited wine tastings from over 50 wineries and a souvenir glass
When: May 17th 1 - 6 pm
Where: Ghirardelli Square, 900 North Point St, San Francisco
How: Purchase tickets online

The San Francisco Oyster Fest celebrates that classic combination of oysters and stout and features a great selection of contemporary live music. A wide variety of other beverages will also be available, ranging from beers, wines to premium spirits and though oysters are the main focus of the festival many other culinary choices will be offered. Festival events including the Shuck and Suck Competition, Oyster History Exhibition and Oyster Cooking Demonstrations.

What: San Francisco Oyster Fest
Cost: Tickets are $20 for a 1 day pass or $35 for a 2 day pass
When: May 17th - 18th, 12 - 7, gates open at 11
Where: Great Meadow at Fort Mason, San Francisco
How: Purchase tickets online

One of my favorite things to do is go to Ghirardelli Square for ice cream.

I'm sure most of the locals just blanched at that sentence. The food snobs are horrified that I'd be common enough to let such "plebeian" ice cream pass my lips, and the regular snobs can't see hobnobbing with the tourists.

Before I moved down the street, I would have agreed with you. Smelly sea lions, tee shirt shops, and overstuffed tourists whose matching fleeces advertise their ignorance of San Francisco weather? Blech. I've never had much heart for the Wharf, and though I'm a chocoholic, Ghirardelli's middle-of-the-road milk chocolates don't do it for me.

But then we found an apartment that's so close to the Square that the smell of freshly made ice cream cones practically wakes me up in the morning. Add to that my boyfriend's obsession with ice cream, and we were bound to become regulars.

Instead of being dragged kicking and screaming, though, I've found that I adore having an ice cream at Ghirardelli Square. Nevermind that it's Dreyer's (the truck pulls up every morning, regular as rain). Everyone is happy on vacation, and so the place is just brimming with smiles and laughter and good vibrations. People are thrilled to death at the thought of stuffing a gigondo ice cream sundae in their bellies, and no one minds the wait.

As it happens, they also serve some of the best chocolate chip ice cream around. The secret is the size of the chip; if it's too big, the chip stays cold and it's difficult to taste the chocolate. But these chips are teeny-tiny flecks that melt in your mouth, imbuing the ice cream around it (mint, vanilla, or espresso) with chocolatey goodness.

If you live in the city, you owe it to yourself to head to the Square one evening soon. It'll put a smile on your face, guaranteed. Who says Fisherman's Wharf is just for tourists?