Sugarbaby's Cupcakes Review

I spent my Labor Day like any true American--eating. And in Texas.

Though I haven't lived in Houston for 7 years now, I still consider it home. Maybe that's 'cus my parents live there, maybe it's 'cus I want to be affiliated with the plethora of cupcake shops that have opened over the past couple years. The point is, cupcakes have swept the nation, mmkay? And Texas is no exception.

I know of two shops in Houston currently (Sugarbaby's and the new Crave Cupcakes), and there's more on the way, including the West Coast phenom Sprinkles Cupcakes, which will debut a new shop in the shwanky Highland Village area this fall.

So, if you had one guess, what do you think we did as soon as I got off the plane? ONE. GUESS.

We got barbeque, duh!

Okay, then what? Alright, yes, then we went for cupcakes at Sugarbaby's, y'all!!

The inside of the shop looks like Paris Hilton and Marie Antoinett's love child threw up. Translation: it's haute.

These plastic cupcake-shaped thingies are cupcake holders. They're meant to hold your cupcake in place whilst en route from one place where you'd eat a cupcake to another. As cute (and realistic) as these are, they actually destroy your pretty cupcake by piercing them directly through the middle. But they're cute and let's face it, looks are really all that matter, so I took a picture.

This case was filled with their chocolate-covered-cherry-topped Velvet Rouge cupcake, chocolate espresso cupcakes, and carrot cupcakes (they're riiiiiiight there in the lower corner. Hello carrot!)

What you see here is the Dippity Do Da cupcake, a chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla icing, dunked in chocolate ganache and topped yet again with a star of vanilla icing.

I'm having dreams about these white chocolate macadamia nut cupcakes. The "I'm flying and just won a million dollars and Don Draper is in love with me!!" kinds of dreams...

They dress up boring vanilla and chocolate cupcakes with fun colors and sprinkles. It's really just the right thing to do.

 

Should they not allocate enough sprinkles to your cupcake, then you can sprinkle your greedy little heart out at the sprinkle bar:

I'm seriously considering getting one of these for my apartment. Every corner of my apartment.

Noticeably absent from their selection were gluten free and vegan options. I suppose I'm a spoiled city slicker, as almost every dining/cupcake establishment in the DC area has at least one special diet option on the menu. I find this a severe oversight, seeing as my mom has a gluten allergy.

So as not to embarass my family, I won't get into how rude I thought the girl working the counter was when I asked if they had a gluten free cupcake. I especially won't get into the snarl that so readily appeared on her face when I deigned to ask about a vegan cupcake option. Oh, and I should probably leave out that they snapped at us when we were making up our minds whether it was for here or to go. Yeah, I'll just leave that part out.

Can't you see how excited he is to try a German Chocolate cupcake for the first time? He must not be from the south, otherwise this would have been a staple of his diet from birth. I forget where he's from. We're dating, but I mean, I really don't pay attention to the details of his life.

Brace yourself, as these are the people who make all this possible:

I made my dad show off his white chocolate macadamia nut cupcake, which disappeared mere moments after I snapped the shot.

And here's my beautiful mom, enjoying a nice big dallop of the only gluten free option on the menu: Cream Cheese frosting. She was pleased.

And here's me, in all my post-3-hour-plane-ride glory. I still posed for the papparazzi. After all, any press is good press.

And finally, my cupcake of choice: white chocolate chip cupcake, topped with white chocolate buttercream and crushed macadamie nuts.

It was fantastic. Overly sweet, yes, but that's how I like it.

The cake was flawless--no air pockets, lots of white chocolate chips. Schedule your dentist appointment now, because that icing will rot your teeth, but hey, cavities are like, totally in for the fall. I do wish the macadamia nuts had been saltier, it would have made a nice combination with the cupcake, but that's the only thing I'd change.

Well, that and the impatient help behind the counter.

I will definitely go back, but I think southern hospitality has gone the way of the north at Sugarbaby's, at least the day we went. If the cashiers would just step back, take a look at where they work, a place of magic, endless possibilities, and free from diets, then they would realize how lucky they are to be alive!! Embrace it my Sugarbaby's.

Be free!!!!! Be gluten free even, and ye shall prosper!!

Tessa Makes Vegan White Chocolate Champagne Cupcakes/Discovers Meaning of Life

I just discovered a new blog called Cookies and Candids, a vegan baking blog by Tessa Strauss. From the name you can probably tell she does things other than cupcakes, but this...ohhhhh, this:

Photo by cookies and candids

This little gem is a champagne cupcake filled with a vegan white chocolate ganache and topped with champagne frosting and you can find the recipe here.

People search their entire life to figure out the purpose of their existence, what they can do to impact the world in someway, and express their whole being in the process.

Now, I don't know Tessa personally, but it seems pretty clear to me that this cupcake has accomplished all of the above.

That's right Tessa, sit back, relax and crack open a nice cold one (beer's vegan, right?), because you have found the cure for all that is wrong in this world with little more than a wisk and Almond Milk.

Humanity, and animals everywhere, thank you.

Red Velvet--a cupcakery review

I've never formally reviewed a cupcake shop, but hey, there's a first time for everything right? I mean, if Heidi Montag can release an EP, I can definitely review a cupcake shop!


Now, if you live in the DC area, you'll know good and well that we're not short on cupcake options. Hello Cupcake, Georgetown Cupcake, Baked and Wired, Cake Love, and most recently, Red Velvet in Chinatown.


My friend Shannon was in town last week, and being an out-of-towner, I was really fulfilling my duty as host to escort her to our newest cupcake offering. (Shannon lives in Ohio, where there isn't yet a cupcake shop for every Starbucks. Yet.)


Now, by no means am I out to dog any cupcakes, okay? I want to make that clear, because a lot of people in DC consider themselves to be "foodies." And while I'm sure I am one, I don't want to seem arrogant about my opinions, even if they are always right. Look, what I'm saying is you're entitled to your wrong opinion.


Anyway, the point is I am so not judgmental...not in the way of food and cupcakes, at least. But these cupcakes were gross. Okay, well maybe not gross, but they were definitely not good.


We ordered two to split: Red velvet, obvi and key lime with a white chocolate icing. My first reaction was that not only was the place small, a little unkempt and hot (DIVA up in hurr), but the prices were the highest I've seen in DC, $3.25 a pop! Believe me, they weren't large enough to justify the cost. That's what she said.

Anyway, we took them back to my apartment to share. They were cute and had a decent-sized glob of frosting just the way I like it. After the first bite though we knew, oh we knew. They were bland. Bland bland bland bland bland. There was no chocolatey goodness to the red velvet cupcake and the cream cheese icing tasted like cream cheese. I could have been eating a bagel for all I knew! The texture was fine, but who cares about texture when you can't taste anything!! There was no hint of citrus in the key lime cupcake, and again the frosting wasn't sweet at all. And I'm not just saying that because I maintain my girlish figure by eating sugar by the cupfulls, okay?! Shannon has very sensitive, um, senses, and she also thought they were really lacking in flavor.

Will I go back to Red Velvet? Probably not. I don't live in Chinatown and takes me about 15 minutes to walk there. Walking is for peasants. Plus, I've got Hello Cupcake right around the corner (review to come) and frankly, that fits the bill quite well, thank you.

So, if you like your cupcake bland and overpriced, then these were GREAT! But if you're looking for more bang for your buck you might as well go to the old standbys. Or you could buy a Betty Crocker mix and do it yourself.

So, has anyone out there tried the place? Do you know what I'm talking about? Do you HATE me but LOVE Red Velvet?? Did you make it this far to the end???