An unexpected favorite

After buying six cupcakes at the final farmers market last Wednesday and putting several of them in the freezer, I pulled the Lemon Drop out on Sunday night. I wasn't expecting to be blown away because lemon generally isn't my favorite type of cake, and I figured Heavenly Delight's version would be too strong for my taste.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

I LOVED the Lemon Drop. The cake was moist, the lemon-flavored buttercream frosting was subtle and creamy, and the white-chocolate chips on top -- for once -- didn't add an overpowering sweetness to the overall creation. Instead, they balanced the cake's tartness perfectly. After forcing myself to slow down a little and enjoy it rather than gulp it down in under 30 seconds, I decided that Lemon Drop ranks somewhere in the Top 10 of the nearly 30 HD cupcakes I've had.

THAT was certainly unexpected. The Lemon Drop showed up most weeks of the farmers market as a choice, but I put it off until the very last week because I figured I wouldn't be that impressed. I've had lemon cupcakes from other places that were too strong. For instance, Jilly's Bee Sting, of which I managed one bite before I gratefully handed the rest over to Camille to finish. Thankfully, Camille wasn't in the mood for a cupcake when I pulled out the Lemon Drop, because I wasn't sharing!

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.

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!