Rich's House of Cakes: Cupcake Pushpops

Rich's House of Cakes is based in Waukesha, WI and they are doing something unique with cupcakes.  We saw them at Chicago's Annual Baking & Sweets show on Sunday, Nov 16, 2014.  We love that a baking company is not afraid to step outside of the cupcake liner! ;)

Introducing Cupcake Pushpops!  They're super cool and easy to eat while on the go! 

Katrina driving her new car while eating a cupcake pushpop.

Rich's were selling these pushpops at the show for $2.50 and we think it's a really good deal for what you get on the inside!  

Our review for the unique treat:

Appearance: 8/10 Sprinkles

We think this cupcake is one of the coolest we ever got to try!  When we walked into the baking show in Chicago we immediately were drawn to the table with the pushpop cupcakes!  It's something we haven't really seen in our area.  We like the fact that they layered them with different colors and textures.

Taste:

Cake: 8/10 Sprinkles

We loved all of the layers of this cake pop!  There were moist yellow cake layers and a drier chocolate cake layer.  The cake consistency was a very typical box-style cake.

Frosting:   8/10 Sprinkles

The red frosting in the photo pictured above was delicious (whipped frosting).  There was a correct ratio of frosting to cake in this cake pop.  The other cool thing about this cake pop was that it wasn't just frosting and cake, but also pudding!  We tasted a banana/vanilla type pudding in the middle of the pushpop.

Overall:  

We both gave it a 9/10 Sprinkles.

The taste of the whole pushpop all together was amazing.  It's a fantastic on-the-go cupcake and we think that more cupcake vendors should go into this medium for artistry of cupcakes.  The only thing we don't like about this cupcake is the extra packaging is wasteful. But overall, we were really excited to see this type of "cupcake" out there.  

**They also had things like Cupcake Parfaits which were really cool but we were full and didn't want to try them... but if we're ever back in Wisconsin we will!!**

Stay tuned for more! 

Delish Cakes: Oreo Cupcake

We reviewed this cupcake at Chicago's 2nd Annual Baking & Sweets Show in Schaumburg, IL on Nov 16, 2014.  Delish Cakes is located at 112 W. Lake St. Bloomingdale IL, 60108 and their website is here.

Appearance : 8/10 sprinkles
We thought the piping on the frosting was very professional and we recognized what flavor the cupcake was right away. 

Taste:
Cake: 7/10 sprinkles

We took a bite of it and the outside was stiffer and drier. We figure it was because they were in a glass case at the sweets show. The middle of the cupcake was very moist and had a hearty milk chocolate flavor. 

Frosting : 5/10 sprinkles

We thought this cupcake tasted more like a cookies and cream and less like a signature oreo (yes, there's a difference).  The frosting put us off. It was thick and not as sweet as we had hoped.

Overall: 6/10 sprinkles 
We thought there would be more cupcake vendors at the show that we went to but it turns out that Delish Cakes was one of the only places that we saw! We were recommended to eat the apple pie or blackout cupcakes but we really wanted to try the Oreo.  It was just okay but not very sweet and moist (two things we look for in cupcakes).

Stay tuned for our next cupcake we reviewed at the show!

America's Baking & Sweets Show ~ Chicago

Hey everyone!  Sorry for the lack of updates for awhile.  We both have full time jobs now and it is hard for us to coordinate cupcake dates!  

We were invited to go to the America's Baking & Sweets Show in Schaumburg, IL on Sunday Nov, 16, 2014.  We made our own shirts!! 

 We had hoped that there would be a lot of cupcake vendors at this show so that we could review a lot of cupcakes at once.  Once we got there, we realized there were only less than 5 cupcake vendors :(.  So we dropped off our cards to every booth at the show! 

We enjoyed sampling a lot of other baked goods and sweets!  

We even got to see the TLC's DC Cupcake girls!  How AWESOME!!!!!

Until next time.........!!!

The Cupcake Cupboard: Red Velvet featuring Tim

Katrina and her boyfriend recently went on a cruise to Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico. To their surprise, there was a cupcake shop on board the cruise ship "Oasis of the Seas" - the world's largest cruise ship! This cupcake place has unique flavors such as mojito and cupcake decorating classes for kids and adults! We really enjoyed the decorations for the cupcake displays!

The cupcake they reviewed together is the red velvet. 

Appearance: 5/10 Sprinkles
Katrina has ate a lot of red velvet cupcakes in her day and she thought the look of this cupcake was too normal. It's on the biggest cruise ship in the world!  Go big or go home!

Taste
Frosting: 7/10 Sprinkles
When we tried this cupcake, it was around 8pm so the frosting had probably been sitting out in the open for awhile. However, the white chocolate shavings on the butter cream frosting was a great touch! It made the frosting more milky.

Cake: 9/10 Sprinkles
Very dark and rich cake..Tim thought the cake was very moist and tasted like dark chocolate

Overall: 7/10 Sprinkles
We think the chocolate taste and moist cake made this cupcake awesome! We only gave points off for boring appearance and bad ratio of frosting to cake (more cake than frosting)

Chicago Cupcake: Créme Brûlée

Chicago Cupcake: Créme Brûlée
Review from Shauna

My twin sister purchased this cupcake from a cupcake truck driving in down town Chicago.

Presentation: 7/10 sprinkles
The cupcake of course didn't look like the original Créme Brûlée everyone thinks of but it still looks scrumptious!

Taste & Texture: 10/10 sprinkles
Taste: Chicago Cupcake hit this cupcake on the nose! If this cupcake doesn't look like Créme brûlée, It definitely taste like it!
Texture: It definitely was not a cake batter like cupcakes normally are. It has a rich, soft, creamy consistency of egg yolks and sugar. With a melted brown sugar base and a heavy Cream on top.

Overall: 9/10
Chicago Cupcake was able to make Créme brûlée in cupcake form! If you were craving a cupcake, I suggest not getting this one. But if you didn't want to slave away making actual Créme brûlée, then track this cupcake vehicle down!

Stay sweet Sprinklettes!

Guest Review: Riley Steinmetz for Kara's Cupcakes in San Francisco, CA

Kara's Cupcakes: Chocolate Velvet Cupcake

I'm a recent transplant to San Francisco and, of course, cupcake connoisseur. So, naturally, I quickly asked for recommendations upon arriving and found no shortage of praise for Kara's Cupcakes! I happened to walk by it one afternoon and ducked in to grab a few minis. This is a review of their chocolate velvet cupcake. Their website describes it as a "chocolate cupcake with a velvety bittersweet chocolate buttercream." 

Presentation 9/10  SPRINKLES
I'm a fan of simple decorations that illustrate the flavor...a healthy coating of dark chocolate sprinkles does that for me!

Taste & Texture 8/10 SPRINKLES
The cake was very light and fluffy. It definitely fit its "velvet" name! The first thing I noticed when I bit into it was the intense, bittersweet chocolate taste of the frosting. It's clear that some high quality chocolate was used in here! The flavor of the cake was almost an afterthought, but was a little overly sweet and standard chocolate. The sprinkles are actual dark chocolate sprinkles rather than waxy sugar bits, so they add to the chocolate flavor. Overall, I found it a little overly sweet for a chocolate cupcake, but it was a good effort and I would eat one of these again.

Overall 8.5/10 SPRINKLES
This is a simple, straightforward chocolate cupcake leaning towards the dark chocolate side of things. That definitely works for me, but isn't for everyone. 

Short & Sweet & Quick ( DESIGNER DESSERTS: KEY LIME PIE CUPCAKE )

Shauna and her sister Desiree did a quick review for you guys today :)

Happy Summer!

DESIGNER DESSERTS: KEY LIME PIE CUPCAKE

Presentation 7/10  SPRINKLES
Desiree thought it looked very pretty but she would have not guessed it was a key lime pie flavor.  The candy on top is a nice touch!

Taste & Texture 8/10 SPRINKLES
Once that moist fluff of cake hits the tip of your tongue, your taste buds are ravished by a multitude of key lime pie flavored goodness. If you do not like lime, this is not the cupcake for you!

Overall 8.5/10 SPRINKLES
The over all flavor and presentation was extremely professional and well put together. This is your cupcake if you can't live without key lime pie! 

Designer Desserts: Orange Dreamsicle

The photos below are of Designer Desserts Orange Dreamsicle cupcake.

Presentation: 8/10 Sprinkles
We love how neon this cupcake is! There is a lot to take in...tons of orange and yellow! We figured it had to taste like an orange when we first saw it.

Taste & Texture: 9/10 Sprinkles
Taste: The cupcake tasted like you were being smacked in the face with 3 oranges.  If you like oranges, this is the best cupcake for you.  Everything has a hint of citrus: the frosting,  the cake,  and the candy on top. However, we don't understand what the white blob on top is. We tasted it and it tasted like marzipan with whipped cream and it had black dots in it. Obviously they were trying to put the cream in the orange dreamsicle but we don't think it tastes like vanilla cream.

Texture: The cupcake was moist and we thought the frosting had the texture of almost orange pop rocks once we put it in our mouth. The frosting was fluffy and milky.

Overall Sprinkles
Shauna: 7/10 Sprinkles
They did a good job with making it taste like an orange dreamsicle but she probably would not get it again.

Katrina: 8/10 Sprinkles
She has an orange CRUSH on this cupcake! It tastes like the drink Tang. If you like citrus and summer cupcakes, this one is for you!!

Designer Desserts: Creme Brulee

The cupcake featured in this post is the creme brulee cupcake from designer desserts.

Presentation: 6/10 sprinkles
easter themed cupcake right here! Just in time for the holiday... it is super cute! We loved the fruit on top..random!!

Taste/Texture: 8/10

Taste: the taste of the cake was very sweet and milky. The whole cupcake was smooth and went down perfectly. It literally melted in our mouths! We believe they definitely got the creme brule taste!

Texture: Again, we were very surprised by this designer dessert because it had a surprise in the center! The texture was creamy and the center was a rich pudding mix. This cupcakes texture was so amazing!

Overall:
Shauna: 9/10
Shauna really liked this cupcake. She would definitely get it again! She loved the smooth milky taste.

Katrina: 8/10
Katrina liked the cupcake but she wishes they could have left off the raspberry because it made the frosting taste weird! All in all, she would get it again!

Designer Desserts: Green Tea Cupcake

The {ugly looking} cupcake pictured above is Designer Desserts: Green Tea Cupcake

Presentation:5 /10  sprinkles
The cupcake had a green leaf on top with some drizzled honey on the frosting.  It was unique but we do not care for cupcakes that we would have to guess the flavor of. 

Taste & Texture: 7/10 sprinkles

Taste: The taste of the cake was a very dense angel food cake.  It reminded us of a store bought cake.  It doesn't taste like green tea but the frosting was wonderful and fluffy.  The frosting was whipped cream with honey drizzled.  

Texture: The cake was dense and moist in the middle.  The frosting was fluffy.  We believe they compliment each other well.  

Overall: 
Shauna: 6/10 sprinkles
Shauna drinks a lot of green tea so she was excited to try this cupcake.  However, green tea is completely lacking in this cupcake.  She did not taste/see any green tea in this cupcake.

Katrina: 6/10 sprinkles
Katrina loved the frosting but the cake was lacking unique flavor.  She believed the cake tasted more like a store bought cake.  However, she would repurchase this cupcake for the frosting alone.

Designer Desserts: Peanut Butter Cup

Presentation: 8/10  sprinkles
We love the valentines look of this cupcake. You can tell it is peanut butter right away because of the reeces cup inside the frosting. We learned from the store owner that this cupcake originally didn't come with chocolate on top.

Taste & Texture: 9/10 sprinkles

Taste: Amazing amazing amazing!! If you love peanut butter, this cupcake is for you!! Moist chocolate cake with peanut butter mousse and a semi-hard chocolate shell. The sprinkles were so adorable! Had us seeing hearts.

Texture: The texture was super moist! Melted in our mouths.

Overall:
Shauna: 9/10 sprinkles
The taste alone won her over. Adding the chocolate shell on the mousse made it look and taste just like a Reeses. "They done good" ~Shauna

Katrina: 10/10 sprinkles
There is nothing that I can say bad about this cupcake. It definitely had the look and tastes I am looking for in a peanut butter cupcake :)

P.s. we also got chocolate covered strawberries for free to eat today!!! How amazing is that??

Buttercup Cupcakes: French Toast Cupcake *GUEST REVIEW*

I was at Chicago Ridge Mall today doing some ornament shopping when this pretty pink store caught my eye. No, not Victoria's Secret..."Buttercup Cupcakes", the sign read. So, remembering my nagging desire to be a romance novelist, I thought, bro, what's more romantic than cupcakes?! And here is my review:

 

This is a "French Toast" Cupcake.

 

Presentation: 8 out of 10 sprinkles

 I thought is had a very sexy, seductive look. Almost tempting you with the slight slant of the frosting, teasing you with it's little nilla wafer protruding out of it's luscious frosting. It made it look very balanced and a little off at the same time. Kinda kinky.

 

Taste and Texture: 6 out of 10 sprinkles

 While the cake did, indeed taste like French toast, I was a little confused at the flavor of the frosting. Until I looked at the description of the cupcake, I would have sworn that the frosting was cream cheese. They label it as maple buttercream. Either way, it tasted pretty dang good! A bit on the granually side, but light and fluffy none the less. The cake texture was cakey. It wasn't crummy. Not sure what else to say about that. 

 

Overall rating:  7 out of 10 sprinkles

 As big a fan as I am of French toast, I do not think that I would purchase another one of this flavor. Not that it wasn't good, but it was a little too sweet for my taste and there was almost too much frosting. It was a vanilla cake with cinnamon streusel but I didn't taste any syrup. Besides, there's so many more scrumptious morsels just waiting to be devoured!

 

Kitty Majeski from Illinois

Orland Park Bakery: Turtle Cupcake

Surprise! We went to a place that wasn't Designer Desserts to do reviews!

There were so many things to choose from at this bakery!  They specialize in everything from cupcakes to BACON DONUTS (omg)! 

It comes in this cute box and our cupcake we chose to review was called the Turtle Cupcake.

The cupcake pictured above is the Turtle Cupcake from Orland Park Bakery.

Presentation : 8/10 Sprinkles

This cupcake looks like a "turtle candy" but we thought the presentation in general was messy and sloppy.  The cake was crumbling everywhere when we opened the box.

Taste & Texture: 7/10 Sprinkles

Cake:  The cake was a chocolate cake with toffee caramel stuffed in the middle mixed with walnuts.  We were completely surprised by the filling inside the cupcake because it was very unexpected.

Frosting: The frosting  was caramel & chocolate syrup and crushed walnuts drizzled on the top of a thick layer of whipped cream.

Overall:  

Shauna: 8/10 Sprinkles

Everything about the cupcake was good especially the middle part of the cupcake.  However, the presentation was sloppy.

Katrina: 7/10 Sprinkles

Katrina is a turtle candy lover and she was excited to try this cupcake.  The cake tasted generic until she tasted the middle filling of the cupcake. She would definitely get this cupcake again because of the filling part of the cupcake.  The toffee caramel paired nicely with the cupcake.

To our followers (Sprinklettes):  Go try it and tell us how you liked it in the comments below or at splitstatecupcake@gmail.com.