If I wasn’t already a bakery enthusiast whose ears perk up at any mention of the word ‘bakery’, Confections of a Rock$tar would have drawn me in on name alone. The name simply says, I’m awesome. You need to come see what I’m all about!!
We went, quite randomly, one evening when Hubby came home unusually early from work. After a quick dinner, we took the hour drive to Asbury Park with one focus: getting as many treats as possible from Confections of a Rock$tar.
After a series of screeches and squeals upon first glance at the cases filled with confectionery delights, I was told by the young man behind the counter that someone had recently come in and ordered one of everything. I told him not to give me any ideas, especially considering that this other customer had bought them to share at a dinner party he was throwing.*
*With me, it would have been just another Wednesday night.
I had barely recovered from lifting my drooling jaw off the floor, when I turned to find exactly what is missing in my kitchen:
As if the signed walls, framed desserts, and rock n’ roll paraphernalia weren’t awesome enough, they have a piano table!!* And though it would have been pretty much the coolest table I’ve ever sat at while eating baked goods, we had planned to enjoy our treats while in view of the ocean.
*Sadly, it does not make music.**
**Yes, I made sure to check.
Instead, I took about a dozen pictures of it and momentarily forgot about the difficult task of deciding what to order.
Though it is a short car ride to the beach, I got a little eager and needed to break this little cutie out for eating:
Don’t let the simple overhead shot fool you.
What we have here are two ricotta cookies* with cannoli creme sandwiched in the middle. I could have used double the amount of cannoli creme, but with the thickness of the cookies, I can see why adding more creme could be a structure issue.**
*In my house, they’re called Italian Christmas cookies.
**One that I’m willing to face.
We found some kind of restraint when ordering and left with only four cupcakes.
Let’s just pause a moment here and reflect on the beauty of this box:
What I love about these cupcakes is how their composition is crisp and clean, yet each is unique from the next, and each communicates fully* what lies inside.
*In case you can’t tell, the flavors are: Boston Creme, S’mores, Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, and Snickers.
Of all the fancy cupcakes I’ve had in my day,* these cupcakes did the best job at capturing the essence of what they were named for…
…the s’mores cupcake tasted like s’mores fresh off the fire pit
…the chocolate chip cookie dough icing was light, yet somehow tasted as if I was eating directly from a bowl of chocolate chip cookie dough
…the Snickers was so Snickers-like even Hubby, who generally cannot stand peanut related items, enjoyed it
…the Boston creme’s classic ganache and vanilla cake were what I want any future items with the name ‘Boston creme’ to have
*And, I’ve had quite a few.
Each cupcake had a hidden treat inside, like the slightly underdone cookie dough in the center of the cookie dough cupcake.
The s’mores cupcake had a graham cracker bottom and a magical frosting that tasted like toasted whipped marshmallows.
We saved one of their bacon sticky buns and a slice of blueberry crumb cheesecake* to have for breakfast. Unfortunately, they didn’t last long enough to be photographed.
*Cheesecake topped with blueberry crumb cake. Seriously. Can life get any better than this?
Confections of a Rock$tar
550 Cookman Avenue
Asbury Park, NJ
(732)455-3510
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