Cran Apple Cider Cupcakes

Yesterday at the office there was an overflow of baked goods: we had waffles, chocolate sauce, cookies. No one was complaining, exactly, but when there are so many options, how does one make the choice of what to sample? A small taste of everything? Mindless munching while walking through the cube space? One deliberate dessert to last the day?


Unfortunately, I made the decision even more difficult in the afternoon. During lunch, I picked up a dozen cupcakes from Tribeca Treats: my dozen cupcakes, actually. As the winner of the "create a speciatly flavor" contest, I was given a gift of my Cran Apple Cider cupcake with cinnamon icing and candied ginger; since so many of my co-workers supported me in the voting process, and since I really shouldn't have a dozen cupcakes just lying around my apartment, I brought them in for all to share.

The feedback was amazing. Now, I obviously did not make the cupcakes, so I really shouldn't even be taking credit. But, as was pointed out a few times, they were my brainchild. If I do someday open a bakery (I hear Seattle is a nice place for baked goods), then I'll want to start getting creative now.


The cupcakes are, in fact, incredible. The cake tastes, true to its name, like cider and the cranberries give it a welcome tartness. The frosting also pairs well with the cider, with only a hint of cinammon and a marvelous cream cheese consistency. It's the kind of cupcake I can see myself earnestly pairing with a glass of apple cider, perhaps sitting underneath a tree in the park, watching the yellow and red leaves drift to the ground and get carried off with the autumn breeze.

My Award-Winning Cupcake, now a Specialty Flavor at Tribeca Treats!

Like any respectable office building, mine has an amazing bakery within walking distance, Tribeca Treats. To top it off, the bakery is only a mere block away from a favorite lunch destination, The New York Hot Dog Company. Many a lunch with my co-workers has consisted of a hot dog and cupcake, or at the very least, a hot dog and a brief interlude inside the bakery, if only to look at its creative greeting cards and take in the scent of cream cheese frosting.

Recently, Tribeca Treats held a contest to determine their newest “Specialty Flavor” that would be featured in rotation at the bakery. Participants were asked to create a cupcake flavor detailing out the type of cake, the frosting, and any toppings. The winning cupcake would be added to their menu for all to enjoy. Naturally, I entered the competition.

I was excited when I learned that my flavor was a semifinalist, flabbergasted when I heard that it was a finalist, and overjoyed to hear that it won first prize!

The contest was an absolute joy to participate in from the tasting perspective as well; for four days, the bakery held taste-testings of each of the semifinalist, then finalist flavors, allowing for customers to rate each cupcake. There was some very solid competition, and I think we all enjoyed sampling an array of uniquely flavored miniature cupcakes, all exquisitely made by the bakery.

After the tasting, and especially after the results, I was – and am – quite proud of my invention. I submitted an Apple Cider cupcake with cinnamon frosting and a bit of candied ginger as a topping.

Growing up in Connecticut, where orchards and farmer’s markets are in no short supply, I’ve been savoring apple cider donuts every autumn since I was a child; I couldn’t think of a more seasonal and mouth-watering flavor for a cupcake, and I’m glad that now so many people are able to get a taste of it themselves.

If you live in the New York area, then I shamelessly implore you to visit Tribeca Treats and try the Apple Cider cupcake for yourself. That way, you can say that you know the creator of this incredible dessert.

I can guarantee, there will be more coverage of the Apple Cider cupcake to come.