The Cakescursion, Part Two...

The next stop really blew me away. A cupcake bakery, plain and simple...this place was not only clean like the other bakery, but it really had its' own whimsical yet cool flair. First, I was impressed with the staff: two young men who knew their cupcakes upwards, downwards and sideways. Their knowledge of the almost 24 assorted offerings really blew me away. This was ALMOST overshadowed by their enthusiasm for the product. Were they owners? Stockholders? Who knows, and who cares?!
Their descriptions of the marvelous flavors of these cupcakes along with their opinions as well as their willingness to offer information was a great surprise!
In five minutes, I knew the flavors of the cakes, the frostings, the prices AND their personal faves!
I also loved their menu presentation: a two-sided card with a picture and captioned description of each cupcake. With all this at hand, Nicole and I had to struggle to select a sampling...how do judges at those freakin' bake-offs do it?!?!
It took a few moments, but we carefully selected: Chocolate peanut butter, Lemon, a "classic", which was yellow with buttercream, red velvet (remember, I am in the South), chocolate with chocolate frosting and a chocolate strawberries 'n' cream...all 6 of these lovely creations (yeah, they looked AMAZING!)were carefully boxed and presented to us.
We, as before, made a mad dash to the car while it STILL was pouring outside. Forks and water at the ready, we dive in to each one: the classic/signature cupcake has a moist yellow cupcake that is, to me, just OK. The buttercream frosting is sweet but has a slightly sandy or grainy texture that is a bit "off. The red velvet cupcake is tastier and moister than the one we had at the prior bakery. Here, Nicole and I had varying opinions...she LOVED the cream cheese frosting from the 1st bakery, which was very rich and cheesy. I much preferred the lighter, sweeter frosting on this cupcake. Their chocolate cupcakes had deeper chocolate coloring and therefore, more cocoa than the cake from the first shop. But, to my surprise, although sweet, still lacked enough chocolate punch to please mine or Nicole's palette. One of our cupcakes had chocolate frosting. The frosting was super light and creamy but we agreed that the frosting from the 1st bakery had a richer chocolate "feel" and flavor. The 2nd cupcake had a very yummy, strawberry cream cheese frosting that I loved. It tasted EXACTLY like mine and even had the little bits of strawberries in it, just like MINE! Wow! This one may be my favorite...the last chocolate cupcake had a peanut butter and chocolate thing going on. Again, quite yummy and creamy frosting and let me say, went great with that chocolate cupcake. I THINK this was Nicole's fave! The last cupcake that was my TRUE favorite was their lemon cupcake. Not for nothing, this cupcake tasted almost exactly like my lemon pound cake, but with lemon frosting on top. This creation had the right balance of sweet and sour going on, down to the bottom of that cupcake! My mouth wasn't singing, but all of my tastebuds had a chorus going on! The frosting was great, but this cake could have gone naked with no problems at all.
This bakery has a great thing going on with their cupcakes, take home menus that are cute enough to post on a fridge and great service. All of these things made the wet, soggy outing and the sweet toothache well worth the while. Wait! Forgot to add: this place is so popular that while Nicole and I were munching away we could see cars coming in and out of the parking lot the whole 30 or so minutes we were there. Each time, folks getting soaked on the way in and on the way out, but happily carrying those cupcakes on the way out! I have been inspired even more and cannot wait to do this!