Sweetest Thing Cupcakes

On the afternoon of April 17, aka Tax Day, my husband and I took a short drive to Tigard, Oregon to visit PF Chang’s which is located in the Bridgeport Village Mall.  (My review of our visit to PF Chang’s will be published soon!)  After lunch, we walked across the way to visit Sweetest Thing Cupcakes because … well, I Love Cupcakes! 

Location:  7413 SW Bridgeport Village Road, Tigard, Oregon

Order:  2 cupcakes – Lady in Red ($2.50) from their Daily Menu and Turtle Cheesecake ($2.75) from their Tuesday/Saturday Special Menu.  Also, I ordered a cake pop ($2.25) for my youngest daughter.  Since the cake pop actually managed to arrive intact to my daughter (I didn’t even sneak a bite!), I can only tell you what she thought of it, which was “It was good.”  When I attempted to get more details, I was told “I don’t know!  It just tasted good.”  She’s ten… but, somehow she’s already managed to get the attitude of a teen-ager.

What I Think:

I haven’t had a lot of luck with Red Velvet cupcakes, but, I’ve really WANTED to like them.  They’re so popular, it seems, and it would also seem that every cupcake bakery has a Red Velvet cupcake.  But to be honest, I’ve never really understood it.  I never really got it.  Red Velvet, well… tasted just kind of… meh.  I love the frosting, which is typically a cream cheese frosting.  But, the cake part just never really made me jump up and down with excitement … and I felt like I should be jumping up and down with excitement with a red velvet cupcake because it’s basically a cupcake (like ’em) with a light chocolate flavor (um… LIKE chocolate, uh huh)… so then, why don’t I love red velvet more than I do?

Cupcakes on Display at Sweetest Thing: I chose the Lady in Red (top right) and the Turtle Cheesecake (Bottom Left)

Well, that all changed this evening when I tasted Sweetest Thing’s Lady In Red cupcake!  This cupcake is not “meh” … it is YUMMEH!

The cake is light and moist, and it had a red-brown color to it.  I could taste the chocolate, and yes, the chocoholic in me was kinda sorta saying … “hey, more chocolate please!”  but since I realize that red velvet is only lightly chocolate, I wasn’t upset by the light chocolate flavor here.  I was pleased by the balance of flavor, it didn’t taste too heavy or cloying.  It has a very palate pleasing taste with just the right amount of acidity to offset the sweet flavor of chocolate, and also the sweetness of the decadent cream cheese frosting.  To top this cute cupcake off there was a little flower on top, made of a paste of some sort.

After finishing this cupcake, I thought that there was no way the Turtle Cheesecake could top it and I saved that one for last because I knew I’d love it … so that is to say that I really LOVED the Lady in Red … and I can now happily say that I like red velvet cupcakes.

But, I quickly forgot about how stunning the Lady in Red was after my first bite of the Turtle Cheesecake cupcake.  Oh. My. Goodness!

I had cut this cupcake in half with the intention of sharing it with my husband.  But, as he was asking me how good it was, I had already started to bite into his half of the cupcake.  (Sorry my love!)  And I told him this:  “It is really good.  I would share it with you, but it’s too good to share, and I want it.”   So, I ate his half too.

And, I might feel guilty about that if it hadn’t tasted SO GOOD.  But, it did, so I don’t.

The cupcake was rich and moist and deeply chocolate.  It was filled with a deliciously creamy caramel filling, topped with a bit of cheesecake-like filling, and then frosted with a rich chocolate cream frosting, and topped with crunchy toasted pecans.

Seriously … that was one of the best cupcakes I’ve ever tasted in my life.  And my only regret is NOT that I didn’t share it, but that I didn’t buy more than just one of them.

My Final Thoughts:

I am very happy that I had the chance to visit Sweetest Thing, and I will be definitely be bugging my husband to return … hopefully next time on a Sunday, so that I can try their Breakfast in Bed and their Salted Caramel cupcakes.  And this time, I’ll remember to get my husband a cupcake or two, as well.

While Christmas Shopping I Discovered Simply Sweets!

I love cupcakes.  They are probably my favorite treat … I don’t know what it is about them.  Maybe it’s because they’re so cute, maybe it’s because they’re a personal size.  But, yeah, I definitely hopped on the cupcake wagon when they became all the rage over the past few years.  So, I was very excited to find Simply Sweets during a recent shopping trip at the Vancouver Mall. 

Location:   8700 NE Vancouver Mall, Suite 169, Vancouver, WA

Order:  I chose the three seasonal mini cupcakes offered on this week’s menu:  Eggnog, Gingerbread & Candy Cane.

What I Think:

Each week, Simply Sweets offers six different cupcakes on their menu.  For this week, the menu consisted of:  Red Velvet, Candy Cane, Egg Nog, Gingerbread, Simply Vanilla, and Simply Chocolate.  Since this was my first visit and I speculated that I’d be visiting again, I chose the three seasonal varieties on the menu because I figured I probably wouldn’t be there again before the holiday, and it would be my one chance to try those (I’m thinking that Candy Cane and Egg Nog aren’t going to be on the menu in February, you know?)

Of these three, my favorite was the Egg Nog.  Why?  Because it tasted the truest to its name.  It was moist, sweet, and very egg-nog-y.  The Gingerbread was probably the most disappointing of the three, because it didn’t really have that POW flavor I expected from something called gingerbread.  (I guess you can blame Liz Lovely’s Ginger Snapdragons for whetting my appetite for that spicy gingerbread flavor)

The Candy Cane cupcake was very tasty.  Even though I enjoyed it very much, it doesn’t get my vote for the favorite cupcake because really, it was little more than a chocolate cupcake with vanilla frosting topped with crumbled peppermint candy and two tasty chocolate mint candies.  The chocolate cupcake didn’t taste as though it had been flavored with peppermint, nor did the frosting.  I think that this cupcake could have been elevated to amazing with just a little more peppermint flavor.

But, I think there lies my main disappointment with this cupcake shop.  The cupcakes aren’t really all that special.  There’s not really much to them.  The flavors aren’t all that extraordinary.  The frosting is the best part of the cupcake, because it has a nice, fluffy texture and I’m not finding it to be too sweet – you know how some bakery frosting just tastes sickeningly sweet… this doesn’t, and that’s a good thing.

My Final Thoughts:

Honestly, the best thing about these cupcakes is that I didn’t have to make them myself.  I don’t consider myself to be an outstanding baker by any stretch of the imagination … I usually bake from mixes because I don’t like measuring.  But, really, I can’t say that these cupcakes tasted better than anything I’ve baked myself.  I don’t think I’ll be rushing out to buy more cupcakes from this establishment any time soon.  If I happen to be in the mall and I’m in the mood for cupcakes (and really, when am I ever NOT in the mood for a cupcake?) I might stop in.  But, I’m not going to make a special trip, because I am not really finding these to be special enough for that trip.

Matcha Green Tea Assortment of Baked Goods from Kyotofu

Where to Buy:  Kyotofu on Foodzie

Price:  $25.00

Product Description:

We’ve created this special assortment for all of the green tea lovers out there! Made using one of the highest quality matcha powders in Japan, our assortment includes Matcha Nama Chocolates (2 pieces), Hand-dipped Green Tea Okara Cookies (5 pieces), Matcha Financiers (10 pieces), and Matcha Shortbread Cookies (5 pieces). Packed in our signature Kyotofu-branded brown box.

What I Think:

The first thing that captured my excitement about this package was the packaging itself.  All of these goodies were neatly packed inside a beautiful chocolate brown box, tied up with cream and pink ribbons.

I was a little disappointed when I opened the box, however.  I received no Matcha Nama Chocolates and no Hand-Dipped Green Tea Okara Cookies.  I received substitutions for these (I received extra of the shortbread cookies and the financiers), although I was not informed of the substitutions made.  What follows is my impressions of each of the three different types of confections I received in my assortment box.

Matcha Cupcakes:  The description of this assortment no longer includes the cupcakes, but my box included eight mini “cupcakes.”  These are really tasty and possess a nice Matcha flavor.  This cupcake is a celebration of the sweetness of Matcha – it is lightly vegetal without being overly grassy.  There is a very pleasing taste to the cake.  They are light and fluffy, and they impart a lovely Matcha aftertaste.  Very good – although they are a little on the dry side.

Matcha Shortbread Cookies:  Instead of getting five Hand-Dipped Green Tea Okara Cookies, I received a total of ten of the Matcha Shortbread Cookies.  These turned out to be my favorite of the assortment I received.  At first, I was a bit unsure, they looked a tad over-baked, but by the time I had finished that first cookie, I was reaching for my second.  It’s hard to stop eating these!  They are buttery and rich and seem to melt in my mouth.  Absolutely delicious.

Matcha Financiers:  I absolutely love the texture of these financiers.  They are tender and soft in the middle, with a lightly crisp exterior.  The flavor is Matcha – lightly vegetative and sweet with a mere hint of bitterness.  There is a buttery essence to these as well, and that buttery essence imparts a creamy taste on the palate that enhances the matcha taste.  It’s almost like sipping on Matcha (but my sweet tooth would argue that these are even better than Matcha!)

In addition to the initial disappointment of the substitutions (after tasting these treats, I was no longer disappointed by the substitutions) I was also a little dismayed that there were no ingredient listings on any of the products (nor on the website).   As a foodie, I like to know what goes into the foods I eat.

My Final Thoughts:

Despite a few disappointing concerns, overall, this assortment package was more than enjoyable – everything inside the beautiful package was absolutely delicious.  From the rich, melt-in-my-mouth goodness of the shortbread to the incredibly light, sweet financiers and fluffy cupcakes, these are treats that I’d be happy to enjoy any time!   YUM!

Cherry Chip Cupcakes from Fairycakes

This cupcake is much prettier than it appears in this picture. My camera could not capture the irridescent glittery sparkle! It looks like it was sprinkled with fairy dust!

I am not on a gluten-free or otherwise restricted diet, but, I am curious about how gluten-free tastes.  Having heard so much about gluten-free products (most of it negative), I decided to find out for myself.  Lingonberries Market is a store that specializes in gluten-free and other allergy-friendly products, including these cupcakes.

Where to Buy:  Lingonberries Market in Vancouver, WA

About Fairycakes:

I couldn’t find any information about them online, this is straight from the cupcake packaging:

Fairycakes; 10364 NE Sacramento Street; Portland, OR, 97220; (503) 931-3898

About this cupcake:

Gluten-Free Cherry Chip Cupcake with Almond Frosting and Chocolate Cream Cheese Filling (hey, I said it was gluten free, not fat-free!)

What I think:

To be honest, I’m a little out of the know when it comes to gluten.  About all I do know is what little I’ve picked up from watching Alton Brown on the Food Network.  So from what limited knowledge that I do have about gluten, these cakes cannot be made with a typical wheat flour, and a quick glance at the ingredients tells me that is correct.

But, I would not have guessed it if I had not purchased this package myself from Lingonberries Market (package of 2 cupcakes, price $4.00).  They look just like a regular cupcake – they’re so pretty and sparkly!  No kid I know is going to feel like they’re on a special, restricted diet with this cupcake in front of them… they’re just going to feel special.

And they taste like a regular cupcake!  These are not quite as fluffy and light as the cupcakes I might make myself using wheat flour.  Yes, they are a little more dense in texture, but, it isn’t TOO dense.  The cake is moist and flavorful.  It’s made with real cherries too, not some artificially flavored chip.

The chocolate cream cheese filling is smooth, rich and creamy.  The frosting has a pleasing texture.  It doesn’t feel grainy against the tooth nor does it taste (or feel) too sweet.

I like that I can taste and easily recognize each flavor within this cupcake.  The cherries are very evident as I actually got a rather large bit of cherry!  YUM!  The chocolate was very satisfying to this chocoholic, and the almond flavor in the frosting added a nice dimension of flavor to the confection.  Overall, the cupcake tastes fresh and quite simply, it’s delicious!

My Final Thoughts:

To be honest, if I didn’t know it was gluten-free because I bought it from a gluten-free specialty shop and because it says so on the package – I would not have known.  These taste fantastic!