Delightful strawberry

Another Cupcake Wednesday has come and gone, and I'm starting to notice there are fewer cupcakes each week that I haven't tried. Strawberry Delight was my choice yesterday. I ranked it 11 out of the 20 I've tried so far. It was quite good, although far from the most remarkable Heavenly Delight cupcake I've tried. The strawberry-flavored cake was moist with a good flavor, and the vanilla frosting was excellent, as HD's always is. The bright-pink sugar garnish added visual appeal. Otherwise, it just wasn't the most memorable cupcake I've had from them. There wasn't a thing wrong with it, and I'd definitely try it again, but HD's Strawberry Swirl/Raspberry Swirl cupcakes are hard to beat when it comes to their berry-flavored selections. The combination of the white cake and berry filling in the aforementioned cakes is something I'd never experienced in a cupcake before I tried them, and I've yet to find another berry cupcake that measures up. So, basically, HD beats itself on this one.

Baby (cup)cakes

Congratulations to my friend Beckie Johnston, whose baby shower I attended today. In about two months, she and her husband, Jason, will have an adorable baby boy. Cheers!

At the Star Wars-themed shower (Jason is a fan) were Star Wars-themed cupcakes. Pretty spiffy! And they were darn tasty, too!

Love and blessings to a wonderful couple!

Scouting out Springfield cupcakes

For a few months, I've been wanting to try cupcakes at a couple bakeries here in town -- Specialty Cakes (1560 Wabash, behind Famous Liquors), which specializes in, well, cakes, for weddings and that sort of thing, and Mrs. Kiddy's Cakes (917 Clock Tower Drive, No. 140), which also makes cakes for special occasions but offers an array of additional sweets. A colleague of mine is planning a cupcake crawl as part of an auction fundraiser for her son's school, and she's invited me along. Both of these bakeries are on her list to sample, so I decided that was another good excuse to scout them out.

At Specialty Cakes, I found a display case with several varieties of cupcake -- vanilla with vanilla frosting, vanilla with raspberry filling, chocolate with vanilla frosting, red velvet and lemon among them -- and, after much deliberation, chose a chocolate with vanilla frosting and a vanilla with raspberry. When the clerk told me how much they cost, I had reverse sticker shock: $1 per cupcake. Shockingly cheap compared to the $3.75 I paid for cupcakes at the snazzy bakeries in Chicago. Of course, those cupcakes were huge and much more deluxe than Specialty's, but sometimes it's nice to have a reasonable-sized cupcake for a reasonable price.

Next I stopped at Mrs. Kiddy's, which greeted me with a tempting aroma as soon as I opened the door. Upon stepping inside, I discovered a display case filled with goodies including cookies, brownies, cannolis, doughnuts -- you name it. And, of course, cupcakes. There was quite a variety of flavors, too. Other than the banana, chocolate fluff and bavarian cakes I chose, the shop offered vanilla, pina colada, red velvet, raspberry-filled vanilla and several others. I'd like to go back just to try some of the other treats. Those cannolis were especially attractive.

When I got back to the office, I gleefully emailed my colleague, Jayette, and the food editor, Kathy, who Jayette has also invited on the crawl, letting them know that I had bought the cupcakes for all of us to sample together. Here's what we discovered as we divided and conquered:

Mrs. Kiddy's bavarian cupcake: We were disappointed with the frosting, which coated our mouths and tasted like little more than shortening combined with sugar. We were expecting much better based on the rave reviews we had heard about Mrs. Kiddy's cupcakes. The vanilla cake and bavarian filling were pretty good, though. The light, creamy filling was a nice contrast to the heavy frosting.

Mrs. Kiddy's banana cupcake: This one almost won us over. Again, the frosting was a downer, but the banana cake and fresh, flavorful banana filling made us feel hopeful about Mrs. Kiddy's. We were also charmed by the adorable banana drawn in frosting as the garnish. We gave it "cupcake points" (rather than brownie points) for presentation. The only other banana cupcake I've tried was at Sugar Bliss Cake Boutique in Chicago, and it was marvelous due to its moist cake and light, buttery frosting. If only Mrs. Kiddy's had used a frosting more like Sugar Bliss, the banana cake would have been a winner.

Mrs. Kiddy's chocolate fluff cupcake: On the outside, it appeared to be a chocolate cupcake with marshmallow frosting (I assumed this based on appearance and name). When we cut into it, we found it had a white cream filling, which looked amazing. When we tasted it, though, the cake was dreadfully dry and the frosting was not marshmallow, but simply a whipped version of the shortening-based topping on the other two cakes. We rated this one the worst of the three.

All three of us hated to dislike Mrs. Kiddy's cupcakes because we're all in favor of local business, and we're sure Mrs. Kiddy's excels in its other sweet creations. In fact, Kathy, whose vet is just down the street from the bakery, said she planned to try it this weekend. We suppose it could have been a bad batch of cupcakes, and perhaps when we try the cupcakes again on the crawl, they'll be much better. Our tastebuds are resilient and ready to give Mrs. Kiddy's another chance.

Next up were the Specialty Cakes selections.

Vanilla raspberry-filled: This one was our favorite of all the cakes we tried. The white cake was so heavy with raspberry filling that it came apart as I cut it into quarters. We surmised that this could be a messy problem were we eating it without plates and forks, but we quickly forgot that concern as we each scooped up our share. The cake was moist and the raspberry filling smooth and scrumptious. The frosting was firm and just sweet enough to satisfy. Jayette's comment was that it tasted like wedding cake. No surprise there. I'm looking forward to the crawl so I can try this one again.

Chocolate with vanilla frosting: Again, we were impressed by the springy cake and the just-right frosting. This one ranked second place because of its classic quality -- no filling to dazzle us, but solidly good all the same.

Needless to say, today's sampling has whet our appetites for the crawl, which Jayette has planned for early November. I don't know who will place the winning bid, but I'm glad my spot is guaranteed.

A white chocolate raspberry Wednesday

This week's Heavenly Delight cupcake du jour: White Chocolate Raspberry.

I have to say, this cupcake was just OK for me.  I actually predicted that because I’m picky about white chocolate. Generally, it’s too sweet for me, and I’ve only found one or two brands I like (hello, Fannie May!). This cupcake, with its white cake featuring a weak swirl of raspberry filling (the scant amount of raspberry was disappointing), vanilla frosting and garnish of white chocolate chips, was just a tad high on the sweet-o-meter. It wasn’t a bad cupcake by any means, but if I’m going to have a vanilla cupcake with raspberry filling, I’d much rather spend my calories on the melt-in-your-mouth Raspberry Swirl.

I really don't think there's a "bad" Heavenly Delight variety, and I've been making a point to try flavors that I feel I might not be crazy about, just to give them a chance. I've been pleasantly surprised by a few of those. I've tried almost 20 of the flavors, and I've found quite a few cupcakes that fall into the categories of "Like," "Love" and "I'll Pass On It." This week's is one I'd pass on to a white chocolate-loving friend.

A side note similar to one from last week: My cupcake-loving friend, Robin Desai, tried the Lemon Drop this week, and she said it "tasted like sunshine." She added that the lemon flavor was quite strong and maybe a little too much for someone who prefers a subtler lemon cake. I have yet to try this one, and I tend to prefer the subtler flavor, so we'll see how it goes when its number comes up.

I-want-candy Wednesday!

It was great to return to Heavenly Delight this morning after missing last week due to too many birthday cupcakes from The Cup in St. Louis. Les had some great choices when I got there -- Butterfinger, Chocolate Caramel Surprise and a few others I've yet to try. I was tempted by the caramel but was wary because the other caramel cupcakes I've tried have been too sweet for my palate. So I went with Butterfinger, intrigued by the possibilities of a cupcake inspired by a candy bar that I loved when I was a kid but have drifted away from as an adult.

I didn't regret my decision. The Butterfinger was exactly what I've been jonesing for all week -- yellow cake with candy bits baked in and light chocolate frosting topped with candy clusters. This was the first yellow cake-chocolate frosting combo I've had from HD, and it hit the spot. When it comes to rich gourmet cupcakes, I tend to prefer my chocolate in partnership with some other flavor -- be it white or yellow cake or some non-chocolate frosting flavor. Gourmet chocolate cupcakes tend to be fudgy and made with semisweet chocolate, which I don't like as much as milk chocolate. However, HD's chocolate frosting is the kind I like -- light, moussy and milky.

Normally I force myself to wait until I finish lunch to eat my Wednesday cupcake. I don't know if it was the four-day fast from sweets I imposed on myself after my eight-day birthday binge, but I was so hard up for chocolate that I broke into the Butterfinger about half past 10 a.m. and devoured it in less than 5 minutes. Typically, if I cave in to temptation and taste a cupcake before noon, I at least save half of it for dessert. Not today!

A side note about the Chocolate Caramel Surprise: My friend and colleague Robin Desai also stopped at HD this morning, and she went for the one I passed up. Her take on it? Absolutely amazing. She reported that the "surprise," not surprisingly, was a soft, flowy caramel in the chocolate cupcake's center, tucked beneath a roof of caramel frosting. Can I just say that one is on my list for one of the remaining six weeks of the market, should it show up again. I don't think I could have gone wrong with either of my choices today, though.

Another great Wednesday!

The last birthday bite

I just polished off my final cupcake from Monday's trip to The Cup in St. Louis -- the red velvet. It was easily the best of the red velvets I've had. Moist cake, perfect cream cheese frosting -- not too sweet, and just the right amount of cream cheesiness. It would be hard to rank it against the Summer Crush orange cupcake from a few days ago. They were each so delicious in their own way ... We'll just skip the rankings this time around. :-)

If ya have to turn a year older, why not do it with cupcakes?

Orange dream

Today would normally be Heavenly Delight Wednesday, but since I had a couple cupcakes leftover from Monday's St. Louis trip, I decided to focus on those and pick back up with HD next week.

And so (drumroll, please), the Summer Crush cupcake from The Cup.

The best word I can come up with for this cupcake is "Wow." Orange cake with orange buttercream frosting, vanilla filling and a little crown of vanilla frosting with an orange Gummy Bear perched on top. When it comes to orange or lemon, I like subtle flavor, and this orange hit the mark. The frosting was phenomenal. The touch of filling was a thrilling surprise (just ask Camille how startled he was when I shouted to him upon finding it), and I quickly decided this one was my favorite from our birthday trip. Our timing was just right, too -- Labor Day was likely the last day for this one, judging by its name.

Tune in next Wednesday for the next Heavenly Delight delight!

My cup runneth over

Yesterday's planned St. Louis cupcake crawl for my birthday didn't quite pan out as we had expected. As it turns out, most of the bakeries I had found on Google are closed on Mondays. Jilly's, whose chefs won on the Food Network show "Cupcake Wars," is normally open Mondays but was closed yesterday for Labor Day. I can't fault them for that, but, dang it, I was disappointed.

However, The Cup, nestled in the back of a building in the heart of U City, was open and awaiting us after our trip out to St. Louis Mills. We had been to The Cup once before, this past Valentine's Day weekend. I had the most decadent Peanut Butter Cup cupcake that time -- so rich, but so worth the stomachache I endured afterward. That day, Camille's gift to me was a box of a half-dozen cupcakes to go (because I had such a hard time deciding which one I wanted at the shop. Isn't he the best husband ever?)

In February, we brought home two Confettis, a Grasshopper, a Red Velvet, a Strawberries 'N' Cream and a Raspberry Beret. All divine! Especially the Grasshopper. And I loved the Valentine's-themed garnishes. So cute!

This time around, I chose the simple Confetti cupcake, which was yellow cake with vanilla frosting. (After a delicious but heavy mid-afternoon meal at Chevy's Fresh Mex, I just wasn't ready for an overly rich cupcake, much as I would have loved a repeat of the Peanut Butter Cup.)

The Confetti was just right. Although it was jumbo-size, it didn't overwhelm me. The yellow cake wasn't the moistest I've ever had, but it was flavorful, and the vanilla buttercream frosting was light and smooth. The rainbow sprinkles were a nice touch.

I also got to sample my friend Becky's Lemon Drop cupcake -- lemon cake with lemon buttercream frosting and a lemon curd filling -- and the flavor's subtlety was just what I look for in any lemon dessert.

Since it was the day before my birthday, Camille snuck off and came back with a to-go box. When I opened it, I found a trio of cupcakes -- a Red Velvet, a Summer Crush (orange) and another Confetti -- with cute little "happy birthday" decorations placed on top along with individual candles. I remember how good the red velvet one was from Valentine's Day,but I've never had The Cup's orange cream, so I'm looking forward to that one a little later.

On another birthday note, I had the privilege of enjoying cupcakes from multiple sources this past weekend. I went to the Villa Maria on Lake Springfield for a Koinonia spiritual retreat Friday night through Sunday afternoon, and while I was occupied with activities on Saturday afternoon, Camille came by with a big box of Hello Kitty cupcakes for me to share with everyone on the retreat. The retreat director surprised me with them that night, and everyone sang "Happy Birthday." What an awesome surprise! Camille knows my love of Hello Kitty AND, of course, my love of cupcakes. It's hard to imagine a better birthday. 35, so far you're not so bad!

Tastes like fall

It was hot like summer at the farmers market late yesterday morning, but the mood at Heavenly Delight was decidedly autumn as pumpkin cupcakes joined the dozen or so options on the table under the tent bearing the big pink cupcake signs. Pumpkin cake is one of my all-time favorite desserts, so it was a no-brainer.

HD's pumpkin cupcake has cream cheese frosting and a garnish of orange-colored sugar.

The cake was incredibly moist -- so much so that it fell apart while I was trying to remove it from the paper. It was messy, but I didn't mind licking my fingers. The cream cheese frosting somehow tasted better to me than it did on last week's carrot cupcake, probably because I like pumpkin cake better than carrot cake in general.

This is one to check out if you're at the Wednesday or Thursday farmers markets!