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!

Pink Velvet Sunday

Our anniversary officially wrapped yestereday -- I ate the last of the Jilly's cupakes. Camille had started the Pink Velvet on Saturday, and I broke down and finished it off yesterday. I have to say, I preferred it when we tried it on the buffet at Jilly's -- they had made it as a cake, and the caramel filling was throughout the cake, as opposed to a small pocket as it was in the cupcake. The "cake" version was much moister, and I was blown away by how good it was. The cupcake was just OK in comparison. I wouldn't feel the need to repeat it. The caramel cream cheese frosting was tasty to be sure, though. To be fair, Camille was of the opinion that the cupcake was just as good as the cake.

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!