Cupcake Date

My younger brother is currently a student at BYU in Provo, UT.  Last week he sent me this photo of his date to The Cocoa Bean Cupcake Cafe. What a great idea for a fun date! My brother is a smart kid. I wish more of my dates ended up in cupcake cafes, but really there aren't very many places to do that in Orange County.

Cupcakes from a Great Friend

I've talked about my friend Jill many times on this blog. We are like two peas in a pod. We love eating, yoga, sweets, snowboarding, laying out, and working out (a lot). We both have jobs that deal with numbers. We both have super-cool husbands. We've spent countless hours in a car talking about really weird stuff. I never expected to find such a great friend, but I'm so thankful I did.

Jill's greatness got even better when she surprised me with a little gift on her recent trip to Utah. Cupcakes from Cupcake Chic!! Yeah, she's my friend and I'm so lucky!




I reviewed Cupcake Chic when I was in Utah last winter. At the time, they just sold their cupcakes in local stores. Since then, they've opened a cupcake store in Orem, Utah. Cupcakes from Cupcake Chic are $2.50 each.

Flavors:
Caramel Apple
Peanut Butter
Key Lime Pie
Orange Ginger

What's with Utah having such great cupcakes? Thanks, Jill!

Guest Review: Sweet Tooth Fairy

Utah is exploding with cupcakes!! Don't believe me?...Just ask Becky from Utah Loves Cupcakes. If I had to live in Utah just eating cupcakes, I would be one happy girl.

Unfortunately (or fortunately for all of you Utes), one of the best cupcake shops exists in Utah. I reviewed Sweet Tooth Fairy when I visited Utah last winter. Only two words need to be said about it: AMAZING CUPCAKES!

Last month I reported on Sweet Tooth Fairy's expansion. Since I haven't been able to attend the new shop, I got the next best thing: a guest review! My good friend Kristin is a writer for the South Valley Journal. She was more than happy to do some research for me. Here's her review for Sweet Tooth Fairy's new location in Draper, Utah:


The Sweet Tooth Fairy Bakeshop just opened in Draper, Utah and as a lover of all things sweet, I was delighted to be asked by Elise to review its newest location.



As soon as you enter, the decor screams out to sweet lovers that they have found a new home. Written right on the wall is a message that reads... "Our bakeshop is a HAVEN for people who share a common belief in the MAGIC OF SWEETS."

Brittany, the manager of the Draper store, provided me with an array of different cupcakes and delicious baked goods to sample. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it! We sample a variety of cupcakes and some Cake Bites (which received national acclaim on the Rachael Ray show).



My Cupcake Appraisal

Cutting right to the cake, the standouts here are their fruity cupcakes. Lots of bakeries can do chocolate and peanut butter, but can't always master fruit-themed cupcakes. In most cases I found I loved the fruit flavors over all others with only one HUGE exception. If you find yourself here, go right for the fruit flavors, you won't be disappointed.



Here is my breakdown on the treats, in order of my interest in them:

Dulce de Leche: Even though I said fruity flavors stand supreme at The Sweet Tooth Fairy, the exception is the Dulve de Leche, it's hands down my number one selection. This scrumptious cupcake consisted of a tender crusty outer layer which seals in the chewy, milky, caramel goodness. This is the sweetest moistest cake you'll ever eat.

Strawberry Shortcake: The cake is so moist you can almost ring it out. The frosting tastes like a strawberry milkshake and is generously portioned, but leaves you wanting more. It's topped with a fresh chocolate dipped strawberry.

Strawberry Cheesecake: It was almost like eating a piece of cheesecake out of a cupcake paper. The flavor was perfect, as was the texture which was moist and dense. The crumbled grahams on top really tied it all together.

Raspberry Lemonade: Downright chewy cake, but not like a brownie...much, much lighter. You can absolutely taste the REAL raspberries inside the bright pink cake. The iridescent sugar sprinkles atop the lemonade-flavored frosting make the whole cupcake glisten.

Orange: Similar to the Strawberry Shortcake, but with orange cake and orange frosting. It was very moist and chewy. Another fruity stand-out for sure!

Chocolate Cheesecake: A marble cake, I enjoyed feeling the difference in texture between the two flavors of cake. The frosting is where the cheesecake flavor jumps out at you. The chocolate fudge drizzle on top ties it all together like a little tiny present.

Grasshopper: Best chocolate cupcake I've ever eaten by a mile! It's tastes strikingly similar to a Girl Scout Thin Mint cookie.

Vanilla Milk Chocolate: Best basic cupcake, hands down. If you have a child with you...this is the one for them. No whistles or bells, just a very, very good vanilla cake with chocolate frosting topped with chocolate chips.

Double Fudge: If chocolate reigns superior in your world, this is your cake. It was a lot of chocolate for me, but chocolate lovers won't mind that at all.

Red Velvet: This just tastes fancy. Very super-duper moist cake...does it have a hint of cherry in it? Or is that almond extract? The frosting was a surprise, not cream cheese frosting like you might expect with red velvet.

German Chocolate: Cake so wet, yet it still holds together perfectly. The cake has a hint of coconut in a very mild chocolate flavor. I almost didn't even taste chocolate in the light brown cake. The frosting was excellent especially the dash of coconut pecan frosting on top.

Toasted Coconut: I am a huge coconut person. I was so excited to try this cake. I thought it tasted more almondy than coconutty (to be fair, I just got back from a trip to Maui and my idea of coconut is really pina-colada which this was not). I am told that this is one of the flavors people love and rave about.

Vanilla Squared: This was not what I was expecting in a vanilla cupcake. I tasted lots of almond extract flavor. It was a little too sweet for me, but I know some people love that. This also is one of the flavors that made them famous, so perhaps I just didn't get it.





Another Sweet Tooth Fairy original is their Cake Bites. I sampled each of the flavors and rate them in this order:

1. Coconut
2. Chocolate Mint
3. Peanut Butter
4. Double Fudge
5. Lemon
6. Strawberry

I thought it odd that I enjoyed the Cake Bites in almost opposite order of how I enjoyed the cupcakes. I must say that the Coconut Cake Bite was out of this world! But at a dollar a piece, they better be...ouch!



Sweet Afterthoughts About the Experience

I appreciate their cupcakes are regular-sized, like the ones you bake at home, rather than the oversized cupcakes sold at other bakeries which give you too large a portion, leaving you guilt-ridden if you eat the whole thing. ONE cupcake is the perfect portion size, you don't need two to be satisfied, although it is fun to sample more than one flavor. I recommend going with a friend, as I did, and sharing different flavors.

I don't have any nutrition information, and maybe it's best that I don't. Here is what I can tell you about the nutrition...I am a member of Weight Watchers. Every time I have eaten two cupcakes in the same week, I have not liked the number I see at my week weigh-in.

Thank you Kristin for your in-depth review. Now I'm drooling all over my desk. I remember loving that Dulce de Leche cupcake too. One of my favorite cupcakes of all time! Maybe, if I'm lucky enough, Sweet Tooth Fairy will expand all the way to Orange County. A girl can wish, can't she?

Don't forget: today is the last day to enter the giveaway for the Strawberry Cupcake Necklace.

Review: Cupcake Chic

Continuing with my Utah cupcake quest, next up is Cupcake Chic. Cupcake Chic is a cupcake bakery that bakes cupcakes for special events (weddings, parties, business meetings) and sells their cupcakes at local coffee shops in the Provo, Utah area.

Becky of Utah Loves Cupcakes picked up a box of cupcakes from Cupcake Chic for me. I was so excited when I opened the box and saw these cute white and pink cupcakes. They almost looked too cute to eat (I got past that quickly).


In my box of treats I found Red Velvet, Strawberry Vanilla, Strawberry Chocolate, and Chocolate Coconut. Becky sure was right...these cupcakes were good! I especially liked the frosting, which is the biggest factor in cupcake reviewing for me. There was just the right amount of creamy, sweet frosting for me. The cake was a little dry, but I was assured by Becky that this was because I waited over a day to try these out. I definitely agree with her though, it was my fault for not trying them right away (I was on cupcake overload at the time!). I can't imagine that Cupcake Chic would put such great frosting on a mediocre cupcake.

Overall thought: Becky was right...Cupcake Chic is definitely worth checking out if you want a great cupcake!

Cupcake Chic
Springville, UT
801-368-9469
www.cupcakechicutah.com

Where to find Cupcake Chic cupcakes:

• Art City Cupcakes (Springville, UT)
  
• Jaxies (Spanish Fork, UT)
  
• Coffee Pod (Provo, UT)
  
• BYU Bookstore (Provo, UT)

Review: The Chocolate

I started off the new year by doing two things that I absolutely love--snowboarding and eating cupcakes! Utah is a great place to do both. The cupcake scene in Utah has really blossomed in the past year or two. Last year I visited my first Utah cupcake bakery. This year, I had my choice of places to visit. Luckily I had the help of Becky from Utah Loves Cupcakes to point me in the right direction.

First stop: The Chocolate. I didn't get the chance to visit The Chocolate's store, but Becky was sweet enough to bring me a sample box.

I got to try Red Velvet, Lemon, Chocolate with Caramel, and Pineapple Coconut. My favorite was the Chocolate with Caramel (also Becky's favorite). The frosting had a good consistency and the flavor combination of sweet and salty was great! The frosting on the Red Velvet had almost a pudding-like consistency. It was different, but good. I'm not a whipped cream fan at all, so I didn't enjoy the frosting on the Pineapple Coconut, but I do think this is a good accent to the pineapple cake. Last, the Lemon had a tasty, thick lemon frosting. Usually I will pass on a lemon cupcake, but this one was very tasty.

One of the most appealing aspects about The Chocolate is the price. Regular-sized Gourmet Cupcakes are $2 each and Gourmet Babycakes are only $1. Great prices! The Chocolate also sells cookies, bars, brownies, and signature cakes.

The Chocolate: A Dessert Bakery
212 S. State St.
Orem, UT 84058
801-224-7334
www.thechocolatedc.com

Utah was Good to me

Just got back from Utah last night. Had a great time snowboarding, visiting family and friends, and of course, eating lots of cupcakes. I got to try cupcakes from three different places. Check back soon for the reviews. For now, you can check out their websites.

Sweet Tooth Fairy

The Chocolate

Cupcake Chic

Pioneer Woman and Sweet Tooth Fairy Cupcakes

Photo

Spotted: Pioneer Woman with cupcakes from the Sweet Tooth Fairy. Photo courtesy of Utah Loves Cupcakes.

Other news from Sweet Tooth Fairy: they just announced the location of their second cupcakery. Utah is becoming a hot spot for cupcake shops. I can't wait for my next visit there so I can try some new places!

More Info on CupShakes

Yesterday I posted about a brand new cupcake creation: CupShakes. Today I have pictures to go along with the news.

Step 1:

Put one Sweet Tooth Fairy cupcake and ice cream in glass.

Step 2:

Add silver splash protector.

Step 3:

Mix.

Step 4:

Enjoy!

Becky from Utah Loves Cupcakes got the scoop on the new CupShakes and was lucky enough to try all of the flavors last night. All of the feedback was positive! It looks like these CupShakes are going to be a hit!

If you live in the Provo area, stop by Sammy's Cafe tonight for live music and CupShake samples.

Sammy's Cafe
27 North 100 West
Provo, UT

If you are craving a cupcake with no strings attached, head over to The Sweet Tooth Fairy (and let me know how the cupcakes are).

The Sweet Tooth Fairy
1227 S. University Ave.
Provo, UT 84601

Photos: Utah Loves Cupcakes

Diva's Cupcakes & Coffee

I recently returned from a week-long snowboarding trip to Utah. I got some great snow and was sad to have to come back to real life in California. The last time I was in the Salt Lake City area was over two years ago, therefore this was my first chance to check out cupcakes in Utah.


I got some great advice on where to go from Becky, blogger of Utah Loves Cupcakes. On my first day in Utah, I followed Becky's suggestion and went to Diva's Cupcakes and Coffee in Salt Lake City.


I loved the atmosphere of Diva's Cupcakes! Not only do they sell cupcakes, they also sell coffee, sandwiches, and soup. They also have several places to enjoy hanging out, including a library and an outdoor patio.


I met the owner, Gordon Wilkins and the pastry chef, Disa Cuellar while I was there. Gordon enlightened me of their best cupcakes. I tried Red Velvet, Gingerbread, and Chocolate. All of them had cream cheese frosting.


Cream cheese frosting is my favorite kind of frosting, which is why I really enjoyed these cupcakes! I had a hard time picking my favorite, but it ended up being the gingerbread. The cake was denser than a normal cupcake (since it was actual gingerbread) which made it more dessert-like.


On my way out, I noticed that Diva's Cupcakes has a drive-thru. I know this is not unheard of for coffee shops, but I have never seen one for a cupcake shop. Smart idea! Next time you are in the Salt Lake area, I would definitely suggest stopping by Diva's Cupcakes!


Between snowboarding every day and visiting family at night, I only had time to review one cupcake shop. I guess that just means that I might have to make another trip to Utah sooner than I thought.