Cupcakes

Cupcakes have certainly moved on from it’s humble beginnings as home-made desserts. From grocery mass productions to gourmet specialty store creations, cupcakes have gone from traditional to trendy.

I’ve done my fair share of baking, buying, and tasting such delectable sweets and I can’t seem to get enough! In Los Angeles, the city is filled with cupcakeries and dessert shops that make cupcakes fashionable. Although I’ve never waited in a long line for baked goods, I love a good cupcake now and again. When I indulge in a cupcake, it brings about a sense of comfort and a childlike innocence that few food items can provide.

My ideal cupcake would be a moist, slightly dense cake reminscent of a sponge cake with a 60/40 ratio of cake to frosting. The frosting has to enhance the cake’s flavor without overpowering it with sugar or cream. It’s quite rare to find a cupcake that makes you cry because it’s so good…but I’m willing to find such a place and where else but in the cupcake capital, Los Angeles?

So, I’m trying out some great bakeries in the hopes of finding their signature cupcake and what really makes them tick. By the way, I’d love new suggestions of places to try and items to taste as the store’s signature item.

Place I’ve Visited and Reviewed

1. SusieCakes : award-winning red-velvet cupcakes with a well-balanced cupcake to frosting ratio
2. Auntie Em’s Kitchen : moist, rich red-velvet and carrot-cake cupcakes fit for two who love frosting
3. Vanilla Bake Shop : creative and thought-provoking flavor combinations best served in mini-cupcake size
4. Sprinkles: the “original” haute cupcake
5. Buttercake Bakery : gotta love crumbs and lots of sugar…a diabetic’s worst nightmare
6. Yummy Cupcakes : a bit on the dry and sugary side of the spectrum

Places to Go in the Future

1. Porto’s Party Store and Cake Gallery
2. Sweet Lady Jane Bakery
3. Crumbs Bake Shop
4. Clementine
5. Milk
6. Sugar Fix
7. Sweet Harts