Cupcakes

I've always loved cupcakes. I think it has something to do with the frosting to cake ratio. With that being said, I've been really enjoying the growing popularity of the cupcake stores. I realized that within the last year I've tried a lot of flavors at a lot of different bakeries. I am sensitive to Gluten so when I can, I try to pick Gluten Free desserts but I sometimes risk the tummy ache to try something sweet. And sometimes along the way I find other treats that are divine! Here's a small sampling. :) This first picture is actually more than a year old but Nicole Giles and I meet together for treats every time I come to Utah Although that will change since she moved. :(  I couldn't do a post about cupcakes without mentioning her. The place we tried that day was called The Chocolate. Shanda and Debbie are also pictured. 

I was going to do a book cover shoot in Los Angeles and my friend Cherie and her boyfriend David were going to be the models. Every time I go to LA I try do one fun activity to make the drive worth it. This time we chose Magnolia Bakery. While their Gluten Free cupcake was good, it was nothing compared to the awesomeness of their Banana Pudding (which was not Gluten Free)!

                                                                                 My daughter and I love the TV show Cake Boss. When my friend Jamie Manning (who also loves the show) and I found out we were going to BEA in NYC we added visiting Carlo's Bake Shop to our itinerary. We also did research and found out how to avoid the long lines. We dragged along my friend Erica and my sister Melanie. Their red velvet cupcake was good, as was their canoli but the Lobster Tail (a pastry, not a seafood) was so good! Also, the view of the NYC skyline from the New Jersey side was beautiful!

While in Times Square, Erica and I stopped and each bought a cupcake from  Crumbs Bake Shop. They had lots of fun flavors. My favorite part was the filing in my cupcake. Erica looks so cute posing with our treats that I had to include the picture! I grabbed a fork for mine since we were eating on the go.







My friend Angela and her husband made time to see me while visiting Southern California. I wanted to suggest a fun place near where they were staying to eat, and started searching for good cupcake places. I found Frosted in Long Beach. Their hi-tops (which are like a sandwich with mini cupcakes as the bread and lots of frosting as the filling) were yummy! My friend Melonie came with me and we enjoyed sampling a lot of their delicious flavors. My favorite was the chocolate carmel cupcake.

When my friend Yara and my new friends, Lisa, Jennifer and Michelle came to town for the Breaking Dawn part 2 premiere, Melonie and I drove out to Los Angeles to see them. After much research I took them to Big Man Bakes. They are famous for their Red Velvet cupcake but their chocolate with peanut butter frosting changed my life!!

I was excited to have Erica come and visit me. We are co-authoring a series together that takes place in SoCal. Our character loves to bake cupcakes, so in the name of research we tried cupcakes both at Sprinkles and at Heavenly Cupcakes.  Sprinkles has a a wonderful Gluten Free Red Velvet cupcake.








The Thin Mint cupcake at Heavenly Cupcakes was super tasty! My whole family loved that one. The way we authors sacrifice to bring authenticity to our novels is amazing. :) We ate those cupcakes for you dear readers.

I'm also a huge fan of the show DC Cupcakes. When I found out they were opening a Georgetown Cupcakes in Los Angeles, I was thrilled. My friend Maddy (who also loves cupcakes) and I decided to check them out. Their Gluten Free Cupcakes are hands down the best I have ever tried. They all have the same Chocolate cake flavor but their three different types of frosting were amazing! I'm currently craving them right now. On a side note, the bakery was adorable!


Thanks to Amazon I recently discovered the show Bunheads. In one episode, they mentioned the 24 hour cupcake ATM in Los Angeles. I quickly added that to my life list of things I had to try. They are Sprinkle cupcakes so they are high quality and come in their own cute little boxes. They are more expensive than the ones you can buy inside the store but having the experience of buying a cupcake from the ATM was worth it! Those are my current cupcake stories. I want to thank all of my friends who traveled with me and helped me indulge in my sweet tooth! So, does anyone know of a good gym? :)