Sunday, November 27, 2011

Vanilla Bake Shop

In the world of LALA land is yet another bakery, Vanilla Bake Shop. This cute little bakery is filled with tons of different mouthwatering treats such as cakes, cupcakes, icebox desserts, pies, tart cookies and more! So with more than just cupcakes, i had to devour this bakery from head to toe. Starting with a fresh fruit tart that was so refreshing and a nice break from your typical cake dessert. 
The ever so adorable Icebox desserts come in shots (like what I got) or in jars. I got a Dirt Cake shot, that  had me falling back into my childhood, when you would eat those cakes that had colorful gummy worms stuck in a schlop of crumbled oreos. The shot was the absolute perfect size as the dessert is so rich and delicious. Any bigger and your simply asking for trouble.  
Your typical chocolate, pistachio and rose flavored french macarons were another treat my bestie Steph and I could not avoid devouring. The chocolate was your typical chocolate macaron, and was almost a wet texture. The rose flavor was so faint making it have a very "blah" flavor, and I still have second thoughts on it being rose. The pistachio was a lot better than the rose, but was still just a hint of flavor, but overall had the best texture. The cookie part on the chocolate and rose was not airy enough, almost wet and sticky for my picky tastebuds.
3 mini cupcakes are next; Pumpkin, Chocolate Raspberry, and Chocolate with Choco & Vanilla frosting.   The pumpkin, was alright, it was your down right same ol' pumpkin cupcake with cream cheese frosting.  The Chocolate Raspberry was so extremely rich with a strong raspberry flavor. It was pretty darn good, but was a bit too much for me, and that was a mini!!! The Chocolate with Choco & Vanilla frosting, also was so so so so rich; I honestly dont know how people do the regular size of these cupcakes!
Next time im back in my home state, I would love to hit this bakery up again to devour even more tasty treats on their menu. (Oh, and try every single icebox dessert they offer--so bomb!!) Nom Nom Nom one love

Sunday, November 20, 2011

My home towns Crushcakes

In the small tiny beach side town where I was born, now lives Crushcakes Bakery, just a quick skip and a hop from Linden Avenue in downtown Carpinteria, California. 
No pink and frilly glitter covered walls are going to be found at this bakery, and thank god, cause its about time. In the bakery/cafe, Giant wooden rugged paintings hang on black and red walls that give off a hipster, tattoo-style vibe. Since Crushcakes is so close to my house, I was able to try multiple cupcakes!
I got a red velvet cupcakes topped with sour cream frosting topped with a chocolate heart.
Next was a Cookies N' Cream cupcake that was a marble cake with a Oreo cookie buttercream.
Lastly, I tried a vegan (finally a place with a vegan cupcake!!) chocolate cake with a vanilla frosting.
All of these cupcakes tasted like your typical homemade cupcakes, nothing spectacular. They almost had a box taste to them, which really bums me out. They frostings were all so sugary as well-mirgrane maker for sure! There is nothing much else I can say besides they taste like your typical housewife made cupcakes, and to me, does that really make someone deserve their own bakery? Not so much...They did absolutely nothing for me. 
I really liked that they had vegan and gluten free options, but why do they always have to be such boring flavors!? Just because im vegan, doesnt mean I dont like fun flavors---Please stop with the lame chocolate and vanilla combos!