Easter Sunday Brunch:
Surprises at Pizza Planet
8 April 2012
Happy Easter Sunday, faithful readers! Whether
you're celebrating the religious aspect of Easter or the generalized
celebration of spring, the Easter season is a time of renewal. At
the Walt Disney World resort, we find renewal in seasonal treats and
this year, the pastry chefs at Disney's Hollywood Studios spring
some interesting flavors into the season.
I came across today's surprise topic for Sunday
Brunch while meeting with
FromScreentoTheme.com's very own Brent Dodge for lunch at Pizza
Planet ('Pizza Pla-not'
article to learn more about this restaurant). Expecting to just
order a vegetable pizza and salad, I was tickled to see this sign as
I had just been thinking if I should do an Easter themed Sunday
Brunch.
Pineapple in a Bunny Cupcake? No way!
Not only was this an Easter themed Sunday Brunch
article waiting to happen, it was a cupcake with my favorite fruit!
Without giving it another thought, I told the cast member 'I want
one of those!' Cupcake, Easter, Pineapple, blog anxieties,
deadlines'there was no question I had to have this cupcake that I
didn't even think about the $4.99 price (though typical for Disney,
outrageous for my wallet).
Before we get into the magic that blossomed from the
flavors of this cupcake, I did a little research and learned that
this holiday treat was the work from the creative minds of the
Disney's Hollywood Studios Production Bakery team. The Pastry team
prepares, bakes, and makes the desserts for both table service
restaurants and quick service locations, amounting to 17 locations
in the park and also Disney Quest at Downtown Disney. For the Easter
Cupcake, Pastry Chef Andreas Born tasked his team with the idea for
an Easter cupcake and the pastry cooks and chefs set to work to
trying different flavors and looks for the cupcake. Chef Assistant
Arvella Germany came up with the winning recipe of a
Pineapple-Coconut cupcake.
With bright pastel colors and the inevitable rabbit
ears, the Easter Cupcake takes the visual cues of the fun and
festive, supermarket holiday dessert. Like most things at Disney,
this cupcake is taken a step further by its unexpected, out of
season flavor choice. The yellow cupcake has a fresh pineapple
filling in ample amounts so that one can enjoy pineapple in almost
every bite. I may be biased, but pineapple is always a great flavor
to accompany with cake (e.g. pineapple upside down cake).
The cupcake is topped with a very light buttercream.
Many cupcakes these days are ruined by an overly sweet buttercream,
though this cupcake's topping was sweetened by the crystal sugar and
Mickey sprinkles on top. This was definitely a welcome change to the
other typical sugar rush birthday party cupcakes you encounter in
the parks. The rabbit ears and pink and white polka dot bow are a
single piece of fake chocolate, always unappetizing in my book, but
still a cute, edible decoration.
I do have one minor complaint with the cupcake.
Pineapple and coconut naturally go well together, both being
tropical tastes that complement each other. Typically, coconut
flakes are toasted to bring out the flavor, though this was not done
for the Easter Cupcake. In terms of taste, I would have better
appreciated the addition of coconut had it been toasted. At the same
time toasted coconut would have been aesthetically unappealing in
this application. The stark white coconut can be thought to
represent the freshness of the Spring and the renewed beginnings of
the Easter season. Though flavor was sacrificed, I think the look of
the cupcake benefited from this creative decision.
This cupcake was such a delight and a surprise to
find randomly in the park. I enjoyed it immensely, though this was
just the icing on the cake (pun intended). Another surprise from my
recent trip to Pizza Planet was that I almost got this cupcake for
free! When I received my order from at the Pizza Planet counter, it
arrived on a green tray. Nobody really thinks about tray colors when
picking up food, though at Pizza Planet, this is something special!
The cast member handing me my food told me this was the 'magic
tray.' I was super confused why she was telling me this, then she
Disney pointed to my cupcake and said 'well you've already got
dessert, so I can get you a free mug!' I was still trying to process
what exactly was happening and realized, that other guests were
receiving brown trays. Apparently, the green trays are rare, so as
part of a magical moment, if your order comes on a green tray you
get a prize! Either a free dessert or a free Pizza Planet souvenir
mug! This was such a nice surprise on top of the surprise of the
existence of the Easter Cupcake. It was like getting an Easter
Basket!
For those of you who read my March 4th
article on Pizza 'Pla-NOT,' you are well aware of my frustrations
with the counter-service restaurant and its overall unrealized
potential. Though during this recent meal, Pizza Planet surprised me
with a special holiday treat and a Pizza Planet prize. Brent told me
that apparently this happens at other quick-service restaurants, but
I realized this magical moment to
win-a-prize-for-playing-a-game-you-don't-even-know-you're-playing is
especially fitting for the arcade restaurant theme of this
particular location. As if right in time for Easter, my faith in
Pizza Planet has been renewed.
Additional Resource:
Riggins, Alayna G. 'Too sweet to pass up.' Walt
Disney World Eyes & Ears. Mar 22 ' Apr 4 2012. Vol 42. No. 6.