Sunday, June 1, 2008

Cupcake Evening

Friday night was cupcake night! I had been dying to try a few new cupcake places, but hadn't found the time to get to any lately. I picked up my gluten-free friend Jill from work and headed to Costa Mesa. First stop...Dolcissimo!

I had already perused their website so I could choose what I wanted ahead of time. Like many other cupcake bakeries, only certain flavors are offered on each day of the week, along with the favorites offered every day. Since it was Friday I decided on Monkey Love, Snickerdoodle, Pina Colada, Chocolate Fantasy, and Red Velvet. I always try to get a Red Velvet so that I can find the best one. Anyways, when I got to the store they only had Snickerdoodle, Strawberry Shortcake, Diva, and Cookies n' Cream (a Thursday selection). So I purchased a Cookies n' Cream, Snickerdoodle, Diva, and a mini Red Velvet.

The store was set up eerily similar to Sprinkles. Same display case, same cupcake trays, very simple. The cupcakes looked amazing! I don't know how they get the frosting so smooth. I wanted to give one a try before I got to our second destination so I began with the Cookies n' Cream. The cake was decent and the frosting was light and airy. Having a light frosting is good when you are planning on eating many cupcakes, but I am not a big fan of it. I like heavy buttercream frosting. I am very "choosy", plus I think it balances out the cupcake more.

I also ate the Red Velvet since it was so small. I like the concept of mini cupcakes because then I am able to try many flavors without feeling sick or poor. The website says that their Red Velvet has cream cheese frosting, but I don't have a memory of any cream cheese frosting. It was average, not bad, but not great either.

I sacrificed my Snickerdoodle cupcake to a friend in exchange for a review. His review..."Hey chica, thank you for the muffin. It was AMAZING!" I won't dock any points from him for calling it a muffin, but he really liked his cupcake. Turns out he had one bite before being cornered by a long lost employee who monopolized his time for a good long while. He said that one bite and the longing for another made the conversation seem to drag on even longer - especially as it sat all alone on the table within two feet of him. He loved it.

All in all, these cupcakes were the prettiest I have ever seen. Their taste was above average, but not amazing. My biggest hang up was the frosting, but that preference varies by person for sure.

Each cupcake will set you back $3 and the minis are $1.75 or 3 for $5. The bakery also had a few other items on display...a few cookies, mini cheesecakes, and brownies. I didn't try any of those, but that just gives me another reason to go back.

DESTINATION #2: SusieCakes

From the moment I walked into this bakery I knew I loved it! The atmosphere was very friendly. You could see the back area where the magic is done. The display cases had rows of cupcakes, lemon bars, cookies, cakes, and other yummy desserts.

Everything in SusieCakes looked amazing! I had a really hard time picking out what to get. I had previously decided on Peanut Butter, Red Velvet, and Chocolate Mint. Surprisingly, they had all of the flavors I wanted! They were only out of one flavor. This is a huge plus in my book!

I purchased those three cupcakes along with two chocolate chip cookies and a Fluffy Coconut cupcake for my friend Jill. Her cupcake looked so cute sitting on her lap! (Side note: Jill is not supposed to eat gluten anymore and is transitioning into a gluten-free world. I am not a part of that world so I tempt her with yummy cupcakes!)

I unexpectantly found out that SusieCakes' product differentiation from other cupcake bakeries is their "frosting-filled" cupcakes. Each cupcake has a little extra shot of frosting in the middle. Genius! It was the perfect amount of frosting. All of SusieCakes' cupcakes have a buttercream frosting, except for the Red Velvet which has cream cheese.


Ok, here are my reviews for each cupcake I tried, in the order I tried them.

Peanut Butter- Brilliant! I have been thinking about making a peanut butter cupcake for a while since I had never had one before. The cake was so moist and the frosting was delicious. The frosting was thick and creamy, but wasn't overwhelming.
Chocolate Mint
- Almost as good as the Peanut Butter. The only difference was the frosting. It had the same amount of frosting, but it had a strong minty taste to it, there should have been less of it. It was overpowering. If there would have been half as much frosting, it would have been perfect.
Coconut
- This was the only white cake cupcake that I tried. It was very good. No improvements to be made!
Red Velvet
- I didn't end up eating this one until Saturday night (eating a lot of cupcakes will have that effect on you). Very, very good. It stuck to the traditional tastes of red velvet. The cream cheese frosting was delicious.
Chocolate Chip Cookies- These are another of my dessert passions. SusieCakes lived up to my standards. Lots of chocolate chips and thin dough. Thin dough is good? To me, yes! I can tell a good chocolate chip cookie just my looking at it. That's why I had to buy two of these. I anticipated my husband wanting one also.

Final Review: Wow! These cupcakes (and cookies) hit the target. Moist cake, perfect amount of frosting, correct type of frosting, extra frosting shot. I can't wait to go back! These cupcakes are $3 also, but worth it. Next time I will be trying some of these other desserts. I foresee a return to SusieCakes in the near future.

2 comments:

Jill said...

"It looks so cute just sitting there in your lap!" squealed (yes squealed) Elise. Thanks for bringing me along. And the coconut cupcake was sooooo worth the headache I endured later. And to elaborate on Kenny's "amazing" review on the snickerdoodle cupcake, he had one bite before being cornered by a long lost employee who monopolized his time for a good long while. He said that one bite and the longing for another made the conversation seem to drag on even longer - especially as it sat all alone on the table within two feet of him. He loved it.

lena said...

It sounds like you had a great time exploring new cupcake places with your friend! Dolcissimo sounds like a delicious bakery with a variety of unique cupcake flavors. It's too bad they didn't have all the flavors you wanted, but it's always fun to try something new. By the way, if you're interested in making your photos and videos look even more amazing, I recommend checking out a website called Apkinu.com. It's a great platform for editing photos and videos, and it's really user-friendly. You can add filters, text, and other elements to your photos and videos to make them stand out. It's a great way to take your social media game to the next level! So, give it a try and impress your friends with your stunning photos and videos.

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