Baked - Tampa, Florida

I recently ran into a Saturday market in downtown Tampa, kind of by happenstance. This market takes place every third Saturday of the month where local businesses come and display their goodies. There were various items being sold, from food to candles and even some clothing. Lucky for me, there were also cupcake vendors!

One of the vendors who attended was a made-to-order, at-home bakery called Baked. The baker is a fellow named Matt who is a pastry chef by trade. He doesn't have a store front yet, but he attends various market events to promote his business in hopes of saving and working towards a storefront. His goodies are not limited to cupcakes, he also makes breads, pastries, and full sized cakes.

At his stall he had some red velvet cupcakes so I decided to give them a try.

Red Velvet Cupcake from Baked

I was a little disappointed with the cupcake. The frosting was really good, it was a great cream cheese frosting. The frosting was creamy and smooth and a perfect mix from sweetness and cream cheese. The cake, however, was a different story. The cake was definitely over cooked, the outside was slightly chewy almost rubbery, and the inside was dry. The flavor was decent, though I couldn't taste any cocoa in the cake.

Basically, I was a little let down, but I won't hold it against Matt. I think his pastries will bring him back to glory when he finally does open up his storefront.

Price: $3/cupcake
Cake: airy, dry, no cocoa
Icing: smooth, sweet, smooth
Decorations: simple
Overall Rating: 4/10