One of my old students nominated me for a very meaningful and amazing award from San Jose State, and on Tuesday, I went to the awards ceremony to receive a certificate, eat good food, and celebrate the good work of English teachers in the area. I asked my husband to come with me so that we could celebrate together.
As I walked down the stairs of the parking garage, I saw my handsome husband walking across the street with a small white box in his hand. My curiosity was piqued. When we met, he opened the box, and inside, lay 6, tiny, beautifully decorated and petite cupcakes.
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| From top left: Guava, red velvet, strawberry delight, strawberry short cake, orangesicle, snickers
Yummmmm. I was
really excited. We went to the awards ceremony, which was beautiful, and then came home where we (I) promptly dove right in. I divided my experience over two nights. (I am a glutton, but even I cannot handle three mini cupcakes in a night.)
The source of these beauties? Loves Cupcakes in downtown San Jose. They've been there for two years! Why am I just now finding out about them! I didn't pick them up myself, so unfortunately, I can't give them a rating on their ambiance. But keep reading for all the deets on taste!
Orangesicle
This was definitely going to be my first choice as soon as Mike told me what it was. If you want a summertime cupcake, this is IT!! Creamy frosting, and orange zest as a part of the cake itself. I also loved the orange and vanilla swirled frosting, that replicated the iconic creamsicle perfectly. Seriously. So good.
For taste, this bad boy which was moist, zesty, and creamy - gets a:
I Loved the perfectly balanced color combination and perfect pointy peak!
Snickers
My second choice was the Snickers selection. This is actually the second snickers cupcake I have had, and the first wasn't so great. However, this one was very pleasing to the eye! I loved the crunch of the peanut on top of the rich chocolate cake. It definitely tasted like a snickers. And, the caramel on the inside was nothing I was going to complain about either. It was delicious. Two for two.
  
This cupcake was divine. Very good, caramely, and a good texture combination. This has my stamp of approval.
Love the half and half concept of the frosting. Jekyll and Hyde - but both are friendly and yummy:)
I enjoyed the crunch of the nuts and the smooth silkiness of the caramel. For taste, this one earns a:
Guava
I discovered something important after sampling this cupcake - I am not a fan of guava. Mike was not a fan either. It looked so pretty, but tasted like feet. No gracias.
 
This cupcake earns:
for decoration. I love the simple white frosting with a small dollop of guava yuminess in the center. And although the dollop ended up tasting like feet, I didn't know this at first!
For taste, I think you might have already guessed:
I had to take a break, and left the other three for the following night (very sad to leave them!). Here we are, on a taste date, the following night.
Strawberry Delight
This one is right up there with the orangesicle in terms of its summer worthiness. This picture of the inside of this cupcake speaks for itself. From top to bottom, this is a delightful strawberry cupcake. The frosting is light, the inside gooey, and the strawberry decoration on the top - the perfect addition. Summer berries at their finest.
For decoration, this cupcake earns a:
It really reminds me of one of the hats we saw during the Royal wedding last week. So quaint and cute!
For taste, this cupcake earns a:
Strawberry Shortcake This really did taste like its name! Very summery and delicious. The cake was a bit dry, but it was definitely a good shortcake, topped with light, airy, strawberry deliciousness. I loved the topping and decoration because it reminded me of one of my favorite childhood characters - Strawberry Shortcake :) Go figure! If this cake had eyes and some cute little freckles...well, that might be creepy and I wouldn't have eaten it. But it was a dead ringer! I would eat this one again, but would make sure it was a bit more fresh! There's nothing worse than a stale cake! 
For taste, I would give this a:
 The cake was dry, and it distracted me! But given a fresher shortcake, it would be a five! For decoration, I would give this one a: Mostly because it reminds me of something I loved in my childhood. If it didn't, I probably would have taken away a cupcake - I am kind of weirded out by the pink frosting. Yes, I know, the orangesicle was probably stranger, but for some reason this pink frosting rings in as more artificial! Red Velvet This was, quite possibly, the best red velvet I've ever had. Seriously. Run out and get one NOW. In my last post, I talked about what an ideal red velvet should taste like. It should NOT taste like artificial food coloring. This one fit the bill top to bottom, first bite to last. If you notice, it is a relatively dark shade of red. Sometimes when you get a red velvet, they are almost radioactive red. Never a good sign, IMHO. This one is a deep red hue, which means its got a good amount of cocoa powder, which is one of the tastes you want to come through. It was most, the cream cheese frosting was not overpowering, and was creamy and fresh. Seriously - top three I've ever had. 
For taste, this one gets a:
Cupcakes like these make me wish I had more cupcakes to give.
SO good.
For decoration, this one gets a:
As I have mentioned in previous posts, I am waiting for someone to take this classic and really blow it out of the water with the decoration. Something more than cream cheese.
Overall, I will definitely be going back to this place. It is within walking distance and close to my hunny's work. I definitely had my favorites, but I enjoyed every delectable bite!
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I think you should probably try ALL the flavors...to be fair. And you probably need someone to accompany you. I think I could find someone to go with you.
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