Sweets in Italy

Even though my cupcake search in Italy was not yielding the results I had hoped for, Italy was not short on sweets. Not one day went by without a visit (or two) to the gelato shop.







NEXT: Do I have you in suspense yet? The final results of my cupcake search in Italy coming up!

Review: Dolci Centazioni

Italy is full of pasticcerias. They were my favorite places to visit! Every morning we would stop by a pasticceria (pastry shop) for breakfast. I would pick out two of the most delicious-looking pastries. And then I would spend the next few hours burning off the calories as I rode to our next destination.

Since my husband and I biked though Italy, we came across many towns that were not full of tourists. One of our favorite towns was Faenza. On the afternoon we were there, we stopped in a small pasticceria called Dolci Centazioni.

Of course the first thing that caught my eye was a display of mini cupcakes. Did I really find cupcakes that easily?!

They looked like cupcakes. They were in cupcake wrappers. The real test was did they taste like cupcakes?

Sadly, the answer was no. But they were still good. The "cake" was actually some kind of shortbread cookie and the "frosting" was a dollop of whipped cream on top of a thin layer of chocolate. The good thing about these treats was that they only cost 0.40 Euro each (which is about $0.60 USD). No cupcake in the US would ever be that cheap.

Stay Tuned: the quest for cupcakes in Italy continues...

Free Cupcakes!!!

Nothing brings a bigger smile to my face than cupcakes....except for FREE cupcakes! Thanks for the tip from reader Jacqueline, I have learned that Sprinkles is randomly giving away free cupcakes.

When?!

You can find out by checking Sprinkles Facebook or Twitter page. Yesterday Sprinkles posted an update saying:

Need a lift? Whisper "sugar rush" at any Sprinkles store today and receive a free coconut cupcake.

Sorry about finding out a day late. I know that my friend Dave would have loved a free coconut cupcake. Keep checking back often to see when they will have.

NEXT WEEK: Did I find cupcakes in Italy?

LA Lakers Cupcakes at Crumbs Bake Shop

I've mentioned before how I get my sweet tooth from my mom, but I failed to mention that my dad avoids all sweets at all times. I definitely did not get my love for cupcakes from him. For the first time ever, my dad will finally appreciate one of my cupcake blog posts.

Crumbs Bake Shop is currently offering a limited-time cupcake to celebrate the success of the LA Lakers making it to the NBA Finals. These limited edition Lakers Cupcakes are only available from one of the five Crumbs locations in LA and only until the end of the Finals. They are $3.75 each, which is pretty much the same cost as Crumbs other cupcakes. 

The LA Lakers cupcakes are available in two flavors--chocolate with vanilla frosting and vanilla with vanilla frosting. But I hear if you ask nicely, Crumbs will customize any of your favorite cupcake flavors to be a LA Lakers cupcake.

Go Lakers!!! Good luck in the Finals, for the sake of my dad's sanity!

I'm Back!!!

Wow! I am back from my 17-day bike excursion/vacation in Italy and what a trip is was! I was sad to see it come to an end, but really enjoyed experiencing Italy. I was jarred back to reality after a 24-hour period of jumping on trains, shuttles, taxis, airplanes, and finally a car to return safely home last night.

After eating pastries, pasta, and gelato every day, I am ready to resume my normal life again. And I am ready to get back into the cupcake world. Europe hasn't quite jumped on the cupcake bandwagon, but I did have some success with cupcakes in Italy. Pictures and reviews to come soon. Ciao!