Crumbs Bake Shop: Hostess Cupcake

We have a new favorite sweet shop out here - Crumbs Bake Shop.

There are several locations around the NYC area, but we are lucky enough to have one within about 40 minutes of the house.

These are, hands down, the best cupcakes I have ever had.

Let me put it this way - Lo Gung hates frosting. (Just ask my father - every birthday cake always has one little corner left naked, just for Lo Gung!) Lo Gung ate all his frosting on his cupcake.. Whoa.

Proof #2 - When I asked Lo Gung what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he said, "Crumbs cupcakes!" Harumph! Guess he doesn't want a homemade cake this year!

This beauty is the Hostess Cupcake. Mmmm...it's one of their "Signature" size, meaning that two people could share it easily. (Think Costco muffin size!) (There are small cupcakes available, but their flavors are a lot less frilly - plain vanilla or chocolate, with icing, with or without sprinkles. These small ones run about $2.50. There are also tasting boxes of mini cupcakes.)

These aren't cheap - about $3.50 a pop. However, you'd pay the same for a trip to an ice cream parlor!

We have found, however, that the cupcakes with fillings are drier than their un-filled cousins. Stick with the unfilled cupcakes, and you will not be sorry.

(Besides the Hostess cupcake, we have also tried the Red Velvet, the Pina Colada, and several of their vanilla varieties, with either strawberry or chocolate icing. All delicious...but the Red Velvet and vanilla cupcakes are definitely my favorite.)