Eats: The Cupcakery — a focus beyond the frosting

Cupcakes on a mission.

That’s what it says on the menu at The Cupcakery, a new restaurant and confection shop on Lisbon Street in downtown Lewiston. The Cupcakery, however, is so much more than sweet treats.

Christine Vincent, who is the baker, frosting maker and matriarch at The Cupcakery, is also the CEO of Opportunity Enterprises, a nonprofit group that works to provide adults who have developmental disabilities with home and community support, case management and residential services.

According to Christine, part of OE’s mission is to offer opportunities for work assessment to people who are referred to them by Vocational Rehabilitation and the Maine Department of Labor. OE also gives people who are part of the Aspire program an opportunity to learn the skills necessary to get a job elsewhere, “or possibly to work with us here at The Cupcakery,” she said.

That mission — combining cupcakes and service to the community — is assisted by Christine’s daughter Chelsea, who is perhaps the most well-educated bakery manager and cake decorator in the Twin Cities — nay, the state of Maine.

After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh with a bachelor of science honors degree in physics and astronomy, Chelsea found that she had a knack for working with populations that were so dear to her mother’s heart. “Not only did she find that she had great teaching skills,” explains her mother, “she was also really great at cake decorating.”

Mother and daughter are joined by husband/father, a second daughter and a grandfather, making three generations of Vincents dedicated to The Cupcakery’s support of Opportunity Enterprises and to providing, according to their menu, “the area with great cupcakes made from scratch with fresh, high-quality ingredients.”

“The long-term goal is to eventually make a profit,” says Christine.

“Those profits,” adds Chelsea, “will go back to support (Opportunity Enterprises).”

The cupcakes

But why cupcakes, you ask?

Chris loves cupcakes, and it was her life-long dream to open a cupcake bakery where adults with disabilities could learn job skills and make a real paycheck for their work, says Chelsea.

When the Bread Shack closed and the space at 97 Lisbon St. opened up, the Greene family decided to make the dream a reality.

For cupcake flavors, says Chelsea, “we make all the standards: vanilla, chocolate, red velvet, carrot” and — at the request of the boys in the shop next door at Rainbow Cycle — a peanut butter cup cupcake. This special treat, she explains, is “a chocolate cake with a peanut butter frosting and a mini peanut butter cup on top.”

That last combination hints at the variety The Cupcakery offers. Though they’ve only been open a few weeks, owners are already putting the frosting on their seasonal selections, with more in works.

On the list: an orange Creamsicle cupcake with a refreshing orange flavor — a throwback to the old-fashioned summertime treat — as well as a strawberry shortcake cupcake and a peanut butter and jelly cupcake.

“Remember that favorite Popsicle from your childhood?” asks the menu in its description of the orange Creamsicle cupcake. “Well, it’s back (in this) light, citrusy cupcake made with real orange zest and fresh orange juice.”

The strawberry shortcake is constructed with a soft angel food cake, hollowed and filled with fresh pureed strawberries, topped with a light whipped cream frosting and garnished with a fresh slice of strawberry on top. “It’s more like a strawberry shortcake than a cupcake,” says Chelsea, although it looks, and eats, like a cupcake.

The PB&J cupcake, lovingly referred to on the menu as “the best pairing in history,” features a simple, mild-flavored cake that Chelsea likens to “the bread to the sandwich,” and a decadent peanut butter frosting piled high on top and then drizzled with grape jelly. “It tastes just like the sandwich,” says Chelsea, but a whole lot sweeter.

And to further honor summertime in Maine, “we’re working on a s’more cupcake,” says Chelsea with a smile. After that? “We’ll experiment – with different themes and flavors – throughout the year.”

According to Christine, “all of the experimenting made for a lot of weight gain in the office . . . but no one complained.”

The Cupcakery also is encouraging experimentation among its customers, and guests who submit their own ideas for special flavors and combinations are rewarded if their suggestions make their way to the menu.

Cupcakes are just the frosting . . .

Making and selling frosting-laden cupcakes was a natural path for the Vincents. While they didn’t have a lot of food service background, Chelsea says, “My grandmother was a cake decorator and both my mom and I grew up watching her bake and decorate birthday and wedding cakes.”

But The Cupcakery is more than cupcakes, which are made and sold throughout the day. The business also makes birthday, wedding, graduation and other special-occasion cakes. Then there are the other baked goods, including whoopee pies and cookies (chocolate chip, M&M, sugar cookies, snicker doodles, etc.) traditional and nutty fudge brownies and cake pops — those locally popular cake bites on sticks. “And come fall,” says Chelsea, “we’ll be making pumpkin whoopee pies.”

Are you hungry for more than sweets? The menu at The Cupcakery also includes turkey, ham, roast beef, egg salad and chicken salad sandwiches, served on a variety of breads and wraps. And salads — garden, Caesar and a flavorful cranberry almond chicken salad made with fresh greens and cucumber.

Owners are hoping to open for breakfast in the near future. Toward that end, mother and daughter have even experimented with — of course — a breakfast cupcake. “It’s served in a cupcake liner, just like the cupcakes,” explains Christine, “and it’s cooked in a cupcake pan.” That, however, is where the similarities end. The breakfast cupcake is made with an English muffin, scrambled egg, cheese and several different choices of meat. When baked, it resembles a quiche.

Need an event catered? Salads, sandwiches and, of course, cupcakes and other confections can be prepared to travel to the office, a luncheon or other gathering.

With a relatively small but comfortable dining and conference table and sitting area, The Cupcakery can also host birthday parties on site. The business will supply everything needed for party-goers to decorate their own cupcakes. Owners also have plans for cake decorating classes, so others can make their own creative confections at home.

Cupcakes, and more, on a mission.

The Cupcakery’s giant sugar cookies

Ingredients (makes 4 giant cookies):

8 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup sugar (plus extra for topping)

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a cookie sheet with nonstick spray (or use a silicone baking mat).

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, stir the butter and sugar together until creamed.

3. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.

4. Stir in flour, baking soda, salt and cream of tartar until just combined. Do NOT over mix.

5. Split the dough into fourths and form 4 balls. Roll each large ball into sugar and place on a cookie sheet to bake. Bake 14 to 16 minutes until the edges are browned. Allow to cool completely on the baking sheet.

The Cupcakery’s brownies

Ingredients (makes 12 brownies):

16 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

4 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with butter and line with parchment paper (make sure to line the edges with parchment paper too). Grease the paper with butter and set pan aside.

2. Pour enough water into a saucepan that it reaches a depth of 1 inch. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.

3. Combine butter and chocolate in a medium bowl and set the bowl over the saucepan. Cook and stir frequently until melted and smooth (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside.

4. Whisk together eggs in a large bowl and add sugar, brown sugar, vanilla and salt, and whisk to combine.

5. Stir in the chocolate mixture.

6. Fold in the flour.

7. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 to 35 minutes.