Archive for Cupcakes

Cupcakes from Magnolia Bakery

By Dessert Darling · Comments (4)
Tuesday, May 15th, 2012

(Sigh) I’ll be honest, I’ve been avoiding this review for a while. That’s what happens when you meet the owners of an establishment and they’re nice to you! Alas, the truth had to come out eventually…. Magnolia Cupcakes… are not good. There- I said it. The frosting is both extraordinarily sweet and bland while the cake is often times dry.

Furthermore, horror of all horrors, they don’t even use cream cheese frosting on their (hyper) Red Velvet cupcakes! Instead, it’s a marshmallowy whipped vanilla icing. My friend’s birthday had both Hansen’s Cakes Cupcakes (on the left below) and Magnolia Cupcakes (on the right).

Look how artificially red the Magnolia’s cupcake is!

Everyone agreed that Hansen’s made a way better red velvet (I mean, it’s really no competition when you don’t even have cream cheese frosting!)

On a positive note, I love Magnolia’s slightly smaller size and wonderful frosting to cake ratio. They also make a phenomenal Banana Pudding!

For more information on Magnolia Bakery, click here.

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Hansen’s Cakes Cupcakes- Best Deal in Town!

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012

Yum!

My first few bites of a Hansen’s cupcake had me swooning! Truly, these are Fun cupcakes to eat. While they have as much icing as actual cake, they are manageably sized to fit in your mouth for a whole bite. Furthermore, the delightful toppings enhance the cupcakes with playful color and texture.

While delicious, the icing has a taste that’s reminiscent of cakes from a grocery store bakery, which is a bad thing, I know, but I swear, those first few bites were completely divine.

Now. I must say. These cupcakes are to be enjoyed just one at at time.. maybe even half at a time, because if you overindulge, they’ll turn on you. What tasted like heaven one minute ago starts to taste like toxic wax the next, and you’ll buzz with a crazy sugar rush. Over all, I round these cupcakes up to 4.5 cherries, because for the money (only $1 buck each!!) and initial experience, they’re great.

For more info on Hansen’s Cakes, click here.

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Kara’s Cupcakes in the SF Bay Area

By Dessert Darling · Comments (2)
Friday, April 27th, 2012

I light up anytime I see cupcakes at an event.. however, the array of avant-garde cupcakes at an engagement party disappointed me. Why was the frosting so flawlessly smooth? Were they made by human hands or aliens?

I learned these were Kara’s Cupcakes, which excited me again since I hadn’t tried them yet. But as I approached the dessert tray, I grew wary. The tall poof of icing perched on top, exposed the cake’s naked edges. Hmm, I like my cake to be evenly covered in icing. I guess the logic was, the icing was so tall it shouldn’t matter. But then I found the height of the icing distressing. How am I going to get this all in my mouth without getting icing on my nose? Am I supposed to eat this with a fork? Why be a cupcake if I have to eat you with a fork??

This cupcake did not look like fun. I dove in anyway…The icing was so airy-whipped that my teeth sliced right through as it evaporated in my mouth. The texture, or complete lack there of, was slippery smooth.. bleh. I need resistance, texture, a little density..just a little.

That all said, Kara’s were made with quality ingredients and had a fine flavor, and um.. I did eat five cupcakes that night (hey, a girl’s gotta be sure.) I much preferred the ones with sprinkles, which added desperately needed consistency.. and they were particularly yummy sprinkles, not like the waxy kind you buy at the store.

I’ve gotta say though…Kara’s Cupcakes? Not my cup of cake.~

 

Image from JonasApproved.com

For more info on Kara’s Cupcakes, click here.

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Happy St.Patrick’s Day! Cute Cupcake Idea

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Saturday, March 17th, 2012

Today I’m featuring this charming cupcake by A Little Nosh because she cleverly used spinach to color her cake green instead of artificial coloring. Brilliant! Click here for her full recipe. Always buy organic ingredients when possible to avoid fattening “FrankenWheat” with GMOs (more info here)!
Have a safe and Happy St. Patty’s day!!!

 

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Brentwood Farmer’s Market Diet Devastation

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Monday, March 12th, 2012

You know the day that you swear you’re not going to eat ANY sugar as you take a hiatus from indulging? ..that day where you wake up early to go to yoga and then the Brentwood Farmer’s Market for some fresh kale and fish? Apparently, that’s also the day where the Farmer’s Market is chock full of delicious desserts and you’re starving from your yoga class! Arg. I’m never going to lose these three post-wedding pounds, am I? Alas.. the culprits to my downfall are as follow.

It first started innocently enough with these Macarons at the Grace and I stand.

These were hearty macarons with a large cookie to filling ratio (thicker cookie than most macs). This larger size made for a chewy experience that gave my mouth a work out. Then I stumbled across these delightful cupcakes by Temptations Cupcakes.

Naturally I had to buy them for the cocktail party that I was attending that night. The cream cheese frosting was pleasantly mild and absolutely wonderful, but we did have a complaint about nuts in the banana cake. I agree- no nuts in cupcakes. If you want to throw nuts in there, call it a muffin.

Then I came across these Gluten Free Russian Tea Cakes by Livia’s Kitchen and I mean, come on, they’re Gluten Free! I had to try those. And yea, for future reference, Gluten free does not mean sugar free, butter free, fat free, or diet friendly. Alas, it’s my sworn duty to find the best desserts out there for all consumers, so I mean, I had to buy these cookies for the party too. Sweet, buttery balls of glory~

Finally, after a wrong turn coming home from the party, I found myself explicably entering the Jack in the Box drive through. At that point, I figured that diets start on Mondays. So I bought two milkshakes to squeeze into the last remaining hours of Sunday night. Thankfully, I only needed a few sips of the Strawberry shake to determine that it tasted too artificial for me. The Oreo shake, however, didn’t have a prayer. I drank the whole thing… and was Reallllly satisfied.

Today though… I’m moping.

And that is the story of my Farmer’s Market Diet Devastation. The End.

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Cupcakes at Vanilla Bake Shop in Santa Monica & Century City

By Dessert Darling · Comments (5)
Tuesday, March 6th, 2012


Sweet Sugar of Mary! Vanilla Bake Shop likes it SWEET! However, I can forgive the extra surge of sugar in their frosting because these treats also have wonderful flavor, unlike other intensely sweet icings that just taste like powdered sugar and butter (eh hem, Magolia and Buttercake Bakery).

The minis melted in my mouth with fun and vibrant flavors, like the Key lime with citrus filling, the Chocolate with whisky in the frosting, and the seasonal Pumpkin Spice. While the Red Velvet cake had a nice, strong cocoa presence, the cream cheese frosting was actually too sweet.

  Mini cupcakes

The large vanilla/vanilla cupcake had excellent flavor, but left room for improvement with its dichotomous consistencies. The frosting was whipped very thin while the cake itself was relatively firm and dense. This contrast lacked harmony, thus perfection.

Cupcake

Overall, four cherries for Vanilla Bake Shop’s super sweet but tasty gourmet cupcakes.

For more information on Vanilla Bake Shop, click here.

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Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My! A Darling How-To Book

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Monday, February 13th, 2012

If you’re a crafty baker, or want to be one, might I recommend this darling How-To book, Cupcakes, Cookies & Pie, Oh, My by the creators of Hello, Cupcake?! I just got this sweet book in the mail and am so psyched to add it to my growing collection of gorgeous, colorful, dessert books!

I mean, how adorable and creative are these high heeled cupcakes!?

This book also has a ton of boy-friendly dessert ideas, so it really covers the bases.

Thank you the team behind Cupcakes Cookies & Pie oh, My for my gorgeous copy of your book! I’m so delighted to have and share it. :)

For more info on Cupcakes Cookies & Pie, Oh, My!, click here.

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The BEST Cupcakes at 2012′s CUPCAKE CHALLENGE by Drink:Eat:Play

By Dessert Darling · Comments (0)
Tuesday, February 7th, 2012

So you’ve been waiting and the results are here! With 36 cupcakes, we have a ties in both in 1rst and 2nd place, so bare with me.

1rst place:

One of my Faaaavorite cupcakes at the challenge were these Buffalo Chicken Cupcakes by [Desi]gn Cakes and Cupcakes. Yep, you read that right: Buffalo Chicken. These cupcakes escalate the sweet & salty fad to whole new level with a sauce that is traditionally sweet, salty, and spicy. That added dimension of spice was well tempered though by thick, creamy, vanilla frosting. Overall, this was an exciting and delicious cupcake that was well executed on every level. Bravo [Desi]gn Cupcakes in Riverside!

1rst Place:

The other bakery in our tie is My Delight Cupcakery from Ontario, who made these scrumdilliumptious Red Velvet Raspberry Cheesecake Cupcakes. I normally don’t like fruit anywhere near my desserts, but this raspberry was so sweet and fresh, and blended in so harmoniously with this gorgeous cupcake, that it won me over. While the Buffalo Chicken cupcake might have beat this one by a hair, I’m escalating My Delight Cupcakery to 1rst place for two reasons. One: they use wholesome, organic ingredients, which is a BIG deal to me now that I know the truth about our food (see here). Two: My Delight was my favorite bakery last year, so they are consistently excellent.


2nd Place:

2nd  Place goes to Butter Sweet Minis on Larchmont for their Mint Chip Cupcake that had wonderful texture, consistency, and the perfect balance of flavors.

2nd Place:

Also in second place is Debiteful Cake Pop Shop from Chino for these sassy little Pastelitos Caliente, which is Spanish for “Awesome.” These cornbread based cupcakes had bacon, a hint of spicy (there’s that spice again!), and frosting that even featured cilantro. This sweet and savory combination could have been a total disaster, but Debiteful pulled it off brilliantly. Note: these were some of the last cupcakes that I had, so it’s possible that this savory option was just a very refreshing change of pace after 34 super sweet selections. That said, I loved them.


3rd Place: 

Even though I had this Buddafinga by Double “D” Cupcakes at a point where I could barely breath from so many samples, I still swooned over the wonderful combination of fresh ingredients and playful textures. The chocolate based cake featured homemade Caramel and had a Crunchy Peanut Butter Chocolate Buttercream. Got that? No need, just know it was delish.

4th Place:

Finally, 4th place goes to these playful Girl Scouts Somoa cupcakes by Cake Mama’s in Glendora. I loved everything about these fun and flavorful cupcakes except the slippery icing. If you’re an avid DD reader (and I hope that you are!), you know that I don’t like overly whipped, high sheen, oily frosting. Indeed, it disturbs me. A less glossy icing would have made these cupcakes a home run.

CONGRATULATIONS to all the winners!!! To stand out amongst 36 cupcake options is an incredible achievement. Your bakeries all rocked it!

Thank you Lynn Chen for taking such awesome photos for me!

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Cupcake Challenge 2012, a Vlog

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Monday, February 6th, 2012

This weekend I stepped up to the plate to be a judge again at Eat:Drink:Play’s awesome annual Cupcake Challenge. I was a little anxious about the event since I recalled the severe sugar-shock from last year. Furthermore, I didn’t have any amazing cupcakes then to even make it worth the trauma!

However, this year I had an awesome partner-in-crime in Lynn Chen from The Actor’s Diet, and there were some incredible cupcakes to make it all worth the indulgence. See our video here!

 

 

Stay tuned for posts on the BEST and WORST cupcakes at Eat:Drink:Play’s 2012′s Cupcake Challenge! In the meantime, check out Lynn’s post on our evening here. :)

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Cako Cupcakes in San Francisco

By Dessert Darling · Comments (1)
Thursday, January 12th, 2012

On a whirlwind trip to San Francisco this week I managed to hop into Cako Bakery by Union Square to sample some cupcakes. I recognized this bakery name from one of the eight cupcakeries that my husband used to surprise me with 200-plus cupcakes for his proposal (story here)! Just seeing all of those cupcakes in the window brought me fond memories (happy sigh).

To cover my bases, I bought a Carrot Cake, mini Red Velvet, Vanilla, and mini a Chocolate.

I loved the flavor of the Carrot Cake, but the cake itself was a bit dry. The sweet cream cheese frosting had a high sheen which can irk me with frosting. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I’ll think on it! Ultimately I prefer a little more rugged texture and sour taste for a great cream cheese frosting. The Red Velvet had the best execution of the bunch, but still underwhelmed me. I loved the bouncy cake and hearty taste of the Vanilla cake, but the frosting was overly sweet and bland. And finally, mint flavor had seeped its way into the Chocolate frosting, which made that experience null and void for me.

Wow, it sounds like I’m tearing Cako apart! Really, these were delightful cupcakes that would surely satisfy a craving if you’re in the ‘hood. I just think that there is room for improvement.~

For more information on Cako Bakery, click here.

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