High on Sugar, Short on Bliss: Sinful Bliss Cupcakes Review

I did not bake this weekend.

Why?  Because I was eating ALL the things, of course.  Yes literally ALL the things.  I had things to do, people to see, sweets to consume, pounds to gain.  And it looks like this weekend will be a repeat. Crap.  And now that it is officially Spring in the Bay there are just so many festivals and fairs and gorgeous sunshiney Sunday mornings to take advantage of!  (Take advantage is code for having me stuff my face while you live vicariously through me.)

Later this week I hope to bring you crepes, creme brulee, ice cream sundaes and  ice cream sandwich cookies.  But today.. .a review! The review is for Sinful Bliss Cupcakes in Pleasant Hill, CA.

This place is pretty close to me.  Close enough that I pass by it when I go to the movie theater or Michaels.  Close enough that friends and acquaintances will check-in or Facebook pictures of the cupcakes. I'd even yelped them to see if they were worth investing my oh co carefully allocated calories on.  But I had yet to go despite them being around since 2012/2011ish.  But last Wednesday I took a friend there for a post-dinner treat. Or at least I had hoped it would have been a treat...

The shop is in the middle of Crescent Plaza, next door to a frozen yogurt place.  I love the little canopy on top.  So much promise!

Once inside, there is the register and display place.  Behind the register is this cute little wall decal that welcomes you and encourages you to eat cupcakes.  Like that's needed...

On the right hand wall, there are black frames with the menu and pricing.  Cupcakes are $3.25 and minis are $2 each.  They also announce specials of the day and month.

The cupcake display is pretty solid.  There is lots to choose from.  Lots.  I spent a good five minutes taking pictures and debating what I would get. Not only is there good variety but almost all, if not all, of the flavors are available in the mini size!

We ended up with four in our little box.

Red Velvet, Salted Caramel, Raspberry and Coconut Macaroon. 

I didn't try the Red Velvet since it was for a friend, but the sugar crystals on top of the cream cheese frosting really deterred me from wanting to try it anyways.  The amount of sugar should have been a sign!

I had the raspberry which I did not take a picture of because I put it in my mouth too fast.  Oops.  I like food, okay?  The cake was good, it had chunks of raspberry in it which I loved, but the cake was not super moist.  It wasn't dry either though, it just... was.   The frosting part.was pure sugar.  Way way too much sugar.  I usually like to scrape off half the frosting anyways, but in this case I HAD to.  The frosting was also a little dry. 

The Coconut Macaroon was actually a pretty huge divergence in what I would normally get.  But i got it because I am trying new things.  I am not a fan of coconut, but I am giving it a try!  And actually the toasted coconut part of the cupcake was not that bad at all.  I think I will explore this coconut thing a  little more in the future.  The part that was bad... was again the sweetness. The caramel PLUS the frosting was too much.  I could barely taste the chocolate.  And if I can't taste the chocolate?  Well, then there is a serious problem!! At least it looked pretty?

My friend for the salted caramel.  He liked the salt/caramel and said the cake was fine... but he had the same reaction to the frosting; TOO SWEET.  CupKate's version of the Salted Caramel is on chocolate cake and the first time I ate one, I had to rethink all I knew about cupcakes.  That was not his reaction.  Or even close to it...

So would I recommend this place to a friend?  No, not when Kara's is one town over.  Or when you can stalk CupKates. (I also tried a new place that I have yet to blog about that is amazing and might be beating out my CupKate truck as new favorite. But more on that one later.) 

Would I come back?   Maybe. If I was next door, and really wanted a cupcake and the flavor of the month looked interesting and someone else was paying for it and they happened to be a hot guy with abs. 

What?  Could totally happen. 

xoxo,
Anna

OMG Froyo and Cupcakes Under One Roof: Smallcakes Review

Yes, a cupcake will always help.

We all know I have a sweet tooth.  So when I am trying to be good and want that sugary sweetness, instead of cupcakes or cookies I try and do fro yo instead.  (Fro yo for those of you who live under the saddest rock in the whole wide world is frozen yogurt.  I like frequenting the more asian-y owned businesses that have fun flavors, exotic fruits and mochi.)

Frozen Yogurt is totally healthy. It's like 100 calories for 1/2 a cup.  But I get like a whole cup.. and a half.  With enough add ons to have a caloric total of one million.  So "healthy" is really all in my head.  In any case, I love me some fro yo.

So imagine my surprise and intrigue when my friend Katie who lives in Fremont told me about a place nearby that was a fro yo shop... and ALSO sold cupcakes.  This was mind blowing.  How does this work?  I had to find out how.

So Sunday afternoon we headed over to the small cupcakery which is in front of the Pacific Commons Shopping Center in Fremont.  The reason that it called to Katie in the first place was not only the joint fro yo cupcake store front but because it also had signs everywhere saying Smallcakes had been on the Food Network, the View and the MTV Music Awards.

Turns out Smallcakes is a popular Cupcakery out of Kansas who has begun to franchise.  And they were on the first seasons of Cupcake Wars!  It appears that in California these franchises are a duo between Fresh Berry Frozen Yogurt Cafe and Smallcakes.  Which makes more sense why you can buy cupcakes where you eat your froyo.

Basically how it works is that you walk in and first thing you see is their display of cupcakes behind a little glass case.

They change the flavors each day.

They have a list though, of what days you can get each flavor.  I like that.  Variety is good. :) 

The rest of the store is set up like a regular fro yo bar, with the machines against the wall and a topping bar that leads you to the register.

Really if it wasn't for the cupcake display and the huge signs, you'd have no idea about the cupcakes that are baked daily within.



They have minis, but i did not realize this until after I ordered a whole big one.  I'll have to ask beforehand next time!

Katie got a Red Velvet Cupcake with a huge mound of cream cheese frosting.

I had her eat it slowly so she could decide whether or not it was good.  This is her contemplating just that.

I tried it as well -- even though i do not actually like red velvet (I KNOW I KNOW IM HORRIBLE.)

The verdict was that the cake was really good.  It was so moist.  The frosting was a little meh though.

After a serious 5 minute deliberation in which the guy behind the counter learned to hate me, I chose a carrot cake cupcake with just as much frosting.

Seriously though, the carrot cake was BOMB.  (Do people still say that?)  I mean, I know that I am going to get a cupcake when i have it in my hand and its like a brick.  LOL.  Heavy means baked with love?   You can definitely tell that the cake is freshly baked that day.  No but really. IT WAS SO GOOD.  I want to know exactly what was in it.  The nuts on top were fantastic too.  I love a crunch in my sweets.

This was the same frosting as the red velvet so it still got a meh.  Too sweet for my taste.  As you can see below, I literally scraped 75% of it off.

Despite the frosting though, IT WAS SO GOOD.  I think the base cupcake was better than CupKates or Cakeo.  Alas, that overly sweet frosting!   

However, they definitely got points for their packaging.  I'm a sucker for that stuff. 

Speaking of which, I found this cupcakery in Los Angeles who's decor and packaging is beyond adorable and I want nothing more than to drive down there and eat me some cake.  Its called Frosted and it  is officially on my things to do in 2012.  Just wait and see.

xoxo,

Anna

P.S.  In case you were wondering, no I did not have fro yo too.  And to answer the follow up question, yes I did want to have some on the side.

14 Minute Walk to Yum: Cako Review

I went to Cako Bakery today.  They are on O'farell Street right off of Union Square and I am so glad that they are that far from me (14 minute walk, we timed it).  I am even more glad that you can't see their glowing pink store front sign from the main street... or my subconscious would be sabotaging me even more than it already is.  Because yeah, they're kinda yummy.

You can see my friend in the picture below.  I am pretty sure that he is walking away from the store, and me because I am embarrassing paparazzi on a cell phone camera taking pictures of EVERYTHING. 

The display case is full of real cupcakes.  Sprayed with who knows what to keep them looking alive and happy.  Here's some shots from the inside and outside. I see S'mores and red velvets and carrot cake!

So we got two cupcakes --S'mores and Pink Lemonade -- and then went across the street for lunch.  As you can see, my companion ripped into his before we even crossed the street.  Pretty!

I really really really liked mine.  A lot.  Raspberry cake, a lemon filling and lemon cream cheese frosting.  It was so good.  The cake was SO MOIST and thick.  I need to learn how to make my own version of this.

I didn't really like the S'mores one.  I mean, i think i make a pretty decent S'mores cupcake and this one was just okay.  Graham cracker crust, (but admittedly very moist) chocolate cake and marshmallow frosting.  I thought the frosting was too much.  And they could have filled it with some ganache.

My friend actually didn't even finish it.  He tossed most of it.  But since he has tasted mine, he felt that they could redeem themselves some.  ( I wish we could have exchanged them.)  He said he doesn't even like chocolate, but was lured in by it's appearance.  His fault for falling for slutty cupcakes right?    So when we went back inside after lunch it was no surprise his next choice was Strawberry Cheesecake.

It's a strawberry cake, graham cracker crust, cheese cake "filling" and a cream cheese frosting.  He loved it.  I liked my Pink lemonade more, but this was still really good too.  My only critique was that it was "filled" by putting a glob on the top rather than in the center.

They have a carrot cake i will have to try next.  Because I am sure there will be a next time, they are pretty darn solid. (Just skip the S'mores one.)  So much better than Cupcake Cove!  No crappy day old frosting.  But I still love me my CupKates.  ;)  

xoxo,

Anna

P.S.  I will be baking this weekend!  And its NOT cupcakes!  :) 

Give Me Back My Calories : Cupcake Cove Review

Le Sigh.  I hate it when i waste calories on things that aren't yummy.  Especially if i know i won't be headed to the gym that day.

And that's how i feel now, sitting at my desk at work reflecting on my lunch time cheat with Cupcake Cove in San Francisco's Financial District. 

I actually literally ran into this place two weeks ago when I went to Miette with a friend.  We had just had macaroons though, so we said we'd try these later.  And later was today.  I checked Yelp first and they got decent reviews, 4 stars.  But that was not our experience.

They do have a lot of flavors, which seem to change daily.  You can see their menu (and website)  here.  They also sell cookies - which i did not try.

The store front is TINY though.  No seats.  (Which is why all the pictures you will dirty SF streets in the background.)  It's okay though... because they give you your cupcake in a little plastic container fit for one cupcake.  ITS SO CUTE.  It looks a little like the cupcake carriers I got this year for Christmas.  I will have to try mine out ASAP!

In any case, the cupcake that was given to me in the cute plastic bubble was a Guava & Passion Fruit/Vanilla cupcake.

What this means, apparently is that its a Guava-Passion Fruit frosting on a plain Vanilla cupcake.

It's pretty.  My friend got a Coconut/Vanilla. Same thing.  Coconut frosting on a vanilla cupcake.

So far so good right?  Convenient location?  Check.  Variety? Check.  Cool flavors?  Check.  Pretty containers?  Check.

But I mean at three dollars a pop, it is a lot about how it tastes.  And I was underwhelmed.  For two reasons.  The first and most important is that is WAS three dollars for a cupcake whose frosting was wayyyyy dry.  As in I question if these were even today's cupcakes.  It was the same for both my Guava and my friend's Coconut.  The cupcake itself was all right, it was moist (enough) but the frosting was not up to par with what you can get in this area, what you can MAKE at home.   I could probably get a fresher cupcake at Walgreens... and that was the biggest issue for me.  It was at 1PM, they open at 11AM.  If you cant make them stay fresh for 2 hours, or even worse yet if you're giving me frosting you prepared earlier this week and shoved in the fridge to be used throughout the week?  Come on.  Really disappointing.

The second problem I had was the flavor combinations.   Let me explain.  All but one (maybe two) of the cupcakes there were EITHER a plain vanilla or a chocolate cupcake with a flavored frosting.  That's kind of taking the easy way out isn't it?  You're only baking two kinds of cakes and putting (old) flavored frostings on top?  No thanks.

That being said, the actual flavor of both of the cupcake frosting were not bad.  (If i wasn't totally aware that I was eating refrigerated 3 day old frosting, that is.)  The guava came through nicely, the coconut wasn't overwhelming and neither were sickeningly sweet.  If they had been FRESH I would have forgiven their lazy approach to baking.

But I bake cupcakes with 4-5 elements to them (cake, filling, frosting, garnish, sauces etc) so coupled with the old frosting issue, I cannot forgive Cupcake Cove.  Not when i have CupKates down the street.  The extra block is worth it anyways.  Burn more calories getting there?  Anyways, needless to say I will not be going back to Cupcake Cove anytime soon.  

xoxo,

Anna 

The Real Evolution of a Cupcake

I was wrong that one time I blogged about what the evolution of a cupcake was.  In actuality, it is more like this.

1. Stare.
2. Peel.
3. Chomp.
4. Gone

Nom.  I had CupKates again.   WHEN THEY PARK ACROSS THE STREET FROM ME I JUST CAN'T HELP IT OKAY?  =x  Tiramisu cupcake.  (Description from their site: A ladyfinger crust, espresso soaked cake, topped with mascarpone frosting and chocolate shavings)   I'm not sure how i felt about the lady finger crust part.  It made it so that the espresso didn't completely make a soggy mess... which is good. But it made it a little hard/crunchy too which I didn't enjoy.  The cake was light and the frosting was yummy.  The espresso was kinda strong.  I'd give it a 3.5 out of 5.  (Last week's salted caramel would be a 5).

Does anyone know why i can't stop eating sweets?

xoxo,
Anna 

San Francisco Likes Cupcakes

So today is day 6 of my return from Europe.  It's probably also about day 6 of FAILING at going back to eating healthy.  (Random fact; i don't eat carbs during the week lol.  Which explains my bingey weekends now, huh?)

Why did i fail today?  Because on my lunch, i ran out to do some errands.

And i walked by and saw this.

 And I continued to walk about half way down the block before  i stopped and realized what it was that i saw. Cupkates.  I had heard of them, but had never come across them.

So i did what any normal person would do.  I stared at the truck for a few minutes trying to make sure that my eyes were not deceiving me.  But nope.  Those were cuppycakes staring at me.

 It took forever for me to decide on a flavor.  They had seven and i could only justify one!  :(  I wish i had a partner in crime in the FiDi for these things.

Finally, I settled on Salted Caramel.  And took pictures of it outside the steps on Market Street. I would add "like a weirdo" at the end of the sentence, but i think SF is used to much worse.

I actually waited until after lunch to eat it.  And OMG IT WAS SO GOOD.  >.<  Hands down the best chocolate cake recipe in a cupcake i have tasted.  I want to break into Cupkate Headquarters and steal the recipe!  It was super moist and delicious.  And the butter cream was not over whelming or chalk full of butter.  A much better recipe than Kara's.

I stalked them online a little and found out that they have actually started setting up down the street from me every Friday.  So i may have to go back....

xoxo,
Anna

Magnolia Bakery Review

Two weeks ago I went to the East Coast for the first time. I was in New York City for a day and took the opportunity to go to "Magnolias Cupcakes" since they're so famous face. So we made the trek across the city (although the neighborhood was admittedly adorable so i can't complain). And waited in their huge line.

But... Why are they so famous face? I really don't get it.

My friend Rochelle and I bought one vanilla and one chocolate cupcake and split them in half.


For the record, they got MESSY when they got cut in half. Which was not too cool when they got all over our fingers. Anyhoo, back to the review of the actual cupcake. The taste. Rochelle's chocolate cupcake frosting was good. The cake tasted out of the box though. My vanilla frosting was so ridiculously sweet that i scraped 99% of it off. Pure sugar. In a bad way. But the cake it self was pretty good. So... if her frosting was on my cupcake it would have been delicious, lol!

All in all, it didn't taste terribley gourmet and mouth watering enough to pay $2.75 for it. But at least they were pretty?



xoxo,
Anna

P.S. I baked yesterday. But i am having camera problems. As in i can't find it... lol. So not sure when (if ever) that will be up. =x