Welcome

Let us introduce ourselves:

We are ChocolateGanache and CarrotCake, both sisters who love sweets and are willing to try every cupcake until we find the best one. In a world of cupcakeries it has been a challenge! After trying many different cupcakes from bakeries and telling friends about what we found; CarrotCake thought it would be a good idea to make a blog, so we could tell others about what we devoured and let them share their thoughts too.

Leave us comments and let us know where we should go next. Enjoy!

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April 20, 2013

Cupcakes Actually: Fairfax, VA

Cupcakes Actually
Dipped: $3.75
Speciality: $3.50
Regular: $3.25
Nestled in the hip and exciting shopping center of Fairfax Corner, is the home of Cupcakes Actually and their celebrated "dipped" cupcakes! We've had dipped cupcakes at other cupcakeries, since it is a growing trend in the cupcake world, but we were excited to try them at Cupcakes Actually since they boast it is their speciality. So we brought along a friend and embarked on what we hoped would be a memorable cupcake experience with chocolate on top ;)

They normally only have 8 or 10 flavors available for ready-sell a day, so check the website if you have a particular craving... however, the basic chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet are always available. Also they sell "milk shots" for 25 cents plus tax, which is a cute idea but based on the cup size a bit pricey.
Flourless Chocolate



Since it is a busy place, however, I didn't feel like the staff was very attentive... I understand the need to replenish the cupcake stock, but multitasking while trying to interact with customers is a difficult skill... customer service was lacking.

Now on to the cupcakes... We didn't notice all the flavors that were advertised on the website as being available for that day, but they seemed to be running short at the end of this particular day. Nonetheless, we purchased the Flourless Chocolate, Simply Red, Actually Dipped Black & White, and Dipped Peanut Butter Banana.

The Flourless Chocolate is their gluten-free option which was like a chocolatey-fudgey-brownie cake with a vanilla bean buttercream frosting that was smooth, light, and slightly sweet. Chocolate Ganache was a big fan and savored every bite, but she managed to share a crumb for me to sample... LOL it was literally a crumb, but it was all fair.
Actually Dipped Black & White

The Dipped cupcakes were really good, and were a perfect example of what a dipped cupcake should be. The Dipped Peanut Butter Banana was a banana cake with a luscious peanut butter frosting, generously dipped in chocolate ganache, topped with peanuts, and a banana chip. The cake was light so it definitely wasn't like eating banana bread, which was a good thing. The Actually Dipped Black & White had a flavorful vanilla cake with a vanilla buttercream frosting. The cakes were not dry but they had courser crumbs, so the cakes weren't as velvety or "bouncy" as finer crumb cakes are... it is what it is and it is good.
Dipped Peanut Butter Banana








The Simply Red was their red velvet that isn't a red velvet. Basically you could tell by looking at it's vibrant red color that it didn't have enough, or didn't have any, coco in the recipe (see our Cupcake Digest post on Red Velvet). The cream cheese frosting was really good, and even had a good vanilla bean taste that made it distinctive and flavorful.

Here's our cupcake score for Cupcakes Actually:

Gluten Free: Available
Sugar Free: None advertised
Vegan: Available

Simply Red
Cupcake Atmosphere: 5 out of 5 (simple and adorable design made for a happy cupcake environment)
Flavor Selection: 4 out of 5 (had gluten free and vegan available for ready-sell, but didn't notice all the flavors available that were advertised as being sold for that day)
Customer Service: 2 out of 5 (eye contact with the customer is important and making sure they feel at home... didn't really get that... but they were busy)

Overall Quality: 4 out of 5 (enjoyed the cupcakes, the customer service bothered me a bit, but we will return soon!)

April 16, 2013

Sprinkles: Los Angeles, CA


Sprinkles
Regular Flavors: $3.25


In the heart of Los Angeles, Sprinkles is the first of the world's cupcake bakery. When we were on vacation we had to make a stop at their LA location. It was the best feeling to come to a location the has started a huge buzz on cupcakes.

The cupcakery is small, more like a Starbucks at an airport... in and out kinda place. The servers are very nice and one of them was polite enough to explain about the gluten free options (now that one of us has to eat gluten-free, no worries). He explained about the attention they put into their gluten free products. What we learned was that ALL of the frosting is gluten free! They thought it was easier than trying to remember the difference, or trying to keep them separate from each other. Just want to point out the cupcake holders behind the glass (look to picture on the lower left). How cute is that?! It's such a clever idea! That way they don't slide on each other.

We got the following cupcakes: Red Velvet, Irish Cream, Gluten free Chocolate, Black and White Chocolate. We actually stopped by on St. Patrick's Day, and of course, had to try the Irish Cream. It definitely had that irish whiskey flavor in the cream. A little strong on the irish whiskey part, but if you like that its a keeper. It was fun to try, but not a one to get all the time.


Gluten free Chocolate cupcake w/ buttercream
Looking at the pictures again, how cute are the little cut outs on each cupcake. The "G" on the gluten-free was very clever. It was a good label for a "good" (and "gluten-free") cupcake... and it was "good." Kinda reminded me of CakeLove... or what CakeLove use to be. A true gourmet cupcake! The frosting on all of them are a little grainy though. However, did not have too much frosting, just the right amount. The forks were kinda weird. I get the whole green thing, but the wood wasn't a smooth texture, and took away the cupcake texture on the tongue. I like the name on the handle making it special and cool... good and free souvenir. I would just change the wooden part of the spoon. I wanted to think about how good the cupcake was, not if I was going to get splinters while eating.

Red Velvet/ with cream cheese frosting

We always have to comment about the red velvet. Tasting the cake part it has a vinegar/sweet taste to it. The cake itself is a true red velvet. The cake didn't fall apart or crumble, and was still moist and fluffy. I love it when you can push down on cake and it bounces back. It's a beautiful thing!

We know there is a Sprinkles in the DC area (Georgetown) and we will be trying that one soon. This franchise will be the first cupcake tasting comparison from both the East and West coasts. These are very good cupcakes; different and unique! Differently a Hollywood icon! 
Red Velvet, Irish Cream,
Gluten free Chocolate, Black & White


We give Sprinkles the following rating...

Gluten Free: Available
Sugar Free: Available, but you have to ask for the doggie cupcake. It's a normal cupcake with nothing weird, just doesn't have sugar in it and less calories (60 to be exact).


Cupcake Atmosphere: 5 out of 5 (it's cute with pinks and browns)
Flavor Selection: 4 out of 5 (all of the normal ones, but with holiday themed ones also)
Customer Service: 5 out of 5 (the server was friendly and answered our questions)

Overall Quality: 4 out of 5 (the cupcakes were good!)



Confections Cupcakery: Manassas, VA

Confections Cupcakery
$2.50 each

Their slogan: "Believe in the Hype," and we agree to that statement! This is the second time I, ChocolateGanache, have been to this cupcakery. This is CarrotCake's first, and as much as I love their cupcakes, CarrotCake also fell in love.

The cupcakery is adorable! This is the largest store size we have seen so far. They have some chairs and tables, but the variety they offer in cupcakes makes you want to grab your favs and go home and cuddle up to watch a good movie. These are by far the best cupcakes we have had! The consistency of their cupcakes is perfection. Watch out Georgetown Cupcakes you have competition ; )

They have a variety of cupcakes like: the normal kind, cake pops, and mini cupcakes. All very cute and yummy. But, our visit this time is just to try the normal cupcakes. We picked out from a large selection: Peanut Butter Cup, Red Velvet, Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie, and Pink Champagne. We will focus on three this time...









First up the Red Velvet. This is a classic red velvet done very well. It does not have the store brought box mix taste; which we love. It is definitely gourmet! The cake was fluffy and moist. I love it when the top of the cake has a little bit of caramelization. This is my favorite part of any cupcake and all of their cupcakes have it.  This is when you know it was done right. The cream-cheese frosting was the prefect balance of sweet and tangy. Red Velvet fans give this one a try and then post (below) what you think. We know you love red velvet like we do : )

Red Velvet
inside the Red Velvet





















Pink Champagne





Second up is the Pink Champagne. This one is perfect for any shower you are throwing for a friend or family member. It's cute, fun, beautiful, pink, with little pearl candy on the frosting. AND the best part it, does taste like it has bubbles in it; like from the champagne. But no affects... well, none that I can remember ; )
The frosting is buttercream, and what I love about their buttercream is that it doesn't have that ton of butter taste some others have... it's light and smooth. Kinda like the homemade butter you would make in the baby food jars, as a kid, because that butter always came out smooth and lovely.  

Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie
Last up (the best is always last) the Girl Scout Thin Mint Cookie dipped cupcake. Yes, I said dip! I'll get to that a little later. First, it taste a lot like the Girl Scout Cookie Thin mints. But not too minty. It's a good balance of chocolate and mint. I LOVE chocolate (so shows my name), and the chocolate flavor is still there. Sometimes the mint over powers it, but that wasn't the case here. Now...we talk dip! This seems to be a new "hype" in the cupcake world we are so happy to live in. It's the same idea as the dipped ice-cream cone, but better! Inside (as shown below) is the creamy-loveliness of whipped buttercream frosting. This is the best part. It's like pudding, cake, and fudge all wrapped into one. Bless the person who was in a good mood to make this! 
inside the Thin Mint Cookie Cupcake


This cupcakery has a guest rewards card too, that I thought was clever and a good way to have the guest remember to come back. Each time you visit you get a mark on the card that leads to a free cupcake. Guess which one I will be getting...
Rewards card for each visit
















We give Confections Cupcakery the following rating...

Gluten Free: Not yet, they are working on the batter. So, it is prefect!
Sugar Free: Not Available
Vegan: Not Available

Cupcake Atmosphere: 5 out of 5 (it is the Tiffany's of cupcakeries)
Flavor Selection: 5 out of 5 (you name it they have it, plus some others you never would think of)
Customer Service: 5 out of 5 (the server was friendly and very helpful)

Overall Quality: 5 out of 5 (give them a try and let us know by posting here on our blog. thanks!)

April 9, 2013

A Sweet Design: Granada Hills, CA

A Sweet Design
Specialty Flavors: $3.75
Regular Flavors: $3.00

We are always on the lookout for a great cupcakery, and while on vacation in California we just couldn't pass up this California cupcakery in downtown Granada Hills! A Sweet Design is a custom cake studio that serves cupcakes. The atmosphere was like Snow White's cottage turned into a cake studio showroom! However, the cupcakes were clearly displayed and ready for purchase.

It was a bit difficult finding parking on the street, but we were there during a downtown Granada Hills food truck weekend... and to our dismay there weren't any cupcake trucks... dessert first people!!!

All of the flavor selections were in touch with what is popular at the moment. Their signature cupcake was the Pink Velvet Cupcake. Don't let the name confuse you! Pink velvet cakes have no relation to our beloved red velvet with it's rich coco and brown sugar taste.

Whether it be pink, blue, green, or whatever the unnatural hue, its genealogy lies with the classic white butter cake. This cake also has a fine crumb that earns the right to be called "velvet", but its lighter texture owes thanks to the whipped butter and egg whites in the recipe. The pink velvet cupcake at A Sweet Design was adorably pink, and strawberry flavored...

Top Right to Bottom Left: Chocolate Cake, Strawberry Cheesecake,
Oreo, Red Velvet, Decadent Chocolate
We liked the Oreo Cupcake which had a good vanilla cake with Oreo cookie bits baked in it, and a fluffy buttercream frosting dusted with Oreo cookie crumbs. The vanilla cake also had a chocolate buttercream filling which added an extra chocolate flavor that the cake was lacking.

The Chocolate Cupcake with chocolate buttercream frosting was also a winner with a moist chocolate cake, and a fudge-y chocolate frosting... "fudge-y" is always a good thing!

The Decadent Chocolate cake was very chocolatey with that bitter chocolate taste, which would please any die hard chocolate lover. ChocolateGanache was happy with it :)

Oreo Cupcake with buttercream frosting
The Lemon Cupcake can be a treacherous flavor, because it is hard to balance the right amount of "lemon-y-ness"... but they did a pretty good job.

The Strawberry Cheesecake cupcake wasn't memorable, but had a tart cheesecake-like frosting dusted with graham cracker crust that was pretty.

Of course, we tried their Red Velvet, and it was good! Moist, light, and fluffy with a tangy and not-to-sweet cream cheese frosting. Was it memorable? No... but there is a lot of competition out there.

We asked about gluten free and were told it is available but you have to pre-order. Being that we were in California I was a bit surprised when they told us vegan and sugar free cupcake options were not available.
Inside the Oreo Cupcake, yummy goodness!




We give A Sweet Design the following rating...

Gluten Free: Available via Pre-Order
Sugar Free: Not Available
Vegan: Not Available

Cupcake Atmosphere: 3.5 out of 5 (they advertised it as a cupcake shop outside, but it is really a cake studio showroom... plus finding street parking was a bit of a pain, but we arrived during a food truck weekend)
Flavor Selection: 3 out of 5 (they had all of the popular flavors, but the selections were not very inventive)
Customer Service: 5 out of 5 (the server was friendly and answered our questions)

Overall Quality: 4 out of 5 (the cupcakes were good!)




April 4, 2013

Cupcake Digest: The Red Velvet Cupcake


Red Velvet from Cappellino's Crazy Cakes
First Edition

Here is our first ever edition of Cupcake Correspondents Cupcake Digest!

The Red Velvet Cake or Cupcake has surely become popular with consumers, and is often referred to as the “signature” cupcake of many cupcakeries. Here at Cupcake Correspondents we refer to the red velvet cupcake as “The Great Equalizer”, because we can guarantee that wherever and whatever cupcakery we walk into there will be a red velvet cupcake available. So what makes this yummy dessert concoction so appealing? Well, let us explore this red velvet mystery and see if we can find out…

A quick search on the Internet of the history of Red Velvet cake will present you with many stories about the origin of this cake, but honestly we don’t really know who or where this particular recipe came from. One thing that is commonly agreed upon by cupcake scholars is that the cake started making headlines in the 1920s at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in New York City. Which is a bit odd considering we associate red velvet as a Southern cake not a New England cake.

The name is a bit more interesting… the term “velvet” has come to be known in cake circles as a denotation of any cake that has especially fine crumbs. Where as the term “red” refers to the cakes red color. But why is red velvet cake… well… red? Here comes a chemistry lesson for you!

The basic ingredients of red velvet cake must include: butter, flour, sugar, brown sugar, coco powder and some sort of acid (vinegar or buttermilk). It is the chemical reaction of the anthocyanin (red vegetable pigments) in the coco powder and the recipe's acid component that produces a red hue color to the cake. This chemical reaction also gives the cake the right to coin the “velvet” title since it makes the cake light, moist, and fluffy with fine crumbs.

However, this reaction typically does not produce a strong red color in the cake that we typically associate with Red Velvet, but it makes a strong case that Red Velvet cakes/cupcakes must include an acid and coco powder in it’s recipe to be considered Red Velvet. So why does the modern Red Velvet include red food coloring? Well…

During the Great Depression, The Adams Extract Company decided to make their signature Red Velvet Cake recipe, with exorbitant amounts of red food coloring, an incentive for housewives across America to buy more food coloring. Because in order to make your red velvet redder than the Jones’ next door you needed to add red food coloring! Right?! Some cheaper/smarter people even started to include beet juice to make the red velvet redder! Thus Red Velvet Cake began to be associated more with its’ “red-ness” rather than its rich coco and brown sugar taste.

Typically Red Velvet cakes are topped with cream cheese frosting, but during the early days Red Velvet cakes were frosted with a French-style butter roux icing. So long as it is tasty, light and fluffy it doesn’t really matter what you choose to top it with… here at Cupcake Correspondents we prefer cream cheese frosting.

Now go forth and eat a Red Velvet cupcake! You even have some interesting facts to share with friends at the “cupcake table!” But let cupcakeries the world over take note… the Red Velvet Cupcake has a complex history BUT it is a simple classic so long as the basic ingredients are all there.

Let us all eat Cupcakes!

CarrotCake
Blogger @ Cupcake Correspondents