My main goal was to pick up OMG's Champagne cupcake, so I called a week in advance to be sure they would be able to make some. They kindly obliged, and I arrived mid-morning Monday to find them part of the offerings in the well-stocked display case. As long as I was there, I figured I might as well stock up, so I bought a Champagne, a Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough, a Strawberry-Filled and an Oreo. (Not long after I left the store, I realized that I had already tried OMG's Oreo, and I regretted getting it instead of Lemonade, a flavor I hadn't tried.)
I wanted to wait until Cupcake Wednesday to try them, so I stowed them in the freezer at home. Come Wednesday, I eagerly defrosted them, ready to try that Champagne for which I had longed. As much as I wanted to try that one, though, the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough grabbed me with its cookie-dough frosting (I've attempted eggless "dough" that lacked the flavor of real dough, so I was excited to try OMG's version).
All I can say is "OMG..." The cookie-dough frosting was nearly perfect (it was a bit heavy on the dark-chocolate chunks, but it was easy enough to eat around those). Even the cake was just about right -- it was soft, moist vanilla with the same overload of chocolate chunks as the frosting, but I was pleased with the freshness in light of previous OMG cupcakes that have been on the drier side. I didn't want to stop eating this one, but I knew I had to so I'd be able to try the others.
It was time for Champagne. Unsure what to expect but excited to find out, I pushed my fork through the light, fluffy pink frosting with candy pearls and matching pink-dyed cake. I took that first bite ... and encountered a flavor that was OMG in a not-so-good way. This cupcake tasted like Champagne, alright -- extremely dry Champagne. The bitterness overpowered the sweetness. For someone who likes their bubbly dry, this might be the ideal cupcake, but I prefer a sweeter Champagne. Cupcakes, furthermore, are SUPPOSED to be sweet. The frosting seemed to have a touch more sugar than the cake, but any sweetness was offset by the offending presence of shortening. I hate to say that I wasn't able to eat most of this one. I hate wasting cupcakes, but considering how many cupcakes I try, if I don't like it, it's not worth the calories.
I pushed my Champagne letdown aside and moved on to the Strawberry-Filled. I was already suspicious of this one because the frosting was obviously the same shortening-based substance that had helped bring down the Champagne. One bite confirmed what I already knew, and I pushed the heap of worthless fat and calories off to the side so I could focus on the vanilla cake. The bottom half of the cupcake was a pleasant surprise. Much like the Cookie Dough, the Strawberry-Filled cake was light and moist. And just like the name implied, a pocket of strawberry jam awaited inside, adding a pleasant fruity flavor to the delicious cake. I was happy to eat this one without that greasy frosting.
As I said at the beginning, I mistakenly bought the Oreo instead of a fourth new flavor (find my OMG Oreo review at http://extremecupcaker.blogspot.com/2012/02/cupcake-commute.html), and I wished I had chosen the Lemonade instead. Upon later trying the Strawberry-Filled and Champagne, though, I realized that leaving the Lemonade was a blessing in disguise because I had noticed that it had the same type of undesirable icing. Everything happens for a reason, even with cupcakes!
Here's hoping next week brings Heavenly Delight back to the market!!
