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!