Gingerbread Wednesday

I was still in the mood for Christmasy flavors on this Wednesday before New Year's,
so I decided there was no better time to try my Heavenly Delight Gingerbread cupcake.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this one; I like gingerbread cookies, but I'd never had gingerbread cake. The HD version was, well ... OK. The cake itself was a bit dry and lacking the bold gingerbread flavor I was expecting, although the garnish of gingerbread cookie crumbles helped on that front. The frosting tasted like cream cheese, and it was without a doubt the high point of the cupcake, which was good but not among my favorites from HD.

I just couldn't get excited about this one. I'm glad I waited until after Christmas to try it, because, although it was way better than a lump of coal, it didn't make me particularly jolly.

Two-cupcake Saturday

I was ready for some sugar by the time I finished a challenging Saturday morning workout, and I got it in spades -- a friend at the gym introduced me to some cupcakes by a friend of hers, with a baking business known as Sugar Mama's Cupcakes. Lauren and Sugar Mama's treated me to four flavors -- Lime Margarita, Cherry Limeade, Peanut Butter and Chocolate-Covered Strawberry. Lauren had raved about the Lime Margarita, so I decided to try that one first.

What a great cupcake! The lime cake was moist and flavorful, and the frosting was creamy with a subtle hint of lime. The cherry on top was a delightful touch. I agreed with Lauren's description -- that it was like eating a margarita.

In addition to the Sugar Mama's cupcakes, I picked up four cupcakes I had ordered from Heavenly Delight at the holiday farmers market on the state fairgrounds. The Christmasy HD lineup included Sugar Cookie, Gingerbread, Hot Chocolate and Pistachio. I love pistachios, so I was excited to make that one my first sample from the HD bunch.

The pistachio, with its pistachio cake and vanilla frosting, was tasty, but I thought the frosting was a tad too sweet -- sweeter than it's been on other HD cupcakes. It didn't quite live up to my expectations, but it was still good to taste some HD again and to have three more new HD creations to try on upcoming cupcake days.

Between those and the rest of the Sugar Mama's confections, the freezer is awesomely stocked.