Whether you’ve gone gluten-free because of a sensitivity to wheat or because you suffer from Celiac’s Disease (like me), giving up gluten can be tough, especially when it comes to saying no to sweets. And when it comes to sweets there is nothing more droolworthy and hard to resist than a cupcake. Fortunately, there are many Portland bakeries that offer gluten-free (and, often, vegan) cupcakes. Whether you're a fan of frosting, cake or both—you'll be sweet on at least one of these six options.
Sweet Thing Bakehouse & Coffee Bar
Sweet Things bakery on Northeast MLK features mini cakes rather than actual cupcakes. They are little two layer cakes with filling and frosting—not for the faint of heart or, really, the solo eater. I sampled a chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting and ganache filling. At first, I was overwhelmed by the amount of frosting, but that excess ended up being a good thing. The cake was very dry, and what I took for ganache filling seemed more to have been a square of dark chocolate that had been melted between the cakes. The chocolate had re-hardened, though, making for a rather unpleasant combination of textures (hard chocolate, dry cake). The frosting, however, was delicious. I think I would have been better off scraping off the frosting, heating up the cake (and hidden square of chocolate) and then putting the frosting back on. I think that would have helped. Or, Sweet Things might want to consider baking the cake a few less minutes, and making an actual chocolate filling instead of using plain hard chocolate ($4.75).
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