No Such Thing as Too Much of a Good Thing

Last week led us down to San Diego for a wedding. So you know what that means.....a trip to Elizabethan Desserts. If you know me, you know that Elizabethan Desserts is my favorite cupcake shop of all time. Anytime I get the chance to visit, I don't pass it up. If you've been there, you know why.

On this day I made good use of my visit and grabbed as many cupcakes and sugar cookies I could carry. I knew I wouldn't have a problem "getting rid" of them.

Desmond had his first taste of the deliciousness of Elizabeth Desserts. I thought he would just eat a bite or two, but he ate the entire cupcake (his was Churro). That's my boy!

Review: Vignette Patisserie

The past few weeks has been super busy for me, and I've been stressed because I have several reviews in my pocket, but haven't had the time to share them with you. But tax season is finally over and now the fun begins!

At the beginning of this month I had my big race in Oceanside, CA. Of course I always eat cupcakes after my big races and this was no exception. And the best part is that the cupcakes came to me. Sara of Vignette Patisserie was so sweet and delivered a box of cupcakes to my hotel.

Vignette Patisserie cupcakes are no ordinary cupcakes. Their organic cupcakes are made and inspired by local ingredients. I've never been a huge organic cupcake fan, but after tasting these cupcakes, my whole view changed.

Cara Cara
local cara cara orange cake + fresh cara cara curd + cream cheese frosting

When I first saw the ingredients, I thought carrot, but then I researched and found out that cara cara is a type of orange. The cake was dense and delightful. I'm a huge fan of curd and this one didn't disappoint. The cream cheese frosting was perfect. I seriously couldn't believe this was organic.

French Press
freshly pressed coffee buttermilk cake + freshly pressed coffee whipped cream

I'm not a coffee drinker, but I love the smell of it. My husband summed this cupcake up best: tastes like a frappuccino. Even though the frosting was whipped (not usually my favorite), it complemented this cupcake well. This cupcake is probably best served cold, as it was for me.

Happy Little Strawberry
local sliced strawberry cake + cream cheese frosting

I love that this was made with local strawberries. Our hotel just happened to be next to a giant strawberry field, so I imagine the strawberries came from there. The cake was dense and luscious. The frosting (same as the cara cara) was awesome. I love cream cheese frosting made right. This was my favorite cupcake of the bunch.

After the Dark Comes the Light
dark chocolate weightless cake + whipped dark chocolate cream cheese frosting

Again, I thought I wouldn't like the whipped frosting, but it was delicious. The frosting had a heavy mousse consistency...so good! Sometimes whipped frosting is the best way to go with a heavy chocolate cupcake. The chocolate cake was heavenly. This was a close second for my favorite.




Vignette Patisserie is a predominantly organic, french-inspired cupcake bakery based in Encinitas, CA. The cupcakes are available for custom order, but can also be found on the popular food truck MIHO Gastrotruck. I can tell you this for certain, Sara knows what she's doing. I know the difference between an average cupcake and a great one. And Vignette Patisserie's cupcakes are the work of an experienced and talented baker.

Vignette Patisserie
Encintas, CA
www.vignettecakes.com
760-579-8159

Cupcake Nirvana

Of course I didn't have my camera when I had the best cupcake ever, but that's not the point. The point is that I had the best cupcake ever!!! Coming from me, that means a lot! I have been to many cupcake shops and tried many, many cupcakes. Elizabethan Desserts in Encinitas is where I found these treasures!

I wasn't planning on checking out another cupcake shop because the previous night I had chowed down cupcakes from two other places. But, as fate would have it, I forgot to bring a cupcake snack for the drive down to Encinitas to pick up our new triathlon bikes at Nytro. I also hadn't looked up directions because I wasn't planning on stopping by, but I remembered the name of the street. After a few minutes of searching, we found Elizabethan Desserts in Sunshine Nurseries. It was kinda hard to find, but the signs on the street helped out.

Anyways, on to the important part. When I walked in I was greeted by a display of yummy desserts. The first thing I noticed was the refrigerated case of cupcakes. This confused me because the night before I was told by another cupcake shop not to refrigerate cupcakes. I pushed my doubts aside and picked out my flavor of choice. Normally I would go for something safe (like Red Velvet), but the Monkey Business cupcake was screaming for me! My husband picked the Chocolate Toffee. The atmosphere of the bakery was very cozy. I could see desserts being made before my eyes. Elizabeth was behind the counter putting frosting on the Red Velvet cupcakes. I like being able to see what's going on behind the scenes. It makes it more real, not commercialized.

Before we started eating I made my husband stop at the closest gas station so we could pick up a carton of milk. Wow, Wow, Wow! I can't believe how amazing these cupcakes were!!! My cupcake was called Monkey Business. It had banana cake, butter cream frosting, a white chocolate shell, and caramel drizzled on top. The shell was the reason for the refrigeration. My first bite told me that I had died and gone to cupcake heaven! The flavor combination was something I had never tasted before. I am not usually a big white chocolate fan, but this was unbelievable! My husband got the Chocolate Toffee. It had chocolate cake, some kind of butter cream frosting, a hard chocolate shell, and toffee sprinkled on top. It tasted like a Milk Bordeaux from See's Candies. The Monkey Business was my favorite by far, but if I would have had the Chocolate Toffee alone, I would have said it was the best cupcake I had ever tasted! I must admit, I was a bit worried when I saw how much frosting was on each cupcake. There was almost an equal amount of frosting as cupcake. But the frosting was not overwhelming. Surprisingly, I would say that it was the perfect amount for these cupcakes. You could tell that the frosting was made only with the "finest ingredients," like the website states.

(Side note: This is the only part of the cupcakes that made it home, therefore making it the only time I was able to take a picture!)
What is the probability of picking the two best-tasting cupcakes in the world?! I am not that lucky, so I think that the other cupcakes and desserts are most likely equally amazing. I must go back to test this theory! My husband and I are racing in a triathlon in Oceanside in July so that will be my excuse for making a stop. I am keeping my fingers crossed that Monkey Business will be there!