ManCakes was born from three local guys who wanted to turn the cupcake industry on it’s head offering gourmet flavours and taking out the frilly, girly way cupcakes are usually presented. I love this thought process, partially because I’m not a frilly girly type girl and also because the flavour profiles they have are creative and fun. Guys…if you wanna do a video game theme flavour(s), I’d be all over that in no time.
Their cupcakes are baked fresh every day and are completely nut free, baked in a nut free environment. ManCakes Bakery also caters and delivers! And now, onto the review!
Please note that I was invited by VANEATS to review this package, my meal was paid for but all opinions are my own.
So this is what you get with the ManCakes Madness package ($9.95):
A. Your choice of 6 mini ManCakes:,
- “Bacon Chili Chocolate”, chocolate base, ancho chili chocolate, ganache filling, vanilla buttercream icing, crumbled bacon
- “Apple Brie”, spice base, sweet apple cider jelly filling, brie buttercream icing, crushed pretzel brittle
- “Breakfast”, vanilla base, smoked bacon & egg custard filling, maple syrup buttercream icing, crispy granola crunch
- “Buffalo Wing”, spice base, baked blue cheese cheesecake mousse, hot sauce infused buttercream icing, crispy chicken crumbles
- “Chocolate Red Wine”, chocolate base, mascarpone mousse filling, port cherry red wine infused buttercream icing, dark chocolate disc with a red wine gelee
- “King Kong”, chocolate base, banana cream filling, espresso infused marshmallow, chocolate shavings
- “Pink Peppercorn Grapefruit”, vanilla base, blood orange & pink grapefruit filling, vanilla buttercream icing, french macaroon & ground pink peppercorn
- “Rum & Coke”, vanilla base, coke cream filling, rum infused buttercream icing, crushed coke, candy topping
- “Tequila Pineapple”, spice based, pineapple cream filling, tequila infused buttercream icing, toasted coconut shavings
- “Whiskey Lime”, spice based, whiskey infused chocolate ganache filling, white chocolate lime icing, lime sugar topping
B. Your choice of 2 hot beverages below:,
- “49th Parallel”, medium roast
- “Death Wish”, the only place in Vancouver to try the world’s STRONGEST dark roast coffee. 200% stronger than any other dark roast on the market!
- “Teapigs”, hailing from the UK, the tea capital of the world, the only place in Vancouver to get it!
So because my lovely friends and Gastrofork contributors Nat and Adrian were with me today, we decided to splurge and try all 11 flavours.
We started off with the two beverages, Nathalie ordered the Death Wish – which is the world’s strongest coffee (200% stronger than other dark roasts on the market). You would think with the title of being the strongest that this coffee would be bitter, but it wasn’t. It is still a dark roast, so it might be bitter for some, but we didn’t feel like it was too overpowering in anyway. It also gave Nathalie a nice kick (which I feel terribly about for when she had to go back to work…haha).
Adrian ordered an earl grey to drink. If you’re feeling less adventurous, try 49th Parallel’s medium roast – it’s one of my favourites.
Bacon Chili Chocolate – chocolate base, ancho chill chocolate, ganache filling, vanilla buttercream icing and crumbled bacon. I liked this cupcake, it wasn’t too overly sweet but I wish there was a little bit more bacon in it! Maybe fusing the icing with the bacon taste, it left me wanting more and more bacon.
Apple Brie – spice base, sweet apple cider jelly filling, brie buttercream icing, crushed pretzel brittle. Adrian and Nat loved this one, it was spicy (not hot spicy, but spice-y) and slightly sweet.
Breakfast – vanilla base, smoked bacon and egg custard filling, maple syrup buttercream icing, crispy granola crunch. I really love this cupcake because it’s such a fun one. A cupcake for breakfast? YES. Feeling like having a little breakfast late at night? Breakfast Cupcake. I really liked the smokey bacon filling and the hint of maple syrup on the icing that wasn’t too sweet.
Buffalo Wing – spice base, baked blue cheesecake mousse, hot sauce infused buttercream icing, crispy chicken crumbles. Geoff said this cupcake is best enjoyed with some Frank’s Red Hot Sauce which he happily applied to the top of our lil cupcake. I really like the ingredients that went into this, but it was more subtle than what I had expected. The red hot sauce kicked it up a notch though, so maybe it should always be added!
Chocolate Red Wine – chocolate base, mascarpone mousse filling, port cherry red wine infused buttercream icing, dark chocolate disc with a red wine gelee. Hmm…Chocolate and wine. Must be a TOUGH sell right? This was one of my favourite cupcakes of the bunch because it fused two of my favourite things. Also, I liked that neither flavour overpowered each other and was very enjoyable throughout. The red wine glee on the top was perfect.
King Kong – chocolate base, banana cream filling, espresso infused marshmallow and chocolate shavings. Okay, if you’ve been a reader to the site for a while, you’ll know that I’m banana intolerant (raw anyway), but I’m going to say that this is my second favourite of all the flavours. Why? It’s really hard to say, it’s just that the flavours paired so well with one another, banana cream, espresso and chocolate. Perfect.
Pink Peppercorn Grapefruit – vanilla base, blood orange and pink grapefruit filling, vanilla buttercream icing, french macaroon and ground pink peppercorn. Now this, to me is the most random flavour out of all of them (which isn’t a bad thing). I like that this flavour is ambitious and I think for the right person, this would be delicious.
Rum & Coke – vanilla base, coke cream filling, rum infused buttercream icing, crushed coke, candy topping. My favourite highball in a cupcake, joy! This one has all the right moves.
Tequila Pineapple – spice based, pineapple cream filling, tequila infused buttercream icing, toasted coconut shavings. I really enjoyed this one too, it made me miss the pristine beaches and clear blue ocean of Hawaii.
Whiskey Lime – spice based, whiskey infused chocolate ganache filling, white chocolate lime icing, lime sugar topping. This is also a nice spice based flavour, I enjoyed this one too.
Chicago – vanilla chiffon base, caramel filling, caramel popcorn, cheddar cheese buttercream icing. Okay, so I saved the best for last. Chicago was recently named the best Cupcake Flavour here in town and it’s not that hard to see why. It’s like a flavour explosion in your mouth! The base is not too sweet which showcases the delicious caramel filling inside and the salty-savoury icing and popcorn atop the cupcake. I was most surprised that the popcorn on top was soft so you weren’t getting too many crazy textures all at once which is nice. This flavour is so popular, they are keeping it on their menu indefinitely!
Overall, ManCakes have a great product – their cupcakes are nice and moist which is so essential. They have creative and gourmet flavours that aren’t your typical flavours, and I applaud them for being adventurous!
I would definitely recommend this VANEATS package, for $10 you get 6 mini cupcakes and two drinks, it’s a great way to sample the best they have to offer.
For more information and to buy a package, visit the VANEATS website here.
Check out ManCakes Bakery here.