FOOD PORN ALERT! Rated XXX for slobber-inducing content

Called in at Alliance Bakery located at 1736 West Division in Wicker Park after my disappointing trip to Crust looking for something in Wicker Park that had flavour! Thank goodness for Alliance! It was open late and caught my eye with one of the most stunning displays of fake cake porn I have ever seen: an array of artsy decorated Styrofoam slathered in fondant.

Alliance had a ton of sweets to choose from, but it was the cupcakes that caught my eye, especially the two you see above: double chocolate and carrot cake. When I made my first selection, the shop girl thought I had said that I wanted a double chocolate cookie. She slipped the cookie in a paper bag and was all ready to check me out until I corrected her and said that I had wanted a cupcake. Because it was late and because she had made the mistake, she ended up giving me the cookie for free.

Honestly, I could have done without the cookie. Since I am in a good mood, I am going to chalk up the brownie’s faults to being old – after all it was late and that cookie had probably been sitting out since mid-morning.

Have you ever had a brownie that was overcooked, dry and way to crispy? Well if you have then you would know exactly how Alliance’s double chocolate cookie tasted. The edges were dry and the chocolate flavour was overpowered by the bitter taste of burnt batter. The middle of the cookie was lightly moist and really tasty, but for $2.75/cookie, it should not take two-three bites in order to get to the good part. Hell, I make chocolate chip cookies that could rival that cookie any day…and they would cost less.

The cupcakes, however, were pretty spectacular.

Baked into cylinders, the cakes were moist and tender with just a coarse enough crumb to have a texture that crumbled under the pressure of your teeth. The carrot cake cupcake was spotted with carrot pieces but no nuts and the frosting was a thick cream cheese concoction that gave a nice balance to the otherwise light cake.

The chocolate cupcake must have been created as a throwback to the Tootsie Roll – the frosting tasted just like the retro candy! Unfortunately, the cake, in Wicker Park-fashion was bland.

I have to be fair, though, Alliance’s cupcakes and cookies may taste better when fresh…at least, I hope so.