Cupcakes from L.A. L.A. Land!

I headed down to L.A. a few weekends ago to hang with a dear friend, Birdy, who is getting hitched in the summer of 2012!!  After a "small" incident at the airport (I forgot my ENTIRE wallet - ID, CC, everything...) it was a great weekend.  Especially since Birdy had scouted a few cupcakery options for us.  We ended up deciding on Vanilla Bake Shop, which is in a cute little outdoor mall where, I believe, a scene was filmed between Ryan Gosling and Steve Carrell for "Crazy Stupid Love."







The location wasn't my favorite, though the mall was great.  It just felt a bit too commercial - Brookstone, The Gap and then this cupcakery.  Again, going back to my dream shop, I envision a stand alone Victorian or Craftsman with a porch - and again, somewhere to sit DOWN and enjoy!  Enough with these fast bake cupcakeries!  Bake Shop was a walk up counter, very similar to Sprinkles or Kara's.  I loved the decor, the wall paper, the beautiful cakes lining the walls, and especially, the wide variety of cupcakes we could choose from!  Overall, I would give the decor:

  
Lucky for me (and for you), I had a strong team of samplers that included Birdy, her fiance Sasha, her mom Kim, her sister Courtney, Emily and of course, me!  More samplers = ..... you got it!  More cupcakes!  Here are the flavors we decided on....

1.  Blackberry Passion Fruit
2.  Old Fashioned
3.  Vanilla Bean
4.  Chocolate Vanilla Bean
5.  Gingerbread Spice
6.  Peppermint Chocolate
7.  Black and White
8. Toasted Coconut
9.  Fleur de Sel
10. Mint Cookie
11. Southern Red Velvet
12. Bittersweet Dark Chocolate

This is what we started with!  (All minis!)

I should say that we got what they call "Cupcake Babies" - AKA, mini cupcakes.  Obviously, too many to go through one by one!  I have my top recommendation, and one that you should definitely just avoid ordering at all costs!

Try 'Em -

Blackberry Passion Fruit - OMG, so good!  Maybe it was all of the fresh fruit, or just the combination of flavors, but this was a definite WINNER!!!

Leave 'Em -

Peppermint Chocolate - YIKES!  How many ways can you use Peppermint Extract?  Uh, too freaking many, as was demonstrated by this cupcake.  It was fire-through-your-nose pepperminty and not pleasant!

The decorations were okay, but I wasn't overly impressed.  I could have used some lighter duty frosting - it was a bit heavy for my taste.

Given that I don't live in LA, I probably wouldn't make the effort to go to this place again.  There are so many lovely places to try, and I really only thoroughly enjoyed that one.  Oh well, better to have loved and lost...

We divided each mini into six pieces - so we demolished 'em...

Overall, it was okay.  Not great, not terrible.  I know there are better spots, though if you are at this mall already, maybe seeing a movie (like we were), certainly stop on by and see if you can get the blackberry passion fruit!

Holy "Hotcakes!"

I went to visit my fabulous and newly engaged buddy, Brittney, in her LA pad.  Of course the activities for the weekend included girl time, good food, movies and CUPCAKES!  L.A is one of the hotspots of cupcakes - they are ubiquitous and that's something I love about the place!  Granted, some of them are more inviting looking than others...but isn't that always the case?

Brittney had sampled some cupcakes from Hotcakes Bakes at her work, and had great things to say.  Twist my arm...I'm on board. They were also the winner of Cupcake Wars on the Food Network (Similar to Sift - which I blogged about earlier).  I had higher hopes for Hotcakes, since my Sift experience was forgettable.  Hotcakes is a little tiny shop, packed with lots of flavor variety and two stools at a bar by the window.  There were two of us, so it worked perfectly.  Let it be said, though, that I am still in search of my dream cupcakery.  I will find it, or I will open it.

Birdy - ready to sample with me!

There are no words...

As you can see, there were so many flavors to choose from, and well, I just couldn't.  Choose that is.  So, we walked over to the counter with a baker's dozen.  That's right, folks.  Thirteen cupcakes.  Don't judge - it was for research.  ;)

The flavors we chose were:

1. Red Velvet
2. Lemon
3. English Toffee
4. Tres Leches (their award winning flavor)
5. Sprinkleicious 
6. Strawberry
7. Coconut
8. Cookies and Cream
9. Carrot Cake
10. Chocolate Mint
11. Snickerdoodle
12. Key Lime
13. Chocolate

Oh, and I should probably add (for my own sake) that these were MINI cupcakes, people.  (Not that I wouldn't have ordered 13 normal size cupcakes.)

I don't have the energy to write on all thirteen, and truth be told, we could only get through ten.  I had to leave Brittney the last three to sample with her fiance, Sasha.  The pictures didn't turn out too great once we left the sunny store front, and so I will choose my top two, and then one of Brittney's reviews. I will also briefly let you know which ones were relatively anti-climactic, and that you should avoid...

Lemon

Photo Credit: Brittney Smith

This is one of the ones that Britt and Sasha tried.  According to her:
"So good! I must admit that I'm partial to lemon cake, but I really enjoyed this one. There was a subtle, but completely present lemon flavor in both the cake and frosting. But the surprise that Sasha and I both loved was that inside the cake was a little dollop of lemon curd. So so yummy. The yellow frosting just looks cute to me too." - Brittney Smith of Britt by Britt

I personally liked the off center frosting.  It made it look like a little party hat - and I was so down to party with this cupcake.  Too bad I didn't get to sample it!  Next time.  Thanks, Birdy, for doing the hard work for me!










Chocolate Mint


I love mint chocolate ice cream from Baskin Robbins.  I mean, who doesn't? (if you don't, don't tell me).  So the idea that that yummy summertime flavor could possibly be captured in a cupcake?  Yes please!

I was a bit put off by the alien green of the frosting - I prefer things to look a little more pale than that, but I wasn't letting that stop me.  I also wasn't a fan of the whole chocolate chips on the top - a bit clunky for my taste.  Perhaps consider some chocolate shavings next time? A little more elegant.

We bit in, and were both a bit overwhelmed with the mint flavor!  It was pretty powerful - like lingering minty burn in the back of your throat and clear your sinuses while your in there, powerful.  But, if you're into that kind of thing, then by all means...

I don't think I would revisit this one, though.

Flavor:


Decoration:

Strawberry


I've said this before, but nothing really says summer like a strawberry cupcake.  This cupcake did not let me down.  It was moist, fluffy, a beautifully pale shade of pink, topped with light and airy whipped cream frosting.  A dream in a wrapper.  Seriously good.

And, similar to the lemon - don't you love the off kilter frosting topper?  This one's totally rocking it.  Love it.

Flavor:

Decoration:

Anti Climactic:

English Toffee.  The only thing toffee about this cupcake was the toffee crumbles on the top.  I would have been better off eating a Heath bar.

Sprinkleicious.  Basically Funfetti.  Tasted like the box.  Kind of a let down.

Overall, I would give Hotcakes a definitely worth a stop if you are in the area!

"Sift"in Through Napa

Okay - so I lied.  My big plan was to go to Kara's Cupcakes for my first review.  It is local, right by my house, and I already know it's good.   However, I was watching "Cupcake Wars" on the Food Network, and saw a competitor from Napa, who owned a cupcakery called "Sift."  She had flavors on the show such as "Pink Champagne".  Say no more.  I'm coming.  We ended up going this weekend, and so Kara's has been pushed to the back burner for now.

Sift Cupcakes is located in downtown Napa, on Main Street.  For all of the times I have been to Napa, I have never been to the downtown, and let me tell you, it is very cute.  I perused their menu before going, and couldn't wait to try some of their creative flavors.

I saw their super cute sign right away, and really couldn't contain my excitement knowing that this place would be the topic of my first blog review!  Exciting stuff!

Photo by Mike Fujii

The place was kind of random - there is a cupcake counter set up on the other side of a boutique/dress shop - a bit odd.  Plus, they didn't have any tables inside, and only two outside.  They are moving locations, so hopefully this will be improved in the future.  I liked how they presented the cupcakes -  on cake display stands with glass tops.  It was very homey and welcoming.  They had cute t-shirts, and signage - but the set-up was a bit off putting.  We had to eat our cupcakes standing up because between the two tables, there were only four chairs, and a family who had arrived earlier than us took them all.  :(

Decor

I wanted to try quite a few cupcakes based on their menu.  Luckily I had four friends with me, so we really got to taste quite a few (and share them...).  This is how things looked by the time we were through:

But, let's not get ahead of ourselves...The finalists were:

Irish Car Bomb (Chocolate, Guinness & Irish Cream)

Thank you, Nick Rose, for your hand modeling.
Photo by Mike Fujii

I am not a huge fan of Guiness beer, but my friend had his eye on this one, so I thought I'd try!  It definitely had a kick to it, but the beer flavor wasn't really overwhelming.  I won't rate this one because I am not too stoked on the flavor profile.  But he enjoyed it!  Ate every last bit!  That's a good cupcake!

Ooh La La (Traditional Red Velvet)

Thank you, Emily Rose, for your hand modeling.
Photo by Mike Fujii

My husband and I decided that it would be a good idea to use the Red Velvet as our universal comparison.  Almost every cupcakery  has one, and thought it would be interesting.  This Red Velvet, unfortunately, was forgettable.  It didn't really have much flavor - definitely not the tart/cocoa flavor many do have.  Compared to some of the others, it was one I would pass on.  It was a simple presentation, but not super original - also kind of forgettable :(

Flavor

Presentation

            

Black Cherry Jungle (Chocolate & Very Black Cherry)

That's me!
Photo by Mike Fujii

This is another one I will abstain from judging.  I don't like cherry.  But, my husband does!  Plus, it was super cute.  My husband is not a sweets person (though he is sweet ;) )  But he gobbled this cupcake right up!  Again, another great endorsement.  The presentation was super cute as well - loved the cherry on top and the chocolate drizzle!

The Samoa (Coconut, Caramel & Chocolate)

Oh. My. Gawd.  Wow.  That is about all I have to say.  Have you ever had the Samoa Girl Scout cookies?  Well, these cupcakes sure give those a run for their money!  This was, hands down, my favorite.  It is sweet, gooey, crispy (because of the cooked coconut).  I mean, life was goooood eating this cupcake.  Loved everything about it.  Done and done.  

Presentation
(Messy and Inviting...)

Taste
(Should have had a 6)

Pink Champagne (Rasberry & Champagne)

Too bad my excitement for this one was short lived...
Photo by Mike Fujii

I was soooo excited to try this one - I love love LOVE champagne.  Unfortunately, it did not live up to my high expectations.  I don't know if it was cooked all the way through, as the texture was a bit thick and doughy.  In both taste, and texture, I likened it to Play Dough - not really what I'm looking for in a cupcake no matter how much I enjoyed eating the stuff as a kid.  I only had two bites, and I couldn't really do any more than that.  For a girl who loves her sweets, that says a lot.  The presentation was, again, simple and nothing super special, though it did have sparkles.  But maybe that contributed to the play dough flavor?

Presentation

Flavor

Vanilla (self-explanatory)

Thank you, Mira Polochko, for your hand modeling.
Photo by Mike Fujii

This cake was very simple, for a friend with simple taste!  The cake was light and fluffy, and very delicious in it's simplicity.  Perfect for a summer day (too bad it was raining :( )

Taste

Presentation

Overall, this place was cool, but definitely not somewhere I would run back to.  Most of the cupcakes we tried were okay, but only one was AMAZING!  Sorry Sift :(

Overall Experience