Cupcakes

I was recently inspired by Karen's cupcake trials; you can read her latest taste test HERE.  We have a few cupcake shops in town, but I've been too cheap to try any of them.  The one closest to me charges $3.50+ per cupcake.  That adds up fast, and spending so much money on something I'm fairly capable of making myself makes me cringe.  However, I heard the cupcake shop a little further away was more reasonably priced, and after seeing Karen's photos of cupcakes I couldn't resist.

Let me preface my review by saying, I'm not a huge cupcake eater or critic.  I don't have much to compare these to, but I wanted to blog what I thought.  Maybe it will inspire you to go try some local cupcakes too.  Nothing like boosting the economy, right? ;)

On Sunday we tried The Cupcake Collection.  I was there as they unlocked the door, and I bought 4 cupcakes at $1.50 each.  They are normal sized cupcakes with an adequate amount of frosting--not too much and not too little.   We looked online before we went, so we knew what regular flavors they may have that day.  Ryan requested a pink one (Strawberry), Pat wanted Chocolate, and I had to try the Sweet Potato flavor I've heard so much about.

It was hard holding them in my lap the whole way home without sneaking a bite.  We had no will power to save them until after lunch.  Ryan started right into his as soon as we got in the door.  Sean is a frosting boy and dove into the top of his too.  I savored the bites.

The sweet potato one (white frosting) had a cream cheese frosting that was very good.  I like cream cheese frosting, but have never tried to make my own.  The cake was very good, much like a spice cake.  It was moist enough.  The cupcake was good, but it didn't knock my socks off.

I tried a bit of Pat's chocolate frosting.  I was good, and I'm not much of a chocolate frosting person.  The chocolate cake though was really delicious.  It was light and airy.  Although I usually prefer a white or variety of flavors to chocolate, I'd be tempted to try any of the cupcakes with chocolate cake since it was so good.

Lastly I snuck bites of boys' cupcakes.  I am surprised to say that the Strawberry cupcake ended up being my favorite.  The frosting was very sweet and tasted like strawberry sauce on an ice cream sundae.  I was impressed with how true and natural the frosting flavor tasted.  The cake itself did in fact knock my socks off.  There were real bits of strawberry in it, and it was super moist.  I like my cake on the very moist side, and this one fit the bill.  The cake also tasted like a strawberry sundae.  I liked the sweetness of both the cake and the frosting, but I think it was the moistness of the cake that made this one the winner.

Since we devoured the cupcakes so fast, I only have the original photos from before we got our hands on them.  Maybe sometime we'll go try the other flavors.  I definitely think this shop is worth the trip and the cost.  I hope I've passed the craving of cupcakes onto you now!