Eugene weekly., April 04, 2013, Image 21

TIE DYE CUPCAKE
COOKIE MONSTER CUPCAKE
L EF T: P HOTO BY TR ASK BED OR THA • R IGHT: P HOTOS BY TOD D COOP ER
CUPCAKE SURPRISE
LARRY’S CUPCAKE CAFÉ BRINGS WORLD-CLASS CUPCAKES TO EUGENE
“W
e take the notion of a cupcake and
elevate it to the next level,” says
Larry Oswald, owner, founder,
baker (and mopper, he adds) at
Larry’s Cupcake Café — a new addition to downtown
Eugene’s food-scene renaissance.
Larry’s recently opened in Eugene after nine years in
Ashland, moving to be closer to grandkids in Seattle and to
escape Ashland’s feast-or-famine tourist cycle. Ashland is
the Oregon Shakespeare Festival’s town and Larry’s needed
to be where there are more people, Oswald explains.
After looking for space in Eugene and Portland, Oswald
and his wife settled on West Park Street in the heart of
downtown, near Voodoo Donuts. The space is “right in the
hub of it,” Oswald says, “it’s a nice match.”
Larry’s boasts “The World’s Largest Selection of
Surprise Cupcakes.” A surprise cupcake is what it sounds
like: a cupcake with a surprise fi lling. While he’s not the
fi rst to bake them, Oswald says surprise cupcakes are his
niche — he makes them with a “proprietary” technique.
Based on customer feedback, Oswald feels his product
rivals that of cupcakeries in New York and Chicago. Some
unique fl avors on Larry’s menu are Kahlua mudslide, pink
LARRY OSWALD
BY WILLIAM KENNEDY
champagne and beer nuts — made with the real deal in the
recipe: Kahlua, champagne and Ninkasi’s Tricerahops beer.
The alcohol is not cooked out like in other recipes,
Oswald says. But don’t worry, you’d have to eat 100 to
really feel it, he jokes.
Salted caramel swirl is Larry’s best-selling fl avor. The
chocolate cupcake is multilayered and fi lled with a caramel-
fl avored whipped crème. Oswald describes the look on peo-
ple’s faces when they taste whipped crème made with real
ingredients: A salted caramel swirl and chocolate ganache
tops the treat, creating complex fl avors and a decadent mix
of fi rmness, lightness and density, all in one bite.
Along with 50 different fl avors of surprise cupcakes,
Larry’s offers vegan, gluten-free and novelty designs like
Duck-themed cupcakes (of course), or personal photos
and business logos added for weddings, special events and
corporate functions.
New to town, Oswald is learning many of Eugene’s traditions
— the Slug Queen inspired him to conceive of a tie-in cupcake.
“Banana slug?” he ponders, and the creative process begins. ■
Larry’s Cupcake Café is open 10 am to 6 pm Monday through Saturday at
868 W. Park St., 505-9317, www.larryscupcakecafe.com
P H OTO BY T RA SK BE DO RT H A
Some unique fl avors on Larry’s menu are Kahlua mudslide, pink champagne and beer nuts —
made with the real deal in the recipe: Kahlua, champagne and Ninkasi’s Tricerahops beer.
Spring Chow!
EUGENE WEEKLY’S GUIDE TO FOOD AND RESTAURANTS 2013
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