Not such a groovy cat
I am such a greedy FGV. All you need to do is slap the word ‘vegan’ on your product and I’ll purchase it. If you want me to enjoy it enough to come back for more, all I ask is that whatever you sold me tastes slightly better than average. I’m not too fussy.
In the case of a recent cupcake purchase, I will certainly not be coming back for more in the foreseeable future.
For many months I had seen a super cute range of cupcakes around London. Cat & The Cream cakes are delectable-looking treats housed in cute, plastic tubs and are mostly found in Whole Foods Market outlets. I’m not sure how I managed to go so long without caving into temptation, but I eventually cracked a few weeks ago and bought one of their vegan cakes.
Such a cute container
The cupcake I snacked on was sadly below average in my opinion. The choc/orange sponge was too dense with a lack of any discernible flavour. The frosting was verging on grainy and neither Josh nor I could bring ourselves to finish eating it… and that speaks volumes! Almost half of the already-small cupcake got composted.
So much promise!
I’m not sure how to report back on how many cakes in the Cat & The Cream range are vegan. I do know they are all wheat/soy free, but I have seen non-vegan cupcakes by the brand on sale and this article talks of free range eggs. However, the wording on the company’s Facebook page would indicate everything they now make is suitable for a vegan diet. If that is the case, high praise to them for changing.
If you disagree with my take on these cakes, I would love to hear from you in the comments below. It is the only way I will know anything more about them, that’s for sure.
What a shame! I feel your disappoinment! I only recently started making cupcakes and have discovered some great recipes – happy to share if you want to make your own or pass them onto these people… http://justbloggs.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/oh-my-cupcakes/
I’m not much of a baker. I’ll stick with buying Ms Cupcake delights, I think!
hmm i bought one of these cakes from wfm and had a similar experience. the icing fell off in one great lump as soon as i picked it up, and it was impossible to replace it back on the cupcake, making the whole thing difficult to eat. the sponge itself had a nice flavour but the texture was too dense. i was disappointed, they looked so nice and had some interesting flavours, but i won’t buy again.
Yep, agreed. Way to dense and sickly. It’s not often I wish I hadn’t eaten a cake but that one I did
I tried a Cat & Cream banana chocolate cashew cupcake last summer & I definitely enjoyed it & I like that you can just grab them in Whole Foods. I’d rather eat a Ms C cupcake if I’m in London though as I prefer to support a vegan business over a non-vegan one, and of course her cakes are also tastier!
Last summer the vegan cupcakes WERE very good. However, since they have changed to make everything wheat-free they are nowhere near as nice in my opinion – the sponge is far too dense.
I had the same flavour as you and was just as disappointed! Basically it tasted like a muffin, not like cake, so the fact it had a huge clump of icing on top just seemed weird. I only wish Ms Cupcake was as widely available as Cat & the Cream seem to have become, but I will keep making the effort for her!
Oh dear. Not tried that flavour, but we’ve had quite a few of their other flavours and enjoyed them. I personally prefer them to ms cupcake, which i find over sweet / too much icing. I realise that that makes me weird 🙂
Too much icing does not exist in my known vocab!
Nor mine – you can always leave a bit of the frosting if there is too much but most cakes have too little and there is no remedying that!
I tried one of their cupcakes at the weekend, chocolate, raspberry and coconut, and I thought it was delicious. I was really impressed. I thought the chocolate and coconut worked really well and the little bursts of raspberry coming through were awesome. I agree that the cakes are dense, but I prefer them that way.I thought that it had a lot more flavour in the base of the cake, rather than just the frosting, which is something I’ve come across when buying vegan cakes and even experienced in my own baking.
Lots of interesting looking flavours too, looking forward to trying more. Sorry to see you were so disappointed with yours. I can’t imagine throwing mine away!
It’s great to see some people love these. Goes to show that as vegans we all have varied tastes and there is room for lots of different products!
I’ve not tried any of these cupcakes yet (being ‘oop north makes them a tad tricky to come by) but I was under the impression that these were wheat-free cupcakes. Wheat-free cupcakes are never going to be as fluffy and light as those made with wheat-flour, but for those of us that usually have to pass up the treats, a slightly stocky cupcake is better than no cupcake at all. (Same goes for Babycakes NYC which I have tried, and rather liked as it was the first cupcake I had tasted in years!)
I have not had the good fortune to sample Ms C’s cupcakes either, but if they are wheat-free and as amazing as everyone says then I will make a point of seeking her out next time I am in the Capitol.
Ms Cupcake are not wheat free aside from a small selection each day. The majority are made with wheat.
I don’t have a problem with wheat but I have tried one of Ms. Cupcake’s gluten-free cupcakes and it was just as delicious as the regular ones. Just goes to show that you can do gluten-free cakes without skimping on quality and taste. I don’t think I would buy the Cat and the Cream ones again after my last experience.
I had the hazelnut pear one and I loved it 🙂 it was fluffy and the tastes worked together very well. So sad you don´t like them, I thought it was great.
Just saw this while searching for C&tC and was surprised! They are definitely my favourite vegan cupcakes (so far 😉 ). I haven’t bought Ms Cupcake cupcakes for a while now as I was always disappointed with them (hard rather than smooth, creamy icing, fake rather than natural ingredients and very little flavour other than sugar). I like Ms C muffins and bars but cannot understand why the cupcakes are so raved about! I love the pure decadence of C&tC, though there is always room for improvement and I will enjoy sampling any results of competitiveness from any vegan cake retailer 🙂