If you recall, I have mentioned my ideal cupcakery. It includes the following criterion: fun and inviting atmosphere, fun and funky furniture, good music, clean and simple cupcake presentation/display, and drinks! I mean, who doesn't want to wash down a rich chocolate cupcake with a nice cold glass of milk (or a martini...) And my visit today, actually came pretty close to meeting most of those! They stole my concept! ;)
Frost Cupcake Factory JUST opened on July 1st of this year! I was so excited when I googled "Cupcakeries in SJ" and something besides Kara's actually popped up. I had been planning to get together with one of my fabulous (ex) students, and this was the perfect venue. It is in downtown Campbell, right on Campbell Avenue. Every time I visit that part of town, I always think of how I want to spend more time there. It is so quaint, fun and cute. It is the perfect spot for a cupcakery, in fact.
As you can see from their list of flavors - they have some awesome ones. I was lucky enough to be able to talk to the (super friendly) owner, and she said they they have six flavors that are their kind of "base" - Tahitian Vanilla, Red Velvet, Black Velvet, Frostfetti and Cookies and Cream. Then, they will have between 2-4 "rotating" flavors. Her goal is to have six rotating flavors at some point. I can't WAIT to try some of them. Coconut mojito? Hell yes! Banana Caramel? Uh, yes please! Maui Coconut Dream? Salivating already. I love the creativity of the names and how they are so much more fun and enticing than "Coconut" or "Vanilla." A+ for thinking outside the box a bit.
Of course I forgot my camera, but my wonderful taste tester, Cole, brought his, and snapped this photo - just so you can see what we are dealing with.
 |
| Photo Credits: Cole Carter |
Anyway, on to the tasting...
I had Cole choose two flavors and then I chose two. I was THRILLED to see the Frostfetti flavor. That is my favorite flavor of boxed cupcake. There is something quintessentially young about them - the look, the taste - just everything. Obviously, that was one of my choices. The owner also recommended the Lemon Meringue, and that was an easy sell for me. I love citrus - especially in the summer time. Cole's choices were the Tahitian Vanilla and the Black Velvet. We parked outside, and dug in.
Frostfetti
Firstly, I kind of appreciated the uniformity of all of the frostings. With a name like Frost - I had to pay extra attention to that detail of the cakes. Not a lot of fanfare, but I liked their minimalist approach. It went with their whole vibe.
Having said that, and considering my considerable excitement over this flavor, I was a bit disappointed. It was a bit too dense, and lacked a strong flavor. Cole agreed with me, and we left about 95% of this cupcake on the plate. Bummer.
So, while it was pretty, it lacked what I was looking for. I appreciate the effort, though, and the nod to the classic.
I don't know what it is about this flavor being Tahitian that made it sound exponentially more exotic that just plain old American Vanilla, but I bought into that description expecting full blown rich vanilla flavor. Again, it was a bit bland for me. I really wanted more of a kick in the pants than this offered me. Again, we left about 90% on the plate.
Again, loved the look and the name, but ultimately, I wasn't taken away to Tahiti with this one....
Oh my chocolate God. This was a great cupcake. Rich. Moist. Mouthwatering. Yum-O. So amazing. I could have eaten two of these (but, I did have three other cupcakes. I don't want to be a total pig!) Seriously though, this was one of the better chocolate cupcakes I have tasted. The frosting was light - like a whipped cream almost. Just enough, and it didn't overpower the wonderful flavor of the cake. Love at first bite, all the way. I am glad this is a staple, because I will be getting this again.
Lemon Meringue
Wow is this ever a summer flavor. Visually, this was a very appealing cupcake. I love the light toasting on the top and, you can kind of see it, but the gooey yummy lemon sauce oozing out underneath. I knew this was going to be a good experience for everyone. When I cut this baby open, imagine my delight to see that the inside also included that gooey lemon filling.
Every bite of this cupcake SCREAMED lemon. It was in the frosting, the sauce on top, in the cake itself, and in the filling. But it wasn't overpowering. It was bright, refreshing, moist, and sit back in your chair to rejoice in summer good.
Overall, I was very happy with my visit, and I am so excited to have such a fun place in the neighborhood. They have free WiFi, so I plan on bringing some papers to grade when school comes around, grabbing a cup of joe, and enjoying the fun place that is Frost. Hope to see you there!
No comments:
Post a Comment