Cupcake commute

Today was a perfect day for a mini-road trip. It was clear and not too cold, and I was off work for a doctor's appointment. I was craving some cupcakes from OMGosh Bakery in Petersburg, so I decided to hit the open road in the afternoon. 

I was hoping to find the Champagne cupcake I noticed at OMGosh the last time I was there but didn't buy. (Suffice it to say that it got lost in the shuffle of my cupcake sensory overload.) Unfortunately, the Champagne was not among the large crop of cupcakes in the display case today, but the helpful woman behind the counter took my name and number and promised the bakers would call me the next time Champagne shows up on the menu.

Nevertheless, there were plenty of other appealing choices. Since I had driven such a long way, I knew I wanted to buy several to take home. It was a hard decision, but I settled on a Heath, an Oreo and a strawberry cake with buttercream frosting. I wound up eating part of each of them because I wanted to make sure I tried each flavor fresh before freezing the leftovers.

The Heath looked scrumptious, with its toffee bits covering a thick swirl of chocolate frosting. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: OMGosh's chocolate frosting is my favorite of all the chocolate icing I've tasted. It's rich -- but not too rich -- and wonderfully thick. It worked in perfect concert with the Heath bits and the chocolate cake, which harbored tiny pockets of baked-in toffee.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better than the Heath, I sank my fork into the strawberry cupcake with buttercream frosting. There were almost equal amounts of cake and frosting in this sweet, Valentine's-themed treat, and it was all I could do not to inhale the whole thing at once. The cake: Moist and light. The frosting: Creamy and buttery with just the slightest hint of strawberry. And the candy conversation heart as a playful finishing touch. I'm going to need to put a lock on the freezer to keep from attacking the rest of this cupcake before my next sweets day.

Finally, to make the day three-for-three, I sampled the Oreo. It was no less impressive than the other two. Chocolate cake with a whole Oreo baked right into the middle (note in photo above), plus a generous slathering of vanilla buttercream that reminded me of Oreo cream filling. And, of course, the mini Oreo and cookie crumbles on top. All of the flavors were conspiring to force me to eat way more than I should have.

I'd happily eat any of this trio again, except that there are still so many to try from OMGosh and I don't get there often enough to imagine that I'll be able to repeat any time soon. Between this place and TLCuppycakes (which is a little easier to sample because the owner, Tracy, delivers to Springfield), Petersburg is definitely a hot spot for cupcakes.