Pane ed Acqua

[Curlz]

Just saw a piece about this place on the Ch. 7 news; the owner does catering but also has a retail space in Clifton, where she sells 20 kinds of cupcakes, some with interesting (to me, at least!) flavors. Like Olive Oil and Rosemary. That's ONE flavor, not two. I'm swooning just thinking about it!

I'll likely get there this weekend, as cupcake-obsessed friend is freaking out at the idea of something so good being so close. Anyone ever been?

Pane ed Acqua site

[ghostrider]

Saw that segment too. Friend who was watching said that she'd just been profiled in the Bergen Record last week. Apparently she's got a good press agent!

I was intrigued by the wall of waters in the background & plan to visit the establishment for that reason. (I don't need cupcakes in my diet right now!)

[Curlz]

We did end up going by Pane ed Acqua late in the day yesterday; no surprise, the place had been slammed because of the tv piece, as well as an article that recently appeared (not sure which paper it was in). For those who go, it's on Van Houten between Grove and Broad Streets, but very close to Broad, and there is a navy blue awning that says Village Baker on it; the PeA logo is on the front window.

I picked up a sweet basil cupcake, and my friend had the triple chocolate, which had ganache instead of frosting (a VERY good thing in her book). We each agreed that the cupcakes were delicious, and I, the non-chocolate freak, loved the chocolate one even more than my own b/c it wasn't overly sweet. I didn't think that the sweet basil one was too sweet either--it was just different. Light, with basil throughout the cake as well as on top of the not-too-sweet frosting. I'm not a baker by any stretch, but I think she must put the basil in simple syrup and let it dry before sprinkling it on top, as it had a bit of a sheen and a light 'crunch' to it. Good stuff, esp for someone who tends to prefer savory anything over sweets!

I will definitely get back to try some of the other flavors, as they were out of many of them. Here are a few flavors that I remember seeing: Orange (cake) w/choc ganache, Honey Lemon, Skittles (gotta have something for the kids, right?), blueberry, Mexican chocolate, the aforementioned triple chocolate and sweet basil, and...maybe oatmeal raisin? And...I think that's where my brain shuts down. Prices are crazy reasonable, imo-$1.25 each.

They also had an equally large selection of different flavors of biscotti, and numerous breads available.

Definitely worth a try if dessert is on your mind (or not)!

[Beth E.]

That sounds yummy -- or course I am well known for my sweet tooth (at least in my home I am.)

[mzrb]

I went today and found myself alone in the store with the owner who only looked up after I said "hello," which I will say upfront puts me off a place, especially a small storefront like this one.

I was pleased, tho, with the selection of cupcakes. I bought a variety of types, plus some biscotti. The double choc biscotti were good and had nice texture; the coffee biscotti was stale and probably would've been a lot nicer when it was fresh as it appeared to have fresh ground beans in it, which is a nice idea.

The cookies and cream cupcake was a brilliant notion and was glormed down by my daughter. What she left me to try was nice, moist, flavorful and had a nice crumb. Unfort., two of the other cupcakes I had had were way too dense in the middle--not normal dense, but not enough leavening/too much moisture collapsed dough dense. They were very nice flavors (strawberry milk and french toast), and probably would've been enjoyable had they not been misfits. I also had some of a key lime cupcake with chocolate frosting, which wasn't too strong on the key lime flavor, but had an okay dark chocolate ganache.

I think it's worth a visit, as I am sure the density problems were just today's issue. Will I rush back? Probably not, but that's only (at the risk of sounding like a princess) because I'm a pretty decent baker myself. But, if you like cupcakes, and don't bake for yourself, then I think it's definitely worth a visit.

and maybe you'll be more successful at getting a smile out of the owner!

[mzrb]

After my snarky little entry, I feel I have to say something very important--and it shouldn't be an afterthought (i'm just not focused enough today, sorry!): her cupcakes are much better than you can get at any bakery anywhere around here. The quality of the chocolate in the icing alone is beyond comparison of anything around here. So, I don't mean to rain on her parade, I just wasn't there on her best day, I guess.