Review: Cupcake Royale

A few months ago, the hubs and I purchased a coupon for cupcakes from a local bakery, Cupcake Royale. It took us several months to USE the coupon, because of the stipulation that cupcake orders be placed before noon, the day before you intend to pick up your cupcakes. (And I? Don’t think that far ahead, in general.)

 

The cakes came in an attractive, and clever, box. (Pink is always a hit around here, and the addition of a crown sealed the deal with the Princess set.)

 

Cupcake Royale boasts of local and seasonal ingredients, and lists their vendors on the side of the box as proof.

This side of the box made very little sense to me, as it seemed to be supporting the rights of home bakers to sell their own cupcakes, commercial-kitchen free. But I could be wrong about those sentiments.

Now…ready to meet the kids??! When I placed my order, I told them four or five cupcakes that I absolutely must have (vanilla with pink icing, lavender, cookies and crème and mint) and asked them to fill out the rest of the box with whatever looked best.

 

 

Overall, I really preferred the vanilla cupcakes. The chocolate ones crumbled to bits as soon as you bit into them. The vanilla ones, though, had a gorgeous tight crumb, like a light pound cake. My favorite icing was the lavender, which had just a hint of lavender flavor and was very refreshing! The icing on the Lemon Drop was also quite nice.

 

The shop was cozy and comfortable, and the staff very friendly. Overall, I wasn’t blown away by the cupcakes, though. They were beautiful, and tasty, but they were no Crumbs. (Crumbs is high on the list of things I miss from living on the East Coast. *sigh*)

 

PS – I can’t decide if my review is good or bad. I have spent so much time the past few months perfecting my favorite cupcake recipes…I was mostly just disappointed that boutique cupcakes weren’t as tasty as my homemade ones. When cupcakes first hit the scene, when I was in high school, I remember going to a shop and ordering a beautiful cupcake from the gleaming glass hutch. I took a bite…and was so disappointed. It was beautiful, and dry. Ick. It wasn’t until my cupcake buying adventures on the East Coast that I realized store-bought cupcakes could be drool-worthy. Perhaps my box had sat out too long? However, when I ordered my cupcakes, they preferred that I pick them up in the afternoon. Perhaps they had been sitting in that box since the evening before. I have no idea. When talking with other friends, they raved about Cupcake Royale, so perhaps going in and buying a cupcake a la carte is a different experience.)

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