True to its name, the bakery turns out a lot of buttercream.
鈥淲e make giant batches of buttercream that use like 30 pounds of butter in one batch,鈥� MacIsaac said.
And the shop makes at least three batches of the frosting each week.听 (Courtesy Abby Jiu)
HoHos aren鈥檛 the only reworked nostalgic treat at MacIsaac鈥檚 new outpost. One of the most popular items at the counter is the confetti cookie cream pies.
鈥淚 just make things that I really want to eat and that I think people want to eat,鈥� MacIsaac said.听 (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)
While part of her job is to jazz up common confections (not-so-ordinary chocolate chip cookies and brownies are on the menu), she also makes it a point to make unfamiliar desserts more accessible to the everyday customer.听 (Courtesy Abby Jiu)
The kouign-amann is a perfect example. MacIsaac says the French pastry (pronounced queen-am-haun) is similar to a croissant, only it has sugar folded into the final two layers.听 Her version is made with honey sugar, so she calls it the Queen B for short.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I really wanted people to order, but I didn鈥檛 want them to not order it because they鈥檙e looking at the menu saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know how to say that; I don鈥檛 want to get it; I don鈥檛 want to say it wrong,鈥欌�� she said.听 (Courtesy Abby Jiu)
Opening the bakery was a piece of cake, compared to keeping it stocked. MacIsaac says she has been busier than expected. Last Saturday, the bakery ran out of food and she had to close early.听 (Courtesy Abby Jiu)
For now, the only plan on the menu is to get in the groove of things. But MacIsaac says customers can expect some gluten-free options in the near future, as well as some 鈥渆xciting collaborations.鈥澨� (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)
Cakes and confections are available in the shop and also through pre-order on the .听 (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)
For now, the only plan on the menu is to get in the groove of things. But MacIsaac says customers can expect some gluten-free options in the near future, as well as some 鈥渆xciting collaborations.鈥澨� (草莓传媒/Rachel Nania)
WASHINGTON 鈥� When Tiffany MacIsaac signed on as executive pastry chef for Neighborhood Restaurant Group in 2009, she wasn鈥檛 too thrilled with one of her assignments.
Along with overseeing the pastry programs in a handful of restaurants, she was responsible for the confections at Buzz Bakery. The well-known chef had never worked in a bakery, and she wasn鈥檛 sure she wanted to start.
鈥淚 said, 鈥榊eah, that sounds like a really fun challenge,鈥� but in my mind I was thinking, 鈥業鈥檓 probably not going to like the bakery that much, but that鈥檚 OK, I have the other restaurants.鈥欌��
But the opposite happened: MacIsaac, now 35, fell in love with it.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a totally different dynamic [from working in a restaurant kitchen],鈥� she said.
It was MacIsaac鈥檚 experience at Buzz Bakery that prompted the chef to leave Neighborhood Restaurant Group (and its now 20 restaurants) in 2014 to focus on making cakes and starting a bakery of her own.
For a year and a half, MacIsaac and Alexandra Mudry-Till, her former sous chef at Buzz Bakery, whipped up wedding cakes under the brand out of a friend鈥檚 kitchen.
In May, MacIsaac moved the operation to a brand-new kitchen: her first brick-and-mortar bakery, located in D.C.鈥檚 Shaw neighborhood.
True to its name, the bakery turns out a lot of buttercream.
鈥淲e make giant batches of buttercream that use like 30 pounds of butter in one batch,鈥� MacIsaac said. And the shop makes at least three batches of the frosting each week.
The buttercream is used in everything from dreamy watercolor-painted wedding cakes (at the time of this interview, MacIsaac was working on six for the forthcoming weekend) to a more mature take on Hostess HoHos, made with Devil鈥檚 food cake, ganache and dark chocolate.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really luxurious, really rich. It鈥檚 kind of what you want it to be, and I think when you鈥檙e a kid, that鈥檚 how it tastes. But then when you鈥檙e an adult your palate changes and you鈥檙e like, 鈥榃ait, this actually isn鈥檛 that great,鈥欌�� MacIsaac said about the childhood classic.
HoHos aren鈥檛 the only reworked nostalgic treat at MacIsaac鈥檚 new outpost. One of the most popular items at the counter is the confetti cookie cream pies.
鈥淚 just make things that I really want to eat and that I think people want to eat,鈥� MacIsaac said.
While part of her job is to jazz up common confections (not-so-ordinary chocolate chip cookies and brownies are on the menu), she also makes it a point to make unfamiliar desserts more accessible to the everyday customer.
The kouign-amann is a perfect example. MacIsaac says the French pastry (pronounced queen-am-haun) is similar to a croissant, only it has sugar folded into the final two layers.听 Her version is made with honey sugar, so she calls it the Queen B for short.
鈥淚t鈥檚 something I really wanted people to order, but I didn鈥檛 want them to not order it because they鈥檙e looking at the menu saying, 鈥業 don鈥檛 know how to say that; I don鈥檛 want to get it; I don鈥檛 want to say it wrong,鈥欌�� she said.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 just a small example of how we鈥檝e tried to take something that鈥檚 a little higher end and make it more accessible 鈥� just something people are more comfortable with.鈥�
Savory fans are not forgotten at Buttercream. The shop鈥檚 breakfast bun is stuffed with scrambled eggs, sharp cheddar cheese and sausage. Feta and spinach scones also make an appearance, and Compass coffee is brewed at the shop.
Opening the bakery was a piece of cake, compared to keeping it stocked. MacIsaac says she has been busier than expected. Last Saturday, the bakery ran out of food and she had to close early.
鈥淭hat was the scariest day of my life,鈥� MacIsaac said.
For now, the only plan on the menu is to get in the groove of things. But MacIsaac says customers can expect some gluten-free options in the near future, as well as some 鈥渆xciting collaborations.鈥�
Buttercream Bakeshop is located at 1250 9th St., NW. Hours are Monday 7 a.m. 鈥� noon; Tuesday to Friday 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Sunday 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.
