RSS this is life in austin/aspen
Mmmmm more cupcakes. I know I’ve blogged about quite a few cupcake places, and my reviews are usually pretty good. I mean, it’s pretty hard to screw up a cupcake. (Well, that’s not really true, because Hey! Cupcake figured out how pretty easily) But after all the buzz Sugar Mama’s Bakeshop has been getting, in the name of journalism I had to investigate …
The cake melted in my mouth. And was gooey. And fudgey. It astonished me. I am not a cake girl. I will happily eat the icing off the top of cakes or cupcakes and leave the cake to someone else. I am an icing girl. But this cake … this cake was incredible. How could it be melty and gooey and fudgey all at once? I marveled at this as I licked the last bits off the cupcake paper. It was that absurd. I was licking the paper. I had taken the thing to go, and almost turned my car right back around to buy another.
I ordered the peanut butter cup, a chocolate cake with peanut butter icing. The icing, in contrast to the fantastic cake, pretty much sucked. It had very little flavor other than sugary-sweet, and it was a weird texture–way too airy, way too light to be buttercream, as it advertised itself. The shop also offers cream cheese icings, but there’s only so much cupcake a girl’s waistline can take. At one sitting.
That’s another thing. These babies don’t come cheap. The cupcake is really small, like the kind you bake yourself, and at $2.50, seem a bit overpriced. Personally, I’m happy to pay that much and have less to eat–I consider it a sort of portion control, because lord knows I can’t do that on my own. But savvy consumers will be hesitant to pay that much for the small cake. It’s worth it though, at least once.
I’d also recommend sitting in the South First shop, as it’s super cute with red-and-white decor, friendly servers, and a fun, adventurous menu. They offer six regulars, and a host of rotating options. Some of the more exciting cupcake offerings include a Black & Tan Guinness cake with Irish cream frosting (Wed & Fri), French Toast (Thurs & Sat), or the Elvis banana cupcake with peanut butter frosting and gold dust (Tues & Fri).
I can’t vouch for this personally, but I hear the molasses cookie is heavenly.
Short of that incredible cupcake from Sprinkles (remember to vote for an Austin location!), Sugar Mama’s is now my vote for best cupcake in Austin! Of course, I will never quit my search for the best … I’ll just be going to the gym/trail a little more often.
