The Butch Bakery Cookbook: A Favorite Thing

You've got to love a cookbook that has its own manifesto.

The Butch MAN-ifesto.  Our objective is simple.  We're men.  Men who like cupcakes.  Not the frilly pink-frosted sprinkles-and-unicorns kind of cupcakes.  We make manly cupcakes. For manly men. (Butch Bakery|New York)

I stumbled across this book while browsing the virtual library shelves of my local online library catalog.  I'm ashamed to say the title alone was too good to pass-up.  Apparently, I'm a sucker for something that is smartly branded, and the juxtaposition between butch and bakery caught my eye.  I put the book on hold and had it delivered to my local branch.  

Written by David Arrick, a former asset-backed securities dealer on Wall Street, The Butch Bakery Cookbook comes in at a solid 192 pages with plenty of color pictures.  According to the Butch Bakery website, when Arrick read a magazine article mentioning that cupcakes were a combination of everything "pink, sweet, cute and magical" he decided to take action and "butch it up." (Really, I have no comment.)

Upon scanning the table of contents I came across some unusual entries: Driller, Jack Hammer, Big Papi, Sweet Mama, Peppermint Patty, and Butch Meets Buttercream. Convinced I had actually checked-out a book on soft-core activities, I ventured forward with a bit of trepidation.  Sure enough, past the hype and the attention-grabbing titles, The Butch Bakery Cookbook delivers solid-tasting cupcake recipes that will make most adults happy.

A word of warning, this is not a cookbook for teetotalers.  The recipes include liberal use of brandy, bourbon, Bailey's, whiskey and all sorts of wonderful spirits that butch up prissy cupcakes and pack a punch. As some of you know, my office colleagues regularly demand that I bring baked-goods to work with me.  I decided to try out the Sidecar recipe and not only was it a hit, I was also told that I should have brought in enough for each person in the office to have two cupcakes, rather than one.  I reminded them that they were fortunate to have one cupcake, and snarled in their general directions.

So, what was in the Sidecar?  Well, at press-time I had not received permission to post the recipe but I can tell you this: the Sidecar is a delicious cupcake that is comprised of a lemon cake, drenched in brandy, with a cointreau/brandy buttercream.  Yes, it is as decadent as it sounds.  And, it's like doing a shot and eating cake at the same time!  Because none of the liquor is cooked-out, not only do you taste it, but you get that immediate contact buzz from the sugar and the alcohol.  

If they behave, my office colleagues will soon be getting some B-52s (yellow cake/Bailey's buttercream) and some Really Hot Dogs (chile-spike devil's food cake/dark and white chocolate-chile buttercream).  Yes, I broke down and bought the book.  It was cheap.  Last time I looked $8.00.  You can get it here: The Butch Bakery Cookbook [Amazon Link].

Enjoy!

--Alex