National Chocolate Cupcake Day

Saturday, October 18 is National Chocolate Cupcake Day, according to MSBNC. That got me thinking, how am I going to celebrate? I should probably go to the cupcakery with the best chocolate based cupcake. Will it be:

Bristol Farms - Chocolate Coconut

Whole Foods - Chocolate

Elizabethan Desserts - Monkey Business

SusieCakes - Chocolate Peanut Butter

Sprinkles - Milk Chocolate or Peanut Butter Chocolate

I will let my instincts lead me.

A Second Chance for Sweet Lorraines

I have been meaning to go back to Sweet Lorraines at the Irvine Spectrum since they opened in June. I still had a bitter taste from my first visit, but in the name of reserach I decided to give them a second chance. The first thing I noticed was the addition of the words "Cupcake Shop" to the door. At least you will now know what is behind the doors at Sweet Lorraines.

Oh where do I start? I am still disappointed in the way the cupcakes are displayed. It looks tacky to put the cupcakes in these trays, especially with the pink paper hanging off the sides.

I have not ever seen another cupcake store do this, but Sweet Lorraines decorates the same type of cupcake differently. I don't like this. Notice this tray of Black & White cupcakes. They are essentially all the same cupcake, but there seems to be four different cupcakes. This may be some type of marketing ploy to make it look like there are more kinds of cupcakes, but in reality they had very few flavors.

Another negative point is how the cupcakes are decorated. They are not nicely done. Some of them look like little kids decorated them. I really wish they would try to look more professional.

I paid $3.25 for this?

Going off a suggestion from an employee behind the counter, I chose the Peanut Butter cupcake. I recently made some Chocolate Peanut Butter cupcakes for my sister's birthday, so I was anxious to compare them to Sweet Lorraines version.

So have they improved? Sadly, no. The cupcake was not very good. It was shaped like a mushroom, meaning the cake was spilling over the top. The cake was too spongey, almost rubbery. The frosting was a peanut butter frosting with cocoa added, not a chocolate frosting with peanut butter added like I made. The frosting was ok, but didn't go well with this cupcake.

I am not sure why Sweet Lorraines cupcakes fall short. I find myself wanting to hold back from giving them them another negative review, but I just can't recommend them as a place to get a good cupcake. They are way overpriced and their cupcakes are just not good. Sorry Sweet Lorraines, keep trying!

NOTE: Sweet Lorraine's went out of business.

One Big Cupcake

Last week was my sister's 11th birthday. She requested that I make the same cupcakes that I made for Skyler's birthday a few months. But instead of using a devil's food cake mix I used a yellow cake mix. (Side note: I liked the devil's food cake better with this cupcake.)
I also tried something new. I used my big cupcake tray for the first time! Interestingly, the cake mix only made 9 cupcakes as opposed to the normal 24 cupcakes. To compensate for being a larger cupcake, I had to pile on more frosting. No problem there! These cupcakes were a hit at the party. I can't reiterate enough how delicious chocolate and peanut butter are together.

I haven't decided if I like eating bigger cupcakes better. There has to be a lot of frosting on top for the cake/frosting ratio to be correct. Also, would my satisfaction be better if I ate two normal cupcakes instead of one large one? This is definitely something I need to think carefully about!

The High Price of Cupcakes

I have never been much of a jewelry person, but after my husband surprised me with a Tiffany's bracelet for Christmas last year, I have become somewhat of a fan. The other day I stumbled across this cupcake charm pendant on Tiffany's website. As much as I love it and it definitely showcases who I am, I can't justify $150 just for the charm. Maybe one day when I figure out how to make money with cupcakes, then I will be able to buy cupcake everything!

Benefits of Being an Activist

Last night my husband and I attended our first Ducks game of the season. As much as I love watching sporting events, I love eating the food just as much. We ate dinner before the game, so my plan was to find a good dessert to complete the night.

After returning to our suite with just a hot chocolate, I thought my dessert search was over. But then a knight in shining armor showed up. One of Skyler's co-workers, Ed, came over to our suite with a plate of Sprinkles Cupcakes!
At this point I almost didn't care if the Ducks won or not (they did and I still cared)! The two flavors of cupcakes were Vanilla (vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and sprinkles) and Pumpkin (pumpkin cake with cinnamon cream cheese frosting). I have had the Vanilla before, but the Pumpkin was new to me. And since October just started, I was definitely in a pumpkin mood.

Wow! Pumpkin and cream cheese was such a great combination! This cupcake reminded me of a delicious pumpkin roll that my mom makes. The cake was moist, and combined with the frosting, it was heaven. I wish I had two of these! Sprinkles, you never disappoint. Thank you Ed! You sure know how to make this girl happy!